GET IBIZA VILLAS IN YOUR INBOX? SUBSCRIBE
GET IBIZA STORIES IN YOUR INBOX SUBSCRIBE
GET IBIZA VILLAS IN YOUR INBOX? SUBSCRIBE
GET THE LATEST IBIZA NEWS IN YOUR INBOX SUBSCRIBE

The clubs are operational seven nights a week, the beaches are beckoning and our restaurants and bars are buzzing.

Photo: Maria Simon

The clubs are operational seven nights a week, the beaches are beckoning and our restaurants and bars are buzzing. Oh, and did I mention it’s sale season in the shops? Despite this, I can’t help but notice the jaded few among our little community walking around with frowns on their faces. The very same people who grumble about being too hot, too sticky, too busy, too tired and too ‘over it’ to enjoy the amazing Ibiza summer. They complain about tourists, about traffic, about lack of parking, too many sunbeds on the beaches and not enough time in the day.

Come on people! SMILE! Sure, we work hard in the summer, and of course we notice the differences in the island’s population more than others after a blissful, tranquil winter, but you’ve got to remember that if you’re running a business in Ibiza, chances are the people you’re complaining about pay a good chunk of your wages. Whether you like it or not, you’ve got to turn that frown upside down and be grateful for the economic bubble we live in here. The rest of the Balearics, and in fact the entire mainland, are not so fortunate, that’s for sure.

Of course, I have also (on the odd occasion) had to check myself for being one of the aforementioned grumps. There are days when you’ve been working long hours, maybe you had one too many drinks the night before while entertaining demanding guests, you’ve just waited 40 minutes in the bank queue just after spending 30 minutes looking for parking only to find they’ll send you to another department (welcome to Ibiza!), and you pop to the closest café for a quick pep-up coffee and someone cuts in front of you in the line…

And just as I catch myself ‘humphing’ and sighing and bitching and moaning, I always think to myself… imagine if you were somewhere else. Somewhere cold. Somewhere grey. Somewhere where you had to get up at 6am and join a throng of commuters jam-packed on a train to the same destination day in, day out. Imagine if you had to sit at a desk looking out at a wall all day! Imagine if (gasp!) you had to wear a uniform! It’s no wonder people flock here for their annual holidays – just look at how great we’ve got it!

Yes indeed, things could be worse!

So now, when I have to cruise the streets a little longer looking for parking, I turn up my iPod and catch up on all of the best Ibiza DJs newest podcasts. If I have to wait in line at the bank, I use my iPhone to catch up on emails (or, let’s be honest, have a peek on Facebook at everything that’s happened in Ibiza the night before). If there are too many people on a crowded beach, I think myself lucky that I know a few Ibiza secret spots that are always secluded. When I’m super hot and have to work, I’m grateful I work from home so I can strip down to my bikini to cool off!

And when a tourist cuts in front of me in the line at Zara during the sale, rather than get all snappy I just think ‘kerching!’. There’s another euro (or 20) lining the Ibiza coffers so our little island keeps on functioning for another season, and hopefully for many more to come.

As long as she hasn’t snapped up a better bargain than me that is!