New Mexico Pt. 1 - Santa Fe

Our grand adventure began in Albuquerque where through some unfathomable magic we arrived within thirty minutes of my Dad's arrival.  We spent the evening catching up with family in the area, where we laughed off warnings about the "big snow storm" that was coming before heading North to Santa Fe.  This is called foreshadowing.

As we drove the hour to Santa Fe, the snow did indeed become heavier and visibility went down.  As always in a new area, weather is as much about how the locals handle it as it is about how you yourself do.  Other than a detour around a jackknifed truck though, the ended up being pretty uneventful.  When we went out for dinner on night one we discovered that the hill and uncleared road that the vacation rental was on had us actually snowed in!  Thankfully we had an assortment of trail snacks and food sent from family to tide us over.  Probably karma for mocking the impending storm.

Santa Fe is an aggressively quaint town.  It's historic downtown is centered around a Spanish-style plaza and all of its buildings are in the adobe style.  It's very cute, though the snow and cold did slow us down a bit.  In what was to be a theme, one of the two big churches was closed but we did get in to see the other.  The main draw of this church was a set of stairs which, legend says, was created by a mysterious carpenter who showed ups, created them using no nails, then disappeared.  The stairs are pretty cool, though the pictures of them before the railing was added for safety are definitely cooler.

Santa Fe also has a thriving art scene and we spent an enjoyable afternoon wandering their main gallery drag.  We nearly dipped into sculpture for the first time, but ended up passing on the piece.  We attempted to visit several other museums and shops, but kept encountering "closed due to weather" signs.  This was extra frustrating for us when juxtaposed with the locals telling us that this weather wasn't that uncommon.

Overall, Santa Fe was a cute start to the trip, even if the weather put a small damper on it.  Next up, Las Cruces!

New Mexico Bound

Next week we will be heading out on a two week trip to New Mexico, and I am going to make an effort to actually keep the blog vaguely up to date about the trip!  We'll see if that comes to pass, but it's a nice theory.

Our main goal was to get away from Chicago's lovely winters while staying domestic (stupid Covid) and avoiding some of the more crowded options like Florida.  We'll be flying in and out of Albuquerque and visiting Santa Fe, Las Cruces, and Carlsbad and their surrounding areas.  While Santa Fe will be around freezing, the bulk of the trip should see highs in the 50s and 60s, which will seem downright tropical to us.

We're aiming for a good mix of cultural stuff, hiking, and nonsense.  Culture will come in the form of the museum and galleries of Santa Fe.  Hiking should be throughout with White Sands, the Organ Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns, and the San Guadalupe Mountains all in the area.  Nonsense will, of course, include a day trip to Roswell, but also a visit to the world's largest pistachio.  Sadly, there will be no visit to Pie Town, New Mexico to eat at one of their several pie-themed cafes due to it being three hours out of the way.

The Foster Chronicles - Snowy

For the past year I have been volunteering at a local shelter.  I spend a few hours a week socializing cats in the shelter itself, and we have also started dipping our toes into fostering.  Yesterday, I brought home Snowy.  

Snowy is a year-old male cat who needs a little help with socialization, which is a common reason for fostering.  He was in a foster home before this and while he did well with the humans, apparently didn't care much for the resident cats.  Enter our currently cat-free home.

I had not met Snowy at the shelter before, so my first introduction to him was hearing his mournful cranky old man meow as he was brought out to me at the shelter.  I have a soft spot for cranky old cats, so this was a promising start.  He didn't love the walk home, which I can't blame him for given that it was windy and in the teens, and he continued to tell me about his woes for much of the walk.

Since our condo is really just three rooms and an entry-way, we are starting him out barricaded into the entryway using barstools, some wood clamps, and a collapsed cardboard box.  

His first focus of exploration was the safety of the closet -- quickly discovering his litter, the empty shelf he could climb into and, most importantly, the magical safe space beneath the ladder behind a paint can.  Every cat needs a fortress of solitude to go when they really want to be left alone, and I suspect this one will endure for him.  He spent nearly all of the first afternoon and evening there.  We did hear him eating a few times, only to spy him quickly dashing back into the closet keeping low to the ground to avoid detection upon our approach.

