48 hours in Barcelona

I was lucky enough to spend  three nights and two days in Barcelona earlier this month - my first trip to Spain. 

our rented flat was in this building

We rented a flat in the Poblo Sec neighbourhood of the city, and our first trip was to see Barcelona's most famous symbol - the Sagrada Família.

view of the Sagrada Família

outside the Sagrada Família 

As this was January I believe we were lucky as we didn't have to queue to get in - friends who have visited during the summer later told us there was 3 ½ hours of queue!

Nativity facade 

Sagrada Família is a large Roman Catholic basilica designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. Construction began in 1882, and Gaudí became involved in 1883, although when he died in 1926 (struck by a tram) the project was less than a quarter complete. Concerning the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have remarked: "My client is not in a hurry." Work was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War in 1936, but has been carried on by various architects since 1940.

entrance door detail - each insect is different 

Unlike many other places of worship the Sagrada Família, which was consecrated by Pope Benedict in 2010, is filled with light inside. While never intended to be a cathedral (seat of a bishop), from the outset the Sagrada Família was planned to be a cathedral-sized building. 

inside the Sagrada Família

 Construction is expected to be completed by around 2026- 2028.

inside the Sagrada Família

There are three facades: Nativity (to the east), Passion (to the West) and Glory (to the South). The latter is yet to be completed.

sculpture depicting the Kiss of Judas on the Passion facade 

The Plaza Monumental de Barcelona is a former bullring, the last bullfighting arena that was in commercial operation in Catalonia. It was inaugurated in 1914 and expanded in 1916. It was the last place in Catalonia where bullfights were held, since in 2010 the Parliament of Catalonia passed a ban of bullfighting events that came into force in 2012.

Plaza Monumental (former bullring)

Architect-designed telecommunications tower
on Sants-Montjuïc

Statue of a music hall performer who died 50 years ago,
Raquel Meller, still adorned with fresh flowers.

colourful Monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) are everywhere

Palau Güell is a Gaudi-designed mansion built for Catalan tycoon Eusebi Güell between 1886 and 1888. 

part of the facade of Palau Guell

The next day we started by visiting the Gothic Cathedral of Barcelona, which was constructed between the 13th and 15th centuries.

interior of Barcelona Cathedral

The cathedral is next to an interesting part of Barcelona known as the Barri Gòtic or 'Gothic Quarter'. Many of the buildings in the area date from Medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement.

'Barcino' was the Roman name for Barcelona

During the 19th century the city government installed a one-way system for horse-drawn carriages in the narrow streets of the Gothic quarter. Signs said entrada or 'entrance' at one end, and salida ('exit') at the other end, so you were not allowed to enter a street from the end marked salida, only from the entrada end.

'entrada' sign on a street in the Old Quarter

modern sculpture, Plaça Nova square

After the Cathedral we headed to the beautiful Palau de la Música Catalana, or Palace of Catalan Music.

upstairs balcony, Palace of Catalan Music

This concert hall was designed in the Catalan modernista style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and was built between 1905 and 1908 for the Orfeó Català, a choral society.

stained glass skylight in the concert hall

The concert hall, which seats about 2,200 people, has been described as one of the most beautiful in the world, and is the only auditorium in Europe that is illuminated during daylight hours entirely by natural light. In a semicircle on the sides of the back of the stage are the figures of 18 young women popularly known as the muses (although there are only nine muses in Greek mythology). The monotone upper bodies of the women protrude from the wall and their lower bodies are depicted by colorful mosaics that form part of the wall. Each of the women is playing a different musical instrument, and each is wearing a different elaborately-designed skirt, blouse, and headdress.

some of the muses at the back of the stage

Our final visit was to Park Güell, a park system composed of gardens and architectonic elements designed by Gaudí for Eusebi Güell.

 view from Park Güell

Entrance to the Park is free but there is a fee to visit the 'monumental precinct' (main entrance and the parts containing mosaics).

