December 29, 2019:On the Trail of Cesar Manrique: All Manrique All Day is All Right

It is pretty much impossible to understand present day Lanzarote without understanding the influence of one Cesar Manrique, local boy made good, artist, architecture, sculptor and free thinker.

"To be absolutely free to create without fear or formula heartens the soul and opens the heart to the joy of living."

-----------------Cesar Manrique

Until Paul and I visited El Hierro and the fantastic overlook of "El Golfo" designed by him on the smallest of the inhabited Canary Islands, I have to admit I was not "arty" enough to know who Manrique was even though he was a respected colleague of Picasso, Miro and many other twentieth century Spanish artists. He never ran particularly with the "in" crowd, as far as recognition. But they all seemed to know and respect him. 

He was born in the capital city of Lanzarote. His family eventually moved to a beach town and he grew up with the sights, sounds and smells of the ocean which influenced his life and art. Someone said blue, green, brown and black were his palette. Manrique attended architect school, but didn't finish. Instead he volunteered for the Spanish Civil War, fighting for Franco. It didn't treat him all that well. It is said he came home in his uniform, went to the roof, took it off and burned it. He never spoke of it. He then went to art school in Madrid and then to New York under the influence of his uncle who was a psychoanalyst. He earned a Rockefeller scholarship and was able to set up his own studio and gain some acclaim in prestigious New York galleries. Then he felt the call of Lanzarote, and after two years in New York City returned home where his life intersected with many aspects of Lanzarote life. It still does today. 

Even though he died in a tragic car wreck near his home in Tahiche in 1992, it is still quite possible to follow him around this island that he so loved and tried to preserve. We started at the end. Right here in Haria, where he made his final home on the island and where he is buried in the cemetery.

The courtyard of Manrique's final home: Haria. The outdoor spaces are all lovely.

Manrique's living room. Note the comfy couches and the Canarian pottery lining the wall. There were many books including artwork of his contemporaries and a book called "Parrots of the World." The white coloration is very typical of Lanzarote, but not exactly the "typical" Canarian style. The wood ceilings are beautiful and are standard. 

Manrique moved to the Haria area which is the greenest northern segment late in life. He was 69 when he arrived here. He bought a farm house property and in the four remaining years he lived, he turned it into a peaceful paradise. It was obvious he wanted a quiet location, a large studio, a place he felt comfortable, but could entertain a friend or two. 

He obviously meant for all outdoor spaces to be stylish and a place to experience nature.

Note the "mod" swing and the plastic table and seats. 

This swimming pool encroaches onto the patio off the living room. It is said he planned to eventually have the pool come to the inside of the house.

He must have been a VOL. Oranges and white abound.

We weren't allowed to photo his bed and bath (nor this one...it's a sneakaboo photo). But all restrooms had windows on all side that allowed light and also a good look at nature.

This car belonged to Manrique and he painted it for a car show.

The whole place had a very modern but comfortable mystique and invited you in. It was beautiful but in a completely different way from his "young man's house" which we will show you later.

We could have hung out here all day frankly, but we were off to chase our artist...

Next we went to Cuevas de Verde. The only non-Manrique spot we visited, it still had his mark on it.

This cave is located near the ocean but not on it. It is a lava tube and has multiple levels.

Te 

Generally, they have made it walkable for about a mile, but left much of it intact. Except for the concert hall inside. Which is cool but quite unnatural! 

There was a little bit of green in the cave, but the name green came from the goat farmers who owned the land who were named Verde.

After a nice cool caverns walk, we crossed the road to Jameos de Agua. This was a hole in the ground, literally formed as a partially collapsed lava tube which farmers were using to discard garbage. Enter one Cesar Manrique who envisioned something a bit more spectacular than a dump. He turned it into a restaurant and entertainment space. There is a musical dinner show here nightly and by day, one can come in and see the blind white crabs that populate the tide pools. 

Once a garbage dump, Jameos de Aguas is now a restaurant and entertainment spaced salvaged from a partially collapsed lava tube on the Atlantic Ocean.

The pool at Jameos de Agua

The road to Jameos de Agua. Greenery grows over the lava fields.

Apparently crabs living in a cave do not need eyeballs.

The blind white crabs were quite small, about a centimeter in size and there were thousands of them in the natural tide pool. I couldn't get a good photo so here is a borrowed one.

Jameos de Agua is classic Manrique. Architecture built into nature.

From here we moved to his "manhood home" in Tahiche. This was also a very interesting home built above and into seven connecting lava tubes. It was as beautiful as it was fascinating. He had a large public upper level in Canarian white with lovely outdoor spaces, and then a series of lava tubes converted into his private quarters below. In a lot of ways, I could see Hugh Hefner sitting around on the couches. It looked like a party palace of sorts. Paul thought perhaps he was something of a hedonist and in fact, Manrique himself stated he wasn't a particular fan of religion, rules or politics. But after reading more about him, he neither smoked (very uncommon amongst men of his day), drank alcohol/did drugs (very weird for an artist of that era) and he went to bed early and got up early to go to his studio.  There were many photos of him though and they suggested he thoroughly enjoyed his life, his friends and being entertained. In a video with a gallerist, she said he had a very serious side, but he never wanted anyone to see it. 

The entry to Manrique's Tahiche home.

One of several lovely outdoor spaces on this complex he designed in his thirties.

This is near the swimming pool. Notice the public section of the house built ABOVE his private living spaces.

Entry into the first of the seven lava tubes that served as the "rooms" of the house.

The living room. Elvis and the boom boom room pale in comparison.

Now THAT is a lamp.

Another "sitting room" at party central. Beautiful sculptures and preservation of a tree. The lighting is natural.

The pool.  More VOL ware as well

Paul is upset. He used to think he lived in a nice house.

We thoroughly enjoyed chasing around Cesar Manrique, learning about his life, learning of his influence on Lanzarote, his incorporation of architecture and nature and his concern for the island and that it be treated with respect.  He engaged in protests against high rise condominiums and so far we have seen only one on the island. 

His life had a tragic end very near his home, but his passion for conservation and his sense of style lives on all over Lanzarote. 

From here, we were on to a beer in the square and then dinner at La Puerta Verde. Yes, we did eat there last night and we recommend it to anyone who makes it to this obscure location. Delish!

Mushroom and Ham Risotto

Lovely fish for a main course

Dessert - chocolate!

Let's leave this series of thoughts with an interesting one by Manrique:

The creation of flags, borders, anthems, religions, and political organizations has contributed to the progressive paralysis of any sane, peaceful effort of human coexistence, yet  a nation without tradition is destined to disappear."

Paul's Ponderings:  A great full day out here on Lanzarote....most of it focused on Cesar Manrique's legacy.   He's a person we first discoved on El Hierro around 24 months ago, but who we've found has a distinctive style that particularly impacted Lanzarote.   While not trained as an architect, he worked on very large scale structures with their own style that focuses on stone and a natural approach to the landscape and materials at hand.   His own homes that we visited here are stunning and made us say "wow, what a great place to live".   

The weather here today in December was super temperate and sunny.   We were reminded yet again of how inexpensive and pleasant it is to be here.   Tomorrow we head out to link up with our hiking group for a few days.   Much more to come!

December 27-28, 2019: Headed To Haria

“... it's perfectly possible to live without expecting anything of life; in fact, it's the most common way. ”
- Michel Houellebecq, Lanzarote

Every year for our anniversary, my hubs and I take turns planning a trip to a location that is (1) warm and has (2) hiking, (3) snippets of culture and (4) good food. So far, we are batting .1000. This year is "Pirate's Choice" and he chose the islands of Lanzarote and Fuertaventura. There are 7 (inhabited)  islands in the Canary Island chain and these are the only two we haven't visited until now. 

For those unfamiliar, the Canary Islands for the last few hundred years have belonged to Spain but are actually closer to Northern Africa. They had native tribes until wiped out by the Europeans (I sense a trend.) Christopher Columbus and nearly every other sailor of note who depended on the trade winds to go to the New World depended on these islands as  a final provisioning spot before taking to the seas and the unknown. Lanzarote is the nearest island to mainland Africa. The geology of the islands is for the most part volcanic. 

Levain Bakery: This was crowded and there was a constant stream of people coming in to buy bread.

Perhaps we did take a few pastries with us for brekkie?

The island of Lanzarote is particularly dry with a lunar landscape in places and has about 145,000 permanent inhabitants, most of whom live in the capital city of Arrecife which is also where the airport is located.

Cesar Manrique Airport

Note the airport name: Cesar Manrique. You are going to hear a lot about this individual if you know anything at all about Lanzarote. A native son made good, an architect and artist and "savior" of the island who brought culture and thereby a world biosphere and ecological tourism to Lanzarote well ahead of the other islands in the archipelago...but more about him later.