This is pretty typical for a foster cat, and we expect that today he'll start to come out of his shell a bit more.  Next up will be expanding his world to include the kitchen and introducing his humans in a low-threat way.

Amalfi Part 2 - Amalfi and Atrani

From Sorrento, we moved on to Amalfi via the bus.

This was a very scenic trip (we were on the right side for the best views) though a bit harrowing at times.  I was amazed several times at the fact that were not hearing the scrape of metal on concrete, as these are not wide roads.  In fact, during the busy season, the buses are only allowed to travel the road in one direction, taking a less scenic route back North.

Amalfi is one of the few towns in the region with decent bus access, so it's one of the larger and more tourist-focused towns.  We still found it quite charming.

The town's main square is just up from the harbor, and is dominated by the elaborate facade of the Church of Saint Andrew.

We visited this square often and ended up getting a pre-dinner drink at this cafe most nights.  There were often events going on in the small square, and if you squint here you can see the bell of a tuba from a marching band on the left and robed figure processing into the church up the long flight of stairs.

Note for later reference the ruined tower up on the cliff overlooking the back of the church.  Foreshadowing!

Inside the church was nice, but fairly dark.  The real treat was the Cloister del Paradiso adjoining.  It offered a small but very well kept garden, faded friezes, and a good chance to take artsy-fartsy pictures of the church belltower.

Here is that tower again, this time at eye level.  As I mentioned in the last post, this was a trip about climbing, and climb we did.  One of the highlights of doing many walks in the same region was that the longer we stayed, the more different views we got of several of the same landmarks and towns.  It really allowed us to piece together the geography as we went and ended up being very satisfying.  It also prepped us for some of the unique challenges of navigating the region.  Foreshadowing!

Here is a picture of the back of the church facade, our cafe, and the belltower from the tower we hiked to.  This highlights the tilework on the belltower a bit more, which we would grow to learn is a hallmark of the area.

And a panorama of Amalfi from the same vantage point.

Before Amalfi's main industry was tourism, it was paper mills.  The city sits in a river valley, and mills used to dot that valley, though the only remaining working mill is now the Amalfi Paper Museum.

We are suckers for small local museums, and this one certainly delivered.  The bulk of the museum was in cramped, subterranean spaces which don't lend themselves very well to pictures, but I didn't let that stop me.  All but the very oldest equipment still works, and you could see the engineers' eyes light up (mine included) when the guide opened the sluice and started several of them up.  They are still controlled by water wheels!  Neat!

The town next to Amalfi is Atrani, which despite being a 15 minute walk away feels like a very different town.  But oh, that walk.  To get a sense for what one faces when navigating the area, I present a photo essay featuring Mary pointing out the direction to go at each turn when walking between towns.

Donkey break!  This was not the first time we saw donkeys being used to transport materials while we were in the area.  It is a relatively modern area but when your only access is via stairs, sometimes the old ways are the best ways.

Mary, playing it cool in the presence of a bystander, pretending we were not filming a photo essay by studying the tsunami evacuation plan (it's 'go up', by the way.)































The square at last.  Atrani is noticeably smaller and quieter than Amalfi, and has many fewer tourists.  I was glad that we had restarted our Italian studies, as when I got us coffee and post cards I had to do it entirely in the native language.

Here is Atrani from an overlook on the walk.  Given how small the square was, it was hard to get a picture that really captured it's character.  While I'd not want to stay in Atrani due to how tiny it was, I did find it deeply charming and was very happy that we could walk there when we wanted.

Amalfi Part 1 - Sorrento and Capri

In order to try to get back on a somewhat regular habit of posting to the blog, I am going to break up our latest trip into pieces (we took well over a thousand and a half pictures) and also go with a simpler formatting.  Hopefully thus reducing the boring bits (fiddling with picture positioning) while still letting me do the fun part (bore people with stories about my vacation photos.)