Mosaic salamander (also known as a dragon) designed by Gaudi

From the entrance a twin flight of steps rises, where the famous salamander or dragon can be found. The most popular image of the park, it is covered with decorative tile-shard mosaic. 

Park Güell at sunset

There are many other places we could have visited (Picasso Museum, Joan Miro Foundation, La Pedrera etc etc) but time was short, so we had to choose just a few places. We still have plenty more left for another trip!

Suggested reading:

• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

You might also like:

• 48 hours in Amsterdam
• 48 hours in Brussels
• 48 hours in Tokyo
• 48 hours in Shanghai

Reunion on BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent programme is billed as "Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world". First commissioned in 1955, it takes the format of a half-hour programme in which five correspondents each broadcast 5-minute monologues on topical current events from countries outside the UK. No music or interviews are included, and it gives the correspondents the chance to offer a personal account of events that can be epoch-making or inconsequential. 

It's a programme I've enjoyed listening to for the past few years, either live, or more often as a podcast, and I was pleased to learn there would be a report from Reunion in the programme broadcast on October 3rd 2013. 

You can listen to the programme here; the part about Reunion was made by journalist Robin Denselow and starts at 11'38". There's a year left to listen.

Although broadcast in October it was obviously made in early June when Denselow visited the annual Sakifo music festival. In it he talks about maloya music - how it was banned until 1981, and what it represents now. Unfortunately the impression given by the report is of a strict local vs mainland French division of wealth, which was probably true in the 1970s, but is no longer the case (division of wealth still exists, but not along local vs mainland lines). Denselow does however correctly remark on the rising popularity of maloya on the global world music scene.

Maloya has its origins in the music of slaves and along with sega, is one of Reunion's two major music genres. It has mainly African origins, but possible influence from Tamil drumming has been identified, making it a hybrid genre - not very surprising on the melting pot of Reunion. Maloya is slower and more reflective than sega, and like blues music has a chant-response structure. Song themes are often carry a political and social protest message (e.g. slavery, poverty, search for cultural identity, independence, links to the Communist Party of Reunion) which explains why maloya was banned for being too subversive until 1981. Traditional instruments used include the kayamb, a type of flat rattle made of sugar cane flower stems and filled with seeds which is shaken horizontally, and the roulér which is a cylindrical hide-covered drum.

Christine Salem with a kayamb (source)

Some of the most well-known maloya musicians are Firmin Viry, (credited with having stopped maloya from becoming extinct), Danyel Waro, Gramoun Lélé, Nathalie Nathiembe and Christine Salem. Groups such as Ziskakan, Baster, Granmoun Baba, Rwa Kaff and Ti Fock have also mixed maloya with other genres such as sega, zouk, reggae, jazz and rock.

Here's the Firmin Viry performance at Sakifo 2013 that Denselow refers to in his report:

Maloya was inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO for France. The video below about maloya was uploaded by UNESCO onto Youtube following this inscription.

Further reading:

• Christine Salem: bringing the devil's music to Womad - article by Robin Denselow in The Guardian, Thursday 18th July 2013 (includes links to listen to Christine Salem's music)
• Maloya: The protest music banned as a threat to France - article by Robin Denselow on the BBC website.

South Africa

a fitting quotation to start this blog post

Although I first travelled to South Africa in 1995 I only visited the Western Cape at the time, and didn't know eastern South Africa at all. With this trip it was time to make amends. 

central Johannesburg

We began our trip in Johannesburg where our first stop was the must-see Apartheid Museum, which charts the rise and fall of South Africa's era of racial segregation.

the museum had a temporary exhibition about Mandela's life

The museum is very useful in understanding the tensions and inequalities that still exist in South Africa today.

a display at the Apartheid Museum

Afterwards we drove through nearby Soweto (the SOuth WEst TOwnships) which has a population of 2.5 million, and is infused with the history of the struggle against apartheid.

