Aguas Blancas, Ibiza.

Aguas Blancas is a sand-bottom beachbreak on the northeast coast of Ibiza, tucked below the hills of the Sant Carles interior and considered the island's most reliable surf option when a strong northerly swell fills in. The beach faces a broad arc from northwest through east, meaning it picks up the rare winter groundswells that sneak into the Mediterranean from the Gulf of Lions or the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar. Waves are typically fat, slow and crumbly, rolling through without much shape and rarely exceeding 1.5 metres. The peaks shift around a well-covered sandy bottom, making takeoffs easy and forgiving. On an unusually large winter day a right-hander can stand up over a rock ledge at the northern end of the beach, though the window is narrow and the wave has seen very few takers. All tide stages are rideable given the gently shelving seafloor and short wave lengths. The beach sits on a steep road off the main Santa Eulalia to Sant Carles route, with roadside parking at the top when the rough track down fills up. The semi-nudist bohemian character of the place draws a relaxed crowd of local Ibicencos year-round, with bodyboarders and holiday paddlers arriving in summer. Serious surf is a winter-only proposition and the lineups remain thin even then. Wave length stays between 0 and 50 metres, and the break is more consistent than the nearby Cala Nova, making it the reference point for island surfers checking conditions.

Northerly swells fill the Mediterranean's rarest gift, a sand-bottom arc where peaks shift freely.