After months and months of being back in the US, we finally made our triumphant return last month.  We had been discussing a trip to Amalfi (just South of Naples, on the Mediterranean coast) for years, so it seemed like a good first big trip now that we're back.

And ahh...what a trip!  Getting there was more difficult that we'd become accustomed to (no more 2 hour flights) but we still had a great time.

Our first few nights we spent in Sorrento, the heart of which is situated at the top of cliffs overlooking the sea, with two marinas connected by steep winding roads and staircases.

  

The main square was busy and bustling most days,though in the evening it's all shut down to motor traffic to better allow for the traditional evening stroll.  Have I mentioned lately how much I love Italy?

Our hotel was unusually close to the main square for us; we usually stay more on the outskirts of the old town.  It was on the smaller side, but ended up being quite nice despite being located over a frozen yogurt shop.



The first marina is basically a second small town situated outside of the city walls.  The focus here is has historically been fishing, and that's carried through to today.  (Sorry for the glare here, this trip has convinced me that I need some form of UV filter for the camera if we are going to visit sunny places.)



These days Marina Grande still has a neighborhood feel, with its own personality and vibe.  It was a bit more rustic overall, which tends to appeal to our sensibilities.  We had amazing seafood at one of the restaurants lining this stretch, and found ourselves drawn down here on many of our strolls.



The second marina is the "small marina", which despite the name always seemed the larger of the two.  The bulk of the waterfront is taken up by 'beach clubs' that are built on piers stretching out into the water, most of which are covered in brightly colored huts.

While it was warm or hot the entire time we were there, we are not really folks to spend a vacation sun bathing, so we didn't spend any real time at these.

This is also where the passenger boats depart from, and where we took a boat to Capri.



Capri itself is a very small island off the coast with just two cities (and a bunch of houses we could never afford.)  The port was bustling and confusing, though we did eventually find our way from our big boat to a small boat to take us to one of the island's chief attractions, The Blue Grotto.



Just getting to (and into) the grotto is an adventure in itself.  From our large boat from Sorrento, we got into one that could hold a dozen passengers and made our way to the entrance.  There we parked in a mass of boats ranging from huge yachts to tiny row boats.



Turns out, the tiny row boats were everyone's destination.  The entrance to the grotto (a sea cave) is a tiny hole in the cliff wall only accessible when the waves ebb out.  Not the tide, the waves.  The boat rowers have all their passengers lie down, then time their dash into the cave such that it happens during a trough and yank the whole shebang in using the chain on the side.



Inside, the cave is pitch black at first.  Once your eyes adjust, however, you find that the sun slanting in through the entrance reflects off the limestone floor, illuminating the entire thing in a ghostly blue glow.  This picture hints at how amazing it was, but it really does need to be experienced.  I had been a bit wary of it as a pure tourist trap, but man is there a good reason that it's the main attraction on the island.  Just stunning.

From there we headed to the second town on the island, Anacapri.

Another big attraction on the island is taking a chair lift up to the highest point for scenic views.  Mary did not look quite as relaxed as the lady in the painted tile mural, but as a lover of heights I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Going up lends not only a great view of both towns on the island (Capri and Anacapri), but also of the terraces that have been cut into the hill to allow for the planting of crops and gardens.



The top of the mountain indeed did not disappoint.  Here is a view over the bulk of the island.  The buildings down below us are from the city of Capri, and the land off the point of the island is the mainland of Italy.



Back down in Anacapri, we grabbed lunch (two caprese sandwiches, which are named after Capri itself) and then headed to a villa which is open to the public.  I want a villa!  I'd even open it to the public when I am at one of my other villas.  Alas, for now I shall gawk at this one.

The interior of the house was actually fairly modest, because most of the living was done in open galleries, courtyards, and gardens.  These outdoor spaces were amazing -- ornately decorated and immaculately kept.  They really gave a sense of the glamour of pre-war time in Europe (if you had the money and power to be a part of it.)



