Winter Sunshine Interlude: Getsemaní, Cartagena (Colombia 02)

Introduction

Dear Readers, it is February while I write this. Many of you northern hemisphere readers are in the gloom and snow. What could be more cheerful than a few days in the sunshine? It does not get much more cheerful than Cartagena.

Cartagena is a port city on the northern coast of Colombia facing the Caribbean Sea. During the colonial era, it was known as Cartagena de Indias. It was founded in 1533, and therefore is one of the oldest European settlement cities in the western hemisphere. Today, it is a major seaport and a tourist center.

My previous stay in Cartagena was in 1981, when I drilled for the marine geotechnical company (another life). My wife and I decided it was time for another visit. Oh oh, now it is a big city. What happened to the empty beaches? Where did those condos come from? Where did the bumper-to-bumper traffic come from? Regardless, the old colonial city has been preserved, and there are no cheesy modern skyscrapers in the walled old town.

On the move, Calle 25 (Ektar 100 film, Yashica Electro 35CC camera)

Just waiting, Calle 25

Room with a view, Calle 25, from the Allure Chocolat hotel

Getsemaní

We stayed at the Allure Chocolat in the Getsemaní district, at Calle del Arsenal Calle 24 # 8B-58. Nice place! It was a bit (OK, much) higher grade than the hotels I usually occupy. According to Wikipedia, "Once a district characterized by crime, Getsemani, just south of the ancient walled fortress, has become "Cartagena's hippest neighborhood and one of Latin America's newest hotspots", with plazas that were once the scene of drug dealing being reclaimed and old buildings being turned into boutique hotels."

Listening to the boom box, Calle 29

On Calle 29 (Kodak Ektar 100 film, Yashica Electro 35CC camera)

I suppose it is a hip neighborhood. Does the wall art prove that?

The Black Parrot at Carrera 10b - very trendy at night

In the picture, Calle 27 (Moto G5 digital file)

Calle 27

Statue of Pedro Romero, dedicated to the Lanceros de Getsemani, Plaza de la Trinidad, Getsemani 

Some parts of Getsemaní reminded me of Greek villages on the islands, kissed by the sun and with brilliant, pure colors. Or possibly think of Cuban vibe but with far better food and toilets. This area had a comfortable feel with no obvious security issues. I also took black and white film photographs, but here color rules.

The cheerful ladies at Café del Mural made me an excellent espresso. Pretty girls, coffee, excellent restaurants, the sun-baked Caribbean; what could be better for a January or February escape from the cold and a Trump-cursed USA?

Hasselblad Instruction Booklets - from the archives

Hasselblad 501CM with 50mm ƒ/4 Distagon CF lens and 45° viewfinder

Dear readers, I have been using this Hasselblad since 2017. It has been reliable and optically excellent. Obviously, I should have bought one decades ago (but I used Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex cameras instead). Over the years, I did collect a series of booklets prepared by the Hasselblad company that described techniques or types of photography that you could do with your Hasselblad camera. But obviously, you needed to buy the appropriate accessories or lenses! Hasselblad, like Leica, was a master of special fittings or accessories, all made with the most meticulous engineering and production quality - and serious price.

A historical note: Hasselblad cameras went to the moon. Special motorized models were equipped with big buttons that could be operated with gloves. The now-cherished color photographs of the earth rising above the moon's surface (earthrise) were on Ektachrome film.

Here are more earth-bound applications. The Eye - The Camera - The Image and Square Composition discussed the advantages of square frames (54×54mm on 120 or 220-size medium format film). As of 2020, Kodak, Ilford, Fuji, Foma, and possibly some other companies still sell 120-size film. Not bad for a 100-year-old format. So if you have a medium format camera, put it to use and go record your family and world. If it is time to graduate from digital, borrow or buy a medium format film camera.

Here are booklets on various techniques or special applications.

Here are some slightly larger-format booklets from 1986-1988.

I never saw a booklet on urban decay photography. Maybe I should offer to write one. Maybe they would send me one of their beautiful medium-format digital cameras in exchange.......

Former PanAm - Amoco Gas Station, Hwy 80, Jackson, Mississippi

While driving home one gloomy day, I decided to explore Highway US 80 as it passes through west Jackson. I spotted an old gasoline station at the corner of Gallatin and 80 in Jackson. The frontage road that runs right in front is called Oklahoma Street. The building has been greatly modified, but the curved front and horizontal stripes caught my eye. It still had elements of mid-century modernism.

