Episode Eleven: CAMINO
Episode 11, Oct 31, 2023, 04:51 PM
“These caminos are the gateway into the labyrinth…”
What do we find if we unpeel the layers of Ibiza’s traditional dirt roads? We discover a hidden mycelial network of interconnected stories, and an insular way of life that was bound together by the paths the people trod. We discover the old, forgotten rhythms of Ibiza, and a sense of what was sacred and important to the Ibicenco people before the arrival of tourism. But in the red earth camino we also unexpectedly find a mirror and a metaphor for the road of life that we all walk, and some nuggets of wisdom as to how best to make that journey.
It’s the eve of Tots Sants, or Samhain, and this episode comes from the depths of a pomegranate grove in the lost depths of the Benimussa valley, in the South of Ibiza. Here, I sit beside the Pou de Benimussa, a handsome stone well which I nearly couldn’t find, and one which has much to tell me about the imprint left by the Moors on this magical valley, and the drastic shifts and passing of time since then.
My passage down the caminos of Ibiza begins with a conversation with my old schoolfriend Clare, with whom I spent a summer hitch-hiking around the North of Ibiza two decades ago. From there, we explore the camino as a pilgrim path for travellers and seekers, before wondering about its role in the lives of the native Ibizans, and what happened to the island’s caminos with the abrupt arrival of tourism. I speak to theatre-maker Celia Ruiz about her moving and inspiring project to bring one of Ibiza’s abandoned caminos back to life through immersive and sensory theatre, and ask what is the future of the island’s slow transit, dirt roads, as globalisation brings a very different, and sometimes dangerous rhythm to Ibiza’s roads. We end with a conversation with friend, artist and forestry firewoman Romanie Sanchez, who shares what her regular journeys down the nearby Camí de Benimussa mean to her.
Dispersed throughout this episode is the hauntingly beautiful music of Edinburgh-based musician and artist Burnt Paw (Andy Green), taken from his latest album, ‘Levitation Songs’. I'm infinitely grateful that he has given me permission to use these evocative tracks, and you can download the album (or buy it on cassette) via Bandcamp: https://burntpaw.bandcamp.com/
Mentioned/featured in this episode:
- Casita Verde / Greenheart – ecological centre in Benimussa, Ibiza.
- Joan Castelló Guasch, Balearic folklorist
- A Season in Heaven: True Tales from the Road to Kathmandu by David Tomory, 1998
- ‘California’ by Joni Mitchell, from the album Blue, 1971
- Ibiza: La Destrucción del Paraiso, by Joan Lluís Ferrer, 2010, (Balàfia Postals)
- Ibiza historians: Emily Kaufman and Joan Marí Cardona
- Rolph Blakstad, founder of Blakstad Design Consultancy
- The Teachings of Don Juan, memoir by Carlos Casteneda, 1968
- The Book of Trespass: Crossing the Lines that divide us, by Nick Hayes, 2021
- Plataforma per la Catalogació dels Camins Públics d'Eivissa – cultural association defending Ibiza’s public caminos.
- Celia Ruiz, theatre-maker, theatre-director and clown: https://www.celiaruizcrea.com/ (many thanks to Karen Killeen for the voice-over)
- Road, (extract from) a poem by Jessica Dunlop of Can Purtell, Ibiza.
- Romanie Sanchez, Ibiza-based surrealist painter: https://romanie.net/
- Santiago, (extract from) a poem by David Whyte, taken from Pilgrim, 2013.
Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer, performance-maker, writer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (www.theatreoftheancients.com)
Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca)
Instagram: @wellsoftanit
Facebook: The Wells of Tanit
If you appreciate this podcast please leave us a review on Itunes as this helps the podcast reach a wider audience.
What do we find if we unpeel the layers of Ibiza’s traditional dirt roads? We discover a hidden mycelial network of interconnected stories, and an insular way of life that was bound together by the paths the people trod. We discover the old, forgotten rhythms of Ibiza, and a sense of what was sacred and important to the Ibicenco people before the arrival of tourism. But in the red earth camino we also unexpectedly find a mirror and a metaphor for the road of life that we all walk, and some nuggets of wisdom as to how best to make that journey.
It’s the eve of Tots Sants, or Samhain, and this episode comes from the depths of a pomegranate grove in the lost depths of the Benimussa valley, in the South of Ibiza. Here, I sit beside the Pou de Benimussa, a handsome stone well which I nearly couldn’t find, and one which has much to tell me about the imprint left by the Moors on this magical valley, and the drastic shifts and passing of time since then.
My passage down the caminos of Ibiza begins with a conversation with my old schoolfriend Clare, with whom I spent a summer hitch-hiking around the North of Ibiza two decades ago. From there, we explore the camino as a pilgrim path for travellers and seekers, before wondering about its role in the lives of the native Ibizans, and what happened to the island’s caminos with the abrupt arrival of tourism. I speak to theatre-maker Celia Ruiz about her moving and inspiring project to bring one of Ibiza’s abandoned caminos back to life through immersive and sensory theatre, and ask what is the future of the island’s slow transit, dirt roads, as globalisation brings a very different, and sometimes dangerous rhythm to Ibiza’s roads. We end with a conversation with friend, artist and forestry firewoman Romanie Sanchez, who shares what her regular journeys down the nearby Camí de Benimussa mean to her.
Dispersed throughout this episode is the hauntingly beautiful music of Edinburgh-based musician and artist Burnt Paw (Andy Green), taken from his latest album, ‘Levitation Songs’. I'm infinitely grateful that he has given me permission to use these evocative tracks, and you can download the album (or buy it on cassette) via Bandcamp: https://burntpaw.bandcamp.com/
Mentioned/featured in this episode:
- Casita Verde / Greenheart – ecological centre in Benimussa, Ibiza.
- Joan Castelló Guasch, Balearic folklorist
- A Season in Heaven: True Tales from the Road to Kathmandu by David Tomory, 1998
- ‘California’ by Joni Mitchell, from the album Blue, 1971
- Ibiza: La Destrucción del Paraiso, by Joan Lluís Ferrer, 2010, (Balàfia Postals)
- Ibiza historians: Emily Kaufman and Joan Marí Cardona
- Rolph Blakstad, founder of Blakstad Design Consultancy
- The Teachings of Don Juan, memoir by Carlos Casteneda, 1968
- The Book of Trespass: Crossing the Lines that divide us, by Nick Hayes, 2021
- Plataforma per la Catalogació dels Camins Públics d'Eivissa – cultural association defending Ibiza’s public caminos.
- Celia Ruiz, theatre-maker, theatre-director and clown: https://www.celiaruizcrea.com/ (many thanks to Karen Killeen for the voice-over)
- Road, (extract from) a poem by Jessica Dunlop of Can Purtell, Ibiza.
- Romanie Sanchez, Ibiza-based surrealist painter: https://romanie.net/
- Santiago, (extract from) a poem by David Whyte, taken from Pilgrim, 2013.
Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer, performance-maker, writer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (www.theatreoftheancients.com)
Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca)
Instagram: @wellsoftanit
Facebook: The Wells of Tanit
If you appreciate this podcast please leave us a review on Itunes as this helps the podcast reach a wider audience.