Paradise Lost Ibiza

In 1666 the writer John Milton wrote the epic poem Paradise Lost. The book tells of the struggle of good and evil and our temptation in the Garden of Eden. The tale tells of original sin, the fall of man, the banishment of Satan, his transformation into a serpent and our lust for the fruits of the tree of knowledge.

Ibiza has many myths and legends, some say it was the Garden of Eden itself and also the legendary Atlantis… what is certain is the Phoenicians created a port here around 650 BC named “Iboshim” after the Egyptian God Bes. Bes was the God of good things - music, dance and sexual pleasure! He was also the enemy of all that is bad – fighting evil spirits and killing snakes!

The Phoenicians believed Bes had blessed the island because they found no trace of snakes or poisonous creatures. With the snake Satan banished from Eden it’s easy to see how thousands of years later comparisons with the Garden of Eden arose.

The Greeks called the Islands of Ibiza and Formentera the Pine Islands or “Pityuses” and the name has stayed - unlike the original Greek name for the Balearic Islands which was the ‘Gymnesian Islands’ after its nude inhabitants – perhaps another link to the Garden of Eden! These fun loving inhabitants were said to forbid the import of precious metals taking payment in wine and pleasure instead!

Millennia later during the 20th century the island provided refuge for a new struggle of good and evil when during Franco’s fascist regime many oppressed minorities, artists and dissidents fled here to find sanctuary amongst it’s more tolerant society. This tolerance and acceptance of others has always been at the heart of Ibicencan culture and is part of what makes the island such a paradise today.

So what better place on Earth to get Lost then Ibiza - with its wild pine forests, secret coves, idyllic beaches, ancient city walls, golden sunsets, beautiful tolerant people and rich cultural history. The rabbit warren of Sa Penya in Ibiza town sits at the foot of the Dalt Vila between the city walls and the sea… for centuries a den of inequity and harbour for pirates, privateers, corsarios, waifs, strays and misfits… today is no different, an easy place to get lost in paradise.

Paradise Lost is a rum and cocktail bar that celebrates the good and the bad in us all - we offer a refuge from the world and a utopia of perfectly mixed drinks, relaxed friendly people, true eclectic Balearic playlist, eccentric overgrown interior that’s part curio shop part gentlemen’s club part opium den plus a comfy relaxed cobbled terrace right in the heart of it all. Oh, plus a Library Of Stolen Truths.

We’re open daily from 8pm and tables and booths can be booked by calling Captain Jimmy on 627 589 205. Join us in Sa Penya but don’t get too lost!