A ton of the pictures we took are views down over something lovely (often taken from somewhere lovely.)  Here is a view of Capri and the port taken from a scenic outlook at the villa.

Our boat back to Sorrento departed from the marina pictured.



The final sight on Capri was a church whose entire floor is covered in a painted tile mural depicting the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden.  This painted tile is actually Spanish in origin, but based on what we've seen is common around the Mediterranean.  It's certainly a bit more busy than I'd like in my bathroom, but it's quite stunning to see it in this setting.

I encourage all readers to click on the image and get a load of the sheer approximate-ness of the elephant, which was clearly painted from a description in a book.  It really is a sight.

Up next:  Onward to Amalfi.

Chicken Souk for the Soul

London is not a great place to spend Christmas if you have no family in the area. The city shuts down in a way that is hard to comprehend. All shops close. All movie theaters close. No trains run. No buses run. Going out on the street is downright eerie.

When we decided not to go to America for Christmas this year for logistical reasons, the next immediate question was "If not America, then where?" We applied a system that a cow orker of Mary's uses (visit Muslim countries during Christian holidays) and came up with Marrakesh.

When the French colonized the city, they actually made a conscious decision to leave the old town alone and to build outside its walls; because of this, it's divided into an old town (Medina) and new town. We spent almost all of our time in the Medina. Our hotel was towards the northernmost part of the Medina, with the main square Jemaa el Fna about two-thirds of the way south in the Medina. Between us lay the souks. This scene is from a square almost at the southern tip of the Medina, and gives a sense of the very slightly organized chaos that was traffic. Streets were a mix of pedestrians, mopeds, men and donkeys pushing and pulling carts, and -- where allowed -- cars and horse-drawn carriages.

Our hotel, thankfully, was a respite from the anarchy. We stayed in a Riad, which is basically a bed and breakfast in a converted townhouse. Traditional homes in Marrakesh (and I believe all of Morocco) are built with a series of rooms all opening on to an open-air central courtyard. Traditionally the courtyard and some of the rooms off it would serve as the living/family/dining room. Our Riad had three guest rooms, though each was large enough to accommodate a family of four (and the other two were doing so.) We had breakfast in the courtyard every day and had dinner there once as well. At night it dipped down into the 50s, so they had a few heat lamps to make things more cozy. Because all Riads had been family homes, they tend to be down tiny winding alleys. This was true of ours as well, and I will admit that when we first arrived form the airport it was a bit disconcerting. Our cab stopped randomly on the street, at a point at which cars can not progress past. We were met by someone else, who lead us down ever narrowing and darkening alleys, at one point picking up a random group we passed who were lost and looking for a specific address. Thankfully, the place itself was lovely and the path to it not hard to follow once you had done it a time or two.

Between the Riad and the main square stretched the souks. These are market stalls selling pretty much everything you can imagine. Many of them are aimed at the tourists, but we also saw some for general sundries and a whole section for selling live poultry. They are somewhat organized by what they sell, and we knew we were getting close to home when we started passing by the butchers. There is a huge culture of haggling in Morocco, and walking through the souks could feel like reading through your spam folder: Everyone is trying his best to grab your attention and get you to buy their thing, and they are not always 100% honest about it. Early on we got a bit lost due to following some dubious directions, but once we knew our way and happily ignored the calls of "wrong way! wrong way! big square this way." we had very few issues. In the end we skipped the hassle of haggling and bought our souvenirs in one of the state-run fixed-price shops. Between being amateurs at haggling and not knowing Arabic or French, we just didn't want to deal with the hassle. Based on what we read about the mark up at the state-run stores, we probably ended up paying less than if we had tried haggling anyway.

