Always expect the unexpected

This was a busy week, and it ended in an unexpected way. After the great and long Easter weekend, the snow stopped falling and I went to Madrid. As it happened the last time I was there, the flight was delayed for more than two hours… but Madrid is always a nice destination and I had a nice time in there: met good friends, got my coffee dose delivered, attended quite successful meetings, enjoyed nice food and even had time to visit the bookstores around Gran Via and buy a couple of books of two Spanish authors I like very much: Arturo Pérez-Reverte and Eduardo Mendoza. I came back to Brussels on Thursday late in the evening, unpacked, packed again and got ready to go to Vilnius, where I should have landed yesterday around 10pm. I didn’t. Air Baltic decided to cancel its flight from Brussels to Vilnius and suggested the passengers to go to Riga instead, and then, from there, take a bus to the Lithuanian capital. Estimated arrival time: 6am… Even though I was really looking forward to going to Vilnius and attending this seminar on Intercultural Dialogue, while meeting good friends and enjoying a city I like a lot, I declined… I started to realise that I am getting old mainly because I get easily tired; and all these trips and all these flights delayed and cancelled are slowly killing me… so, this Baltic road-trip and another night without enough sleep, courtesy of Air Baltic, were the last things I needed! Instead, I decided to ask for the reimbursement of the price of the ticket and stay in Brussels. And here I am, at home, enjoying an unexpected free weekend with no plans at all… Guess I will try to sort some things out on my apartment, maybe go for a walk and try to spend time with friends, read and listen to music… unless... is there anyone up for a movie?

White Easter

On Friday, while the calendar pointed out the beginning of spring in the Northern hemisphere, in Brussels the first snow of 2008 fell… Since then, it has been snowing every now and then, which rose among many of us, expectations concerning the possibility of experiencing the first ever white Easter. It didn’t quite happen, because it was never cold enough for the snow flakes to accumulate and create a thick white layer on the streets, buildings and trees; but it has snowed enough to make it unpleasant to be on the open air, and for opening the mouth in amazement when looking outside the windows… But not even the snow disturbed the already traditional Brussels’ Easter celebration with friends and colleagues, marked by great food in enormous amounts, accompanied by en equally generous amount of liquids of diverse kinds and, most of all, by good humour and human warmth provided by an amazing group of people who, apart from constituting a great professional team, make up for a great bunch of friends too. I said it already many times, but it is indeed both a pleasure and a privilege to work and share my life with them all! After a 15-hours-long Easter lunch, I woke-up a couple of hours ago only to find out, with a certain surprise that I managed to avoid the expected (and well-deserved) hangover… Therefore, in spite of the ugly weather and the fact that I spent the last two hours cleaning (again!) the apartment, I feel good. And I plan to keep the feeling throughout the day, the week that will bring me back to the airports and flights routine, and the month that will soon start and hopefully include a very much desired re-encounter with some of my most loved ones. And real spring!

Weird, but it can always get more weird...

And now is snowing... heavily!

Good Friday, but it could be more good…

I feel weird… Today it’s Good Friday and I am working… and it simply doesn’t feel right! The weather seems to be confused too: after almost one hour of hailing, now the sky is blue and the sun is shining… My son is at my parents for Easter holidays and I just feel like I should be there too; on the other hand, I am so sick and tired of traveling that I am really looking forward to staying at home for the long weekend. I will spend time with other friends who share the fate of not being with their families for Easter – and I know that it will be nice -, but I also know that I will miss the people I love. So… impossible not to think on these dichotomies that our lives are made of… Why can’t we have it all? Why can’t we get enough? Why do we have to make choices? Why can’t we avoid thinking that we should have chosen the other option? It’s kind of funny, and yet dramatic too… As one very famous youth leader would say, “it is good, but it could be more good”! So, shall we be happy that it is good or rather frustrated because it could be “more good”? I guess it is a matter of attitude and mood… when it is hailing, I feel frustrated; when the sky turns blue, I feel rather happy. Weird? That’s what I said!

Garden Fetish

Here it is, the most awaited release of the year:

Garden Fetish live at Paul Hymans!

