After the very difficult summer my daughter Natania had being ill in hospital, (if you missed the post about this, read here) I promised her that we would take a much needed holiday abroad as soon as she was better and strong enough to travel. This was also motivation for her to keep pushing through her illness, knowing she had something to look forward to if she didn’t give up or loose hope. By the time she was able to come off her antibiotics and was finally walking again and no longer in any pain, her birthday had come around, which gave us another reason to get away. Not to mention the fact that my laptop got stolen at an event I attended a few days after Natania’s birthday… so annoying!
When I tell you this holiday was much needed, I’m not even joking!
After days of searching for flights and hotels and trying to decided where to even go, we found a lovely hotel in Ibiza that was just calling our names; Hotel Garbi Ibiza & Spa. A part of me was a little apprehensive about going to Ibiza with a 14-year-old daughter and her best mate from school. I mean, every story I’ve heard and seen on TV about Ibiza has involved drunk and disorderly Brits bent on having the time of their lives by being totally wasted and smashing every stranger they meet along the way. Surely this was not the kind of environment for 14-year-olds. Thankfully, after doing some research, I found that the Hotel was family orientated and wasn’t situated in an area where such behaviour occurred. We were good to go!
From the moment we stepped on the plane to our arrival at Hotel Garbi, the excitement and anticipation was on level 100. The images we had seen of Hotel Garbi on their website actually didn’t do it justice. To our amazement, everything looked so much better in real life. We were also pleased to find that we had full access to the hotel spa, and had been given a room with a beautiful sea view, where we could watch the sunrise and sunset from our balcony.
On one particular morning, I was so eager to catch the sunrise that I set my alarm and literally jumped out of bed to see it. The beauty of it all was so overwhelming that seeing it from the balcony wasn’t enough. I needed to take the 2 minute walk down from the hotel to the beach and get a closer look. That morning had to be the highlight of the whole trip. I sat on the beach as the sun rose, talking to God and beholding His magnificent creation. It was such a spiritual experience for me. To be able to just be at peace in the presence of God’s glory, listening for His voice and finding some perspective on everything going on in my life at this very point. Seeing the sun rise up in the horizon over the vast miles of sea, I was reminded of God’s greatness, power and might, and could not but give Him the thanks and praise that He alone is worthy of. All of my current life struggles seemed so minuscule compared to the magnitude of who God is and what He is able to do, and His creation speaks so boldly of His abilities.
What an Awesome God!
What had me even more amazed about that moment was that my daily devotional reading for that day were these exact verses of scripture from the Bible:
Psalm 19:1-6 NLT
1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
3 They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
19:3 Or There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens
and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.
SHOOKETH!!
I mean what are the chances of my daily devotional scripture reading being so relevant to exactly what was happening before my very eyes that morning?!
Whatever you believe, none of us can deny such beauty!
Natania and I have been away together before to Jamaica with a group of relatives on her Dad’s side. But this trip to Ibiza was different as it was just the two of us and her best mate Samantha, making it feel as though it was our very first mother-daughter vacay. Having her best mate with us also made it feel like a mini girls’ trip and Natania had someone to hangout with when I needed some time alone to myself, but were also able to spend quality time together too.
The girls made sure they visited the hotel spa every single day without fail! They loved it! They also loved getting on the bus into town, where we spent hours exploring, shopping, and just soaking in the Spanish atmosphere amongst the locals. Playa D’en Bossa Ibiza is beautifully colourful. Even at night, the buildings and busy streets are filled with so much beauty and vibrance. One evening we went for a walk around town visiting the local market stalls and being proper tourists. I found the coolest Spanish vintage clothing store and literally wanted to buy everything! Also bumped into some very good-looking Spanish police officers who kindly stopped for a photo. Sadly I couldn’t fit them in my suitcase to bring back as a souvenir. Haha!
But can we talk about the weather?! 23 degrees actually felt like 30. Aside from the one afternoon of rain we had on Day 2, it was wall-to-wall sunshine and blue skies. It’s amazing what a bit of Vitamin D can do for your mental health. You automatically just feel happier when the weather is bright, sunny and warm. I’m convinced I should really be living in a country that is sunny all year round. I’ve always wanted to live in place like LA for a few months. In fact I’d be happy to move there permanently and just visit London for a few weeks during the winter months, just so I can wear my whole winter wardrobe, take lots of pics, then head back to the sunshine and warmth of LA… sounds like a solid plan to me!
Getting as tanned as possible was a must! Afterall the darker the berry, the sweeter it’s juice right?! Got to finally use my Rochelle Humes HiGlow products to give my skin that golden glow as I laid by the hotel pool soaking up the sun. I love my skin when it’s tanned. It just looks so much smoother, brighter, and one-tone. Since we were only away for a few days, we didn’t get a chance to do more adrenaline filled activities such as snorkelling, paddle boarding, or going on a boat ride. A few of the activities were also out of season with it being mid-October, but we were happy for it to be more of a relaxing and laid-back kind of getaway. In fact, the most adrenaline filled I got was going for a quick morning run on the beach.
This trip has actually made me realise how much I love palm trees. There’s just something about them that gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. I’ve even come to the conclusion that I definitely want to have a destination wedding where the venue has lots of palm trees around, and is close to the sea. I’ve never really thought about these kinds of details for my future wedding before, but somehow, I’ve suddenly made up my mind and know exactly what I want! Could this be a sign? Is future hubby on his way Lord?? Haha!
The hotel food was very nice, for those of you who love your food! However, you may be a little disappointed by the fact that they do not provide an all inclusive option, only half board. Breakfast had a wide variety and dinner had us eating fish, beef, and chicken all on one plate because we were so spoilt for choice and wanted to just eat everything! The only downside was that drinks are not included at dinner so you would need to pay for your drinks. Don’t bother asking for tap water either because they do not provide it. Only bottled water… which you have to pay for too. All in all, we were well fed and invested in getting our own cheaper drinks from the local shops outside the hotel, and kept them in the mini fridge in our room. Gotta save them coins where you can boo!
We’ve been back from our quick getaway for over a week now and I’m so ready for another one! I think I’m definitely a wanderer at heart. I’ve always wanted to spend a year just travelling around the world to as many countries as possible, and taking lots and lots of pictures along the way. Hopefully I can tick that off my bucket list at some point in my life. For now, I’m perfectly happy taking short trips here and there whenever I can, and I’m looking forward to our next adventure together. I’ll definitely try and vlog our next trip away for my YouTube channel too. I feel like I have to take advantage of this opportunity to travel with my daughter at this age, because I know there will come a time when she’ll be all grown up, exploring the world with her mates, and she won’t need me there with her. These kids grow so fast!
Ibiza was great! Thanks to Hotel Garbi Ibiza & Spa for having us, we had a wonderful stay, and would definitely be happy to return in the near future.
This quick getaway has brought a lot of things into perspective for me and I’m feeling hopeful about all that God has for me for the rest of 2017, despite the difficulties I’ve faced. As long as I have breathe, I have every reason to keep going, and remain strong, knowing that with God by my side, everything will work out for my good.
What holiday destinations are on your bucket list for 2018?
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