Ibizology Will Beacham

With Ibiza being such an important trans-Mediterranean trading post since the Phoenicians set foot on the island, the seas around the island contain a real treasure trove of ship wrecks. Marine archaeologist Enrique Aragon spends much of his time exploring the area and in this interview reveals how important these remains are for our understanding our island’s history. His work also shows how Ibiza was part of a sophisticated trading system stretching from the UK to North Africa and the Middle East.

'Voyage and Discovery' by Conor O'Brien is an account of the sailor and travel-writer's journey by boat to the White Isle where they moored up in Ibiza harbour for almost a year in 1932. His vivid descriptions of town and country life, as well as the landscapes of the island, are quite riveting. Ibiza's Barbary Press has just brought out a new edition of the book and in this episode I'm joined by publisher Martin Davies. You can meet Martin and other distinguished speakers at the official launch: 7.30pm on 20 December at Sa Nostra Sala, Carrer d’Arago 17, Ibiza Town.

Regular Ibizology listeners will, by now, be very familiar with the Ibizology intro/outro music. This haunting music was recorded in the 1950’s in Ibiza by the American ethnomusicologist, Alan Lomax. My guest in this episode of Ibizology is the editor of Alan’s Spanish collection of folkloric music. She has developed a deep understanding of Ibiza’s traditional music and how it fits into the family of folk music around the world.

For almost 100 years Ibiza’s club Nautico has stood in the city’s harbour, not far from the Formentera ferry terminal.
The club, an institution much-loved by Ibicencos, has seen the area around it transformed, modernized and commercialized in tandem with much of the rest of the island.
Now the same powerful forces which have altered so much of Ibiza are circling this place. Plans have been drawn up which could see the club close and this last bastion of traditional Ibiza in the port, crushed to make way for more millionaires.
For this special episode of Ibizology I visited the offices of club Nautico to meet Vicent Canals Riera, the club’s director general. Martin Davies - the original Ibizologist - translates my questions into Spanish and Vicent’s answers back to English.
Please come to Club Nautico at 730pm on Friday 9 December for Pirate Island, a celebration of boats, books and buccaneers from the Phoenicians to Club Nautico. Martin will be speaking along with some other experts. €10 entry on the door.

The artist, philosopher and musician Dominique Sanson is perhaps most famous in Ibiza for his panel of paintings which depict Ibiza’s from pre-history until modern times. But his art goes way beyond these, with his unique style depicting many topics which highlight the beauty of the island and its inhabitants as well as his sufist beliefs. You can see many examples of his different styles of art by visiting dominiquesanson.com
In this interview Dominique describes his early life in Paris where he was a student just as the 1968 riots broke out. His life in Ibiza brought him into contact with the hippy culture which he admires to this day, and opened his mind to a philosophy of humility, openness and love.
He says “several times i left ibiza forever but I’m hooked, I’m an addict.”
Ibizology image by Vicent Calbert; courtesy of Bar Costa, Ibiza.

With invasive snakes out of control in Ibiza, and local lizards heading for extinction, British-Australian Dean Gallagher has battled to return the island to its previous snake-free state. This has not been easy for Dean, who suffered nightmares about snakes in the early part of his campaign. Even now he performs a ritual to calm each creature before killing it, and says he would prefer to export them back to the mainland if this were permitted. Dean describes vividly the impact snakes have had, with some parts of the island now denuded of birds and lizards, where the only sound is the slithering and hissing of snakes hiding in the undergrowth. I met Dean at a finca near Santa Eularia where the gentle giant had just rescued a drowning baby rabbit from the pool.