MS 182, Starkville (provided by Thomas Rossell)

I contacted Thomas Rossell, who has written about classic 1930s-1940s gasoline stations in the Preservation Mississippi blog. He responded that he was not certain about this particular station. "The heavy double lines look like Pan-Am/ Amoco designs, but in the example I attached you can see that the lines break downward at the corners."

These Amoco or Pan Am stations once dotted the south, but many have been demolished. Many others have been reused or heavily modified, but you can still detect their architectural elements.

Here is an example I photographed in Hazelhurst, now being used as a title loan store.

If you are interested in the topic, look at Preservation Mississippi and use the search tool. Highly recommended!

Railroads of Greece 11: east of Tripolis (Greece 2019-07)

In the previous article, I explored the train yard in Tripolis, used by the 1-meter gauge Peloponnesus Railway. Afterwards, I drove east along the country roads that approximately followed the old rail line. The route crosses a plateau with rich agricultural fields and then descends via many turns and bridges towards the coast. The town of Myloi was the main rail junction next to the Gulf of Nauplio (click the link to see Myloi photographs).  

This small work shed is in the town of Steno, a few kilometers east of Tripolis. The tracks were in good condition, but if they are to be used again, gravel and dirt from local roads will need to be cleared, as will brush and trees.

I stopped for lunch at a taverna in Steno. Six Californians were there. They had rented three touring BMW motorcycles in Athens and were on tour around the Peloponnese. They were the only customers, so the proprietor was pleased. He was even more surprised when another American showed up.

1914 country house, Steno

Unoccupied country house, Steno

Steno was on the old road from the coast, and the town had some early-1900s houses in good condition. Notice the nice stonework on the arched windows in the second photograph.

Partheni was my last stop. It really looked like a sleepy little agricultural town that time left behind. Without the train, the only access was by twisty mountain roads. The train platform was in use by a coffee shop. The cicadas chipped in the trees, doves cooed in the trees. Time for a nap.

Railroad outhouse, Partheni, Greece (Moto G5 digital file)

Partheni has some sturdy early 20th century stone buildings. This area looks prosperous; I was pleased.

The black and white photographs are from Fuji Acros 100 film exposed with my Leica M2 camera and 50mm or 35mm Summicron lenses. In Steno, I used a yellow filter to darken the sky. It was a brilliant sunny day and quite contrasty, but the Acros film handles exposure extremes well. The three digital files are from a Moto G5 mobile phone.

Railroads of Greece 10: Tripolis (Greece 2019-06)

Morning coffee, central plaza, Tripolis, Greece (Moto G5 digital file)

In this short article, I want to continue exploring the former train stations of the Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways (the Chemin de fer du Pirée-Athènes-Peloponése), which was founded in 1882. It owned and operated the 1 m (3 ft 3⅜ in) (metre gauge) railway system connecting Piraeus and Athens to various destinations in the Peloponnese region of Greece. The center of communications in the Peloponnese was Tripolis, the largest town of the nome of Arcadia and a busy agricultural and manufacturing hub. The railway connection with Athens, completed in 1892, was a major boost to trade, and Tripolis experienced rapid development.

Tripolis is a cheerful place, and I stopped for a coffee at a cafe in the main plaza near the cathedral during my summer 2019 trip.

Map of Tripolis from ArcGIS Online

1890 main train station, Al. Soutsou 2, Tripoli 221 00, Greece (Moto G5 digital file)

The handsome 2-story train station was built in 1890. This and other original railroad buildings throughout the Peloponnese shared an architectural design with rock facing, stucco, and clay tile roofs - very appropriate to the locale.

The building is is good condition and is used for something, but there were no occupants the day I was there. The platform was clean and not marred with graffiti. The doves cooed in the trees, all quite sleepy. It looked like the afternoon train from Athens might trundle in any minute.

The water tanks for filling steam locomotives have been preserved. A similar complicated triple tank arrangement is in the coastal town of Myloi.

This little shed shares the same stone facing and arched doorway as the main station.

South of the passenger station, a rail yard contained a lot of rolling stock. Unfortunately, a guard service was on duty and I could not go too far. Note the unused new track on near bundles.

This graveyard (or parking place) for old rail stock was off limits behind a fence. I took this frame while standing on a step leading up to a porch.

The next article will follow the rail line downhill to the east towards the coast. Most of these photographs were from Fuji Acros film exposed in my Leica M2 rangefinder camera. I used a yellow filter on some frames to darken the sky.