A very busy and pleasant opening of the first show by FotoFloor (= Floor Stoop and Mike van der Giessen) in the gallery. We already had lot's of interest (and sales!) up front so it wasn't a big surprise that so many people came to see these two great artists and their work.
The only way to get people out was stop serving drinks ... :-))
And -as usual- I hardly have the time to take pictures, but there were a lot of others doing that, so let's see what else can be added in the next few days.
Just before the opening. Drinks sponsored by Pravda Vodka (thanks Olivier!)
Immediately people starting to gather ...
The first 5 minutes.
And 5 minutes later (Mike just visible in the red shirt)
Floor ... yep, always the photographer!
Hardly possible to get in anymore, luckily it didn't rain, so people could stand outside as well.
This was 2 days ago, during the installation of the Silhouettes series
The 'Wall of Fame', with other work by FotoFloor (lot's of Famous Dutch artists) and on the table the secret diaries of Floor, with all her inspiration for the photographs. A great and seldom seen insight.
Our booth from above :-)
And another view of our booth
Lilith in conversation with Caroline & Paul
Busy times at the Passenger terminal Amsterdam today. Everyone trying to get his booth ready for tomorrow, the festive opening night of Realisme11.
We were quite fast, probably because not all the works were ready yet. I made a mistake with Irene Caesar's work, so now she has to wait until April ... oops, my mistake. So I have to think of something else to put on that spot.
Here are some preview shots (I left out the open spots of course).
Marie-Jeanne van Hövell tot Westerflier Aernout Overbeeke & Rohn Meijer
Marie-Jeanne & FotoFloor Lilith & René de Haan
Richard Kuiper, Aernout & Rohn
Monday evening was the second edition of De Donkere Kamer (The Darkroom) in Pakhuis De Zwijger. Even more photographers had shown up this time, so it was very, very busy. Again an interesting program: Joost van de Broek told us about his favorite camera (an old fashioned Mamiya C330) and Reinier Gerritsen did a funny 'column' about just the opposite: long live the digital camera!
Also an interesting pitch between three young photographers, a great insight talk by fashion photographer Philippe Vogelenzang and Colette Olof told about her work as a curator of FOAM. So it was great night. Don't miss #3 on 7 March!
Joost van den Broek Reinier Gerritsen
Day 19 (28 December 2010)
We said goodbye to our hotel -Andean Wings- in Cusco and a short flight later we arrived in Lima again. A taxi to the Radisson in Miraflores, a quick change to shorts and sneakers and off to lunch.
Lima is so completely different then Cusco. The people look much more Latin in stead of Indian (or should I say Inca?) and the entire atmosphere is 'capital'. Although Cusco is quite a large city as well, it's almost impossible to compare those two, because it's almost another world. But great cappuccino's at my favorite coffee spot -Arabica- here in Miraflores, so I don't complain ;-) After lunch we walked around a bit and went to see the pre-columbian pyramid of Huaca Pucllana. We tend to forget that the Inca's ruled only a for relatively short time. Before them there were also very interesting developments taking place and a lot of artifacts we now admire are from before Inca times. Time to see more of that tomorrow!
Day 20 (29 December 2010)
Still a few museums to see. We started with the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History on the Plaza Bolivar in the suburb of Pueblo Libre ('Free Town', so named by one of the liberators of Peru, San Martin). A very large museum with an interesting collection and a great overview of the history of Peru. The Nazca pottery is still among our favorites. And the brain surgery known as trepanation makes you feel greatful to live here and now ... It's also the colonial house of Simon Bolivar, the other and perhaps better known liberator of South America. So literally historical ground.
After that we followed the blue line that's painted on the pavement to the second museum, that of Rafael Larco. But first a nice lunch at the Antigua Taberna Queirolo, one of the oldest restaurants in Peru. It seemed like the entire neighborhood had the same idea ...
A wonderful old hacienda above a 7th century pyramid houses the private collection of Rafael Larco Herrera. It is considered by many to be the largest and most complete collection of pre-Columbian artifacts and relics in the world. More than 40,000 pieces of pottery and 5,000 pieces of gold and textiles, all visible online as well. There's also a (separate) section on erotic art and ceramics. The museum is very well maintained and even the warehouse (where you can see thousands and thousands of artifacts) is interesting.
Both photos by Mirari Erdoiza (more at fotopedia.com)
Day 21 (30 December 2010)
Our last day in Peru. But because our flight doesn't leave until 9 PM we've got plenty of time to visit another museum: Museo Oro del Peru. Again a private museum, this time divided in two completely different sections: Arms of the world and Gold of Peru. It's astonishing to see the enormous collection of weapons, including uniforms of several well known dictators, a sword of Pisarro and lot's of nazi stuff. Not your typical museum collection ... In the cellar something completely different: lot's of gold from the Inca's, including beautiful ceremonial daggers, crowns, masks, etc. So that was a great way to end our time in Lima. After a nice lunch in the neighborhood we went back to Miraflores, walked around a bit and then it was off to the airport.
Day 22 (31 December 2010)
A long flight to Madrid, where we arrived at 2 PM. The air conditioning of the plane wasn't working very well, so to the frustration of the crew it felt like a sauna. As a 'compensation' their temper was well below zero ... I don't think we'll ever fly Iberia again. Compared to LAN this was really quite disappointing. Then another flight to Amsterdam, where we arrived in time to celebrate the new year. It really was a great trip. In fact two holidays in one: one full of nature and one full of culture. At both we met a lot of great people, so we can recommend these destinations to everyone!
