Gelida

With arrival of Ren, my climbing intensified considerably last w-end. We went to Fuixarda on Friday, to Gelida on Saturday, and even managed to do a multipitch in Terradets on Sunday. The best of the three was Gelida - perfect sunny spring day. Romarin was flowering around us, sky was blue, and limestone perfect:

Unfortunately overhangs there are hard and i struggled on several climbs - but that is the way of climbing. Notice the new and toxic, homemade African chalk bag, with that the forthcoming roof is no problem!

In Terradets we planned to conquer Los Colores, but finished on a neighboring, painfull and unprotected line. We did toprope the last 6a and finished by the 6b+ of Colores, but I have had better...and warmer days in Terradets.

Montserrat, Paradise Close to Home

Finally some good climbing went on this w-end. We worked on some projects with Bienve on Saturday in freezing cold, and Sunday worked again, and still unsuccessfully on the same projects - here is me starting up the one, a very nice endurance 6c at Desdentegada. More i go there, more i like this place despite the cold, the approach, and the conglomerate - a very malelable rock indeed!

And here is a neophyte mastering his first 6a in 4 years! Good work and good sun with Gonzalo, the train-catcher!

Oh, and here is me and Jorge in my new glasses - and my new curly look that is leaving me already despite the high price of the hairdresser and the assurances of everlasting waterproof curly happiness...

Anyway, almendros are flowering, spring is here, and the strength is with us - my best climbing ever, onsighting a couple of my first 6cs, maybe that is why i like Montserrat so much lately :)

(thanks to Jorge for pictures!)

Classic Climbing W-End in Cataluña

First, we looked for ice. The plan was good, a 400-m ice fall with a respectful finish and inspiring name - Islantis in Val de Boi. Here is one of the protagonists, Jorge, contemplating in awe the plutonian idea of ICE:


The contingency of the environment proved us wrong though - after a rainy night, ice disappeared altogether from the Spanish territory and we were left with running water, fresh snow, and a wind storm...The valiant mountaineers became even more valiant and serious:


The mountaineering failure was successfully converted into a hiking and fighting exercise, although for once friendship prevailed:


To improve on the climbing failure, the second day was a compensation for the two remaining valiant mountaineers in a less valiant, but nevertheless climbing exercise, of sport clipping in Montserrat. The climbing paradise did not let us down:



In conclusion, it is all about how wisely you choose your objectives!

Benedetti Minute

AUSENCIA
El niño que no vino
tiene los labios fuertes
tiene las manos tiernas
el alma como nube
no es nadie
es sólo un niño
saca viejas monedas
del bolsillo de Dios
se parece a la madre
su misma risa ancha
su corazón a saltos
juega con los silencios
y con ellos hace otros
silencios
y se aburre
el niño que no vino
no viene
porque cree
que todo el que aquí nace
no se muere
después.

HASTA MAÑANA
Voy a cerrar los ojos en voz baja
voy a meterme a tientas en el sueño.
En este instante el odio no trabaja
para la muerte que es su pobre dueño
la voluntad suspende su latido y yo me siento lejos, tan pequeño
que a Dios invoco, pero no le pido nada,
con tal de compartir apenas
este universo que hemos conseguido
por las malas y a veces por las buenas.
¿Por qué el mundo soñado no es el mismo
que este mundo de muerte a manos llenas?
Mi pesadilla es siempre el optimismo: me duermo débil,
sueño que soy fuerte, pero el futuro aguarda. Es un abismo.
No me lo digan cuando me despierte.

(thx to Jorge for discovery, more of Benedetti's poetry here)

Formigal Skiing

When the climbing partner is down with flu, the plan B can easily become skiing at this time of the year. That is the short story for this w-end that saw me taking up the old habit of long drives (4 hrs) to visit Aragon and its ski resort of Formigal, at the French border and facing the magestic Pic du Midi d´Ossau below:


Although the promissed fresh snow apparently chose to cover Madrid´s Barajas airport instead of the ski resort, the skiing was still good, especially on Sunday, when i managed to even climb an arete on a by-standing pinnacle (picture below from pinnacle) to use up the remaining 3cm of fresh powder and pretend i´m ski touring. One way or another, the point is being made that Pyrenees skiing and scenery have nothing to envy the Alps ones!

Andermatt Ski Travel

Ski touring or travelling through Switzerland, this small and hilly country selon Douglas Adams, is as good to end the year as one can wish.

We started in Oberrickenbach, near Engelberg, with the purpose of using up all the Switzerland maps left in the cupboard for so long. Relaxed loop took us to the hut where we hoped to sleep, but it proved full. We had to do another 600m up the col and go back at night to the car - a good intense way to start the holidays.