We arrived around 2pm, picked up our rental car and off we went to lunch on our way to Jardin de Cactus (Cactus Garden.)  I have to give a food porn warning here, because there is  so much tasty food and I don't seem to be able to stop myself from taking photos of it.  We read that there was  a wonderful bakery with sandwiches on the island so that was our first stop out of the airport: Levain. The sandwiches were delicious and all the pastries were a work of art.

We went next to the lovely Cactus Garden, a concept dreamed up by Cesar Manrique (who else?) in which he artfully placed 1500 different species of cactus within a volcanic rock garden. There is also a windmill, cafe and a gift shop. 

Windmills are not an uncommon sight in the Canary Island ( or Balaerics) and were used to grind grain from a variety of plants. On the Canaries, the ground grain is called gofio and you may find it as a cereal, dessert or an additive to thicken stews, etc.

I can't pretend to have memorized all remaining 450 species of cacti, but here are some nice ones.

Interposed amongst cacti are volcanic rock  sculptures.

Cactus flower.

This garden was the last of numerous Manrique projects and is contained in an extinct volcanic crater.

Even the bathrooms at the Cactus Garden have a touch of humor, art and class.

Paul commented on "rock placement"

The rocks here remind me of the front of my secondary school, Red Bank High--which also placed "rocks" on the girl's chest. Most girls in my school had very tiny "rocks."

We truly enjoyed this sojourn amongst our prickly plant partners in all their forms ranging in origin from USA to Madagascar!

From here we travelled up a beautiful coastline of blue sea and whitewashed houses and over into the valley of Haria.

The lushest portion of a reasonably barren island, Haria is a valley of "a thousand palms." Although this is an exaggeration, there are a lot of them. The legend says a palm was planted every time a baby was born.

Recognized by locals and tourist alike as "the friendliest city," Haria is a throwback to the relaxed Canarian life of yesteryear. It's a great place to relax and a contrast to the other landscape.

We rented an airbnb from David, a Brit who appears to have married a local and taken an interest in exotic plants of Lanzarote. Not only is the apartment quaint, there is an extensive garden to enjoy...and a hot tub, sauna and plenty of tree frogs.

The alcove boudoir

Tiny but functional and well equipped cocina

Our deck of sorts. 

Once we got settled a bit, we were off to the town square which is the hub-bub of what qualifies for "action" here in Haria. And later on we were off for a crazy good dinner at La Puerta Verde.

I loved these old guys hanging out in the square juxtaposed onto Paul's hat. All three of the men talked at the same time. I am not sure anyone was listening.

Dos cervezas

the pirate enjoys local bootie

The square around 3pm. Siesta time! It got livelier as the day went on.

We would highly recommend the restaurant which is an essay to both local ingredients and wine. You can't go wrong no matter what you order.

The pirate is thrilled with his "arroz negro."

My Pakistani eggplant. Saffron grows locally. You would have to take out a loan to get that much saffron in Tennessee.

The square at night time decked out for Christmas

Canarian tomato salad. The Canaries supply most of the tomatoes in Europe in the winter. 

Fish croquettes. As delicious as they look.

In case you are concerned that all we did today was eat, we did manage to perambulate about 6 miles...but I am still stuffed.

Tomorrow we go in search of the final home and the final resting place of Cesar Manrique, savior of Lanzarote here in Haria. I'll talk more about him then.

"It is difficult to detach Manrique and his oeuvre from Lanzarote’s most iconic highlights, just as it’s hard to pigeonhole this eclectic figure — architect, artist, ecologist — who produced equally unclassifiable architecture, often built without plans or drawings. "

Paul's Ponderings:  Kind of an interesting day, as travel days tend to be.   We spent the night last night in Madrid near the airport at the Neuvo Boston hotel (a nice place) and had a great dinner at a place we dined at many times, Okela.    It was pleasant there but cool at night (mid 30s).   We left and flew down to Arrecife (Lanzarote) and voila it is 70 degrees and pretty warm.  We drove up to the unique and lovely town of Haria, which is pretty small and low key with a lovely square.   The legend has it that the the palms are so numerous due to the fact that every time a child was born a palm tree was planted.    Not exactly true of course, but these palms are not normal.....Lanzarote is a pretty arid place and brown and lava rock like for the most part, but it is pretty stunning nonetheless like most of the Canaries are.   

This will finish our visit to all seven islands by the time we hike here and move on to Fuerteventura.  We didn't do much today but travel, visit the cactus garden, explore Haria, and have a great meal at La Peurta Verede (the green door).    Tomorrow it is off to some more exploring nearby, including the Manrique sites, some of which we had seen on El Hierro when we visited there (he's a prolific guy in this part of the world).

