Toby Clarke, owner of Ibiza Outdoors is a man with a mission, a modern-day Robinson Crusoe in open toe walking sandals who takes adventure walking tours around the Balearic Islands. 14 years ago, he walked solo around the coast of Ibiza with just one euro in his pocket and now he shares his experience with small groups of like-minded adventurous walkers. Ibiza Outdoors
As I learnt on my four-day walking adventure around Formentera, he is slightly fanatical about sticking to the coast, no cutting corners which can sometimes mean you will find yourself on a foot width path with a sheer drop, but he will give you warning and an alternative option.
I was in a group of 17 mainly female group, with a mean average age 45 plus, all armed with sensible walking shoes, backpacks filled with a lunch prepared by Toby and lots and lots of drinking water.
Day one – meet up at ferry in Ibiza to take the 0900 crossing to the neighbouring island of Formentera, then it’s bags down and straight out onto the walk, turning right out of the hotel in La Sabina. The group moves as fast as the slowest walker, so even though some people are naturally fast walkers, Toby will always stop and wait for everyone stay as a group. Our walk took us north along the beach, and past exclusive restaurant Es Moli, closed for the season and now home to a stranded yacht, crashed on the shore. In the afternoon, a coffee stop, a luxury not guaranteed on these walks, where we all re-introduced ourselves in an attempt to remember each other’s names. Roughly 9 miles walked.
Day Two – the bus took us back to where we left off the day before, and the pace picked up again. As you walk, you talk and I discovered that one of my walking companions had tackled Kilimanjaro and Everest base camp, great training for Toby’s adventure walks which are certainly not a walk in the park, the terrain can be tough. Each day Toby comes up with a word and today’s word was ‘Freedom’, so we had the freedom to walk unguided for the first hour with the incentive of a café that may or may not be open which was all I needed to kick start the morning pace. After the coffee break, a walk up an old Roman road with fabulous views across the bay, then up onto the top of the cliffs with lots of scratchy scrub for those of us in shorts and then the chance for a swim near the harbour at the end of the day. Roughly 9/10 miles walk.
Day Three – billed as the toughest longest day and with no guarantee of a toilet stop but by this time, we were well adjusted to relieving ourselves in the bushes. Each day starts with a hand holding circle and a new word, Velocity, so that we can think about our speed of walking in relation to others, no need to rush. The first hour we were asked to be silent, a big ask of 15 or so women, but it was lovely to hear the cockerels in the distance and the sound of our boots touching the ground. The route took us along the back of people’s gardens and then onto a little beach bar. On along the coast to what felt like miles and miles of boardwalk, which was surprisingly hard on the feet, past the Gecko beach club, a hotspot for the more glamorously dressed then onto our final extreme swimming spot option. I opted out but the brave edged down a narrow stone cliff face to take a high jump into the water. I am sure this was a rewarding swim but not for those of us nervous of heights and as Toby says, this is a coastal adventure walk. Roughly 15 miles.
Day Four –word of the day ‘Acceptance’, accepting our limits and the option to do a two parter, missing out a steep valley climb with limited grip options. I already had deep scratches down one leg, so I didn’t want to add any further injuries and wanted an easier run. The first section was all on the flat, the only hardship, navigating some large rocks that one landowner had specifically placed to put off walking groups like us, we carried on, undeterred. The hardcore walking group carried on but a small group of us took the taxi to the beach with a guaranteed easy swim. After a few hours relaxing on Cala Saona, we headed off on a slow walk back to the hotel, and wait for the faster walkers to catch us up.
This is billed as an adventure walk, so prepare yourself for long walking days, no guaranteed toilet or coffee stops and drinking lots of water, but you will leave feeling as though you know every piece of coastline on the island, have made new friends and embraced the wild outdoors.Facebook Ibiza Outdoors
Flight to Ibiza with Ryanair
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