Next stop on the list, or the base for travel - the village of Andermatt, le pot de chambre de Suisse, as it usually snows for any reason there. We started a relaxed day skiing around the Gemstock station and going to the Vermigelhutte in the end of the day. It was the only refuge we found unguarded on this trip. Apparently all the Swiss decided to go up the mountain during this holiday time. The biggest surprise came in form of two swiss ski tourers coming with their carrots, onions, sauce and all the cooking ustensils for a great pasta - that they shared with the crowd! Those people know how to live and how to ski tour, no comments but a big thanks.

Next day, we traversed to another valley, went up the Ravetsch, and down to the Maighelshutte, a guarded happy place with running water and very tasty jambonaut. But the most tasty during the day was the descent from Ravetsch (picture from the top), with probably the best fresh powder i have ever experienced while ski touring.

Unfortunately the good weather decided to abandon us at this point, and the next day, instead of going for Badus or any other mountain, we went down to the village of Tschamut and back to Andermatt by train (blessed country where you ski down to a train station, and than ski from the train station back to your hotel!)

Next, we went up from Realp village to the Rotondohutte , apparently another popular destination despite all the going up required to reach it. They did not have place for us for the New Year celebration, and we had to go back down through a glacier valley to Oberwald and back to Realp by train again. Below is Ren enjoying the river traverse on the long way down

We started the year at Flaines, with perfect snow and fresh powder.

Tryo

A French reggae group this time, Tryo, grabbed my attention with their new song Ce qu'on seme. They already had good old hits like L'hymne de nos campagne or France Telecom, this one is just one more good music bite.

Firenze the Artsy

Florence in a day is a marathon task, even in winter and without crowds in the museums! I started at 8 am and was running until 7 pm non stop, with just time for a coffee and an ice cream, and still, there are things i wish i had time to see (like the Medici mausoleum, Santa Trinita church etc.)!

The list of my favorites is long, and please don't forget i only had a day to spend there, running literally from one place to another...:

- San Marco monestary with cells painted by Fra Angelico (Beato Angelico), in the style of the Annonciation below that greated monks as they went to their dormitories. Not only Cosimo the Elder of Medici family had his private cells in this monestary, but also the christian fundamentalist Savonarolla lived and ruled from there, until he was burnt by the same city that followed his advice and burnt its books just a few years earlier...(see last novel by Salman Rushdie, the Enchantress of Florence for more historic details and interesting interpretations)

- Bargello and the newly restored David, the second David in Florence, by Donatello this time, along with Jean the Baptist and the most impressive of them all, the wooden Magdalena statue at the Duomo Opera not to miss:

- Brancacci capella decorated by Masacio between 1425-1428, the inspiration to the Renaissance to come. As Da Vinci said, the first real painters were Masacio and Giotto. Unfortunately Masacio died at only 27, Brancacci capel being his masterpiece to the world. His Adam and Eve expelled from paradise can be seen as inspiration for Rennaissance - or even Munch, closer to us:

- Gioto's cross at Sta Maria Novella

- Uffizi and its Boticelli, who with Michel Angelo later and many others was welcomed by the Medici family, ate at their table, and painted their portraits.

- Palatine Gallery housed in the Pitti Palace, originally planned by the Pitti family who went bankrupt during the construction process. Eleonore de Toledo, married to the Medici, bought the palace for the rival Medici family and transformed it into the royal habitat where the last Medici died in the 18th century, bequesting all the art works to Florence. Thank you, Anna Maria Louisa for this priceless gift! My favorite in the museum was the below heavenly Madonna by Rafael:

Otherwise, more down to earth, Florence boasts numerous nice places for hot chocolate and sandwiches - for instance Ino' near Uffizi, and very good ice cream joints for any taste.

Rome Galleries

Rome is, without a doubt, a very rich city in art, especially its various galleries and Palazzios. My favorite ones from what i had time to explore follow:

If you have time for only one, definitely go to the Borgese Gallery. It is situated in a calm and romantic garden, and preserves incredible works, especially several statues by Bernini, the inventor of Barocco, and the third genious Italian sculptor in the direct Donatello-Michelangelo line.

One has to see Daphne and Apollo to believe it. It captures the moment when Daphne is transforming into a tree while still being chased by lustful Apollo, the picture hardly represents the life-like, pure emotion syrup:

And this view of David in motion:Another rich Palazzo-museum is the Capitolian one, situated on Michelangelo's Campodoglia, the perfect plazza. It is full of Roman and Greek statues from various excavations, and is itself situated where the old Jupiter temple used to stand on the Capitolian hill, the center of Roman civillization. The museum also beholds the bronze statue of the wolverine that supposedly fed Romulus and his brother Remus in their infancy, before they founded the eternal city.

