The downside of campaigning on climate change at Greenpeace is that you often end up doing actions in the most inhospitable of locations - coal stations, nuke sites, oil rigs.
When I heard that VW was hosting a conference in Ibiza, it conjured a different image. I couldn't help but imagine hundreds of car salesman sweating through their suits in one of its many 'banging' nightclubs, perhaps blowing a whistle or reaching for the lasers.
But this was no ordinary conference. Volkswagen was training 12,000 of its salespeople from 50 countries around the world - introducing them to their latest 'innovation' the Up! car. This was our opportunity to show those working in VW forecourts that not only are the cars they sell not that efficient (the 13-year-old VW Lupo has lower emissions than the Up!) but the company they work for is using its muscle to oppose critical climate laws.
So it was with serious campaign goals in mind that I packed my bikini and headed off on the train to this most famous of party islands.
We started out gently on VW.
On the first day of action we hijacked several giant billboards near Ibiza airport so that they displayed our spoof Darkside of VW advert to the hundreds of passing VW employees who had only moments earlier landed and collected their brand new Up! or Beetle cars for the week.
Later that morning, our beloved renegade Stormtrooper, Brian, staged a protest on the side of the main road from the airport, holding a sign asking VW drivers to 'Honk if you love the Climate'. He got a lot of honks!
On day two, we sailed an inflatable boat to the quayside of a super posh nightclub where VW was hosting an evening soiree for it employees. Our sea-borne Darth Vader interrupted a flamenco performance to salute the company on it's Dark Side credentials. The thousands of VW salespeople showed no respect for their leader as they laughed heartily at Vader.
Then came our grande finale with a double action day. One set of activists headed to the airport to launch a series of giant black CO2 balloons holding a "VW. Das Problem." banner (don't worry, they were strongly tethered to a lamp-post and way out of the way of the planes).
I accompanied the second set of activists to Ushuia, one of Ibiza's more exclusive beach clubs where we dropped a huge banner reading "Not UP! to date - Climate Destruction, made in Germany" over a giant lit-up VW logo.
As we unfurled the banner, we were surprised to receive cheers and a round of applause from the hundred of VW employees over the road - who had gathered for a presentation on the latest models from the company. Clearly our messages were starting to get through.
After the brief protest, the five of us came off the roof voluntarily. We didn't want to taint the extremely good natured week of protest, which seems to have been well-received by the VW employees, if not, their bosses who continue to push their eco-unfriendly agenda.
VW has the capability to produce much more efficient vehicles, and this is what they should be doing. As the biggest car company in Europe (and reports suggest, soon to become the biggest car company in the world), Volkswagen should be leading the way in cutting the oil consumption of Europe's vehicles. They still have a long way to go until their behaviour matches their rhetoric.
After our banner action, five of us were detained by the Spanish authorities. Unfortunately we can't go to court till tomorrow. I'm sure you can imagine my disappointment that I have been told I can't leave warm sunny Ibiza till then...
