What We Pack Between Two Islands — A Slow Day in Formentera

Caló de Sant Agustí, Formentera

Honestly? I would leave for Formentera tomorrow. I want to go that much.

And we need it. Ibiza is beautiful, the beaches here are beautiful, but it's not the same thing. Formentera is a parallel world. Sometimes it almost doesn't feel real to swim in that water.

For us, who live and work in Ibiza, it's a change of air more than anything. You cross the sea for thirty minutes and already you feel like you're on holiday, like being on holiday from your own holiday. Over there everything is slower. No rush, no tension. Here in Ibiza there's the nightlife, a certain kind of showing off; over there it's all more relaxed, more washed-out. And that slow, faded feeling is exactly what we like.

We take the ferry, and already I like that we can bring the car, you throw everything in, you stay cool, you arrive relaxed. But I get the other side too: going around the island on a motorbike, even a bike, has its own charm. You feel even more on holiday, a little like a teenager again, free. The only thing is you have to travel very light. Six things on a bike, no more.

(From June to September you need an eco pass to bring a car onto Formentera — around €30 entry fee that lasts you up to a week, and they're strict about it. The island is a natural beauty, and they mean to keep it that way. We're lucky: working with businesses on the island, we have a pass for the whole season.)

What we pack

Which brings me to the bag. I'll start with my side (Giorgio). For two or three days I really only need a few things, and I like it that way.

It starts with the shorts. The shorts are the base of everything! I basically live in them. During the day I wear them with a t-shirt that has already seen a few summers, nothing precious, my "battle" t-shirt. Then in the evening I keep the same shorts and just add a shirt, and it's already a different look. Same base, two lives.

I don't like everything to match too much. One shirt I'll wear coordinated: The Josep in Ocean Stone with its Boix Shorts, but the other one I prefer to break up, to mix with a different fabric: the Josep in linen-cotton jersey, with the light crinkled cotton Renclí Shorts, so light you forget you have it on. A bit more elegant, so for the evening, could be the Mateu Shirt in cotton gauze combined with the Figueral Trousers.

For t-shirts I bring two. One classic and simple, the Nestor. And one oversize, a bit cooler, the Gael, just to have some variety. That's enough.

It depends a little on the season: July and August, or May and October, change things… but the idea stays the same. In the end it's the outfit I'm wearing, and six pieces in the bag.

Ilona packs her own way.

"For me it also depends on the weather, a bit warmer or a bit cooler. The Gracioneta Pants in cotton gauze already work great, even for the ferry. If we come back late and there's a bit of breeze, long trousers are nice and they work also when it's very hot. Underneath I wear the bikini, and on top the Lolita shirt to match, open over it. When I leave the beach I keep only the Lolita, it's an oversized shirt, so I don't even put the trousers back on. So comfortable. Or I wear the same shirt with the stonewashed Salinas shorts, maybe to walk into the center after the sea to get an ice cream. And that's my beach day covered.

For the evening or late afternoon, the Isa slip dress, the short stonewashed one with the trim. During the day it makes me a bit of a surfer girl, but at night, with a nicer sandal, it's perfect to go out — elegant enough. And if I want to go all out, a long dress, light and loose: the Moni Kaftan, that folds into almost nothing, or even better Gio's favourite, the Slip Born dress.

So here too it's the outfit I have on, one more outfit, and two little dresses. And I'm set."

Arriving in Formentera

When I step off the boat in Formentera, I already feel it — that lightness. Your head goes quiet. It's not about doing anything, it's about enjoying the day fully, but without rushing. Nothing to chase.

One thing I love: right when we arrive, near the port, there's this little bar, the Salines Café, good for a coffee or for lunch. A terrace under the trees, and they make these really good, creative tostadas. You start the day right there. Though when we're feeling more adventurous, I don't mind going to the nice little supermarket by the port, the Supermercado La Savina, grabbing some cold cuts, making a sandwich and taking it to the beach.

We almost always go to Levante first. It's one of the most beautiful parts, and less busy. There's a strip of land that reaches out from Formentera towards Ibiza, and right at the tip there are two beaches: one on each side, east and west, you can just walk across from one to the other. Levante is the east one. The west one is Ses Illetes, and for some reason it's much busier, more touristy, more bars around. We prefer Levante, a bit quieter. In summer you have to go early, because it's inside the natural park: once they reach the maximum number of cars, they stop letting you in.

And then the swim. That water is incredible, it regenerates your soul, the huge clouds when they're there, and those colours, the deepest blues.

The stress we brought with us slowly fades, and we go back to the simple things: being in nature, with nothing to chase.

The only thing to watch out for is not getting chased yourself! By the seagulls!! They always want to steal my sandwich (Ilona)… It's my biggest fear at Levante: there's always one watching me from behind, especially if you eat slowly. So if you eat on the beach, watch the seagulls. They can be fierce!

The slow afternoon

Around lunchtime, before we move from one beach to the other, heading to Migjorn, a very long beach, with lots of little coves and sandy corners tucked between the rocks, sometimes we just eat a quick tapa de tortilla on the way at Bar Can Rafalet, the easy café of Restaurant Can Rafalet in Caló de Sant Agustí. Or we stop somewhere a bit more special. There's a fancier option too, right at the end of Migjorn, called Es Cupina, with great food and an even better sangria de cava.

Then an afternoon swim, slow, and nothing beats a good aperitivo at Bartolo after. Bartolo, a small chiringuito on the rocks at Migjorn. You sit with a mojito or a cold beer, the sea in front of you, and you feel a lightness and freedom that very few places give. You probably have been wearing the same outfit from breakfast to the last swim, and it feels just perfect!

As the day starts to end, we think about a walk in Sant Francesc, the prettiest little village — islander and elegant at the same time. There's a shop here we love, Blink. We're close to the owners (I used to work for them), and you can find a small selection of our new collection in their space. A gelato in Sant Francesc is always a good idea — there's a gelateria there, LadaCream, that's really something!

When we stay into the evening, there's always a beautiful sunset at Cap de Barbaría, where the lighthouse is, right at the very end of Formentera. And I love an aperitivo at the Fonda Pepe in Sant Ferran, just a typical, and very real bar "de toda la vida", as they say, where there are still some locals enjoying their aperitivo.

For dinner, my favourite restaurant in Formentera is Es Còdol Foradat — but that one we keep for special occasions. Otherwise it's a real joy to eat a good pizza at El Cruce, the historic Macondo Punta Prima.

Packing for Formentera is not really about clothes or preparing for a trip. You're practising a way of living that the island just makes more obvious. What you actually need turns out to be very little: a few natural pieces that are easy to wear, that don't mind the salt and the sun, and look better a little crumpled than perfectly pressed.

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