Another interesting visit has been to the Medici Villa and its gardens. They are only accessible on specific times as it is still the residence of the young French Rome prize winners for art. The villa is situated on another hill, close to the Plaza de Spagna, with very beautiful views of the Rome panorama, but also incredible gardens:

It is easier to understand seeing these gardens how painting would start incorporating perspective into its quarters. Numerous French artists lived in the villa, such as Debussy or Berlioz, Ingres was its director for years, Velasques painted the below arch in his paintings several times. All of these references, and a knowledgeable guide speaking both, Italian and French, make the garden visit a must for the art-inclined.

Bellini expo at the Scuderie de Quirinale is worth a glimpse - it highlights the artist's journey from Messina's influence to the final mastery, as with this Christ with the cross from the Isabella Gardner Museum:

and the Pieta:

I also enjoyed Barberini Palace and its Carravagios as well as the Colonna gallery (only open on Saturday mornings), still reserving its very beautiful decoration and marble floors for the curious souls. Less impresive, although possible visits are the Spada, Corsini, and Venezzia Palazzos, all full of further works of art.

I did forget about the ancient Rome here, but there were just too many museums to see...to pay tribute to the Romans, here we go:

Oh, and Merry Christmas to everyone:

Vatican

Today I have spent the day in the Vatican, the other of the three countries represented in Rome (Maltese order apparently has the third official country in Rome since they have been thrown out of the Malta island in the 19th century and kindly welcomed by the Pope in Rome).

It is definitely a very impressive place, especially the San Pietro Basilic and its incredible size. It is difficult to comprehend, given that a small plane can fly inside the 100m dome, or that the baldanchin below by Bernini is 30m high. As a side note, the bronze to make this baldachin comes from the roof of the Pantheon. As the romans say - what the Barbarians did not manage to distroy, the Barberini did (the family of the Pope who dared):

The Swiss guard is still guarding the Pope:

But the jewel of it all is the treasure of the Vatican museum, or museums as there are 14 of them. Not as big as Louvre, it took me all 6 hours to make a complete tour - and several rooms were closed for that. Below is the statue of Laocoon, a good start to understant a little bit better the forms Michel Angelo painted in the Sixtine:


And here is Michel Angelo, as depicted by his rival, Rafael, on his incredible stanza of Athene School. While Rafael was working on the rooms of the palace, Michel Angelo was painting the Sixtine Chapel - both started the same year!


It is said that Michel Angelo did not allow anyone to see his work except for the Pope. Rafael stole a glimpse and was so impressed that he had to change his own style to introduce Michel"s muscular ways (i.e. the knees of this Michel Angelo...). Notice the girl in the left corner - she and Rafael himself are the only ones in this picture looking directly at the visitor. An apparition, similar to Rembrand"s angel in the Ronda painting.

And not to forget the master, here is a detail from the Sixtine Chapel"s roof, the God father himself, in the process of creating the Sun and the Moon:


Nothing, no other Pieta, can meet the standards sat up by this work of a 23-year old, unspoilt like his marble, Michel Angelo entering the world of Art:

Rome, the First Sight

My first encounter with Rome has been rainy and rather sad - as the above picture of Mary Maggiore Basilic, one of the four dedicated to the Virgin and worth a visit.

It took me some time to start appreciating the views - it all began here, in the cloister of Giovanni the Laterano cathedral, reminding me of Barcelona, Toledo, and the mystery of faith - of which Rome is definitely full of:


This is the inside of the cathedral, where only the Pope can celebrate in front of the altar beneath the baldachin - they love baldachins here (the four-pillared thing in the middle, yes, i did not know what a baldachin meant in a church either...)


Laterano cathedral is impressive - especially if visited before San Pedro. The most stunning for me ware these Saint Stairs: the legend says it was Constantin"s mother who brought the marble stairs, now covered with wood for preservation, from Jerusalem. It is the most impressive relique I have seen so far! They were originally the stairs of Pilate"s palace on which Jesus walked to be judged...Now they are walked on knees only by the piligrims...


Here is the last site - to finally fall in love, despite the rain and the cold with the Eternal one:

Veloso, Canteca de Macao and Macaco

Continuing on the Spanish-language music trend i am keen on exploring lately, below is the incredible Tonada de luna llena from Veloso i first heard in ¨Flor de mi secreto¨ by Almodavar:



And more from Canteca de Macao in a different vein, but also interesting and very very spanish...



And a third one, Macaco, an international mix from Barna, still another genre...

Vilanova y Cubells

This cold winter w-end we decided to sample Vilanova. I have never yet been to this crag, thus we aimed at Nicromancer, an easy 4-pitch route. Finally we ended on a different neighbor in cold winter wind, which made us quickly decide for sport climbing nearby in more clement conditions.

The second day we went to a sport crag, Cubells, with incredible light, good climbs and almost shirt-less climbing. Below myself on a nice 6b (pic by Cathy):


And Cathy, sampe place, really great pic: