Blue, Bluer, Superblue, Hammerfest

Hammerfest, Norway, January 2015

A flashback from a trip done previously

Hammerfest is a small town in the North of Norway, until recently the most northern town of the world. The town is on the coast, by a fjord, surrounded by mountains. In summer it's said to be lively, but in the middle of winter it slumbers cosily. We spent a couple of weeks in Hammerfest January 2015. We being a contemporary dance group and me being its lighting designer, planning a new performance in the residency of Dansearena Nord.

Welcome to Hammerfest!

My original plan for January was to go to Thailand hammocking, but one should be careful for what one wishes for, since one might get the very opposite.

It's not simple to get to Hammerfest, especially in winter: Our route proceeded from Helsinki to Copenhagen, from Copenhagen to Oslo, from Oslo to Tromsø and from Tromsø to Hammerfest, planes getting smaller and clientele less posh every leg.

This is not Thailand

It was a good trip, though. We got some work done, met some nice people, took turns in having a stomach flu and I even had some time to see the sights. If you really curb your speed, you might end up using one whole afternoon to see them. My list of recommendations is as follows, but most of all I loved the hues of blue, colouring the scenery all julianonderdonk.

I have no idea what this is

Hammerfest Church

Burning churches was a fad in Norway some time ago, so architect Harald Magnus was clever in advance in choosing concrete as the main material for the church, completed in 1961. There are triangles everywhere in the construction, also in the colourful glass painting by Jardar Lunde. Oh my Gordiskknute, that's one confusing altarpiece! I'm not quite sure if Christ is dying, ascending or being captured by aliens. Anyhow, it's a groovy piece of art

Museum of Reconstruction

Gjenreisningsmuseet tells a sordid story of Hammerfest during and after World War II. Shortly put: before the war Hammerfest existed, after the war it did not. As the German army retrieved, it was scorched-earth policy all the way. There were two options for people in demolished Hammerfest, to be forcibly evacuated to southern cities or to hide in the woods and caves, waiting for the Allied Forces to arrive – which took way longer than expected. Quite an experience, even after seventy years. Luckily, there's a museum cafe with ultimate comfort food: warm waffles. You'll need them.

There wasn't a sudden summer day in January,
the photo is from Wikimedia Commons, by Manxruler,
since I failed to take one

The Ultimate Blueness

At the time of our visit, sun didn't rise above the horizon at all. Still, there was some daylight, like for fifteen minutes per day. After that it started getting blue. And bluer. And then, even bluer. Then, it got Klein International Blue. Then, Klein International Bluer. Just when I thought it possibly couldn't get bluer than THIS, it got bluer. And then some. And then, it was dark. You could suggest that this blueness happens elsewhere, too, but hello, I'm a tourist and experienced it here so I won't listen.

It did get even bluer, but my camera refused to believe.

The scenery might have affected the lighting design
of the piece we were working on

The Arctic Culture Center 

Check their website, the Center might have something of your interest in the program: concerts, plays, dance, movies, you name it, mostly during evenings. The building is worth seeing in its own right, too, with a scenic window facing the bay, and a café, should it be open. The building is somewhat a landmark of the town, lighted blue during the dark.

Arctic Culture Centre, this is where we worked

Nissen Mall

A small shopping mall slightly resembling an offshore oil rig, Nissen includes an almost hipster café and a shoe store called Eurosko. Among the usual shoes, you can find some pretty cool traditional and traditional-ish shoes here.

Pieces of information
• More about traveling in Hammerfest area in the Northern Norway webpage, including Hammerfest Church and Gjenreisningsmuseet
• Other people exploring Hammerfest: Vagabond Baker
• Fresh after the trip, I wrote about it to Kummat kengät blog from shoe perspective, in Finnish.
• Arctic Culture Center's website, in Norwegian

Combi takes me to the Daffodil City

Izamal, Mexico, February 17th to 22nd 2018

Google had told me that Izamal is called The Yellow City and I added it to my itinerary immediately. As usual, I didn't quite believe the Internet and expected to find a few worn out ex yellowish buildings around the center, but since I kind of like yellow, that was enough. 

Oh my Gooseberry, was I happily surprised on arrival!