The main square in the Medina is Jamaa el Fna. This panarama was taken in the morning when things are pretty quiet, but the square does ramp up through the day and there is always something going on. It's probably the largest plaza that we've seen in our travels, sprawling over several normal-sized city blocks. It's surrounded by cafes and hotels and covered in various stands and hucksters. There is a group of orange juice carts that we never saw closed, and in the evening vendors wheel in food carts that set up tents and seating ares to serve food until late at night.

As the afternoon wears into evening, the square starts filling up. People pack the benches of the food stands. The snake charmers clear out and storytellers and singers take their places. Everywhere is a spectacle of some form. It's a pretty amazing experience to walk through the crowds of people, checking out what each clump is watching or listening to and taking in the madness yourself. We had dinner in the Jamaa el Fna twice, and both times the food was simple but very good. We got skewers of grilled meat along with the ubiquitous local flatbread and various salads of fresh and grilled vegetables. We also hit a pastry cart for a mix of cookies for dessert and found a few delightful honey-based ones that I want to track down online. In the background, you can see the minaret of...

...the Koutoubia Mosque. Traditionally these mosque towers were used to call the faithful to prayer throughout the day. The Muezzin now use loudspeakers to avoid the climb, but thankfully the towers remain. This tower is actually the twin of the one we climbed in Seville, though because Mosques are only open to Muslims we were not able to climb it to get shots from above. It's quite odd for me to not sort through dozens of skyline shots looking for the perfect one, but alas. Each neighborhood in town has its own mosque, and hearing the calls to prayer coming from across the city is quite beautiful. I find the call quite mournful, and to hear it rising and falling from the various mosques, slightly out of sync, made it sound like sad songbirds calling to each other and responding. Beautiful and haunting.

While we could not enter the mosques, we could enter the Ben Youssef Madrasa. This was a site where students would come to study the Koran, and it remains open today as a historical site. The student's rooms are quite dark and plain, but the central courtyard and prayer hall are elaborately carved, tiled, and plastered. This type of over the top geometry is central to Islamic art, and I love it. Despite visiting many sites decorated in this style, it just never gets old to me. The patterns are intricate and interesting on their own, and mesmerizing when taken in en masse like this. Every time we visit a site with any Islamic or Moorish art, my doodles get much more interesting.

Lest all this majesty seem too permanent, we visited El Badi Palace. This was a huge palace built by rulers in 16th century which is now home to many feral cats and storks. About a hundred years after its completion, a new ruling family came in and stripped it of all its finery to create another palace elsewhere. The giant shell still stands, and while the decorative tile and carvings are long gone, the sheer scale of the thing is amazing. To me it was reminiscent of some of the castles we had seen in Scotland, which were tiny cities unto themselves.

Back in the world of elaborate carving and tilework, we visited the Museum of Marrakesh. This museum focuses on the arts and crafts of Morocco, and describes the regional differences in those crafts. In French. Even without knowing the language though, we could appreciate this former palace for its aesthetic beauty. Also, it was a great chance to make Mary roll her eyes at me taking a panarama, so...win/win.

While it's on the edge of the Sahara desert, Marrakesh itself is an oasis. Literally! It's built atop natural springs which feed not only its water supply, but also its many gardens. Even in December, we found things in full leaf and in many cases covered in fruit or flowers. We visited a few of the gardens, and they are quite ordered and calm. This shot is from the "Cyber Park", which was originally built in the 18th century. Recently, the local telecom company installed wireless in the entire area, making it very popular with youths. Despite the kiosks for web browsing, it was still a lovely and lush getaway from all the hubbub. We also strolled the lanes of the gardens behind the Koutoubia mosque and even peeked into some around the royal palace where the current king lives. All were lovely.

Overall, we had a fantastic trip. The food was great, the people were lovely (if a bit pushy on the selling), and the sights amazing. As expected, it was by far the most foreign feeling place that we've visited. Whether getting passed by a donkey cart, walking down a street with shop fronts full of men working leather into goods, or looking at the outside of a building and realizing that it used to be the inside of a building (a surprisingly common sight) we were constantly surprised and taken out of our element. It's probably not a good destination less experienced travelers, but man did we have a blast.