A Trip to Ibiza with Sophie Jones
"You can end up in the weirdest, craziest scenarios in Ibiza. It really is that magical if you allow yourself to be free and just move fluidly through the island, you’ll have a wonderful time. You just have to go with an open mind."
Longtime collaborator and friend of Trippin, Sophie Jones shares her favourite photos from a recent trip to Ibiza. Her photographs capture the soul of the trip and highlights the island's multi-faceted nature. Known for its sun, water, music, food and magnetic energy, Ibiza has the unique ability to bring people together from all walks of life -- from hedonists to chefs and DJs. Mostly captured by the sea and onboard LA Belle Verde, Sophie's photo diary showcases the Trippin crew (and friends) on the shores of the Balearic island; taking in the sun and spending quality time together in nature. What Sophie loves most about Ibiza is its "magical" charm -- if you explore it with an open-mind, it can teach you new things about yourself and organically brings you into the company of so many free-spirited and creative individuals.
Was this your first time in Ibiza? If no, what keeps you coming back?
This was my second time in Ibiza, both times have been with Trippin! So I feel very blessed to have done that. It’s a magical place. You hear that it’s a magical place and when you go, you really see that. I think if you explore Ibiza off the beaten track, if you don’t go the typical San Antonio route, then you’ll explore Ibiza in a way that you should hope to explore it, which is the magic of the North part of Spain, beautiful beaches and the spiritual kind of side of Ibiza that everyone talks so highly about. I think if you allow yourself to explore those things and you don’t limit yourself to one particular area, you can really indulge in all the good things that Ibiza has to offer.
The food, obviously, is insane. The seafood is insane. I like to compare it to LA as well in terms of the different kinds of people that you meet is just crazy. You can end up in the weirdest, craziest scenarios in Ibiza. It really is that magical if you allow yourself to be free and just move fluidly through Ibiza, you’ll just have a wonderful time. You just have to go with an open mind I think and also a bit of a hustler mentality. If you’re not someone that comes from money, you have to just hustle your way into places. Find the best deals, speak to people, find the plug for certain things and you kind of unlock the key to the island.
Is there anyone you’ve met on your trip that has made a lasting impression?
Everyone! I think there are so many people that you can meet there. The last trip, we met the guy who runs the boat that I had my birthday on. He runs a green, eco-friendly boat so it was amazing to chat to him about the history and the kind of tourist industry now and the kind of journeys he’s been on, travelling around the island, what it has to offer and especially the historic element. It was really interesting to hear from his side. He lives quite a simple sailor type life which was cool.
Alternatively, we met someone else that has a nightclub in their basement and is there for a music and the parties and lives that full hedonistic Ibiza type lifestyle which was also incredible to hear those kinds of stories. The various types of people you can meet in Ibiza, is just insane.
What’s in your camera collection?
I’ve always got a roll of film. I use Contax G2. I feel like it always makes colours feel so rich. I’ve always got a flash, I think that’s the most important thing for my work, I’ve always got a flash. I’ve got a camera on me, I never like to miss out on a moment. I took these pictures on the boat, on my birthday because I just love capturing the energy and the vibes.
What are your earliest memories of trips/travel growing up?
We didn’t have a crazy amount of money so my family could only access places like France, Italy. Countries that were nearby, because countries like Thailand and Asia in general were just so out of reach in terms of budget. When I was young we would go camping, and every year as my dad was promoted it would go from a tent, to a caravan, to then eventually being able to afford a villa. So we were lucky enough to go on holiday, but it was never to somewhere completely ‘exotic.’ But it was nice because it felt like we got an in-depth understanding of France, we drove a lot of the time to the South of France and we’d stop off at little hotels and we’d do a lot of water-sports and activity holidays.
My dad is a big history fanatic, so we’d go to loads of art galleries and stuff. One particular sports holiday I did fall in love with later on in life was that we went to the North of Spain and we did surfing and kayaking and canyoning in the hills of Spain. It was incredible, so breathtaking and I feel very blessed to have been able to have done that. We stayed in a quaint village in the North of Spain. And going to Canada for the first time. That, as a child, was amazing just to experience everything you’ve seen in movies like as a child, you’re just like ‘Wow.’
