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underwater landscapes

Posted on September 20, 2011 @ 6:02 pm by massimo | Filed under: advertisement,animals,another green world,bargain,beach,blog,diving,fun,illustration,mediterranean,news,swimming,turkey

Kaş, once an unspoiled fishing village, is now a relatively unspoiled tourist town on the southern bulge of Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. The area around Kas belongs to the Top 100 diving destinations worldwide. This is because this area have an high amount of underwater life, combined with very clear water (up to 40 meters visibility) and beautiful underwater landscapes. Actually there are around 30 different dive spots and many great places for swimming and snorkelling:  a destination really worth a Turkey holidays, in my opinion. Always, while I’m afloat on the sea surface, I know that a more or less intense underwater life is going on just under my feet: this fact simply makes me feel dizzy!  What then,  if you are bathing or -better- snorkelling a diving spot notoriously crowded by baracudas, stingrays, sea-turtles, rare snails, dorades, jack-fishes, soldier-fishes, octopusses, muray-eels, trumpet-fishes, brasses of many kinds, as well as huge groupers? What would be your feeling when so many amazing underwater lifeforms are to be seen regulary in unpolluted and crystal clear sea waters like Kaş’ ones? Would you realize at last, that a crowded, sunken and parallel world coexists with the one we are used to  ive in?

Illustration Friday topic is: mesmerizing

Aphrodite

Posted on August 9, 2011 @ 9:58 am by massimo | Filed under: advertisement,art,beach,blog,holidays,illustration,island,mediterranean,mythology,travel,wordpress

A trip to Cyprus is also a trip back to greek mythology. According to the myth, Cyprus claims Aphrodhite’s birth from the island waters. The fact that Aphrodite, among hers many names, is also called Cypris (Lady of Cyprus), might confirm this thesis. Wherever she borned, the myth of her birth has been widely depicted by classical art history. Perhaps the most famous reperesentation is  Botticelli’s The birth of Venus, definitely an outstanding masterpiece. In my poor an imperfect illustration, Aphrodhite is giving her shoulders to Cyprus southern area where the Troodos volcanic chain culminates at nearly 2000 mt. This is an area covered by forest that is sometimes quite thick, hiding dozens of richly decorated chapels and small mountain villages. The road stemming from Paphos, on the western coast, crosses lovely mountain sceneries: you might need some car hire cyprus to fully enjoy a road trip to Troodos vallies: once in the area  you will be able to choose the footpaths that go into the forest…

Illustration Friday topic is: imperfect

narrow escape

Posted on July 29, 2011 @ 2:40 pm by massimo | Filed under: advertisement,beach,blog,boracay,cheap,fear,illustration,island,mythology,news,package tour,philippines,sailing,wordpress

Andrew was an Australian I met in Boracay. He lived in General Luna, Siargao Island main town, fronting the pacific Ocean. Andrew owned a paraw and he used to go sailing in the Siargao sea, among  unpolluted and enchanting islands: Dinagat, Dako, Anahwan, La Januza. “An obsession!” he claimed. His tales were so enthusiastic that Gino and I could nothing but leave Boracay, go to General Luna, rent a paraw, and go sailing togheter with Andrew. In a nut shell,  there is a special feeling when you realise that you are sailing the immense and powerful Pacific Ocean on board a paraw: such a tiny boat,  a sort of unravel threat! And really our last navigation was threatening. In the late afternoon we found ourselves a mile off La Januza; we decided to head back to General Luna, at a distance of around ten  nautical miles. The wind was dropping; we tacked upwind but I suddenly  realised that the rudder blade was off the hull: its precarious tin pintles had given up. Meanwhile the gentle and constant wind pushed us towards the open sea! No wonder that we felt lost and panicked: no water or food on board, no compass, nothing but a piece of rope to bind ourselves to the mast. In the sunset light we saw Andrew’s paraw sailing home fast, getting far, while on the opposite side the unreachable La Januza looked a mirage. But, hurra! Neptune and Eolus themselves woke up togheter to save us: after a 20 minutes long hopeless drifting, the wind changed and we finally managed to land in the dusk  in La Januza beach. The island people who had previously noticed our drifiting were waiting for us. Perhaps I spent my life dearest night inside a rented room on that remote little island. The next day as soon as we had the rudder repaired, we sailed back to General Luna where an amazed Andrew was waiting for us. What else can I say? For sure our short tour had not been  a cheap package holidays!

Illustration Friday topic is: obsession

jam jars

Posted on July 24, 2011 @ 6:07 pm by massimo | Filed under: ancona,beach,books,cheap,croatia,food,holidays,illustration,island,mediterranean,news,politics,travel,wordpress

While reading an old guide book printed  by the former Yugoslavia Tourist Bureau in the mid ’70, I can’t avoid some personal memories.  My hometown Ancona lies on the Italian side of the Adriatic sea and, as a matter of fact, the Croatian coast has always been for us the very …

fusion food

Posted on July 21, 2011 @ 6:00 pm by massimo | Filed under: advertisement,ancona,beach,blog,food,fun,holidays,mediterranean,news,people,travel,ukiyo-e,wordpress

Among the  thousand reasons that make an Italy holidays very peculiar, there is food. Italian food is higly reputed due to  its traditional quality and variety. Yet, as for the rest of western or westernising  countries, (I apologise for my bizarre neologism) a new  cooking trend has gained little by little more …

Lamu night life

Posted on June 6, 2011 @ 5:51 pm by massimo | Filed under: advertisement,africa,beach,blog,fun,holidays,island,kenya,lamu,music,people,travel,wordpress

You might ask what on earth there is to do on an Islamic Island at night? The answer could be join a full moon party, a must almost for every tourist!  The party happens at the Shela beach and usually music is played by small  portable music systems. The local boys, …

boat people

Posted on December 28, 2008 @ 11:48 am by massimo | Filed under: africa,another green world,beach,blog,illustration,island,news,people,politics,travel,wordpress

Someone told me on the Vietnamese boat people who had landed on Pulao Kapas’ beach many years before.  I came across the boat’s wreck a few days later. The boat’s left over, nearly completely buried by the sand, really struck me. I stopped and stayed by that unplanned and …

lapu lapu

Posted on November 10, 2007 @ 6:30 pm by massimo | Filed under: animals,beach,blog,boracay,food,illustration,island,news,philippines,ukiyo-e,wordpress

Red groupers typically have a stout body and a large mouth. They are not built for long-distance fast swimming. They can be quite large, usually largest fish of the grouper family, and their body, soft dorsal and anal fins, are covered with scales and thick skin.
Lapu Lapu is the Pilipino name …

sarong

Posted on June 12, 2007 @ 10:05 pm by massimo | Filed under: africa,ancona,art,beach,blog,fashion,fun,illustration,india,indonesia,island,kenya,mediterranean,news,philippines,thailand,wordpress

No much time to post this week: I’m rather busy with the Cuprarte Art Festival opening, next Saturday. So I have drawn myself wearing a sarong. Sarongs are large sheet of fabric, wrapped around the waist and worn as a skirt by men and women throughout much …

postmaster

Posted on February 24, 2007 @ 11:12 am by massimo | Filed under: art,beach,blog,boracay,fashion,fun,holidays,illustration,island,news,people,philippines,travel,wordpress

With no internet, fax, telephone, even electricity, communications with the outer world was not that easy in Boracay in the early 90’s.
The tiny island was actually set apart fairly and that was its very charm to me, at last. Yet the small concrete-building at one end of the island, …

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