Cuba 2010/1
yeah, first time in three years that i’ve been there due to different reasons, but things went smooth right away. what surprised me most was that my Spanish is still pretty good although i’m not able to practice it much over here. of course things change, even in Cuba, although sometimes for the worst. transport in Havana is bad, and more expensive, but there always is a way around. when i drove onto the Malecón the first thing i noticed were the new police cars with a big blue cone shaped siren on top, which immediately gave away the only patrol car that didn’t have a blue but a dark grey one - obviously not carrying a siren but a 360 degree camera accompanied by a cop on the passenger seat holding a laptop. furthermore, the same street cameras that can be found in the city where i live i saw again in Obispo, Havana’s central shopping area. the same goes for Santiago. in that respect Cuba is way behind America and Europe on citizen control, or crime prevention, whatever you want to call it.
first surprise though, beforehand, was that Raciel Gómez Golpe had moved to Miami, Fl, permanently. as a painter in Cuba he was doing pretty good the last couple of years, got a lot of attention publicly and interest from galleries, museums and collectors internationally. his work – authentic, sincere and of high quality – certainly deserves it.
Charcoal and acrylic on paper 25 x 35 cm 2005
as Raciel has his own website for sometime now, i won’t be updating much about him on mine, only now and then on my blog when something special will occur. there’s a recent online interview with him – in Spanish – that can be read here. he is also selling his paintings online via Artelista.com here. don’t say i didn’t warn you back then about his work rising sky-high. there’s still more to come as i see it, especially now he moved to Miami and things could evolve more rapidly.
07.26.09Corfu three
a bit south of Corfu town, on Gastouri hill, lays the Achilleion; summer residence to empress Elisabeth of Bavaria – better known as Sisi, or Sissi -, that was built between 1890 and 1892 and was dedicated to Greek hero Achilles. several statues and paintings depicting him can be seen in and around. German kaiser Wilhelm II bought the estate in 1907.
i have no idea if this is her; could do, though. you’ll find multiple on the balustrade going around the building up to the gardens and courtyard. i remember visiting her palace in Austria as a seven or eight year old with my parents on holiday, scaring myself shitless as i entered a corridor where, when i turned, a mounted bear twice my height was standing with his claws and jaws stretched out. fuck me!
there are busloads coming in and going out, but the place is definitely worth a visit, although not as big as one would expect. it is of a cosy kind, coming from that period. the grandeur of its gardens and lush wandering around in the early morning or late evening spark one’s imagination easily. the location is perfect and the surroundings are simply beautiful. the interior, however, is pretty crowded with lots of painted walls and ceilings. only the ground floor can be toured where personal belongings from both are exhibited.
needless to say the movies that were made in the fifties about Sissi - starring Romy Schneider -, were and still are very popular: timeless tearjerkers. i remember them vividly broadcasted by German tv in the seventies on sunday mornings. some of the scenes were shot here.
while walking around in the courtyard i noticed this statue holding something hidden under its arm. it struck me right away standing here, and wondered if it was placed during Sissi’s occupancy or during the Kaiser’s. Sissi – as some of you may know – was assassinated in 1898 by an Italian anarchist who stabbed a needle file into her heart. back then, Europe got swarmed by assasinations against royalty and statesmen. lone revolutionaries hoped their acts would spark a revolt among the poor and repressed masses. notice the broken off tip of the dagger? sneaky bitch, huh?
there’s a small French world war I cemetary just below the palace, and can be found while going back downhill to the village of Gastouri, but taking a sharp turn right after the tavern. we had to ask around a bit as we already had passed it a couple of times. from there it’s about half a mile until you reach a sign to your right where it says so. park your car and take a hike uphill for a minute, then turn left towards the green iron gate. beautiful spot to lay your bones.
so taking the car a bit inland we passed Ágios Matthéos. a nice little town where we sat down on the terrace for a cappuccino and a espresso. as the town only has one road going in and out, it got crowded pretty quickly with passing cyclists, other foreigners wanting a drink and locals going about their daily – non – business. funny stuff to watch. we climbed uphill to wander the steep alleys and encountered some very slow forward moving grandmothers wearing all black. one muttered and showed no interest at all, the other was pleased and helpful to see a couple of unknown and younger faces. time almost stood still.
southwest coast: lake Korrissión just behind Issós beach, a bit north of Ágios Geórgios. you can walk around here for hours with not a single soul in sight. there’s a solitude and visual which gives one the feeling of being on another planet sometimes. broad sand dunes prevent you from having the slightest impression of what’s going on behind you.
