instant poetry Apr 8, 2009
idea from calgon's write-up in this node. text from Professor Pi's Isla Bleda Plana (with permission), found via only a few clicks of random node.
over the past
fifty
years,
Ibiza has had its fair share
of invasions
of foreigners
in World War II it was a shelter for artists from Central Europe
in the sixties , writers flocked the subtropical island
followed by the hippies
the disco movement
and the clubbing scene in the eighties
and nineties
of course i heard everything
about the wild nightlife in San Antonio
and Ibiza City but
i was only eleven years old
and my folks weren't into that sort of holiday
activity either--scuba diving was our game and
although i was officially
several years too young
my dad would take my brother and me into the depths
of the Mediterranean--going through my old scuba logbook
i remember these dives vividly--
the cave with the gigantic sea anemone
at Cabo Nono
diving through the arch at Margalidas
the Roman wreck at Conejera
but I never made a dive at Isla Bleda Plana.
at approximately 6 nautical miles west
of Ibiza lies
a small
group
of
uninhabited
islands
called
Las Bledas
the main island is a big
rock
with
cliffs
that rapidly drop off to 100-200 m depth
i can understand why
my dad didn't allow me to strap on scuba gear
nevertheless
the island was one of my dad's
favorite scuba diving spots
and if weather permitted
he would explore the waters
while the rest of the family
remained on The Rock
Isla Bleda Plana doesn't have many geographic features
it is a barren island
perhaps 100 by 100 m long
and equipped with an automatic lighthouse
my brother and i would climb up the lightning rod
up to the top of the lighthouse
to enjoy the view
we imagined that
we could see the mainland Spain
in the distance
although I doubt
that would be possible
the island has little vegetation
there are no trees; only a few plants
grow on the rocks
withstanding the forces of the wind
and the salt of the sea
however the island is home to a unique reptile subspecies
the Podarcis Pityusensis Maluquerorum
a 20 cm small black lizard
lizards (Podarcis) and geckos are quite common on Ibiza
at least they were 20 years ago
but on a small barren rock like Isla Bleda Plana
they are an unexpected sight
they seem to form a tiny ecosystem
together with the flies
and sparse birds
that visit the island
it is truly amazing that these tiny
lizards
manage to survive on so few resources
and there were many--
when we would visit the island
they would crawl out
of each crevice
to greet the human visitors
the lizards were not
in the least bit
afraid of humans
apparently they only fear predators
from the sky
we would feed them yogurt
fruit and candy
straight from our hands sometimes
they would climb straight up your leg
it is difficult to find any information
on Podarcis Pityusensis Maluquerorum
i managed to retrieve the publication from 1921
in which the black lizard is mentioned first
apparently it is named after two brothers
Jose and Joaquim Maluquer
two Spanish herpetologists
it is a subspecies
of the Podarcis Pityusensis Bosca
the Ibiza Wall Lizard
the only difference is its color
the lizard from Las Bledas is pitch black
(although the publication notes
that its underside is dark purple
The Black Lizard can only be found on Las Bledas.
unfortunately
after 20 years
i do not know
if the black lizards of Isla Bleda Plana
still exist
the green Ibiza Wall Lizard is on the list
of Threatened and Endangered Species
but the Black Lizard Lives
in such a remote place
that it may not be threatened at all
i sincerely hope that these friendly crawlers still dominate The Rock.
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