Keep Ibiza Virgin!

An Ibiza Virgin is someone who’s never set foot on the island.
And yes, it is also the title of my book that will be launched full-on next season.
But it is also the allure of the island; with all the madness that goes on here,
Ibiza is as pure, vibrant, enticing and innocent as we all once were. Lets strive to keep her that way!

A lot of strange things have been happening the past few years that I’m having a hard time making sense of. Like the autopista.
What’s the sense of that? How much money was wasted on that?
I for one tend to still use the old roads, automatically. It’s the way I’m used to driving here.
When I’m on the autopista I tend to lose track of time and distance, of where I am, and so I stay on it longer than needed. Big city driving comes to mind. Which is unnecessary for a tiny piece of land such as Ibiza. I don’t think it makes the driving here much safer; I for one tend to step on the gas pedal a bit harder when I’m rolling on perfect asphalt with concrete tunnels and encasing. It blinds you in a way. When you drive down old-school or dirt track roads with potholes and stuff you tend to be more careful.

I do, however, appreciate the barriers that have finally been put up along the smaller roads of the island as I no longer get vertigo or feel as if I’m about to fall off a mountain when driving towards my favorite, small, hidden beaches.

Then there is the ban on day-time clubbing, the decibel restrictions and imposed closing hours; what’s the sense of all that? It’s wrecking havoc on the entire eco-system of the island.
Which already only has a few months to feed the population all year round.
Pre-club bars and late night shops are empty as people crowd to the clubs as early as possible for return on their clubbing ticket investment. And you sort of have to pick where you want to spend your night from the get go, as opposed to going club-hopping, since your play-time is now restricted just like everywhere else.

And what’s with the fining of open-air venues?
We’re not talking small amounts here. Is there more explicit connections now between club owners and the government, such as family ties or personal business interests perhaps?
I think this is the issue that makes absolutely the least sense, considering that the government wants to gear the island towards upscale tourism; they want the high-rollers, the big spenders, the jet set.
Well, they tend to be a bit older and though they might enjoy a night or two on the balconies of Privilege or Amnesia, or in the VIP at Pacha, I’m sure the more intimate setting of a gorgeous beach club with Balearic beats filling the air under the island’s magic moon and stars is more the Ibicenco experience they are looking for.
Why try to force them to spend their money only in the clubs, if they don’t want to?
If they are here, and they are happy, give them what they want to make them keep coming back! Sophisticated fun, where they can act their age but still be living it up in Ibiza.
They might feel too old for clubbing, that they are out of place or not in their right element, and after having been here once - if clubbing is the only option- they might just check Ibiza off their “been-there-done-that” list and never come back.

Stop trying to copy other resort tactics and their corporate commercial exploitation: keep Ibiza virgin! Let each venue have its own soul and spirit, and allow those who are like-minded to find their way there, make it theirs, and keep coming back.

To be continued,

Jennifer Eric