Ibiza’s s’Aigua Blanca beach left without lifeguards due to risk of collapse: “We’ll keep coming because it’s a beautiful beach”

One of the most attractive beaches on the east of the island, s’Aigua Blanca, no longer has a lifeguard service, but this has not discouraged tourists or residents. The beach, which had already lost its beach bar and car park, is now definitively without any kind of service or municipal presence. Even so, a sizeable group of bathers ventured to this wild spot on Tuesday, despite the risk of large rocks falling.

Santa Eulària Town Hall announced the decision in a press release, stating that “the beach does not meet the necessary conditions to guarantee the occupational safety of the staff assigned to the service”. It also recalled that, as the beach is classified as “low risk”, the council is not obliged to provide a lifeguard service.

All the images of Aigües Blanques beach, closed due to danger of collapse.

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Access to the car park closed

On arrival at the beach, two Local Police barriers block access to the slope leading down to the former car park, which has been out of use for months. “Do you know if we can get through on the motorbike?” asks a confused tourist couple. They move the barrier aside, go in on the motorbike and return a few minutes later. In the end, they decide to park under a tree, outside the fenced-off area.

Once at the former car park, two information signs hang from the metal barrier blocking access. The first reads: “The property informs that the restaurant, terrace and adjacent area are closed to the public. Approaching or accessing them is strictly prohibited; all responsibility will lie with the offender”. The second sign indicates the four points on the beach where there is a risk of rockfall, including the restaurant wall, which now shows a dangerous 45-degree tilt, and prohibits people from lying down in those four areas.

A third sign warns of the risk of rockfall and states that this is an unmonitored beach, meaning it has no lifeguard service, and provides the emergency number 112. Down the steep cemented slope leading to the beach, the restaurant can be seen in an advanced state of abandonment, along with the former staff car park, now sealed off by the police.

Tourists confused

The wooden walkway, which is in good condition, allows access to the sand. Around a dozen couples are sunbathing, while others swim in the sea. The gentle waves give no sense of danger.

Two Italian tourists, Katiuscia and Silvia, admit they did not know there was no longer a lifeguard service. “We didn’t read the signs”, they acknowledge. “Is the cliff collapsing? Do we have to leave?” they ask with concern, looking around them.

They are lying in the area near the wooden staircase, where a large retaining wall and metal mesh protect bathers from a possible rockfall. I point out the restaurant wall which, detached at its ends, looms dangerously over the beach. “Yes, we’ve seen it. Are they going to close the beach?” they ask. I explain that access to the beach and bathing are at each person’s own risk. “We’re going to keep coming anyway, because it’s a beautiful beach”, they say.

They take the opportunity to ask whether there is another beach nearby that is just as beautiful. I mention the nearest beach, es Figueral, but this answer does not seem to satisfy them.

Next to them, an Italian tourist couple, Valentina and Leonardo, are curious about the situation. “We saw the sign warning that there are no lifeguards, but we didn’t know about the risk of rockfall”. They admit it is their first time at this beach and say they will return despite the risk. “I wouldn’t lie down under the rocks; it’s obviously dangerous”, Leonardo points out. “But in this part I feel safe”.

They say they parked their vehicle at the southern end of the beach and walked along the coastline, like so many other bathers who pass by the cliffs signposted as dangerous due to the risk of rockfall.

A woman from Ibiza refuses to comment, but appears concerned about the situation. She looks around in alarm. Beside her, a man and a woman are sunbathing naked. Another young tourist couple get into the water and begin to swim.

Nothing seems to have changed at s’Aigua Blanca beach, although there now appears to be a smaller number of people. The beach has become a wild spot on the Ibizan coastline, without municipal services and with signs here and there warning of danger. But people do not seem to care too much.

Perhaps this combination of circumstances adds even more to its appeal. The beach, which years ago was the subject of neighbourhood disputes over cars parked along the roadside, is now a wild and secluded corner of the island, which time and the waves will erode as they please over the years.