My first event in Ibiza was Cocoon at 528. I got there from the hotel by taxi — 30 euros, 40 minutes. In Europe the costs have been running about four times higher than in Mexico, but the taxis are nothing like the ones in Cancún or Tulum in tourist mode, where they charge you the equivalent of 40 dollars for a ten-minute ride and act like they're doing you a favor. Here the meter runs, no exceptions, no negotiation, no drama. Thirty euros for forty minutes of highway doesn't feel outrageous. Point for Europe on that one.

Getting into the event was fast, but the security check was one of the most thorough I've ever experienced. Bag completely emptied, cigarette boxes opened, everything. Which left me with a question I still can't answer: if door security is that strict, how is it that inside, everything circulates openly without the slightest attempt at discretion? No answer. Just the question.

The event had two parts with Sven Väth as headliner. The first was outdoors, from 4pm to 11pm. The second inside the club. The daytime portion was genuinely good — atmosphere, light, music, people who were still operating with their faculties intact. I had four tequilas. Patrón is everywhere in Spain, which I appreciate.

When the cut came to move inside for the second part, the "euphoria" of the crowd was pretty obvious. A lot of people chose to leave right at that moment, which is when I understood why. It's not that seeing people in that state impresses me — in Mexico it happens in every club and it's just background noise — but the level here is something else, and the most striking thing is that nobody even tries to hide it. Zero discretion. Open, mass consumption, with nobody batting an eye.

And then Sven did something I didn't expect: he started stretching loops of the same track for up to thirty minutes. Thirty. Minutes. Same loop. The crowd, zombie-mode, didn't even notice. I did. And I started getting bored.

Necessary clarification: I don't use those substances. I'm a drinks guy, but when a rum and coke costs between 25 and 40 euros, the urge fades pretty quickly. I stepped out to grab one and smoke a cigarette. When I came back, everything was worse.

What gets me going at an event is the music. I can tune out the crowd if the set is worth it. But when neither the music nor the atmosphere is working, there's no reason to stay. I left.

Final verdict: 528 during the day, 10 out of 10. The atmosphere, the sound, the light, the energy — all flawless. At night, it was a pass. Not the venue's fault — it was the combination of a disappointing set and a crowd that had already mentally checked out.

On the way back to the hotel I noticed a lot of police movement in the area. At the time it seemed normal, just part of the scenery. Later I understood it wasn't that normal. I'll tell that story in the next post.

Next stop: Café del Mar at sunset. Time for something that didn't require surviving the night.

Me arriving at 528 Ibiza

Me at Cocoon with a tequila