Day 16 (25 December 2010)
Another early wake up call, because at 6.30 AM we had to be at the Poroy trainstation to catch the luxurious train to Machu Picchu. There are two ways to get to Machu Picchu: the Inka trail (that takes about 4 days of hiking) and the train (only 3.5 hours). So we took the train, also because this is one of the most interesting train rides in the world, including a part where they go up/down the mountain in a zigzag way. It's a nice way to travel, especially in the narrow valley. When we arrived in the little village it was pouring with rain, so not the best of times to go up to the "lost city of the
Incas". Better to wait until tomorrow and enjoy a lazy afternoon in our (very nice) hotel, Sumaq. It's at the end of the village, next to the river that really makes a lot of noise with all that water bursting over the rocks, but who cares, this is nature at it's best.
Day 17 (26 December 2010)
Yesterday evening we arranged to meet our guide at 7 AM at the hotel, because we liked to be at Machu Picchu before it got to crowded. It was dry, but quite some fog, so it was a bit of a gamble. It's the raining season, so everybody advises you to take good notice of that (rain coats, ponchos, etc). The bus takes you in about 25 minutes to the entrance of the Park. Not very busy indeed, but clouds and fog are playing with us. Sometimes you can see the famous site and a minute later it's completely vanished. But after about 2 hours the sun started to win her battle with the clouds and yes, now we can see this great place as it should be, in all it's glory, surrounded by those wonderful mountains. A great experience indeed! We spend quite some time there of course and a few hundred photographs later we went back to the village. The weather was really great today, so no need at all for ponchos, but we could have used some extra sunscreen :-) What a wonderful way to spend Christmas!
Our first view of Machu Picchu
Ah, it's getting better ...
And that's how it should look indeed :-)
The 'Royal Tomb' Temple of the Sun
The Sun dial at the Principal Temple My dear friend, the Llama
Day 18 (27 December 2010)
Another day at Machu Picchu, because our train doesn't leave until 4 PM. So time enough to stroll around the river, enjoy the rain forest, see the Inca Museum and the Botanical Garden. And yes, a bit of shopping as well. It's still very warm today, so again we're very lucky. The train left right on time, and again it's a pleasure to see the river right next to the rails. That's not without risk because in the beginning of this year the track was closed for two months because it was damaged by the swollen river. An enormous set back for their income from tourism of course. But all went well, until someone was hit by the train in the dark. Not long before that incident the train attendants surprised us with a fashion show in the carriage, but now they suddenly had to show a different part of their job. That wasn't easy of course. Luckily one of the passengers was a trained nurse, so she could help. She kept the patient stable until the train could reach an ambulance. All in all we arrived more then 2 hours late, but our taxi driver was still there to take us home. A late night supper in "The Rooms", and then to bed, thinking about the incident and hoping that the patient was well taken care off.
Rain forest walk near the river
Day 13 (22 December 2010)
And off we go again! A short flight to Cusco, in the high Andes. The city is built on old Inca ruins on an elevation of 3500 meters. So lot's of people get sick when they go from sea level to this altitude at once. Luckily we only noticed the thin air while walking around, but no altitude sickness. Cusco is a very nice city, of course with lots of artisan markets again. We didn't do a lot, to get adjusted to the height, so that was nice.
Day 14 (23 December 2010)
It's raining season here and we heard that already during the night. Despite that we wanted to do a day trip to the Sacred Valley of the Inca's. So dressed for the occasion (new woolen hats of course) we got into the buss to Pisac. Of course there was a stop on the way at an artisan market before we arrived at the old Inca city. Suddenly the weather became much better, with a lot of sunshine after all. We strolled around the ruins with our guide. How wonderful to see how the Inca's built the terraces and their houses. After a nice domestic lunch we went to Ollantaytambo, another old Inca City. Again we strolled around and admired the ruins and the view of the Sacred Valley. We were a bit stupid to forget to put on our hats, so we got sun burned quite heavily. Of course we noticed that when it was too late already and on the way to our next stop we felt very sorry for ourselves :-)
Of course there were more artisan markets and demonstrations of how to dye wool, etc, etc. And finally we arrived in Cusco again at about 6.30 PM after a long day on the roads. But it was worth it!
Artisan market on the way
The Inca terraces of Pisac
It all fits beautifully together, without using mortar
After a heavy climb at Ollantaytambo
How to dye the Alpaca wool
Day 15 (24 December 2010)
This is a special day in Cusco, because it's time for the yearly Christmas Market in the Main Square. Never seen so many artisan stuff together ... And lots of Peruvians as well. They all buy their attributes for Christmas Eve, including a lot of fireworks. So it will be a noisy night ... We also visited the several museums of the city, including the Dominican Monastery that was built right upon an Inca Temple, now partly restored again so funny to see how those two combine with each other. All the churches were closed today, so we have to do them another time. The entire city is bursting with activities, so we came on the right moment. Still, we needed some time to update our blogs and because it started raining, that's what we're doing now :-))
Inca Temple and Monastery in one ...
Busy, busy, busy thanks to the yearly Christmas Market in Cusco
And a lot of Peruvians from the countryside as well. Great characters!
Day 11 and 12 (20, 21 December 2010)
Very early flight to Lima, Peru. We arrived in our hotel in Miraflores (the most fashionable part of Lima) at about 11 AM. So enough time to wonder around a bit. Very differrent atmosphere again, and lots and lots of artisan markets. We also visited the house of famous Peruvian writer Ricardo Palma. At night we had a nice dinner outside, with a view over the ocean at Larcomar. And on our way back we couldn't resist to buy a real Peruvian Nativity Scene.
The next day we went to downtown Lima. Because Lima is a large city, that takes about half an hour by taxi in the sometimes rather chaotic traffic. We did all the highlights, like the Cathedral, a few museums and also just strolling around. At night again dinner at Larcomar, with a beautiful sunset.
Plaza Mayor in Downtown Lima
An idea for my new hair style ;-)
At the Naval Museum
Sunset at Larcomar
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