September 7-8, 2019: Two Days around Johannesburg

"We are survival machines--robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes."----Richard Dawkins

I have been to Johannesburg twice and my husband once, and other than a single day of sightseeing last time, neither of us has ever really seen Johannesburg or left the airport. So this time, we determined that we will get out and see something. 

We started by touring the Cradle of Humankind Museum and Sterkfontien Caves. This area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Within the Sterkfontein Caves, scientists have discovered many hominid and other animal fossils, dating back more than 4-million years, to the birth of humanity. The most important and most famous of these fossils are “Mrs Ples”, a 2.1-million-year-old Australopithecus skull, and “Little Foot”, an almost complete Australopithecus child's skeleton that is more than 3-million years old. These fossils, both found in the Sterkfontein Caves in the Cradle of Humankind, tell us much about the precursors of modern humans.

The "walk" through the cave is fun for modern humanity. The area is dimly lit but you get to see stalactites and a few stalagmites, as well as an underground lake of sorts. There is a bit of bending and even some crawling, but don't let it discourage you. The walkthrough takes you through the area where Mrs. Ples and Little Foot are still under excavation, so you can't really see them. But it is interesting to see the sink holes where the hominids appear to have accidentally fell into the cave system and died. There bones have slowly covered by and absorbed into the limestone and thus preserved. It's sad to imagine their fall which was probably thirty feet, unintentional and most likely, mostly greeted by darkness. 

From the Cradle of Mankind Park, we went to the Maropeng Museum which is a very fascinating architectural structure composed partially of sod. It contains a museum of mankind--very much an interactive museum geared to young people, a hotel and a restaurant in this weirdly shaped complex. There's also a silly boat ride to nowhere, but we still enjoyed it. 

One of the best parts of the Maropeng Park is a Walk to Freedom exhibit which is a display of lifesize sculptures of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, Walter and Albertina Sisulu and Oliver and Adelaide Tambo and behind them are 100 other life size sculptures of lesser known freedom fighters dating back to tribal era. It was fascinating to go through and read about all these "strong shoulders" that Mandela, Sisulu and Tambo stood upon to reach their lauded achievements. I realized that what I knew about South African history could fit on the head of a pin. 

The following day, we took a guided all day tour called the Path to Liberation. We had a great guide, Mark, who owns Purple Hippo Tours.  I realized that I only knew a scant history of apartheid and the establishment of democracy in South Africa, and this tour gave that fact greater emphasis,but also taught me a great deal about those who opposed and fought to destroy apartheid. 

We started the tour at Liliesleaf Farm. This isn't actually the beginning of the Mandela Story. It's well into the middle or further. For a good read about Mr. Mandela, I highly recommend his autobiographical Long Walk to Freedom. 

Building At The Farm

However, Liliesleaf Farm was Mr. Mandela's hideout and a secret meeting place for the architects of apartheid destruction. The African National Congress, after years of peaceful, but not very effective protest,  opened their military wing, the Spear of the Nation, meant to destroy infrastructure of South Africa and bring the white ruling class to the bargaining table. The farm was a "front" established by Russian operatives of the South African Communist party.  Mr. Mandela assumed the alias David Motsamayi, a supposed gardener, cook and chauffeur at Liliesleaf, and to avoid suspicion lived, in the Farm's tiny Servants’ Quarters during this time.

At this excellent Museum, visitors can learn about the formation of the armed struggle against Apartheid and about the famous Rivonia Trial, which led Nelson Mandela and his comrades to be sentenced to life in prison on Robben Island. Nelson Mandela himself was already imprisoned, so not arrested in the raid, but written materials discovered at the Farm led to his trial for treason. Their attorney, Bram Fischer brilliantly managed to get them convicted for sabotage, punishable by life in prison instead of treason which was punishable by the death penalty. 

Soon after the trial Fischer was arrested for contravening the Suppression of Communism Act. In 1966 he was found guilty of violating the act and conspiring to commit sabotage – he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He died on 8 May 1975 while still in prison. He was cremated and the prison refused to give the family his ashes. To this day, their location is unknown.

Another surprise fact we found out was that the ANC operated a tour company called the Africa Hinterland Camping Safaris which owned one safari truck (pictured below) that ran actual safaris into points north of Jo-burg for a very cheap price--because they were transporting guns and other materials of war in secret compartments unbeknownst to the tourists. The company operated until 1984 and each trip carried in approximately one ton of weapons from outside countries. They were never caught.  There is an interesting film in the museum in which tourists were revisited and told the truth about the safaris. There was a broad range of responses from outrage to joy. Most agreed the safari was quite good and they would go again. 