Holy Week

I don’t know exactly how many miles I flew, but I have just realised that, since the beginning of March only, I already took sixteen flights and was in nine different countries… from the ancient Istanbul to the modern New York, from the snowy Helsinki to the warm Cartagena, from the small and calm Ohrid to the big and hectic Madrid, I have visited many different cities in a very short period of time, and it has some consequences: recently arrived from almost one week in the Americas and the last two nights in planes, I feel tired and sleepy… yet, I have been trying to postpone the sleeping time while anticipating the full adaptation to Central European Time and it seems to be working. It seems… Yesterday I was for more or less twelve hours in New York and I used the opportunity to spend time with one friend who I haven’t seen for many years; we had a nice brunch in the Village, strolled around Chelsea and almost up to the Broadway, but as it was raining, we could not really enjoy the walk much. These twelve hours were enough to catch up with this friend’s life, to confirm that I really like New York and to find out that the Euro-Dollar exchange rates makes everything in New York look very cheap! Which is kind of a new feeling but, for a change, nice. I should go back there soon! This stop-over in New York also allowed me to verify some improvements made at JFK airport or, maybe, that I have been developing prejudices about American airports that help keeping my expectations very low… In one hand, the immigration procedures upon arrival, considering that I was arriving from Colombia, weren’t as unpleasant as I feared and, in the other, the self-check-in terminals installed by American Airlines for all its European flights make a huge contribution to ease the departure procedures, which is of course very welcome. This week of long flights also allowed me to read a lot and, today, when I came home, I was happy to realise that my most recent order from Amazon had arrived and, therefore, I spent the whole day listening to Chris Bathgate’s last independent, sombre album: A Cork Tale Wake. Sounding a bit like a sober Ryan Adams, might seem like missing the point, but the truth is that Bathgate’s tight lyricism and beautiful ballads are the perfect companion for a day under the sign of jet-lag and the beginning of a whole week without travelling. Guess that is why it is known as the “holy week”… Good night!

Caribbean Sweetness

It took me a long trip and some adventurous moments, but it was definitely worth it: Cartagena de Indias is absolutely gorgeous! The walls, the narrow streets with beautiful and colourful colonial houses with nice wooden balconies and windows with flowers, their internal patios full of trees and green plants, the nice squares, the cathedral and the palaces and, especially, the people. The people available in all the colours and in all their shades, but always beautiful and kind and with warm smiles in their faces. And the music in the air, and the blue sky and the sea behind the walls. Come into the old city through Puerta del Reloj, take a few steps towards Plaza de la Aduana and then to Plaza de Bolivar, with the Palace of the Inquisition in one side. Then walk towards Plaza de Santo Domingo (my favourite) and admire Botero's sculpture "Mujer Reclinada" before visiting Claustro de Santo Domingo. That's where the event I am attending takes place, and it makes you jealous of the people who work for the Spanish Agency for International Co-operation! Then, continue, and get lost. That's the best part of it! Cartagena might be a large city and an important seaport with more than one million inhabitants, but when you're within its old walls, you can't help thinking that you're back at the times of the Vice royalty of New Granada, and the only thing you can fear is a corsairs' attack. Lovely!

Sweetness updated

Hmmm... I should stop making predictions in my entries... The result of the combination of a very windy morning at Brussels' airport with an Iberia flight with a connection in Madrid is that, instead of being crossing the Atlantic ocean heading towards Colombia, I am now writing from an hotel room in Barajas... What happened was that the wind blew so strongly this morning, that the flight that I was supposed to catch at 10am, coming from Madrid, had to land in Amsterdam instead... and I only left Brussels at around 1pm... the delayed arrival and the hugeness of Madrid's Airport Terminal 4, made me miss my connecting flight to Bogota, despite my fast run through the airport that allowed me to still see the plane leaving the gate... It's frustrating, but actually I shouldn't really complain... the wind was really strong, and after seeing how livid Saray was after landing in Brussels, I stopped being upset... nature still imposes itself to humankind, and that's somehow reassuring. Now, I will go to Madrid, have dinner with some friends and have a proper night of sleep; as another friend put it, the warm weather, the Caribbean Sea and the mojitos are still waiting for me.

Sweet Dreams

I haven’t been sleeping much… travelling a lot and at weird times is a bit incompatible with my idea of campaigning against sleep deprivation… Maybe this explains why not even one single reader expressed his/her support to this campaign of mine: I don’t inspire enough trust, at least in what regards the issue of sleep… You might be thinking that I would do a favour to myself and to my readers if, instead of writing this entry, I would go to sleep. And you’re somehow right. The problem is that I just came back from Finland, where I spent the weekend attending one meeting, and in about nine hours I will leave again to Colombia to another one; and, therefore, I need to wash clothes and pack my luggage before going to bed… Yesterday I was doing sauna and watching the snow fall in Helsinki; tomorrow I will be staring at the Caribbean Sea and having one mojito in Cartagena. Guess I shouldn’t complain so much about my lack of sleep after all… And, anyway, I have been sleeping in planes. It’s not the same, of course; but it is better than not to sleep at all… The truth is that there’s not much to do in a plane, apart from sleeping: reading, listening to music, eating… and, in long-haul flights, watching movies. That’s about it. All things that make you sleep... So, you shouldn’t be surprised to find out that I have finished reading two books this past week alone. And, tomorrow, I will start a new one. That’s nice, I like reading and there are thousands of books worth being read. And magazines. So, yeah, I shouldn’t complain at all. The only really annoying part of travelling so much is the time spent at the airports… that’s even worse than being in a plane, because most of the airports are actually less comfortable than planes and even reading or listening to music is not as nice there… not to mention all the queues, for the check-in, the security checks and even to board the plane… I like flying, but I hate airports! And you can’t even sleep properly in an airport… so, giving it a second thought, I might have some reasons to complain, right? But I don’t want to do it tonight, because I am in a good mood: the meeting in Helsinki went quite well, the elections in France and in Spain too, Benfica is going to have a new coach and soon I will be swimming in the warm waters of the Caribbean… Life is beautiful! And even though I could not be in Skopje yesterday, I know that I will be back there soon!