Issós beach. there’s a single bar about half a mile out of town, and that’s it. it amazed me that not more people visited this spot; it was the most beautiful we encountered. but the town is pretty dead and not really prepared for mass accommodation, which suited us fine. the food was way better than we had in most places also, and that’s when you know you’re on the right track.
our last stop was in Boúkaris on the southeast coast; a small strip of pebble beach, a couple of taverns and some appartements to rent. while walking we passed the only turtle seen on the island: freshly flattened just a foot before reaching the side of the road. it looked like a squashed watermelon. fuckers! we didn’t went to Lefkimmi - the most southern and second biggest town on the isle -, as we didn’t think it would be that interesting after seeing Corfu. we could be wrong, but we passed it by boat on our trip to the isles of Paxos and Anti-Paxos a few days earlier. maybe it is worthwhile and more relaxed than we imagined.
after we had landed and had boarded the train back home, about 5 miles before arriving - still in rural area just past noon -, we noticed something standing at the edge of a forest: a sturdy middle aged man completely nude whacking himself off at the passengers speeding by. welcome home!
07.22.09Corfu two
view from the new fortress towards town and the old fortress on the right. i preferred the ‘new’ one because it was much more intact and had a definite authentic air to it. the dry moat is deep and its shape is edged, rounded, grand and monumental. one gets sucked into the magnitude of its walls.
you can take a dive from any direction on top: no sweat.
these are the spots i crave for: solitude and contrast weathered in throughout. almost abstract but so vivid with its organic pallet.
air shaft, new fortress. through the entrance you first walk up to the moat and from there you climb on top where you always have the best view. even if you don’t like castles, forts etc., that’s where you have to be for a grand visual of how the whole area is carved up. then you descend into tunnels to the utmost lower part where you come across a couple of these shafts. very refreshing in summer of course, although some were badly lit and water was sipping through, even in this heat.
we passed some nice graffiti on our way to the old town. seems the guy used caissons that were waiting to be sunk into the harbor to broaden and strenghten it. they will all go under eventually, except for the above undertaker who stood patiently on the corner against a facade…
catch the monkey…
i like this one, but what is it? a lollipop or a balloon? he doesn’t look too pleased with it…
mr. loot…
the park in front of the old Venetian fortress: colors, what colors. goddamn! although lots of trees and flowers were still blooming, it must be triple heaven to run around here in springtime. now that’s a good idea to keep in mind!
laying peacefully in the moat in front of the old fortress…
there’s a vast open area behind the entrance. here you can climb the rock to its peak, where a small lighthouse is awaiting. there are several large newer buildings in front and behind; probably offices or depots as you can’t enter.
at the bottom of the rock, though, they built this church classical style. it looks very odd here i must say, completely misplaced really, but it makes you immediately aware where you actually are: Greece, and it reminds you instantly of its antiquity, although built by the British. icons of St. George, the dragon slayer, can be seen inside.
pic taken behind the church, out of sight of everything. guns, rusted and restored, waiting to be used… for what?
07.18.09Corfu one
balcony view in Agios Gordis. we stayed here for two weeks; a small westcoast town, situated at the bottom of very steep hills. tourist, yes, but in no way annoying. it’s so small they can’t build any big or tall resorts, which is also prohibited by law, by the way. although there is one all-inclusive from the early seventies, you hardly notice it as it has been built at the very end on the hill and doesn’t affect the skyline. tourism is down at the moment, everybody complained. we didn’t. very nice folk everywhere.
the sea was deliciously fresh; a sandy beach and hardly any pebbles. we took a trip by car for a few days around the isle, and the best places are in the south, favoring the west above the east. avoid the north at any time, unless for a ride through the mountains and along the coastline. most towns are horrible dumps turned into a foreign carnival, and the water isn’t as good as it is in the south either. the views are magnificent, though, and some small towns that have a bay – like Kalami -, are certainly worth a visit.
