MEDITERRANEAN ISLANDS - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 78

shrub (maquis) - home to warblers, pipits and
buntings. After a few hours walking inland, the
path heads out to the coast, passing several
small rocky coves and pockets of beaches and
eventually leading to the welcome gîte d'étape at
Plage de Ghignu.
The following day, it's just a few hours' walk to
Plage de Saleccia, a kilometre-long sweep of soft
sand with an impressive backdrop of high dunes.
Plage de Loto is just a 40min walk east along
the coast, but if you want to have these beaches
to yourself (once the day-trippers have gone),
you can pitch a tent in the shade of trees behind
Saleccia's dunes at Camping U Paradisu.
The final stretch to St Florent is a much
greener section and is popular with people
walking the other way to Plage de Loto, so the
trail cuts a more beaten path than the wilder
stretch of the previous day. The desert can get
intensely hot, especially as the dense scrub
creates a very humid atmosphere, so take plenty
of water. But if you walk in (instead of taking
the boat cruises) and are well prepared, you'll
come away feeling that you've seen the best of
the desert, not just the famous beaches.

and fig trees among the
arid countryside, but
you'll never be far from
uncrowded, dune-backed
sandy beaches.
The only way to reach
Formentera is by ferry
from Ibiza. At the port of
La Savina, you can pick
up a Green Routes leaflet
from the tourist office,
which includes details of
signposted cycling paths
to some of the island's
hotspots. Among these are
archeological remains (such
as the Bronze-age ruins
at Barbària), the island's
tiny capital Sant Francesc
Xavier and the large beach
at Platja de Mitjorn where
you can have lunch by the
sea.
In the early evening,
cycle past the island's
wetland habitat in the
north (home to herons,
egrets, warblers and the
odd flamingo) and up to
Platja de ses Illetes by the
Ses Salines Natural Park,
where you can watch the
sun set over this beautiful,
untouched corner of the
island.

Need to know Pietra Monetta: W www.location-
agriates.com; T [phone]. Camping
U Paradisu (closed Nov-April; booking essential;
# 5 per pitch, meals # 15): T +33 (0) 495
378 251. A night at the gîte d'étape in Ghignu
costs # 9 per person; contact Syndicate Mixte
Agriate ( T [phone]). For details of
ferme-auberges throughout Corsica see W www.
bienvenuealaferme-corse.com (French only).

Need to know The ferry
from Ibiza to La Savina takes
30-65min: W www.balearia.
com. There are several bike
hire companies at La Savina,
including Bicicletas/Moto
Rent Mitjorn ( W www.motorentmigjorn.com; T +34
(0) 971 322 306). Eco Ibiza ( W www.ecoibiza.com;
T [phone]) runs full-day guided
cycling excursions on Formentera.

104 CyCle around The island
of formenTera

In contrast to the hills of Ibiza, the small
island of Formentera - 17km to the south
- has a network of flat, quiet roads that are
ideal for a day's cycling. You can cross the
island's two plateaux in a few hours via a
central isthmus, passing fields of wheat, carob

Wooden gangway
at Playa de ses Illetes
beach, Formentera;
Flipper & Chiller bar-café,
Platja de Mitjorn