Orlando Towers, a former power station now used for bungee jumping

modern art in Soweto

The next day we went to the outskirts of Jo'burg where we had breakfast at Heia Safari Ranch - our first glimpse of African wildlife on African soil! 

zonkey, Heia Safari Ranch

giraffe, Heia Safari Ranch

After breakfast we headed to the Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site, which stretches over an area of about 470 km2 and is one of the world's most important palaeontological areas, dotted with about 300 caves. There we visited Sterkfontein Caves, a significant archaeological site which has produced some of the most famous hominid fossils in the world, together with a range of plant and animal fossils. Sterkfontein has the highest concentration of fossils in the Cradle of Humankind, and the latter has produced more fossils of early hominids than any other site on Earth. The most famous are "Mrs Ples", a skull which is more than 2 million years old, and "Little Foot", a skeleton which is between 3 and 4 million years old.

in Sterkfontein caves

Sterkfontein has also yielded stone artefacts that are 1.7 million years old, and are the oldest dated stone tools in Southern Africa. At Swartkrans near Sterkfontein a collection of about 270 burnt bones tells us that our ancestors could manage fire more than 1 million years ago.

in Sterkfontein caves

The following day we travelled to the nation's administrative capital, Pretoria. At the heart of the city is Church Square, which is surrounded by imposing public buildings such as the Palace of Justice, where the Rivonia trial that sentenced Nelson Mandela to life imprisonment was held in 1963-64.

Palace of Justice, Church Square, Pretoria

Café Riche bistro, Church Square, Pretoria

In the middle of the square is a statue of Paul Kruger (1825-1904), a Boer leader and 5th president of the South African Republic (1883-1900).

statue of Paul Kruger, Church Square, Pretoria

We then headed to the nearby Union buildings, the sweeping sandstone government headquarters and home to the presidential offices. You can't visit the buildings, but you can appreciate the lovely gardens, which are used for public celebrations such as Mandela's inauguration in 1994.

Union buildings, Pretoria, seen from the gardens

After over-nighting in Tzaneen, in Limpopo Province, our next stop was the famous Kruger Park, named after the President I mentioned above.

seen en route for Kruger Park

Although we only spent one night in the Park we saw an amazing amount of wildlife, as you can see from the photos below.

Southern yellow-billed hornbill

Shaped liked a long, narrow wedge, Kruger Park is 380km long and roughly 60 km wide. It covers ≈20 000km2 and has 20 different ecozones.

Zebra

unidentified animal skull, Kruger Park

Buffaloes are one of the 'Big Five'; the others are elephant, rhino, lion and leopard. The term originates from big-game hunters and referred to the five most difficult and dangerous animals in Africa to hunt on foot.

Buffalo

Waterbuck

Crocodiles

The night we spent in the Park was at Olifants Camp, which overlooks the beautiful Olifants River.

Olifants River, evening

Olifants river with the morning mist

South Africa has more than 800 species of birds, including the world's largest bird - the ostrich - and the smallest raptor - the pygmy falcon.

Dark-capped bulbul

Elephants, white rhinos and hippos are the world's three largest land mammals.

Bull? Elephant

White-headed vulture

Roller birds, like the lilac-breasted one pictured below, get their name from their tendency to 'roll' from side to side during flight to show off their plumage.

Lilac-breasted roller

Rhinos aren't actually named for their colour, but for their lip shape: 'white' come comes wijde ('wide'), the Boers term for the fatter-lipped white rhino.

White rhino

Hippopotamuses can weigh from 500 to 3000 kg and be 3-4 metres long. They spend their time in or near water, chewing on aquatic plants.

a hippo's yawn

Wildebeest

The Kori bustard is considered to be the heaviest flying bird in the world.

Kori bustard

On leaving the Park we drove alongside the Drakensberg Escarpment and then headed south for Graskop via Blyde River Canyon.

part of the Drakensberg Escarpment

part of the Drakensberg Escarpment

Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world (after Fish River Canyon in Namibia and the USA's Grand Canyon), and is one of South Africa's most outstanding sights. It is 26 km in length and on average is around 762 m deep. One of the best views in the whole Canyon is of the "Three Rondavels", huge, round rocks, thought to be reminiscent of indigenous huts known as 'rondavels'.

