The tree man

Lake front

Arona

A new start

A delegation of approximately 150 present and former heads of state, ambassadors as well as academics from the Arabic and Muslim world, guided by the President of Senegal and backed by Unesco and the Municipality of Paris, and accompanied by another 100 representatives of various international Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities, will visit the former concentration camp of Auschwitz in southern Poland today.  I’d like to see this important event as a new start of better understanding and more respect between populations with different cultures and different religions. As long as all parts will act in good faith and with trust towards each other.    

The Grand Friday Mosque in Malé (Maldives)

When colours are...

Malé fishing harbour,

Maldives

The boat service

Olhuveli Island (Maldives)

Bewitching colours of the sea

The sandbags are there to protect the beach against the difference in water level between high and low tide. Many groups of islands of the Maldives have been badly affected by the enormous tidal wave of the 26th December 2004. With an average ground level of 1,5 meters above sea-level, this unique archipelago, featuring 1.192 islets of which only 200 are inhabited, is vulnerably exposed to all possible extreme natural hazards and is slowly disappearing, due to a constant sea-level rise which has been calculated to be of 59 cm by the year 2100. This, if the leaders of our planet do not take drastic action against the negative effects of global warming. Actions aiming at saving many areas of the world from going under water and consequently saving the growing world population from loosing precious sources of food and sweet water. Otherwise, nobody can stop the repeat of the historical migrations in search of survival with its devastating consequences.

Olhuveli (Maldives)

Olhuveli Island

I just stood there watching the sun rise from behind the ocean, while I let the soft talcum-powder sand of the beach glide through my fingers.  An athletic young man ran along the shoreline. He looked perfectly fit and I felt a hint of envy rising in me. I looked down on the curve of my stomach and knew that I should be doing the same and should have started a long time ago, but as he disappeared from my sight, the feeling of envy ran away with him leaving me alone with the sun breaking through the thin sheep-clouds which slowly moved away from the horizon. The grey colour of the sea gradually changed into silver-green with red glints generated by the first sun-beams, while the soft pink colour of the sand turned into white. I waited for Nature “to do better than this” and was immediately rewarded: the shadows of the clouds gliding over the surface of the water made the silver-green turn into deep-turquoise with glints of dark blue and yellow-gold. At the other side of the sea, tall palm trees on a long sand bank softly waved their leaves  in the breeze with a constant rustling sound. As I walked back to the apartment under a tangle of tree branches and flowers, to accompany my wife to the restaurant for our first breakfast in Paradise , I suddenly knew that Nature would surprise us more during the days to come… and without limits.  

Olhuveli Island (Maldives)

Paradise is...

I have no other words to describe this miracle of Nature.

Olhuveli Island

Maldives

Trimming and pruning

All our lime trees and plane trees along the lake are being prepared for Spring.

I will be absent for 10 days, off to the Maldives. An 11 hours long flight from Milan, followed by a 40 minutes transfer by boat from capital city Malé to the Olhuveli atoll over the cristal clear waters. I can't wait to arrive there and make the photos I will post on my return. Take care of yourselves in the meantime!

Arona

Waiting for Spring

Arona.

Strong and gentle

One day she entered the large garden which generously surrounds my brother and sister -in-law’s house.  She was slim but not underfed, and probably found most of her daily need for food  by catching small lizards and field-mice in the vineyards beyond the garden.  The taste of tuna-fish and other similar fine food which she had surely never tasted before, generated the immediate beginning  of a continuous cohabitative relationship,  with all those advantages a cat can receive from a generous human heart. Very soon the catch of lizards and other small animals became only leisure-time practice.  She is in full strength now, showing a beautiful mix of colours and sparkling green eyes in a harlequin mask. The only obstacle to total serenity remains the presence of good-natured Jan, the splendid five year old tall German shorthaired pointer, who puts precise limits to entries into his  territory, welcoming only close family members and friends with sincere manifestations of affection .  Another cat has in the meantime decided to share this paradise of food and warm shelter in winter, in specifically prepared baskets containing “old” soft-woolen pullovers of my protesting brother-in-law.  Jan has in the meantime been trained to limit his aggressive and punitive actions against these “trespassing  enemies” to a warning growl which comes deep from his throat, when they face each other nose-to-nose through the lower part of the window of the kitchen door, but when both cats are absent , he jumps onto the wall, empties their food-bowls, takes away the “old” woolen pullovers and destroys the baskets.  He then lays flat on the floor with the usual innocent look in his eyes, satisfied with his actions and clearly convinced they will never come back again, now that they have no food and no shelter anymore….  

Tic...tic...tic...

...the continuous soft sound of handcrafted pavement-making of the square which I overlook from my windows. Every single piece is put into place by hand by these workers who receive warm coffee from an elderly lady and bottles of wine from me, to keep their blood smoothly flowing in this freezing cold winter. Notwithstanding this bomb-mixture of alcohol and caffeine, their design develops perfectly well!
Once the pavement is ready, a large rectangular shaped low-to-the-ground fountain of essential design will be placed in the middle of the square which will then remain permanently closed for traffic (ain't I lucky!). The surrounding 14t to 17th century buildings will then be lit up by beams of light coming out of the new pavement and/or will be lit up by the old latern-lamps, typical of the historical centre of Arona. I only hope that the new fountain will not become a noisy throughout-the-night-shower in the heat of summer, but I know that I can't have it all...!

Arona

Towards the new year...

... wishing that the few who have taken the reins of the world inappropriately in hand will step back, to make way for those who have clear and sincere intentions to share their own destiny with ours, making Utopia in this respect become a real world.
View from Arona on the castle of Angera

MERRY CHRISTMAS...

...and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to all of you and your loved ones!!

May the new year bring you good health and serenity!!

Diederick and Marina

Arona

Italy

The territory battle continues...

...like in our Parliament

Arona

Italy

The first approach

Ice rink on the lake front,

Arona

A wonderful event...

...organized by the Mayor of Arona: the projection of sacred images on the front part of the church in the Square of "San Graziano" in Arona. Notwithstanding the rain, many people came to see this.

Piazza San Graziano,

Arona 

When we woke up this morning...

...it had snowed in the sweet muscat-grape vineyards of the village of Rasei, in wine paradise.

Codevilla

The jewel

First I had noticed the tree, then the windmills on the edge of the horizon, only then little town of Ripacandida (Basilicata), between the tree and the horizon, set like a jewel in this magnificent landscape.

Autumn leaves...

...was one of the many songs I sang during last saturday night's Jazz concert organized by Winery "Eleano" in the municipality of Ripcandida (Basilicata - southern Italy) accompanied by the professional Jazz Quintet, Mr. Grant's Band, and what a thrill to receive such a great response from the public!

Before the weather turned bad

Madonna of the Lake,

Arona