A Trip to Ilovik

Imagine a village where there are no cars.

Imagine a village where the only way

to arrive is to travel the sea.

Imagine a village where the supplies, mail,

even drinking water gets there by boat.

This is the island of Ilovik:

To get there...

...we traveled through a city

that had mythological as well as marching dragons.

It is the he city of Rijeka where there are castles:

Floating fortress:

And wise men who watch over the city and tell of its’ history:

There are princesses who still wait for their Romeos to come back...

...many who were lost at war:

We traveled by sea to the island of Ilovik.

To an island of magical sunsets…

…clear water…

…and vivid evenings.

By day the island is clean and colorful.

We hiked endless trails…

…and saw ancient rock walls…

…that flowed along seemingly endless flower gardens:

While hiking we saw olive pickers…

…met new friends…

…and saw abstract shapes:

The views were vast…

…and now a new type of castle guards the beaches:

In a small village many people do many different jobs to survive. Over the years with the increasing amount of tourism some traditional ways of working are falling off. For example, a few believe it is easier to earn a living from tourism than from picking olives. However some of those ways are changing. While we were there we met a man, Randy, who lives in White Plains, NY. He was visiting for four weeks to help pick olives. I feel that as much as he was there to pick olives, he was also there to keep tradition alive and to maintain his family's connections on the island.

On Sunday everything stopped. It was a beautiful morning. The ferry came and went and everyone attended church. I have some strong opinions about organized religion because I feel we should each invent our own, but if I lived on Ilovik I would attend mass regularly because throughout the history of this little village the church has offered a reason for coming together and socializing and helping to keep traditions alive.

Gallery of What I Saw

To The Zoo

I went to the zoo the other day. Actually, I went to Maksimir Park http://www.zagreb-life.com/play/entertainment_details/18-Maksimir_Park) a huge (316 hectares) park located in northeast Zagreb. I miss the country and knew that a city park was not going to be my ‘kind of get to the wilderness’ experience but I went any way.

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday and the place was, as one could imagine, packed. The number of people was overwhelming and as I walked I noticed a sign for the zoo (zooloski). I am not really a fan of the zoo as I feel for the animals in cages for a life sentence for committing no crime other than being different than us. Yes I do agree that it is educational for all especially children who may have never seen these kinds of animals and I must say that I was impressed with the variety.

But, as usual, I was generally saddened and mostly to see the large animals such as the lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) stuck in small cages so that we could see them no matter where they were. I felt the general tension they were experiencing and also felt the want to get out and run. I again realize how fortunate I am for my many freedoms.

In particular I related to this bear:

Her constant pacing in circles (clockwise) gave me a sense of how I would react. She was clearly driven insane by all the viewers and the noise and the commotion and in some cases I noticed trash was tossed in. I stood for several minutes and watched her go round and round. I did not want to look but I also could not take my eyes off of her.

It again brought up for me our separation from nature into cities. We are fortunate that some time long ago our forefathers (and foremothers) had the insight to set aside land for us to get off the pavement and onto soft ground (although all the trails I saw were paved)(in fact all the walkers in the park were on the trails and not off of them)(I actually did go off and felt I was going to be asked to stay the trail).

In cities when land is set aside for a park the first thing that is done is a planner comes in and designs it for the best use for all. I understand why this is done and this particular park is quite beautiful and must have a competent design for the masses to escape from the masses of the city.

Quite noticeable was a large photo that really gave me the sense I was in nature.

I was leaving the zoo feeling quite exhausted because as sad as it is I had to see it all as there are so many amazing creatures all caged up in the well designed (too) small areas. The pure beauty of their skins, feathers, looks, stance and movements kept me sucked in for a few hours. Around the last turn I saw this:

It reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode I saw years ago when aliens came and convinced two people to go to their planet and live in comfort forever in a very nice house. The couple agreed and when they arrived they were put into this house, which was quite large and very beautiful. At a certain point they tried to go out to see the yard and found all the doors locked. A few seconds later the front of the house opened and they were on display in the aliens’ zoo and would be happily cared for, forever.

First Day of Rain

Yesterday was the first day of rain. It has been mostly sunny and warm with highs in the 70’s and into the 80’s. I hope it continues as Michele arrives next Friday and I want to share the beautiful weather with her. When I awoke to the rain I watched people going to work and was wondering how many pass through this intersection during a several hour period?

Since returning from Groznjan I have had plenty of time to get organized, relax and generally just do some office work and explore the city. I decided to go to a movie theater that is located just across from my apartment. It was quite an experience figuring out how to do it. As I speak almost no Croatian and read even less it was quite a challenge to figure out the times (I got a pamphlet that described the times, which are different on different days and different from when they were actually shown) and found that most of them are ‘action’ movies (no surprise). They are just about all made in the US and have subtitles in Croatian, which makes it easy for us English speaking people to understand and enjoy.

I’m not really a fan of all those action blow-up kind of things but I wanted to be entertained so, I got the list and went on line (I have a great fast-speed connection which links me to the world) and watched the trailers. I decided on Surogati (Surrogate), which is a Bruce Willis movie (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=57630556) that is basically about creating ‘human’ avatar machines that go out and do your job because it is too dangerous for you to go out in the flesh. (They call real humans ‘meat bags’.) Of course in the end Willis saves the world and he and his wife come out of their rooms (where they sit in chairs and remotely control their avatar-selves) and become ‘human’ again.

I got the ticket and this is what I received:

If you look at it, it makes no sense. I felt like an old partly senile man trying to figure it out. What does all of this mean? As most people under 40 speak some English (mandatory at age 6 in public schools) a young usher described it to me. The cost was about $6 and the theater was quite beautiful with excellent sound to hear clearly the explosions and to clearly see the details of the disasters.

Gallery of What I Saw

Early Morning View from My Window Looking Southeast on a Rainy Day

Early Morning View from My Window Looking Southeast on a Sunny Day

Sculpture Getting a Make Over

Taxi Drivers Waiting & Socializing in Front of the Train Station

Hip Shot (including my leg)

I was walking to the Academy of the Dramatic Arts (which is where I teach) one morning and came across an elder-fair. There were hundreds of elderly people in the park with booths set up to check out aging bodies (no avatars here) along with info on health and well being for senior citizens. There were also performances in the gazebo of groups doing everything from exercises to dancing to singing.

For me the best was this beautiful 92-year-old woman who slowly climbed up on the stage to sing a traditional song.

Other Images from the Elder Fair

Coffee with Darije