Spain 14,

Oct. 2, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I woke up this morning, well rested, although I didn’t do much yesterday, and partook of the hotel buffet included in the price per night. Other than the size of the room which is only slightly larger than the bed, I am certainly comfortable here in my renovated well, to good taste and modernized 3*. The day started off with a few drops of rain enough for me to wear my new Pantagonia rain jacket but not enough for an umbrella.

I decided that today would be devoted to a walking tour of Eivissa. The island is called Ibiza and the town is called either Ibiza of Eivissa to confuse the tourist. I walked through the down town area which has more stores than downtown Montreal. The area caters to the locals rather than the tourists and contains shops that you would find in most downtown areas. I have found over the years with my many travels, that the 2nd impression of a town is very different than the 1st impression. A 3rd impression would only be made after spending some time in the area.

The night time crowd differs considerable from the day time crowd. The locals here resemble the locals in any small Spanish Med town. Young and old, rich and poor, in good shape or not. Compared to the evening and night time tourists, most of the people are middle aged, with the smattering of grey hair but no white haired ones like me. Ok so be it. I continued through the area eventually arriving at the old town. Here everything changes. The streets are narrow, windy and cobble stoned. The area is pedestrian only. Unless you have a good sense of direction, you can go round and round and arrive at the same place that you started from. This part of Eivissa caters 100% to the tourist trade. Stores, cafes, restaurants one after another selling everything that a tourist thinks that he/she must have. Everyone must have a beer, margarita, pizza or tapas at mid day. You must consume something as the restaurants only open later after 9:00.

Eivissa has a history that dates back 2700 years to the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders etc. There is a mountain in the centre which has a fortified castle at the top. You can walk up the narrow winding streets or take staircases or any combination of the later. Once at the top the view of the Med is sensational. I walked around for several hours eventually arriving back down at the port. At his point my phone was running out of battery from taking so many photos that it was a challenge to return to my hotel, the address I had forgotten.

I am currently sitting at a hotel terrace overlooking the beach. The weather is warm enough but the beach is small and the water is rough. I saw 1 girl wading and 2 windsurfers out. There are other better beaches on the island that I will explore tomorrow.

I am anxiously awaiting the results of the Quebec election that everyone says will result in a PQ victory. Legaux really helped them with his poor government. The Liberals have no chance. The best that we can hope for is a minority government for 4 years. The Israeli elections are another problem. There are 38 parties running in a government formed by proportional representation. After everything is settled, the prime minister is left with the task of forming a government from several often extremist parties.

There was an attempted highjacking of a plane by an Islamic terrorist bent on crashing the plane into probably a densely populated area. There were Israeli tourists on board, so instead of calling it a terrorist act, CBC, CNN and the BBC are calling it an altercation between pilots in the cockpit. At the same our own beloved PM is handing another $100 million to the Palestinians making a total of $700 million donated to the cause since 2023, in order to continue building their subway (tunnel) system. Their billionaire leaders are raking it in living off the fat of the land in palaces in Qatar. Meanwhile we now have 120,000 homeless in Canada who are left to fend for themselves. One need only to read the latest version of the Concordia University Handbook, (manifesto) which severely criticizes Canada’s colonial background. If they don’t like it here, why do they come here to study?

I will finish off my afternoon beer, continue gazing at the Med, finish writing my blog and prepare myself for a ‘busy’ evening.

Love,

Brian