Lecce
Nativity Scene in the Roman Forum, Lecce
Form & Function
Ancient Olive
Tempest
West Coast of the Adriatic
Tag Archives: Traveling
Corfu & Igoumenitsa
The Venetians held Corfu until Venice itself was conquered by Napoleon. Along with their other fortresses along the east coast of the Adriatic it allowed them to protect their shipping routes. The fortresses are dramatically situated and appear as impregnable as they usually were.
The Winged Lion of Venice in Corfu
Corfu
Budva, Durrës, and Sarandë
Travel between countries in the Balkans isn’t as straightforward as in Western Europe. There are a lot of different groups – ethnic, religious, political – that don’t really like each other very much, so not many people want to go from country to country. There are almost no railways. Ferry services are limited, especially in winter. The roads are often in poor condition and/or under construction. When counties are governed by organized crime things are often under construction and falling apart at the same time.
There is one bus a day from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Budva, Montenegro. It is a minivan and there is just one other passenger besides me. The Adriatic coast is beautiful and you would expect it to be wall to wall villas and beach homes, but outside the cities it’s mostly uninhabited. No one wants a beach house in what could be a war zone tomorrow.
Albania was closed to the outside world until 40 years ago. Almost immediately after the fall of communism much of the population lost money in pyramid schemes promoted by the government. That led to civil unrest and anarchy. The place is a mess, but somehow it keeps going on.
Hillary Clinton Statue, Sarande.
Bunker. There were 173,000 of these in Albania.
Bunker Protecting Albania from Tourists on Corfu
Rijeka and Zadar
The bus ride from Trieste to Rijeka takes less than two hours, through the forest and a few villages in Slovenia, into Croatia and back down to the Adriatic. It was a cold and windy day in Rijeka, the streets were ripped up, and the communist era architecture wasn’t appealing, so after lunch I caught a bus to Zadar. It was a wild ride, the wind howling, the road narrow and twisty with a shear drop down to the raging sea.
Zadar has a wonderful walled old town on a peninsula, full of Roman ruins and medieval churches. It played a part in my favorite crusade, the fourth. The crusaders contracted with the Venetians to build a fleet of ships and take them to the Holy Land so they could drive the infidels from Jerusalem and reclaim it for Christianity. However the crusaders weren’t able to come up with all of the money to pay for the ships, so the Doge of Venice, Enrico Dandolo, proposed a deal: if the crusaders would join the Venetians in attacking the (christian) city of Zadar, with whom the Venetians were having problems, the remainder owed on the ships would be forgiven. The crusaders agreed. So Dandolo, who was in his nineties and blind, personally led the crusaders in the sack Zadar. The Pope excommunicated everyone involved. Then he changed his mind and only excommunicated the Venetians. And this is only the beginning of the story of the fourth crusade.
Foro Romano and St. Donatus
Molo and Islands
Roman Ruins in the Foundation of St. Donatus
Roman Column with Winged Lion
Adriatica
The days are cold, Sophia is busy with school, so I hopped on a train in Feltre and left the mountains. Trieste is my first stop on a trip to explore the shores of the Adriatic.
Piazza Unita d’Italia at Night
Teatro Romano di Trieste
Foro Romano di Trieste
Veneto and Venezia
We are near the end of our trip, having visited more of the Veneto region and now a few days in Venezia before we fly home. It is fascinating to watch the boats in Venezia. There are boats for every need – vegetable boats, ambulance boats, garbage boats, FedEx boats. All of the boats have evolved to operate on the Venetian lagoon and canals, and are adapted for their particular task.
The boatsmen spend every working day on their boats and are amongst the most skilled boatsmen in the world, effortlessly maneuvering through the traffic on the canals. It is always amazing to watch those who are masters at their trade as their individual performance blends with the performances of others equally skillful to create a work of art every minute of every day. Our world is such an incredible experience.
Italy – Feltre and Veneto
We spent a week in Feltre visiting family and sightseeing in the region. Here are a few photos.
Valdobbiadene – Prosecco Region Vineyards
View from Feltre Centro Storico
Port’Oria Gate to Feltre Centro Storico
Feltre Centro Storico
Gate by Carlo Rizzarda
Palio do Feltre Plaque
Sidewalk Art
Vuelvo a San Blas
I returned to the boat in Mazatlán not knowing if I would sail north, west, south, or leave it at El Cid. The circumstances of the wind and other elements made clear over the next days that I would go south to Bahía Chacala, one of my favorite spots in Mexico, a place I always seem to get pushed out of before I’m ready to leave.
I motored out of Marina El Cid on Saturday morning, turned left once clear of Isla Venado, hoisted the sails and shut off the motor. It was a beautiful day, pleasantly warm, just enough breeze to push me south at a comfortable speed. Just before sunset dolphins appeared and played around the boat. The sun set behind low clouds on the horizon and wasn’t visible. The show after sunset was spectacular, a technicolor panorama constantly changing, yellow, red, orange, violet. As the sky darkened Jupiter and Venus became visible just above the horizon to the west, shining more and more brightly as the darkness intensified.
Late at night with no moon the stars lit up the sky as they blazed, seeming close enough to reach up and touch. As I watched the water flow past the boat I noticed it light up with phosphorescence, a green glow in the boat’s wake. Then the dolphins were back, swimming alongside and ahead of the boat, and as they broke through the surface of the sea the phosphorescence would flow off of their backs, and it was as if I was sailing through the heavens, guided by dolphins with stars streaming off their backs as they led me to nirvana.
