From Villa to Botafoc, the essences of seafaring Ibiza

PalmThe ancient island settlements were either located far from the sea, to avoid danger, or were located on top of a hill, to control it from above. Since the establishment of ancient Iboshim by the Phoenicians in the 6th century BC, the population was distributed as far away from the sea as possible. However, the first Phoenician port in Ibiza was in La Caleta, by the sea, between Codolar beach and Jondal point, founded in the 8th century BC. The Mediterranean was a bustling and growing world, and the sea was an immense platform across which trade missions moved from one end to the other.

We begin a new route around Dalt Vila, which will take us from the oldest facilities in the port of Ibiza to the new platforms for commercial and passenger traffic developed from the new peninsula formed at the end of the 19th century by three islets. Engineer Emili Pou was in charge of directing this project to connect Plana Island, Grossa Island, and Botafoc Island to expand the port area toward the eastern side. The Botafoc Island lighthouse, built in 1861, is responsible for illuminating the entrance to the port of Vila, although its name refers to the act of lighting fires on reefs that could pose a danger to navigation.

The following tour is an initiative of the ARA Baleares newspaper and the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands to share and publicize the secret heritage of our ports. We don't provide timetables, only the length, elevation, and maximum height. Ultimately, it's a walk—which we can take alone or with others—through streets and squares steeped in history, legends, and an immense architectural and cultural heritage that requires time and calm to explore unhurriedly and with all five senses.

The route

We stand at the foot of the Monument to the Corsairs, a tribute from the people of Ibiza to the courage of a handful of seamen who defended their land and their people. It is the work of Catalan architect August Font i Carreras. It was inaugurated in 1915, although the project was conceived in 1906 as part of the commemorative events for the first centenary of the victory of the corsair Antoni Riquer over the English brig. Felicity. Privateering was a legal practice of piracy in the service of kings and queens and authorized by the patent of hearts. They formed civil and armed naval units very useful for defending the interests of the monarchies.

We begin the walk from this point. We head west and follow the promenade that runs alongside the street of Lluís Tur i Palau (1861-1944), a conservative soldier and politician, declared an Illustrious Son by the Ibiza City Council. Our first steps through the port of Vila come across a series of small monuments closely linked to the character of the island. The first is the work by Ció Abellí (Girona, 1963), entitled Tribute to the Hippies, inspired by the iconic photograph by Toni Riera from 1972. Afterwards, we find the most iconic cherries in the world, a brand of the nightlife empire founded by Ricard Urgell in 1967. And on the corner of Avenida de Santa Eulària, where we continue the walk, we find the monument To the people of the sea, a work commissioned by Ibiza City Council from the Mallorcan sculptor Guillem Terrassa i Pol. Sculpted in living stone, it represents a sailor steering the ship from its helm. It was inaugurated in 1986.

We continue along Avenida de Santa Eulària. We leave the Formentera ferry terminal on the right and approach the port's commercial twin. We pass the headquarters of the Port Authority, the Ibiza Fishermen's Association, and the Ibiza Maritime Captaincy. Next we reach the roundabout at the entrance to the Vila Maritime Promenade, presided over by an immense outstretched white hand holding seven Ibizan Hounds (podencos) in different hunting postures. The monument is the work of Ibizan cabinetmaker and sculptor Andreu Moreno and was inaugurated on August 6, 2010.

We continue along the first line of the port of Vila, now along Paseo de Juan Carlos I. We soon find a large garden area on our left, behind which we have the Feixes del Prat de les Monges. It is worth detouring for a moment from our port itinerary to look, even if only for a few moments, at this natural space of great environmental and landscape value. We can do so from two bird observatories located: one, the most recent, from January 2025, on the same Avenida 8 de Agosto, near the access to Calle de las Feixes; and the other, the oldest, from January 2023, at the entrance to the old Camino de Jesús.

More than sixty different species of birds have been photographed in the Les Feixes wetland. Recently, some 15,000 square meters of municipal land have been redeveloped, reversing the image of an illegal dump that had once occupied this space. This area was traditionally reclaimed for intensive vegetable gardening; it once occupied an area of over 600,000 square meters, spread across 146 regularly elongated agricultural plots with uneven surfaces. A geometric network of canals dug perpendicular to the coast, the irrigation ditches, served as boundary markers and drainage; each plot had a single access point, the typical whitewashed terraced portal, built of masonry and enclosed by a wooden fence. Human presence in the bay of Ibiza is documented in classical texts dating back to Phoenician times, but the earliest terraces possibly date back to the Islamic period.

The peninsula of Grossa Island

We leave Les Feixes behind and head toward the small peninsula of Grossa Island, formed by the union of Plana Island and Botafoc Island. We leave Talamanca Beach on the left and from 8 de Agosto Avenue we cross to Iboshim Street. To the right are the Ibiza-Botafoc maritime stations, and at the end of the promenade, the lighthouse. Now, however, we turn off onto a path that starts on the left side and climbs to Grossa Island, 42 meters above sea level at its highest point. During World War II, batteries were installed on this islet for the air and sea defense of the Bay of Ibiza (Kindelán Plan of 1940). We end the walk at the foot of the Botafoc lighthouse. We access it via some stairs to the left of the road, where we suddenly begin the descent.