The lost lizards of Ibiza are now a sad fact of life across most of the island of Ibiza. Snakes, first spotted in 2003, are the culprit. They arrived amongst the roots of olive trees imported from the mainland to satisfy the fashion for Mediterranean gardens. Now, thanks to the efforts of Elba Montes, a PhD student, the annihilation of the lizards has been measured for the first time. The sad plight of the iconic lizards is now slowly rising up the political agenda. But Elba fears the lack of action so far could mean lizards will become extinct in just a few years.

In this episode you’re going to meet the architect Rolf Blakstad who has just published, in English, his father Ralph's amazing book which links traditional Ibizan finca design back more than 2000 years to the Phoenicians who settled here from what is now Lebanon. Rolf’s father spent decades roaming the island’s countryside, measuring, drawing and recording the architecture just as the forces of modernity were changing the island forever. The result is a book full of beautiful, detailed. Line drawings, photos and text demonstrating how it was identical to the archtecture he had seen in North Africa and the middle east.

The ecologist and environmental campaginer, Chris Dews, is famous in Ibiza as the founder of Casita Verde near St Jose, which he started in 1993.

Chris and teams of volunteers have transformed the place into a model for living with minimal environmental impact. He dreams of one day doing things on a much grander scale on a different site, and has his eye on the vacant land next to Cafe Mambo for a project he calls EcoLandia.

As a young man, Chris spent many years in the merchant navy. He ended up in Ibiza quite randomly when he needed to get out of the UK at short notice and found the last flight left in his local trave agent was to the white isle. Chris is an original thinker. He certainly isn’t against partying on the island, but believes you should earn the right to do so after a hard day’s volunteering. Tourism doesn’t need to stop but should be totally redefined.

The historian, archivist and politician Francesca or Fanny Tur Riera is in charge of the official historical archives of Ibiza and Formentera, which contain documents going back more than 800 years. As well as her work with the archive, Fanny has been politically active, championing the importance of Catalan culture and as a minister for culture and sports for the Balearic islands.

Fanny is a respected historian. Two of her publications caught my eye and led to some thought-provoking conversation, as you’ll hear. Her work on the bubonic plague in Ibiza resonates today as the island fends off covid-19. I was surprised to learn that there are quite a lot of similarities between today’s coronavirus pandemic and the epidemic which swept the island in 1652.

We also discuss Fanny’s work on the role of women in Ibiza, highlighting how there is still a long way to go to on the road to equality in what is still quite a machismo culture despite improvements over the centuries.

I interviewed Fanny at the spectacular archive building in Dalt Vila. You’ll find pictures of this and some of the documents we examined by linking up with Ibizology on Facebook or Instagram. Let’s join Fanny as she tells me how her career as Ibiza’s archivist began.

In this episode the writer, publisher, and original Ibizologist, Martin Davies, helps us to bring alive some of the characters living in Ibiza in the 1960s.

We delve deeper into the enigmatic figure of Elmyr de Hory, possibly the twentieth century’s greatest art forger. You’ll hear Martin challenge one by one what I had assumed to be the basic facts about Elmyr’s life.

Next we take a look at some of the other figures surrounding Elmyr at the time. The novelist Clifford Irving, wrote the biography which catapulted Elmyr into the limelight. But Clifford was himself a faker who went to prison for writing a book which he claimed was the

authorised biography of the reclusive millionaire Howard Hughes.

Elmyr had a difficult relationship with his art dealer Fernand Legros who, together with his partner, Real Lessard, played a big part in Elmyr’s life. But Lessard – who is still alive - later claimed he was the artist behind many of the pictures claimed by Elmyr.

We also discuss Orson Welles’ documentary “F for Fake” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIVgUjj6RxU and François Reichenbach’s “Elmyr, The True Picture?” https://vimeo.com/84083934

Martin talks about Mark Forgy’s book “The Forger's Apprentice: Life with the World's Most Notorious Artist”.

I interviewed Mark – who lived with Elmyr in Ibiza - for a recent episode of Ibizology. You can also listen to my interview with the art historian and forgery expert, Jeffrey Taylor on the Ibizology archive.

This time we delve deeper into Elmyr de Hory's life and art as I speak to the renowned art historian, Jeffrey Taylor, who has a particular interest in art forgery. He has studied Elmyr’s life, debunking some of the claims made by Elmyr about his background, and paying close attention to his art. We also discuss how he successfully eluded the authorities for so many years and the secrets to his success as a forger.

Elmyr de Hory, perhaps the twentieth century’s greatest art forger, lived in Ibiza from 1961 until his suicide in 1976. Uncovering the truth about Elmyr is difficult – the more you dig into his history the more impenetrable it becomes. For Elmyr, being gay and Jewish made life difficult in post-war Europe. Globe-trotting Elmyr settled in Ibiza in 1961 until his suicide in 1976 when facing extradition to France. In this episode I interview Mark Forgy who lived with Elmyr in Ibiza and was with him when he died. He describes candidly what a huge impact Elmyr has had on his life as well as the proliferation of "fake Elmyrs" now on the art market.

Up in the wild hills above Santa Agnes in the north of Ibiza dwells an extraordinary musician and instrument-maker. Pere Verges welcomed me into his primitive finca one summer evening and talked to me about his life and philosophy.

During the recording he plays a selection of his unusual and unique stringed and woodwind instruments. As you’ll hear, some of the sounds are like nothing you’re likely to have witnessed before. Our discussion then touches on Ibiza past and present as well as well as his definition of real music.

As I am a lover of dance music, we didn’t see eye to eye on this and this made for a pretty lively conversation. For Pere, real music should not be tampered with by electronics. He also blames the dance music industry for many of Ibiza’s current problems. Let’s join Pere now, as he creates some pretty mind-blowing music.

The podcast is illustrated by Lizzie Langford, an artist based in Ibiza and Barcelona. The music comes from a recording made in 1952 at St Josep, Ibiza, by Alan Lomax

In the previous episode of Ibizology I introduced you to the Irish writer Damien Enright. He told us his story of life in Ibiza in the 1960s centred around the bohemian Domino Bar in La Marina. Damien was a free spirit and ended up doing a drugs run to Turkey. Returning to the Spanish border, disaster struck as customs officials began dismantling his VW campervan, which was stuffed full of marajuana. Damien escaped across the border into Spain and hid in an apartment in Dalt Vila while police searched for him. His book, Dope in the Age of Innocence, describes his adventures and brings to life a time of great social change in Europe, which also touched Ibiza and Formentera.

In Part 2, I accompany Damien and his wife, Marie, as we tour his old haunts in Ibiza Town, including his hideaway in Dalt Vila and The Domino bar. Let’s join them now, first in their apartment on Vara de Rey as Damien describes the deal he has signed which could lead to a TV series based on the book. Then we head out into the town.

Writer Damien Enright first set foot in Ibiza in the early 1960s and fell straight in with the bohemian, hedonistic, international crowd centred around the Domino bar next to the port in La Marina. Free-thinking Damien had many adventures, including a failed dope-smuggling run from Turkey to Ibiza, which form the basis of his novel Dope in the Age of Innocence. The book is now being turned into a TV script by the Gaumont Film Company and could appear on Netflix or another major TV platform.