Ibiza, Spain

Ibiza is the true, authentic and original hippy haven to beat them all….how many hippy havens already had their reputation 3000 years ago?.. the small island is seeped in mythology and legend, and it was a pivotal religious and spiritual location for the Phoenicians in around 1000BC; it is on Ibiza that they worshipped the firey goddess Tanit, associated with fertility, but also with destructive powers and hedonism…she is said to be the cause of the drugs/clubbing culture that so many people associate with the island, because she brings out the firey, excess-seeking part in all of us…..

Ibiza was a significant part of the 1960’s counter-culture, many travellers on the trail to and from India stopped off here and allegedly took part in wild moonlit orgies on remote beaches in the north of the island, and Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan allegedly visited during that era (it has been said that at least one of the songs on Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” was written on Ibiza)

Then there is the legendary “Atlantis”, an unmapped and barely reachable quarry beneath the cliffs of the south coast, where the landscape is unearthly and dotted with odd towers of stones, the water unbelievably blue and deep, and there is a cave with a shrine covered in relics from past travellers; one such traveller who lived in the cave during the 1960’s left a large, intricate carving of Buddha which is still there.

Off the South West tip of Ibiza lies Es Vedra, a huge, jagged island of rock inhabited only by goats, and subject of many myths, perhaps nonsense, perhaps not; some say its one of the most magnetic points on earth, that it lies above strong ley line energy and that strange lights have been seen in the surrounding waters. Whether fact or fiction, standing before it on the Ibiza cliffs is a daunting experience.

The north of the island was once home to free parties, outdoor raves in forests and on beaches, and full moon drumming gatherings, especially on Benirras. Sadly times change, and as with everywhere the local police have decided that such events are much too frivolous and made them much more of a rarity. In 2002 an enormous full moon “fiesta de tambores” on Benirras was carefully prevented from happening; the police barracaded every possible access route to the beach and turned vehicles and pedestrians away, not before searching them for drugs. Benirras does however remain an alternative meeting place for like-minded souls on the island, and drumming and music at sunset, especially on a sunday and a full moon, continue, thanks to the old hippies who live in this area.

There is true magic to be found on Ibiza, it is in the beauty of the island but also the people there – if you are open to discovery you will certainly find it. The freedom of the sixties and even the nineties is no longer present – impromptu outdoor parties and hash smoking have to take place with rather more secrecy – but this hippy haven has been one for at least 3000 years so I don’t think there’s any danger of it changing quite yet.

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