Playing with lensbaby

Walks in Malaga, Barcelona & Madeira with lensbaby.

Funchal, Madeira

Barcelona, Spain

Funchal, Madeira

English cemetery, Malaga, Spain

San Cristobal de la Laguna, Tenerife, Canariers Islands, Spain

Malagueta beach, Malaga, Spain

Malagueta beach, Malaga, Spain

Facades of Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife – the capital of the biggest of the Canary islands. It is also shares the title of Canaries capital with La Palma (Gran Canaria island).

Colorful facades give a festive appearance to the city:

Faces in the places

Finally as we found convenient internet cafes in our ports of call the time came to talk about the itinerary we are on.
Hope the map below will help you visualize our route: 

To give you a teaser of the ports we decided to start with collages representing each of them. As we get to explore the ports and know them better we will post more details about each of them.
But for starters we will not show you any major tourist attractions, just the people and the street life. In other words it will be Barcelona without Gaudi, Malaga without Alcazaba… Well, hope you get the idea. Shall we start?

The cruises last 9 days starting from Barcelona, Spain.

Norwegian Jade docked alongside in port of Barcelona

Caption: Streets of Barcelona: people feeding doves, sitting by the fountains or promenading in the parks 

After two days at sea we arrive to our first port of call: Funchal, Madeira. This is the only non-Spanish port as the island of Madeira belongs to Portugal. It is a beautiful green island with climate so mild that both bananas and potatoes can grow here. The streets look very festive as doors and windows are decorated by dark granite against the white walls. Streets are paved with small black and white stones that form floral or geometric ornaments – different for every street!

The next 2 days we stay in Canaries Islands. First we call to the island of Tenerife – the biggest island of archipelago (for some reason the first Spanish settlers did not think so and another island was called Gran Canaria). The capital – Santa Cruz de Tenerife – is a busy cruise and cargo port. But we found peace and quiet in San Cristobal de la Laguna (or simply La Laguna) – the former capital that still preserved the old city charm.

La Laguna street workers – some beg, some make bubbles

Our 3rd port – and 2nd in Canaries islands – is volcanic island of Lanzarote. The islands main attractions are “lunar landscape” and other traces of volcanic activities and its capital Arrecife does not have any remarkably beautiful monuments. Yet we love its quaint peaceful streets.

The last stop on the way back to Barcelona is Malaga.

Hm... Looks like Alcazaba still managed to make its way in the picture...

Aix-en-Provence

Another trip we took while in dry dock was a getaway to Aix-en-Provence.

There are regular bus and train departures from Gare Saint-Charles - both railway and bus station. However at the time we came there was an almost 2 hour gap in the train departures so we opted for buses that departed every half hour (bus number 50).

Only 30 minutes drive from Marseille yet the city offered a totally different ambiance...

The drive was pleasant: even though we stayed on the highway at the distance we could see some farmhouses surrounded by orchards. All the way to Aix I was trying to remember whether the word Aix actually means anything in French but could not come up with anything. Only later on as we reached Aix Tourism Bureau and were issued a brochure about the city did we find out where Aix comes from: as Romans discovered the springs of water on the site of the future city the named it Aquae Sextius (Sextius waters). The broken aquae turned into Aix and as there are at least 12 other cities in France bearing the same name – all in different regions – they had to add ‘en Provence” to specify which one it is.

First we headed to Office de Tourisme to get a free city map. From there we walked towards Cours Mirabeau – for a practical reason as they had money exchange there.

Cours Mirabeau with Christmas decorations

Cours Mirabeau – a leafy tunnel formed by double rows of plane-trees – lays in the former location of old city walls and divides the city into the old and new parts. It offers a range of cafes as well as craft marlket.

Unfortunately it is not a pedestrian street and has a pretty extensive traffic

A rare moment with not too many cars

Plane-trees stand out beautifully against the blue sky of Provence

Plane-trees stand out beautifully against the blue sky of Provence

We turned to the old part of the city and soon found ourselves in the middle of a bustling market with its sounds, colors and smells. Apparently every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning certain areas of the old city are transformed into marketplace.

Fruits, vegetables, cheeses, marinated olives and even mushrooms could be found on Place des Prêcheurs. The stalls were set right next to the fountain with obelisk, in front of the church – all over the square.

Market on  Place des Prêcheurs

Some of the items on sale...

And what a selection of fish and seafood did we find on the next square!

Opposite the town hall – Hôtel de Ville in French so do not think it is a hotel! – there was another market: flower market.