on the right: the ‘white house’ in Kalami, the Durrells’ residence for a few years. Albania can be seen very clearly from there, and isn’t that far by boat. its majestic mountains range all along the horizon. the white house is a tavern now. very laid back atmosphere.
on this trip i finished ‘Prospero’s cell’ by Lawrence Durrell also. the book didn’t captivate me first; rather dull and unpleasant. but after a couple of dozen pages he turns into these short stories of his social encounters with other writers, naturalists and philosophers; his circle of local friends. the conversations are nice and flow away the more he writes. he sometimes seems not quite frank enough, or open about himself, so to say. as if he keeps holding back from bursting out. maybe being too British after all, although he liked to think of himself being a cosmopolitan. his words seem too carefully picked, but they got me curious enough for his other work on the Greek isles, and his 45 year long correspondence with Henry Miller, who visited Durrell in Kalami in 1939. read Miller’s ‘The Colossus of Maroussi’ for that and other matters.
strangely enough, Lawrence doesn’t mention his family in ‘Propero’s cell’ at all, although they lived there all together. only on two occassions his two brothers get mentioned as an anecdote. in Gerald’s book it’s all about their family – and other animals -, but keeps silent throughout about Lawrence’s wife, Nancy, who lived there as well. how’s that? uh! a figure that keeps coming back in all books is Theodore Stephanides: a doctor, poet and naturalist. interesting man. i’ll see if something can be obtained by him.
Corfu town. view from the ‘old’ castle towards the ‘new’ one and harbor on the right. for a view the other way around, have a look at my poem ‘Kérkyra’.
well yes, where to begin? of course we headed here first, before Kalami. there is a bus going a couple of times a day from Agios Gordis and will cost you only 2 euros for a 30 to 40 minute ride. that’s cheap. you stop near the harbor behind the new fortress and a little walk will take you into the old town, which is very tourist but nice to wander around in through all the alleys. a walk along the shore can be made as well. you can even have a swim on several spots. around the old town lays the shopping and business center, which is not interesting at all. it could be anywhere.
view from the ‘old castle’ towards the marina. in the back you can see a thin strip of water where the airport is located. you can cross the bay and sit underneath while the planes take off and land. this small tip of land is called Kanoni, and according to historians was the first settlement on Corfu. on our walk there in a ridiculous 36 degrees celsius we passed a byzantine church, dug up roman baths, and two fresh excavations where the laborers were mainly occupied with sweating and drinking.
Corfu town is small, it has a mere population of 28.000 souls which makes it in a way loveable; its parks, old fortresses and museums, its modest skyline stretching along the coast. but in all honesty: skip the center as much as possible. it’s too expensive and the quality of food is often bad compared to traditional Greek cuisine, and you’re often being treated like cattle. a sole exception states the rule.
columns of the old palace: residence of former British governors and Greek king, now housing among others the museum of Asian art. i couldn’t tell for sure if these damages were caused by bullets or shrapnel, and were left as reminders. it seems so, though. i didn’t know how big the devastation was in the war until i read about the extensive German bombardment of Corfu to drive out the Italians in 1943, followed by allied bombings in 1944. for such a small town it got hit pretty bad. but that seems to be its fate throughout millennia: conquer and defeat.
old cast iron staircase behind the palace, leading to the shore. it was closed off but still in pretty good shape from what i could see. imagine the king waking up and strolling down taking a refreshing dip. now that’s royal living, ain’t it?
at the bottom of the stairs: plunging, whining and dining. i made so many pics of beautiful spots i hardly will be able to give an overall and correct impression. the landscape throughout the isle is wonderful; cypress sticking out everywhere among the overwhelming number of olive trees. like tall feathers they climb the hills; luscious green penetrating clear sky. it makes one hungry, promise!
06.29.09On the road
i’m already halfway through this one before hitting the plane. most enjoyable read in a long time. if you want to experience childhood excitement all over again within a most curious english family without a father, spending their lively days on the beautiful isle of Corfu where the author wanders around in search for bugs, spiders, birds and tortoise, and describing the hilarious conversations between his older brothers, sister, mother and local greeks in length; than get this one. it’ll make you smile light-heartedly.
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