wanderlust

I took a tour of the large central Catedral de Barcelona today and was duly impressed by both the sheer mass of the building and its contents; lots of gold adorn the many small chapels. One of the nicest features for a tourist is the ability to take an elevator to the roof, where the panorama of Barcelona spreads out in every direction.

They have constructed an apparatus on the roof that I found interesting. I like the way this catwalk undulates across and contrasts with the old brick roof of the cathedral. At the end of the catwalk is a large cross that looks out over Barcelona towards the Mediterranean.

After a relaxing and refreshing week in sleeping Dubrovnik, I headed for my current destination - Barcelona. My arrival here raised a lot of excitement in my mind, due in no small part to my need to be in a big city again.

I have only been here for 2 days but have managed to cover a lot of ground.

I had also heard about Dubrovnik that most of the tiles on the roofs of Old Town's buildings were replaced after the war due to damage. Few weathered, decades if not centuries old roofs remain intact today, a fact reinforced by sporting sparkling new terra cotta.

I took a walk along the wall that protects Old Town and spotting a few originals in the sea of red.

I spent two days exploring Dubrovnik's old town before I even took my camera. Getting oriented with the walled city is not time intensive; it is small, and one can easily make their way around in a matter of hours. But it takes more than that to explore the areas where tourists do not tread.

This exploration lead me to appreciate some of Dubrovnik's old doors and windows. I do not know why these specifically caught my eye; maybe it was the way they are constructed, or the fact that some of them are boarded up, keeping the light out permanently. One of the doors I focused my attention on was covered in swastikas and upside-down crosses, and looked like it had been that way for many years.

Following is a short series of doors and windows - those openings that let the light in.

Many people shared stories of Croatia with me when they learned I was headed there. They all can be categorized within three main themes:

1) the food is amazing - fresh seafood, cheap
2) the scenery is stunning
3) go while you can, it's being spoiled by tourists

Of the three, I can confirm that No. 3 is most definitely a reality; tourists arrive by the busloads, filling a small World Heritage Site where 7000 people reside to what seems maximum capacity. There is seafood, yes, although not cheap. In my mind, Croatia is working to become a world-class travel destination - at least in the case of Dubrovnik - but still has a bit of work to do. That said, theme number two is definitely accurate, made all the more poignant by small craters in the ground caused by shell explosions only a few years ago.

Some of you know that I traveled from Indonesia to Shanghai; yes, it's true. Most of you also know that accessing Blogger in China is next to impossible, making updates here equally challenging. Further complicating my efforts was the weather. Out of a total of 5 days in Shanghai, I never saw the sun and was frequently pelted by raindrops. Thus, I spent most of my time there wandering and exploring its many neighborhoods, and sitting in a massage chair while my feet were worked over in reflexology salons. Thus, while I have images of Shanghai, I am not yet ready to post them.

After Shanghai, I flew to Singapore for 2 days then to Croatia (via Frankfurt). My flight from Singapore to Frankfurt was probably the most turbulent of my life; the cabin crew had to remain seated for 2 hours while we passed just north of the Iran border. I was so grateful that I booked an overnight connection, and was to get off the plane in Frankfurt and lay down on a comfortable bed.

Following are some images of Croatia.

Quick digression: my computer, a 2004 PowerBook G4, is suffering under the large file sizes my Hasselblad produces. Rest assured this is not my full-time machine; I have a PowerMac at home waiting to chew through 100MB files without pause. So if I am a bit slow to update with new images, it is only the equipment preventing me.

OK, I want to go back to Bali for a moment to bring you one more image. Bali is full of marvelous Hindu temples constructed in out-of-the-way locations - the side of a mountain, in a lake, floating on a small body of water. This photo, taken at the Floating Palace in Klungkung (Mengwi), is one such artifact of history.

I have many images of this temple that I will share later on, but I found this one interesting as a start. I like its strong geometric proportions, the shadow created by the bottom of the steps and the greenish hue of the stone.

Sorry for the delay in posting new images, stories and updates. I was traveling without Internet access (gasp) in Indonesia and then in China, well...had access, sort of. Could not access Blogger, of course. In Singapore for a couple of days before heading to Croatia...will post updates and images tomorrow, but first, need some sleep!

Everywhere you look in Bali you see these amazing lush, green rice terraces; they are just part of the landscape. Their beauty speaks volumes about the richness of this land and its people; that they produce the staple of the Balinese diet is a side-note. More importantly, they form the fabric of the Balinese countryside and deposit rich images in nearly every visitor's memory.

I could spend weeks studying the ingenuity of Balinese design; the system which brings then drains water from the fields is as old as the terraces themselves.

This week Bali hosted one of its most prominent festivals of the year - Galungan. This festival, celebrated every 210 days per the Balinese calendar, celebrates the triumph of good versus evil. Everywhere in the streets one finds themselves enveloped in an array of bright colors and during the two festival days, the streets are packed with temple-goers toting their offerings. We just happened to book our trip during this week and it was truly serendipitous.

This woman is preparing some of the simpler offerings made by devotees. The offerings range from the simple to the extraordinary - vast amounts of fruit, flowers and even money adorn the Gods.

This photo was taken in Goa Gajah, devoted to Ganesha, the elephant-God.