 

Hôtel de Ville before 1pm.

We stopped for lunch next to it and after the lunch was finished we were surprised to see that all the flower stalls were gone, the pavement was washed and the street cafes were occupying the area.

Place Hôtel de Ville after 1pm

Place Hôtel de Ville after 1pm

So if you want to experience markets, this wonderful part of Provençal life make sure to be there before 1pm!
Another proof to it is the amount of various food fairs held in Aix throughout the year – Cherry Fair in June, Callison (traditional mixture of almonds and crystallized melons) Festival in September, Winegrowers Fair in October, Mushroom Fair & Marrow Fair in November, Truffle & Gastronomy Show in December – to name just a few.


After the lunch we headed to Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur – a beautiful building comprising Romanesque, Gothic & Baroque elements and houses a famous painting:

We tried to find entry to a beautiful cloister that we saw in the guidebook but to no avail...

Gothic details: Popes and Saints at the entrance

We wandered along the streets of Aix till the evening enjoying their medieval feel:

One of the coquette ladies: unusual is the fact she is wearing hat...

Some streets offered more modern scenes:

Late in the evening we found ourselves in Gardens

During the drive back to Marseille we fell asleep and by the time we were back in the city it was already pitch dark:

View of the city from Gare Saint-Charles

Frioul islands

One of the days in dry dock we were offered to join a small group of officers going to the Château d'If, one of the settings of Alexandre Dumas' novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Of course, we wanted to join them. We asked for a day off, cleaned the cameras and charged the batteries. Unfortunately in the morning we were informed that the wind and the waves were too heavy so the tour was postponed till further notice. But as we already had a day off we decided to still go the city and try going somewhere else.

The boardwalk – Quai des Belges – was busy with fishermen selling their morning catch but we made our way through the crowd to the ticketing kiosks. The staff confirmed: the safety was at risk due to sea conditions and there was no chance to see If island. It seemed weird as the sea looked smooth as a mirror but what could we do? Luckily we noticed that the trips to Frioul islands were still ongoing. We did not have a slightest idea about these islands (and – to tell the truth –out of ignorance were even mixing it up with Friul region in Italy) but nevertheless decided to go.

The tickets were 10 euro round trip. On the days when island of If is accessible you can see both for 15 euro.

Tip: write down or photograph the ferry timetable before you leave Marseille. The timetable is not posted anywhere on the island (at least we did not find it) and not knowing when the ferry arrives makes it quite uncomfortable. Had we known we had to wait for more than an hour we would have gotten a carafe of wine at one of the restaurants!

The boat was departing in 10 minutes so very soon we were already sailing towards the exit of Marseille harbor guarded by two forts on both sides.

Marseille harbour

One of the forts

Marseille harbor is very safe for the boats as it is well protected from the winds. So as soon as we sailed out of the harbor we realized why it was not possible to see The Château d'If: the waves were indeed strong. As we passed by the islet we looked at the famous prison only from the outside. 

The Château d'If with Marseille in the background 

  At first we were even disappointed as the islet seemed very close to the shore, approximately at 4 km from Marseille:

View to If & Marseille from Frioul islands

And even though we read that the isolated location and dangerous offshore currents of the Château d'If made it an ideal escape-proof prison, very much like the island of Alcatraz in California was in more modern times – it still did not convince us. It seemed too easy to swim to the shore – especially in warm Mediterranean waters. Later on we found out that even though in the book, Dantès made a daring escape from the castle, becoming the first person ever to do so and survive, in reality, no one is known to have done this. Even though at times the prison was densely populated, for example during the religious wars between Catholics and Protestants over 3,500 Huguenots (French Protestants) were sent to If.

Another interesting fact about this prison is that rich and poor existed even there:

As was common practice in those days, prisoners were treated differently according to their class and wealth. The poorest were literally placed at the bottom, being confined to a windowless dungeon under the castle. The wealthiest were much better off, living comparatively comfortably in their own private cells (or pistoles) higher up, with windows, a garderobe and a fireplace. However, they were expected to pay for this privilege, effectively forcing them to fund their own incarceration. ©Wikpedia 

But soon we forgot about the Château as the harbor of Frioul was coming to sight:

The Frioul archipelago consists of 4 islands: the island of If, islet of Tiboulen (that only houses marine signalization system), Pomègues and Ratonneau - the latter two being the biggest ones: Pomègues is 2,7 km long, and rises up to 89m above the sea level, Ratonneau is 2,5 km long, with maximum height of 86m.

