Atlantis - Trail of Stones

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Have you heard of Atlantis on Ibiza? It is a magical place opposite es Vedra, the powerful stony island off Ibiza's west coast. Centuries ago this place was used as a quarry and the cut stones were used to build homes, defensive towers and the walls of the fortified city. Our photographer Rüdiger Eichhorn visited Atlantis - and discovered a fascinating place.

"May everyone be happy in life," is a wish written by a Japanese hippy more than 30 years ago beneath the image of an Asian deity. The legend says that he lived in a small cave near the shrine for a while and occasionally played his violin. The music was carried along the slippery rock of the steep cliffs all the way down to Atlantis and on up to the Torre de Savinar, the powerful stone defensive tower, before fading away across Cala d'Hort. All who heard it spoke of the enchantment and magic the music brought to this special place.

Everyone today who makes their way to Atlantis, the defensive tower or the platform below the Torre can confirm that the enchantment and magic of this location remains unbroken! I felt it too as I made my way along the trail of stones. This trail led me to several spots on the island. These are places where you can still appreciatehow the workers and stonecutters did their work, using the same principles - the principles of using the geological structures and formations to their best advantage.

This is a report about Atlantis, a magical location opposite the magical es Vedra, where it appears that a city has sunk beneath the waters when the sun shines upon it. This is an ancient quarry whose stones were cut out of the rock and used to build many of the structures we can still see on the island.

If you, dear reader, should wish to take the tour yourself here is a short description of how to get there. First head over from Es Cubells to Cala d'Hort. Just after the crest of the hill make a left onto the small camino you find there, before the road turns to the right to es Boldado. On this camino you will be able to see es Vedra ahead of you, making it hard to miss. At the end of this road you'll find a place to park and you will usually not be alone. After about twenty minutes walking along the main beaten path you will arrive at the Torre de Savinar defensive tower, and in about ten minutes to the platform beneath the Torre. It is an ideal location to enjoy a sunset over es Vedra..

However, to get to Atlantis you have to keep to the left, heading around the mountain, so to speak, and after about five minutes the view opens up. Below is the turquoise of the sea, to the left on the horizon is Cap Llentrisca, to your right are the steep cliffs crowned by the Torre.

I started my tour on a spring afternoon. The sun was not too high in the sky, so the contours seemed a bit more vivid and the warm yellow tone of the light made the ochre of the sedimentary stones especially intense. Temperatures in May are pleasant for this tour. I cannot say that I didn't perspire, however, I would not want to imagine walking along this south-facing slope in August. No thank you! The high temperatures at that time of year would make a dip in the sea that much more refreshing, but then you would have to climb back up in the heat! Right now is a very good time to visit this area.

Take your choice of the many trails heading down to the water. I opted for the one to the right at the foot of the cliff. Be sure to bring water and shoes with good soles. When I was there I met two young Belgians, both of whom were carrying complete camping equipment and an eight litre water bottle.

At about the halfway point of the descent you reach the previously mentioned cave. There is a small natural stone platform in front of it. The view is gorgeous and some pine trees provide much needed shade. Now I understood where the two youngsters were planning to spend the night. To the right of this platform there is a giant monolith that ages ago must have detached from the cliffs above and fallen to this location. It is more than impressive. Weathered climbing eyehooks pay witness to past rock climbing activity. A second boulder of similar size managed to land at the edge of the quarry.

"May all beings live happily" - best wishes from a hippy

Just before reaching your goal there is another broad field of dunes that seems unusual on such a cliff face. Sedimentary stone at the far end gives you an idea how erosion formed these dunes over time. More or less na've works of art show how easy this stone is to work. And now we have arrived at the goal of our journey.

How much work it must have been for stonemasons of centuries past to find construction materials of various degrees of hardness in such a small area? On the one hand, it had to be soft enough that you could form hairpins and statues and on the other, hard enough to make window and door frames - not to mention walls for defensive towers and the fortified city walls. In many locations today you can still see the dimensions of the stones quarried out of the rock here. The sedimentary layers allowed the masons predictable and smooth break lines for the blocks. Some stones from Atlantis can be found in the Torre de Savinar, the tower crowning the cliffs here.

This tower was built in the 16th Century as part of a system of defensive and observation towers on Ibiza. Watchmen kept lookout for the feared pirates and used light signals to warn the population, who then fled into the forests or fortified churches.

There was an enormous need for practical and cheap construction materials for these powerful towers that had to be able to survive pirate attacks. Just 100 metres from the tower as the crow flies the builders could draw on unlimited resources. At the lower end of the cliff you are in the middle of the quarry, but that is almost too profane a word for this location. The name Atlantis is much better. It represents beauty, mystery and mysticism. Come and allow yourself to be enchanted by an almost unparalleled variety of forms and colours. Perhaps the sun will have warmed one of the water basins formed by the quarrying to bathing temperature and can provide you with a foretaste of the summer to come.

I stood by the last basin and the rocks that border this area reminded me of a galley turned on its side. My eyes wandered along a channel that runs from the sea to the foot of the Torre. You can almost imagine the medieval cables and pulleys that would have allowed the transfer of the stone blocks from a ship up to the top of the cliff. There is no question that this spot lets your fantasy take flight, whether it is the variety of "art works" from the modern age or the markings for a supposed "UFO landing site". The slowly setting sun bathes the whole scene in a mild light, so on my way back up the cliff I stopped a number of times to enjoy the magic.

However, stonemasons didn't quarry stone from Atlantis for the defensive towers alone. A portion of the stones for the cathedral in Palma are also believed to have come from Ibiza. I will continue following the trail of the stones and write my report for you next month. Until next time!