vlad wrote: to stay there or go on to the Black sea... or...
Ahmm, no, I'm not complaining... The idea is great...
best to all,
vlad
It would be great if you can come, Vlad. Two romanians around, wow, that already starts to feel like a crowd
I wish I knew what I was going to do next June; or if I'll still have a job; or if I'm still going to be in this country; OR... But I keep hoping!
Laura
Two romanians around, wow, that already starts to feel like a crowd
I wish I knew what I was going to do next June; or if I'll still have a job; or if I'm still going to be in this country; OR... But I keep hoping!
Oh, to be young, again .
Meanwhile, hope you can make it, Vlad . Hope I can make it . Just remember, you can go to that ol' Black Sea, any ol' time ~ but when can you go to Hydra and be with other Cohen people ?
Yeah, well, the problem's the weekend of June 9-10, not the Black Sea... Anytime after the 11th and I'd be looking into travel arrangements...
And yes isn't crowding the new Romanian trend... Btw, the Book of Longing translation will launch at the Gaudeamus bookfair in Bucharest toward the end of this month... Done by one of the best poets of Romania, should be the best ever LC translation in any language. I'll be there a few days too late (now this also seems be a trend...) but I'd love a report...
You can never get too exact on the dates, Vlad... just as in Berlin, there are always those who come early and those who stay late... and often as not, they are one and the same. You might as well start checking into travel arrangements... it's beginning to look like it's going to be a go.
vlad wrote:I'll be there a few days too late (now this also seems be a trend...) but I'd love a report...
He he, I can take a hint, Vlad... I'll see what I can do (if it doesn't happen during weekend, it may as well happen in Honolulu, as far as I'm concerned) The reviews seem great (though I'm not so sure about the sample poems that I read), and it should be interesting to see Cohen treated as an important person, even here. Strangely how fame comes and goes; actually Cohen seems to become a trend again. I think the youngest age average in Berlin was among eastern europeans; and I'm actually meeting a "lot" of romanians in the chatroom these days (all young), though I'm still waiting for the real "deep" fan... Yeah, and I'm wildly off-topic here, sorry.
Laura
Off topic: and you both should consider the idea of sending the reviews to me for bookoflonging.com, or copying them here in Book of Longing section. Never mind the language, wea all gathered around The Files are international multilingual sites;-) [Of course, if some of reviews are of reading interest, feel free to translate them ]
There are a variety of options. I failed on my first attempt and had to turn back because I was still quite some distance from the nunnery when I noticed my shadow had become three times my height...! I didn't fancy getting caught up there in the dark. My mistake was setting off too late.
Most of the walk is along the spine of the island. Therefore, the most civilised way of enjoying it all is to take donkeys up to the top of the eastern ridge, along the donkey trail that cuts diagonally up the mountainside, overlooking the port (wonderful view of course). At the top of this path there is even a mounting-block (or in this case dismounting block) to ease corpulent priests in and out of the saddle!
This is what I and a friend did in the mid-nineties and it worked very well. It means you will still be fresh when the walk proper starts. Even so, from that point (top of the ridge, before St Nicholas, which is also the top of the boring road up from Mandraki) you should allow four hours to reach the nunnery (mind you, we didn't know the path and, mistaking terracing for it, nearly walked off a small cliff and had to back-track ... so we did waste a fair amount of time ... but that's half the fun of the wilderness, isn't it).
You also need to bear in mind that the nunnery closes at 1.30pm, so you should plan to set off from the port on donkeys no later than 8am.
The nuns are very hospitable (because anyone who reaches them is clearly genuinely interested in the island) and my friend and I nearly fought over the last of their delicious pastries. Their water is stunningly cold (or did it just seem that way because of the gruelling walk?) They have all mod-cons, including a telephone, which we used to book a taxi to collect us an hour later.
Please respect the nuns' modesty - we carried lightweight long-trousers to change into before knocking on their door, but a strategically-draped towel also does the trick.
Donkey up and taxi back is the most civilised way to do it, but be aware that there are 650 steps between sea and nunnery... so merely arriving by taxi isn't necessarily the soft option you might imagine. Also, the steps lead straight into the nunnery, so once the nunnery is closed you have to hunt around for a low wall to clamber over, etc.
The walk from the nunnery to the lighthouse is further than we imagined, and in order to leave ourselves time to descend the cliff and catch the taxi, we had to turn back at a small chapel almost in sight of the lighthouse. Frustrating! You should leave about an hour and a half to get there and back.
Over the entire course, the quality of the path varies. Sometimes it is as soft as earthern terracing, at other times you are forced to walk gingerly from boulder to boulder, as if crossing a stony beach. It is also easy to lose the path as it often just peters out. If in doubt, follow the telegraph wires!
“If you do have love it's a kind of wound, and if you don't have it it's worse.” - Leonard, July 1988
Oh, that's great, Sherry ! Linda ~ I really really hope you're somehow able to manage it. I know you already have very fond memories of Hydra, and I was looking forward to the possibility of having some actual conversation with you there [unlike in Berlin ].
I didn't make it to the New York Event for my birthday in 2004, so I would really like to make it to Hydra as it falls around the same date. I have been wanting to go there ever since I first started listening to LC's music. It looks like a truly unique place. Imagine a place with no vehicles! I'm looking forward to trying the hike to the nunnery.
I look forward to seeing you there and getting better acquainted with some of the other people from the forum!
.
. Hope I can make it 
. Just remember, you can go to that ol' Black Sea, any ol' time 
. I Know I'm not the only one who will be thanking you, whether or not they do it here 