The two islands are connected by mole.

The island had been the property of French Defense Ministry up until 1975 when Maire Gaston Defferre obtained authorization to transform neglected military base into yacht port (as French call it port de plaisance – pleasure port) with a small settlement, several business and firefighter’s station. Ferry service was also established at that time. So do not expect to see any architectural or historical monuments here: the architecture here is represented by betony cubicles only painted in joyful colors. 

Boardwalk

The only architectural monument on the island

It was lunch time so before exploring the islands we decided to grab a snack. Our original plan was to buy a bottle of wine and some snacks from the local shop and have a picnic on the hills. But to our disappointment the shop with “Produits alimentaire” sign on it was closed, most probably for the entire winter season. Then we understood why locals on the ferry had food baskets with them… So if you are planning a picnic on the rocks make sure to stock up in Marseille.

Nevertheless the boardwalk was full of small restaurants and as we were looking for a food store we walked almost to the end of it and settled in second to the last restaurant.

We ordered a 1 liter carafe (pichet) of white wine and of course seafood: Erkki opted for Petites fritures – small fried fishes:

Petites frites. Please note the shrimp was NOT a part of the dish and was stolen from Frioulian Plate!

As we were in Frioul I decided to try Frioulian Plate – Assiette Friouilase – that looked very attractive on the picture…

Advert of Frioulian plate

…and did not disappoint when seen in reality:

Frioulian plate

It consisted of shrimp, octopus, two different kinds of fish, mussels and squid served on green salad with fried potatoes and aïoli, a sauce made from raw garlic, lemon juice, eggs and olive oil – sort of home made garlic mayo. This plate could easily be shared between two eaters and cost only 13 euro.

After the lunch we decided to walk the mole Berry built in 1822 (named after the Duke of Berry). This mole transformed a small harbor that had been used since Roman times into a real port.

 As we walked the island we were astonished by its lunar landscape so different from lush green hills of Provence that were only a few kilometers away:

Frioul lunar landscape

There are several reasons for it: first of all the archipelago is mostly limestone and the unusual shapes are created by elements during the erosion process:

An example of unusual shapes blown by strong winds

Geological processes create unusual textures

Secondly it is very dry: the islands get less rain than the neighbor Marseille. Combined with violent winds this weather does not allow anything but Aleppo Pine (pine native to the Mediterranean region) grow here.

An example of island vegetation

In addition to these factors the island landscape was seriously affected by humans erecting defensive buildings since ancient époques till recent times. Te modern forts defining today’s landscape were built between 1860 and 1900. With limestone being the main construction material the forts look like they literally grow from the rocks:

Another factor that affected the Frioul landscape are the massive bombings of the area by the Allies trying to get access to the city during World War II. Until now aerial photos show lunar-like bomb craters, especially on Ratonneau island.

Man-made defensive structures

Aside from defensive function, the island was also used to quarantine foreign sailors, particularly those with cases of cholera and Leprosy since the plague epidemic in the XVII century. In the 1920th as Marseille received Armenian refugees the authorities established quarantine facilities on the island: 

Former sanitary facility is now used by youth cultural center

Former quarantine facility with fish farm in the background

 The old quarantine port is now used for fish farm – probably the only production on the archipelago. 

Fish feeding

 

As there is no police, school or clinics on the islands, private motor vehicles are banned so the inhabitants must take care of his daily needs on their own. Therefore only about a hundred people constitute permanent population of Frioul and leave here year round, that includes seamen living on their boats.

The islands are not being developed into a fully functional commune (the smallest administrative unit in France) as their future is vague. There are businessmen trying to transform them into exclusive private paradise for billionaires and there are ecologists dreaming of keeping archipelago a nature reserve and restrict human activities here. Obviously these two camps have exactly opposite views and while they dispute the islands are not advancing in either direction.

Millionaire's getaway or nature reserve?

Millionaire's getaway or nature reserve?

 

Something we did not know during the visit is that in 1997 Jean-Claude Mayo, the owner of Brégantin fort on Ratonneau island, together with a group of friends decided to establish La République libre du Frioul – Free Republic of Frioul. It was established for the fun of it as “in our society we never have the right to have fun”. The president, appointed for life is Egregore the Virtual while Jean-Claude Mayo is the Minister Conveyor of the Word (convoyeur du verbe). The small republic emits its own money called polymoney (polymonnaie) that obviously has value only within the republic. Had we known we would have brought some for our collection… Well, maybe next time?