Three Rondavels, Blyde River Canyon

For another fabulous view we headed to God's Window, where cliffs plunge 700 m down to the lowveld landscape below. 

view from God's Window

Red agave flowers, God's Window

We also stopped briefly at nearby Pilgrim's Rest, a late-19th century gold rush town that has been preserved more or less in its original state.

main street, Pilgrim's Rest

Next we headed to Swaziland, where we spent a night near Manzini and stopped the next day at Nisela Safaris, a small private reserve near Swaziland's southern border.

a spiral-horned male nyala

There we saw warthogs and nyala antelopes, and admired the traditional Swazi 'beehive' accommodation.

Swazi beehive hut

road sign, Swaziland

On leaving Swaziland we headed for the coast, where we were going to spend two nights at Sodwana Bay in order to go scuba-diving.

note "Beware of hippos and crocodiles" as well as sharks!

Sodwana Bay is recognised as one of South Africa's best dive sites,  and is the only tropical dive site in the country. The 50 km reef complex (believed to be the most southerly coral reefs in the world) boasts around 95 species of hard and soft coral, sponges, other invertebrates and around 1200 fish species. It attracts 35 000 scuba divers every year. 700m deep valleys,  and underwater canyons, are spread over a distance of 2km.

our dive club's set-up on Sodwana Bay Beach

Rare coelacanths were sighted here in 2000 (for more about coelacanths see my blog post here). Sodwana Bay is part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which stretches for 220km south from the Mozambique border.

because of the surf boats have to be launched using tractors

I was somewhat apprehensive about the water temperature, but at 23-24°C the sea was warmer than the air temperature of 20-21°C!

looking out to sea, Sodwana Bay

The majority of the reefs are named after their distance from the launch area, and we did two drift dives on 2 Mile Reef at 'Bikini' and on Southern 2 Mile at 'Caves & Overhangs'. 

map of 2 Mile Reef dive spots

Bikini has an average depth of 18 metres and is considered an advanced dive site. It's an important cleaning station on the reef complex, but bigger visitors (sharks, dolphins, whales, mantas) can also be seen on occasion, although we didn't spot any on our dives.

We saw a potato bass, crocodile fish, leaf fish and moray eels as well as nudibranchs. 

Caves and Overhangs has an average depth of 13 m, and a maximum possible of 17 m. We saw a hawksbill turtle, a blue-spotted stingray, triggerfish and scorpionfish, amongst other things.

traditional village, Kwazulu-Natal 

Leaving the coast we drove inland through Kwazulu-Natal to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. Although one-twentieth of the size of Kruger Park, Hluhluwe has plenty of wildlife, and its size makes it somewhat more accessible. It's renowned for its rhinos, and we certainly saw plenty of them!

white rhinos

wildebeest

The area was once the royal hunting grounds of King Shaka and the Zulu kingdom, but was established as a modern-day park in 1895.

male warthog

Our accommodation was at the unfenced Mpila Camp in a safari tent.

safari tent, Mpila camp, Hulhluwe

night sky, seen from Mpila Camp, Hluhluwe

As the camp is unfenced the Park's animals can wander around, and several hyenas came to see us that night - I had never realised how big they are!

hyena, Mpila Camp, Hluhluwe

African wild dog

One of the best sightings of our whole trip was on our last day in South Africa, on leaving Hluhluwe the next morning, when we saw a female cheetah and two cubs walking by the side of the road!

female cheetah, Hluhluwe Park

If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

• Coelacanth - the 'fossil fish'
• Diving in Mayotte
• "SAfrican" English - blog post about South African English on my Language and Translation blog.

Suggested reading:

• Disgrace: A Novel by JM Coetzee explores the downfall of one man and dramatizes with unforgettable, almost unbearable vividness the plight of South Africa - a country caught in the chaotic aftermath of the overthrow of Apartheid.