‘The setting sun says the day is through, if only we knew.’

- Lost Prophets

I said my farewells to The Artists I’d stayed with in Barcelona, and in search of my last summer adventure, I jumped on the first night plane to Ibiza. The party had already begun, and the moment the plane left the runway the lights dimmed and I took shots with the hot Spanish men surrounding me. I could already feel the dance music pulsating in my veins, and when I caught glimpse of the sparkling neon lights of the island below, I felt my body come alive- this was something I’d always dreamed of.

But when I arrived in town something wasn’t quite as I’d imagined- although the party was still going strong, I knew that the days of midsummer madness had already passed, the footprint of heated summer parties had already been trodden in the sand, and the autumn breeze was slowly rolling in to sweep it all away.

The neon lights that hung overhead failed to revitalise my slowly dying party spirit, but the realisation that this was it, the last days of my summer, was what brought me back to life. I wasn’t ready for the summer to end, I wasn’t ready for another summer to have come and gone, I hadn’t quite finished yet, I hadn’t yet found my summer romance, and I wasn’t going to let it all slip away from my grasp. I hit the clubs and I hit the beach, I caught rays, I threw shapes, I partied through the night and slept through the days, but other than the odd drunken kiss my efforts were in vain.

That was until I crossed paths with a curly haired Australian. It was my last day on the white sands island when he smiled at me as he strutted onto the beach. He and I were the only lone foreigners there, and as I watched him peel off his shirt and lay down in the warm sand, I wondered about his story. I thought about the adventures he might have been on, and how he probably had dozens of stories to share, and so not wanting to waste another minute, I decided to get up and ask.

Like me he was travelling alone, like me he had given up his former life and hit the road, and like me he had come to Ibiza in search of romance, raves and relaxation. He told me he preferred to travel solo; how he lived to collect stories; and how he felt like he was a different person, the person he had always wanted to be, when he was taking up adventure in foreign lands. I understood everything he said, it was like looking into a mirror, a beautiful mirror with perfect cheekbones and an enigmatic smile.

And before we knew it we were racing along the boardwalk and diving into the Mediterranean, laughing and splashing one another as we swam between the waves and shared stories on the peaceful white sand. He told me about the sunset at Café Del Mar, and told me I’d be a lunatic not to see it; I told him I’d planned on going but money was running tight; and he told me that if I didn’t go he would steal every last penny.

And so as we fell asleep side by side, satisfied with meaningful conversation and the warmth of the afternoon sun, I made him a promise, and when I woke up, he was gone.

I took deep breaths of the sea air as I walked along the sunset strip on route to Café Del Mar, and I thought about the moment four months ago when this all began. I remembered how a lump had caught in my throat as I watched my former life fade away, and now in the blink of an eye, I was already turning another chapter.

And so as I took my seat for the summers final encore, I listened to the serene music of Café Del Mar and thought about my unfulfilled summer romance. I’d so desperately wanted to experience it, and yet here I was in one of the world’s most beautiful spots taking it all in. I’d found it, I’d been living it all along. So as the sky came to life with dazzling oranges and sparkling pinks I let the glowing summer sun pull me in close and embrace me as it kissed me hard and slowly fell into the waves. This was why I came here, and this is exactly where I was supposed to be.

I’d held on to the last days of summer for so long, but as the glowing embers of the summer’s last sunset disappeared into the waves, I finally let it go. A single pair of hands started clapping in the distance, and as I felt the ripple of applause slowly grow and wash over me, I reminisced about the adventures I’d had, the people I’d met, and the love that I’d shared.

In that moment I knew that although my summer adventure had come to end, my next adventure had only just begun. My summer travels were over, a chapter in my life that I’d never get back, but I knew deep down that I’d always be reliving them, and remembering this beautiful moment, watching the sun go down in Café Del Mar.