Retezat mountains in 12-24mm - Before losing sight of Retezat and the love story

Retezat mountains in 12-24mm - pit stop with goodies on the way back

Retezat mountains in 12-24mm - Packing up

Retezat mountains in 12-24mm - Early morning again

Retezat mountains in 12-24mm - Second night at Bucura

Retezat mountains in 12-24mm - Bucura Lake - Salvamont in Memoriam

Salvamont Hunedoara - Refugiul Bucura. Oameni deosebiti, legati de o mare pasiune, ce nu vor fi dati uitarii niciodata, precum varfurile muntilor dainuie mult timp dupa noi.

Retezat mountains in 12-24mm - episode III - Bucura lake and surroundings

 

Retezat mountains in 12-24mm - episode II - Plaiul Mic

Retezat mountains in 12-24mm

Between the 17th and 19th of August 2011, I've taken a trip to meet with the Retezat mountains, the most beautiful in Romania according some and myself included, together with four friends. This is the story, in several episodes.

Some things never change in Vama Veche

Martisor, cu drag

...pentru ca martisorul este mai mult decat un obiect de agatat in piept si pentru ca a-l darui cu drag e o bucurie tot atat de intensa precum cea a sosirii primaverii.

Intr-o seara placuta de luni, cea din urma a lui Faurar, m-am intalnit cu doua persoane dragi (Alina si Tavi) ca sa complotam la adresa primei zile a lui Martisor si a celor carora vroiam sa le oferim un zambet odata cu aparitia primaverii. Ea a cam intarziat, noi nu. Insa cu certitudine am amusinat-o la rasarit si i-am acordat circumstante atenuante: se blocase in traficul norilor undeva pe la portile orasului.

Am facut o selectie la 'parfum si pofta'. Restul povestii in poz(n)e pe picasa. ;)

Un inger...

...a zburat si a trecut. Dincolo de portile inseninate, unde timpul nu cunoaste masura, ne vom revedea candva. Pana atunci va fi in fiecare zambet si in fiecare imbratisare a zarilor mangaiate de razele zilelor.

Uncovering the eons with bare hands

Hands fill our senses with space and shape, with the unseen, with the untouchable. They reach oneself out on to the others, bring shivers of feelings through the skin, the veins, down to the bones and up to one's mind and heart. They give never to ask back and receive only to remember when in solitude. They are the portrait that one's looking for in all arts. They are art. Hands feel, treasure and unveil time's writings as it flows through.

from the album Sultana Malul Rosu 2010 - A bridge over millenniums

Update - A bridge over milleniums

Over the coming days, I will keep updating the entire Sultana Malul Rosu project in my picasa album, that you can access here. This way you will be able to stay in touch with every change in the story as the moments get added by the day. Till it is finished and untill I will be able to offer a surprise to anyone interested - ;) - visit it from time to time...and feel free to leave your thoughts, here or there.

A bridge over milleniums

Vacation is over and done, yet this comes with a sense of fulfillment and no regrets. I've been away on a more or less unexpected trip to a place that sits around and above other worlds and where the river of time is stuck somewhere around 6000 years before us. And there I had the honor of being part of a wonderful team of dedicated people that have built with the bare hands a bridge over this river. Which reminds me of what I was told when I was a kid: 'In life, one is really fulfilled when one planted a tree, built a house and started a family.'

A glimpse into the story that's about to take shape:

Sands of May

Remember that short story about that Romanian most east-southern place where you can find the almost perfect mixture of past, present and future? Well, while digging these days in the stash because of the 1st of May, this nice excuse for hitting the road and heading toward Dobrogea or the seaside and having good fun, I stumbled upon some other reasons for which setting camp on the sand and enjoying the Vama Veche spirit was really worth it.

Late hours of an afternoon #2

Late hours of an afternoon

Fishermen's realm

Music by Vangelis - Song of the Seas


With thoughts for the year pointing toward uncharted lands, I found myself remembering a place. One between so many others where one can find the almost perfect mixture of past, present and future. This is Vama Veche. An old settlement on the most Southern Romanian shores of the Black Sea, refuge from the mundane and trendy trends, heart of folk and rock music with all that a bohemian life implies . Or at least it used to be and this is what makes it the almost perfect mixture. Nowadays, hopefully at least half of its soul survives the frantic flow of modern city life. So happens that one can still have a glimpse of the ever sailing boats of fishermen, whom ignore the sounds of the city people, and set sail in a never ending quest for conquering the seas.
I wish their existence does not come true in the entirety of Walt Whitman's song of the seas and that it finds favorable wind to sail within the quoted lyrics.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up - for you the flag is flung - for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths - for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
Lyrics by Walt Whitman from 'O Captain! My Captain!'




Location: Vama Veche, Romania, June 2008