Some farewells this week.....

My two best friends on the island left this week to return to London. Ruby and Jenna had been here working over the summer (both are journalists - Ruby was Deputy Editor of Pacha Magazine and Jenna was the blogger for Ibiza Rocks) but as the season draws to a close, we have to get ready for a mass exodus!

We had a big night out for them last Friday (see photos), starting off with dinner at Ancient People, followed by Basement Jaxx at Pacha and then gate-crashing a private party at Es Vive before strolling back home along the seafront where Jenna took her last dip. It was a great night out and the first time that I didn't have to leave early due to work the next day. It also dawned on me that before I left for London, whenever I went out I always had to be back home at a reasonable hour so I could feed Simba and Tyke in the morning. It was the same in the evenings as they were on two meals a day, unlike the other cats who would be given dried cat food once a day. As much as I loved my naughty little rascals, I was tied to the house morning and night, unable to partake in any reckless abandon - it was a bit like having babies I guess!

It actually turned into a weekend of leaving parties as I ended up going to Rock Nights with them on the Saturday night. An ace party, fairly underground with lots of locals - we all had to dress as rock stars so Jenna came as Amy Winehouse (she gets mistaken for her quite a lot), Ruby was Blondie and I was a cross between MIA and Lovefoxx, with a mini bee hive! Then as I carried on partying on the Sunday at We Love, they were meant to be having a quiet night in. I'm not sure what happened there as I got a text saying they were all on their way and a little while later, they all turned up. It was an excellent weekend and made me realise that although I really struggled with missing my London friends before I went back in July, I've still made some fantastic friends here (even though they have just left!) They were absolutely brilliant when I was heart-broken over the kittens and they've been here to share all the craziness that's happened over the last couple of months. Plus, through them I've met other people who are based here all year round and as soon as the season is properly over, there'll be time to spend with new friends.

They came over for dinner on Tuesday to check out my new home, see that I was settled in okay and celebrate all my recent great turn of events! Naturally we drank a toast to what has turned out to be a very special summer! It's only been a few months but I think we've all been on a journey of sorts and been able to share in each other's experiences too. I finally waved them good-bye on Thursday night at the airport, it was a sad moment but I know it won't be too long before I see them both again - there has been talk of 3-way Skype conversations!

When I woke up yesterday, after a mammoth 12-hours sleep (last week had been very busy socialising and working) I had that horrible sinking feeling as I realised that Ruby and Jenna had left and I probably wouldn't see the friends who'd been on the island over the week. Although I've stopped my meditation practice, I did try and apply the principles of observing how you were feeling but not reacting to it and it seemed to do the trick. That plus being very busy at work as Alberto and Yvonne are about to go to Bali for a month to finish the project there so there's lots that I need to go through with Alberto before he leaves.

In the afternoon I had a text from my friend Duncan. He'd been with the group staying in the villa at Cala Carbo (by some amazing coincidence, my friends ended up staying in a villa right by where I live and work) but I hadn't seen him as the two times I'd seen the others, he'd been elsewhere. Anyway, he said they were going to the Groove Armada concert at S'Estanyol and so I arranged to meet them there as it would have been a bit sad if I didn't get to see him before he left. I left work at 6 to get there for 7 to meet them. On the way, the van started making a strange noise. I thought it was small stones hitting the underside but the battery light came on and stayed on. I'd been having problems with the van all week, starting with a flat battery on Tuesday morning. By some miracle, it started again on Wednesday and was fine on Thursday although I made an appointment to take the van into a garage for a full service next week. I always get nervous when things happen with the van (not that things happen on a regular basis) as I don't know how to sort things out here. In London, if there was ever a problem, I'd be straight on the phone to the RAC and I had a local garage that I used. No such system here or not that I'm aware of.

I carried on driving with the battery light on (I'm sure all the petrol heads will be tutting and saying how I shouldn't have carried on driving but I didn't want to stop in the middle of the road in case I couldn't start again). Although the van was still going, the petrol gauge was dropping and the steering wheel felt decidedly stiff - not good when driving on windy roads. In the end, I came up to a restaurant and parked in their car park. I wasn't going to be deterred by something like a broken van so I walked to the nearest bar to call a cab. A quick text to Duncan told me that they were still in Cala Carbo so when the taxi arrived, I headed back to the shop where they could pick me up from. Alberto had a confused look on his face when I walked back in as he'd said good-bye to me about an hour earlier but I explained what happened. I think he was amused by the fact that I was still going to the party!

I met up with Duncan and the others and off we all went, me filling them in on how life in Ibiza was turning out. The gig was a good call as lots of island faces were there - it was good to get round and see people and start making arrangements for meeting up once the season is over. The others had to leave straight after the gig to go to the airport. As I said good-bye to them all, Jonny Bain gave me a massive hug and filled my ears with lots of support and encouragement - I got a bit teary-eyed. It's hard when your friends are all leaving! But even though friends have been leaving over the last few days, I know there are lots of people still here who I know and now will have time to establish friendships - it feels a bit like people are waiting for the season to finish so they can get on with the business of creating a rapport again - it can be really hard in the middle of the hectic holiday season!

The first few photos are from the Groove Armade concert - they were meant to turn up above this section but they somehow ended up right at the top.