PORTINATX IBIZA

It could be strongly argued that the village (pronounced 'Portenatch') is the happy medium of tourism: enough development to support the local economy, but not so overpowering that the essential beauty of the place which is after all, one of the major reasons that tourists come is destroyed. Though there are tourist hotels and apartments, there is still a fringe of pine and Juniper to Portinatx's beautiful half-moon cove, famed for its shallow waters, where many ships were able to ride out a storm. In former times, the Barbary Corsairs and other pirates also knew of the benefits of the cove, as the watchtower on the headland named for it (punta sa Torre, on the western side of the bay) indicates. The tower is a good objective for a walk, as is the headland on the eastern side of the bay with a path hugging the cliff edge all the way to Punta Moscarter.

Those looking for equally fine views, but of, rather than from, the cliffs can hire boats at Portinatx. A boat trip westward, passing Cala Xarraca to reach the very remote coast near Cap Blanc, is especially rewarding.