End of Season in Ibiza

We spent the last few weeks of the season here on the island of Ibiza, Espalmador, and Formentera.
And we actually spent our last full moon on a mooring ball down on the little island of Espalmador. It's always been one of our favorite places and always a good refuge in stormy weather. And since this was a full moon and lunar eclipse, we wanted to just relax and enjoy Mother Moon in all of her glory. We had read that the eclipse could be seen in Europe so we were all excited to spend the whole night gazing up.
Just before She was to rise...

And here She comes...

Now apparently, the eclipse wasn't visible in all of Europe, because we were up all night with Her and She did not eclipse but just radiated Her moonbeams across the water straight to us. Have you ever noticed that moon light comes straight to you, no matter where you are?

Sailing around Ibiza, the water was so silky smooth that the Captain just had to go forward meditate...

Then anchored off the spit of Formentera, we saw the huge yacht called Prince Abdulaziz. It was the largest privately owned vessel in the world for 20 years. It belongs to the King of Saudia Arabia. And when he recently died, his son inherited it. Several times we heard the call to prayer (it is a very distinct sound and it certainly gets your attention),  and saw people hustle to the top deck for the Islamic prayer time. The rest of the time, they were busy with jet skis and all kinds of water toys...

We also had seen Steve jobs yacht, Venus, in the harbor in Palma before we left. He died a few months before it was finished and so his wife owns it now...

Cala Characca on the north side of Ibizza has become our favorite cove on the island. It has also become a place of refuge when we have needed shelter. We tried twice this season to go to Bineris cove for the Sunday night hippies drumming of the sun down. But both times have been run out by big winds and storms. And so we return to the safety of Characca...

And we always seem to get into Ibiza City for a year end celebration. The Captain has a favorite bar with the best Tropical fruit Sangria...

And it's fun to sit on the high wall in the old town and reflect about the summer here on EcstaSea.
It's become somewhat of a tradition for us...

And now it's time to bring it all to a close. We are sailing to the southern coast of Spain to the sweet little town of Agua Dulce, which means "Sweet Water" in Spanish. We will leave EcstaSea there for the winter and return to our desert home in Tucson.
It's been a great summer with a lot of variety and many learnings. We have much to take with us and grow from. And so once again, we feel deep appreciation for this life on the water and all that it teaches us. And so it continues, always...