Sunday evening I was off San Blas and decided, since I was tired and it was still several hours sail to Chacala, to stop at the marina for the night. I’ve been in and out of San Blas several times and am familiar enough with the route up the river to be comfortable doing it in the dark. I docked at the marina late in the evening, there were several messages on my phone, I knew I would not be sailing farther south and would leave the boat in San Blas once again.
San Blas is perhaps the most miserable village I’ve been to during the past year in Mexico, and yet there is this beauty to it. It sits in the middle of World Heritage mangrove swamps that are teaming with life, and much of that life consists of things that want to eat you – crocodiles, mosquitoes, jejenes. The streets are either bone jarringly rough cobblestone or car swallowing mud pits. Half of the buildings are abandoned decaying relics. The best hotel in town sits next to a gutted shell of a hotel with trees growing through the roof. It’s so hot and humid in the summer that after the slightest exertion you have to jump in the pool to cool off.
Yet in a country known for friendly and helpful people, San Blas stands out for its hospitality. For some reason despite the terrible streets more people ride bikes than anywhere else I’ve been in North America. There is beauty in the dilapidation, the crumbling church with the leaning bell tower, the magnificent trees growing through the buildings and lifting the sidewalks, the constant growth and renewal. In Mexico practically every building has rebar sticking out the top because there is this optimism that someday another floor will be added. That optimism epitomizes the beauty of San Blas.
Wednesday morning I went to breakfast at Wala Wala. Pedro, the owner, who was sitting with an older gentleman, got up to take my order and then went into the kitchen. The gentleman he’d been sitting with came over and introduced himself as the local doctor and said, “Estoy triste, quiero tocar y cantar.” He picked up a guitar and started playing and singing, Besame Mucho and similar songs, and it was amazing, like something out of Buena Vista Social Club. He played and sang for about 30 minutes, and as he left I told him “La musica era mas hermosa, muchas gracias” and he replied “De nada, estoy feliz.” That is San Blas.
Tepoztlán
17 November 2019
Earlier this year while riding the bus from México City to Oaxaca we passed through a wonderful area of high mountains and expansive forests, and I thought it was a place I would like to return to. When the people who gave me a ride to Teotihuacán asked if I’d like a ride to Tepoztlán, in the area I’d seen from the bus, I accepted. The only catch was that since they are from the U.K. and not comfortable driving on the right, they wanted me to drive through México City, at what turned out to be morning rush hour. Quite an experience, one I hope not to repeat, we made it with no damage to their rental car, a minor miracle.
During the week Tepoztlán is a sleepy little mountain village just a few miles south of México City. On weekends it wakes up as Chilangos (residents of México City) arrive to enjoy nature. It borders Parque Nacional de Tepozteco and is surrounded by other national parks including Iztaccihuatl-Popocatepetl. The forests are magnificent with huge trees blooming with brightly colored flowers – orange, violet, red, white. There are steep hiking trails throughout the mountains, many built by ancient civilizations. There is a short trail at the end of the main street that goes up to Pirámide Tepozteco. It is a 25 minute walk to the top, only about half a mile long but climbing 1100 feet.
I am having a wonderful time hiking each day in the mountains and forests, relaxing in the quiet village. The bungalow I’ve rented has a beautiful garden where I can sit and enjoy a quiet cup of tea in the afternoon. México is an amazing country with such a fantastic variety of places to visit, and the people are always so friendly and welcoming, you can’t help enjoying yourself and being happy.
San Miguel de Allende and Teotihuacán
As I watched the sun rise over the Pirámide del Sol from my bed this morning, I remembered how as a child I would look at the sun and think how every person and every thing that has ever lived on earth or will ever live on earth has seen or will see the same sun, has felt or will feel the warmth from the same sun. The time each of us has here seems so short from that perspective, and each of our lives so insignificant, but there is also a sense of connection, or oneness, with all of humanity and all living things past, present, and future.
Then I would think how every atom in my body had the same power as the sun, so within me was the power of trillions and trillions of suns. A feeling would come over me that I was the key to everything with this immense power within me to unlock a new Golden Age.
I hadn’t planned on coming to Teotihuacán or San Miguel de Allende. The wind wasn’t promising for sailing, I was growing tired of Mazatlán, so I flew to Mexico City and got on the first bus to someplace interesting. San Miguel de Allende is a colonial town with beautiful Baroque and Neoclassical architecture, narrow cobblestone streets, numerous art galleries and upscale restaurants. I enjoyed walking in the hills each day, music and dancing in the Jardin each evening, great food and friendly people.
As I was leaving my boat to fly to Mexico City, my neighbor told me I absolutely had to visit Teotihuacán. From then on it seemed like a constant barrage of people were telling me not to miss Teotihuacán. So when someone offered me a ride I took the hints and went. I spent today wandering the site and climbing the pyramids. It is an amazing place, built two centuries ago by unknown people who then vanished. The Pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the world, an immense structure. It’s interesting watching all of the people, each here for their own reason, to hold a ceremony, to take photos, to study the architecture, to meditate, to sell souvenirs. Individually we each do our own thing, collectively it organically comes together as a wonderful dance.
The feeling I’d had as a child stayed with me throughout the day. As I walked and watched the world around me, smiling, occasionally sharing a few words or a laugh with others, I was joyful and happy.
Walking back from dinner this evening the full moon was rising above the Pyramid of the Moon, the perfect ending to a wonderful few days.
