Two kilometres from Cala Salada, there are already several cars parked on the side of carretera de Corona. Once you take the turn-off to the beach, before the first checkpoint, there are already many more pedestrians than cars. A 25 minute walk in the sun awaits you. After the junction to Punta Galera, shortly before noon, the route resembles a pilgrimage.
The access control starts at nine o’clock in the morning, but at that time, it is usual for the operators to find the beach car park already full. Cars are then cut off from the upper section, more than a kilometre and a half away, unless they are locals or customers of the restaurant with a reservation.
But, at the foot of the beach, there are more fences to close the path to Cala Saladeta when it exceeds the capacity of 132 people due to covid restrictions. At this point in the summer, it happens every day and from early morning. Bea, Laura and Sara are three women from Zaragoza who have settled in a nook by the water, a few meters from the closed path.
The Instagram photo
It’s 12.45pm and for an hour and a half they’ve had their attention on the security guard controlling access, anxiously waiting for a free spot on the neighbouring beach. “First we wanted to come by car at a quarter past ten, but the car park was already full and we had to go back to Sant Antoni to catch the bus”, they explain.
We searched the internet for the best coves and then we looked at them on Instagram
What encouraged them to invest their first morning on the island to get to that spot? “We search the internet for the best coves and then we looked at them on Instagram”, they say. Another girl, after a long wait in the queue, turns to the guard. “This does not depend on time, it depends on the number of people and when the lifeguards or the police tell me,” explains the guard. “But it’s not going to be a matter of fifteen minutes, it might two hours “, he added, to the surprise of the bather, who then decided to leave with her companion.
Bathers waiting by the fence that closes the access to Cala Saladeta. Zowy Voeten.
Although Cala Salada is quite full, it has not yet reached its capacity of 243 bathers. Even so, more than a few choose not to stay and prefer to queue for the neighboring beach. The numbers were lower compared to previous sunny days, according to workers in the area.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.