From here, we went on a tour of Soweto which is an acronym for South West Township. This was built to house African workers in the mines away from their white counterparts. There are only four roads into Soweto, meant to serve as a way of cutting the township off if deemed appropriate by apartheid leaders.  It's a very colorful place with open markets, a variety of housing from good to atrocious, a large soccer stadium and is home to two Noble Prize winners living on the same street, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  

Soweto Plaza

Soweto Plaza 2

Soweto is also the home of The Soweto uprising of June 16, 1976 . This was a truly shocking day - even by the extremes of South Africa's then hated apartheid regime. Thousands of children took to the streets to protest at the compulsory introduction of Afrikaans into schools - it was the language of the white minority and seen as a tool of oppression. While white children had free schooling, black families had to pay about half a month's average salary per child, as well as buy text books and stationery.  Government spending on each white child was 644 rand - for black children it was 42. Many classes had as many as 60 pupils. And most black teachers could not speak Afrikaans. Black children were receiving a poor education and many were dropping out of school.  Against this backdrop, the protesters gathered at Orlando soccer stadium. Students carried banners opposing the introduction of Afrikaans and were set to march from the high school to the soccer stadium.   Organised by the Soweto Students' Representatives' action committee, the demonstration was supported by many teachers. Most parents were unaware the peaceful protest was taking place and did not know their children were in a dangerous position.   When the crowd found their way blocked by police, they moved towards Orlando High School. There, police fired teargas and students responded by throwing stones. Police began shooting at the children.   A picture of dying Hector Pieterson being carried away became a symbol of the Soweto uprising. The photographer who took it, Sam Nzima, said: "I saw a child fall down. Under a shower of bullets, I rushed forward and went for the picture. It had been a peaceful march, the children were told to disperse, they started singing Nkosi Sikelele, the South African National Anthem. The police were ordered to shoot." There are various reports of how many people died - 176 is the figure usually given but some estimates put the toll at 700.

What is certain is that the events of that day ensured the rest of the world woke up to what was happening in South Africa. Protests and violence spread into other townships in the days after June 16. By the end of 1976, thousands had been killed and injured by the police and many more arrested. It took many years of international and domestic pressure before Nelson Mandela was freed from prison in 1990, ending the horror of apartheid South Africa. 

From this point, we returned to downtown Johannesburg and constitution hill. This area served as a prison for many years and various unfair imprisonments in horrible conditions, including solitary confinement (usually with the prisoner unclothed) and torture took place. Today it is the site of the highest court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court. Judges do not serve for life, but for 12 years. It is a throwback in concept to the tribal "judgment under a tree." In tribes, disputes were settled by meeting with the tribal leaders under a tree. The whole village could attend while the leaders considered the grievances and they could contribute to the case. It was a transparent process and everyone living there would know first hand what transpired. In the Constitutional court, citizens of South Africa have the right to attend proceedings and contribute. Judges are seated below the people to show their servants role. Interestingly, there is also an art museum with a revolving set of exhibits in the court. 

Constitutional Court

Constitutional Court Hallway

Downtown Johannesburg is a really problematic area.   When apartheid was ending, the business moved several miles out and basically built an entirely new financial and business center, leaving the central city to rot, more or less.   And it is still in VERY bad shape.   We visited what was at one time and may still be the highest tower in Africa and had a 360 degree view of the area.   These photos don't really show the devastation that still exists well, but downtown is full of squatters and a lot of crime with a few exceptions.   Our guide said he had folks ask for a room "downtown" when they came and he had to get them to understand that's not a good idea.  

Johannesburg is an incredibly dense urban area and it appears to be surrounded by mountains, many of which are tailings from former mining operations.

Central Jo'burg

Central Jo'burg

Overall, it was an overwhelming but amazingly informative day and it makes me want to know more about South Africa and its history that in so many ways parallels our own history in the USA.


"Johannesburg is weird, because half of it is like Los Angeles. It feels like just wealthy parts of L.A. But half of it is severe slummy, something like Rio De Janiero or something. So it's kind of weird, because it's both happening at the same time."--Neil Blomkamp

Paul's Ponderings:   We learned a lot about Joburg on this trip, despite our short stay.   As the quote above says/alludes, it's a complex place.    Really poor areas that are really dangerous and very rich and no different than suburban LA or what have you.   And it is a HUGE sprawling area to boot.    And getting bigger all the time it appears.    That said, we've had a good time here.   South Africa is a really complex place and well worth a visit.