Ohrid

Ohrid is said to be Macedonia’s jewel and it doesn’t take more than a glimpse to understand why. Resting by the still waters of the lake with the same name, the town is full of stunning Byzantine churches, small cobble-stoned streets and picturesque landscapes. During the summer, the town is packed with people; in March, it is quiet and marvellous. Under Byzantine ruling, Ohrid became the Episcopal centre of Macedonia, and the first Slavic university was founded here in 893 by Bishop Kliment of Ohrid, a disciple of the inventors of the first Slavic script, St Cyril and St Methodius. I came for the first time one year ago and, in spite of my eagerness and several stays in Macedonia, only now was able to come back. Walking around the old town is easy and nice, and the views over the lake compensate the efforts made up the hills. The grandiose 11th-century church of Sveta Sofija was closed and therefore I could not see its extremely well-preserved frescoes, but continuing through the winding streets, the amazing little 13th-century church of Sveti Jovan at Kaneo suddenly appeared before me on the cliffs above the lake, with its unusual half-folded umbrella roof. The beauty of this place is breathtaking and I am sure that I will never have enough of it! Afterwards, I went up through the park towards the newly built Sveti Kiment and Pantelejmon, standing next to the remains of Ohrid’s oldest church of the same name. I remember that when I came last year, the most impressive part of it were the foundations of the 5th-century basilica with their intricate mosaics on display in front of the new church; now, a vast area is undergoing archaeological excavations and I was lucky to get a very interesting explanation from one of the young people involved in these works that already revealed remains from the Bronze age, the Hellenistic and the Roman periods. Continuing towards Gorna Porta (Upper Gate), I arrived to the gorgeous, 13th-century church of Sveta Bogorodica Perivlepta, last stop before Ohrid’s Classical Amphitheatre where gladiators have been replaced by the Summer Festival performances. After the nice walk under the sun, nothing feels better than having one drink at one of the lakeside terrace-bars while watching the sunset and the wonderful colours it lends to the Galichica Mountain, and that’s exactly what I did. Today, my hunt for Zastava’s snapshots led me through the commercial streets of the old bazaar area and I was encouraged to have a haircut. I confess that I hesitated a bit, but I actually like the result! Soon, I will be going back to Skopje airport and, from there, to Zagreb, Amsterdam and, finally, Brussels. I will miss Ohrid and its beauties for sure. But, most of all, I will miss the lovely company I was fortunate to enjoy over the last two days, and I know that both my heart and my mind will remain set on her, no matter where my travels will bring me.

Mother's Day

What a life! Last Thursday I went to Istanbul, where I landed at around 10pm under a pouring rain, after a quite bumpy approach to the airport… An old friend was waiting for me, and I was very happy to see her after more than three years! Even though we were both tired, we went for a drink and tried to catch up with each other’s lives. It’s amazing the amount of things that happen in three years, how much one’s life can change, how much oneself can change. We chatted about those things and remembered common friends and relived past episodes of our lives, and then we said goodbye. Yesterday I woke-up early and took breakfast with another more recent friend. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and the temperature was warm. I love it! We had our meeting, and then went to Taksim Square, where I met another even more recent friend, and had a great time strolling up and down Istiklal Avenue and around the Galata, until we headed, also with the other older friend, for a fair and tasty Ottoman meal accompanied by raki and finished with a nice Turkish coffee. When we have good friends, and we are in such a wonderful place as Istanbul, life can very easily be enjoyed up to its most! I promised myself that I'll go back soon, and I can’t get that train trip throughout Turkey off my mind! It’s interesting how much Turkey has in common with the Balkans and how much we can all learn from its history and culture. And, since I am now reading this book about that Mevlevi dervish who “lived” in Bosnia on the 19th century, it is even more interesting! I really need to be back soon! Also because this visit was definitely too short… this morning I woke-up at 6am, caught the flight back to Brussels and spent the whole day in the office attending meetings… Now, it’s time to go to sleep, as tomorrow I will be leaving again, back to Macedonia and to the beautiful city of Ohrid. I am really looking forward for it! And since I wasn’t able to spend the day of her 60th anniversary with the best mum in the whole world, I will at least meet someone else I love.