I took a combi, a van packed with fifteenish people, from Mérida after arriving there from Progreso by bus. I bought a blue 30 pesos chip from a man in front of the Similares pharmacy in the corner of Calles 65 and 54, pushed my suitcase to the back of the van he pointed me to and squeezed myself in the car. The van became filled with people quite soon, the chips were collected and off we went. The combis don't have timetables, they leave whenever they're full.

As the combi majestically glided in Izamal, I saw a town supersaturated in my favourite hues of yellow: egg yolk, yellow cab, sunflower, daffodil and banana ice cream from the days of my youth, working in a ice cream parlor! And not just a few buildings, but all of them in the centre. Well, with some white houses amongst them, but merely for ornamental function I guess. Like the white parts in daisies, only there to highlight the yellow.

The yellowest of them all is the Convento de San Antonio, a church/monastery in the middle of the town. It was built on top of a Mayan pyramid, which kind of gives a sour colonialist hue to the beauty of the building, and the city at large. The huge atrium seemed to be in good use of the locals, there was some kind of dinner party organized on the lawn, as I visited the monastery.

Pope John Paul visited in 1993, a statue was erected and
the city was painted yellow.

I very much liked the overall colour coordination,
enclosing even the trash bins.

I was quite colour coordinated, too

I'm afraid the deep and painful regret pictured here
was not originated from destroying ancient Mayan temples

Seen from the rear, the monastery looks a little like a theatre
decor, meant to be seen from the front only

The Izamal central area is conveniently rich with Mayan ruins, and there is at least one Mayan pyramid left, with nothing built on it. On top of Kinich Kak Mo, a temple designated to Sun god of the same name, there's a good view to the town and surrounding areas, in addition to historical value. Climbing to the middle level is quite enough, I tell you.

On the middle level.
Panting.

From Kinich Kak Mo temple,
you can see the suburbian, rougher side of Izamal,
comprising of approximately four houses

After all the climbing I was super hungry, but wanted a change in the menu, so I picked a Japanese restaurant on Calle 31, called Ikigai. Based on the miniature prices of the dishes, I induced them to be miniature sized, so I took three portions. Lo and behold, three full size meals were brought in front of me. Luckily, the food was not just affordable, but also very good, especially the Teriyaki.

The street plan of Izamal is a little more complex than in most of other, strictly grid planned cities in Yucatan, mostly because of the two instead just one central square and the monastery. In the picture above the smaller square, Parque 5 de Mayo. The larger one, Parque Itzamna, has most of the nice cafés, comfortably shadowed by the arched vaults, but in the corner of 5 de Mayo there is the Centro Cultural Y Artesanal, which inhabits most interesting specimens of folk art and design. I'm usually not that much into folksy things, but works here have pretty cheeky artistic touch in them and are not afraid to break out of traditionality.

Angélico Jiménez: Nahual (2006)

Angel Santos Juarez: Leon Coronado (2006)

Mauricio Hernández Colmenero: Calaca panadera con novia (2006)

I haven't paid too much attention to my lodgings in this blog, but my hotel in Izamal deserves an exception. Macan Ché consists of separate houses of different shapes and sizes, arranged in a big, lush garden, with pond like swimming pool and lots of hammocks. And a great breakfast. Every house and room is different so I guess there are murkier options, but I was super happy with my India room. First floor, windows on three sides it was almost like outside, in a good way. 

Of course, there was a hotel cat. Still al little shy here,
but sleeping on my laptop the next day already.

Corner of the India room

The hotel was far enough from the centre not to be totally yellow

Izamal was a perfect ending for my Yucatan trip. I still had five and a half hours bus trip to Cancun ahead of me – highly recommended, see a lot of small villages, just do not drink too much, no toilet in the bus – and then a night in Cancun where my flight to New York was to depart. But Cancun doesn't really even count. Except for realizing that I'm too old to sleep in a hostel, even in a single room. 

Way too old.

Pieces on information

• Izamal in Wikitravel

• Other people exploring Izamal: To Travel Too, Earth Trippers,  Mexico Cassie

Mexican Walls, the Good Kind

Valladolid, Mérida, Progreso and Izamal, Yucatan, Mexico, February 2018

Ah, the colourful walls of Mexico! Before my trip I tried to find out in which towns they are to be found, but it turns out: everywhere! Oh the bliss! The colours are so saturated and alluring that I'd like to hug the walls and lick the paint like one licks the plate in a really fancy restaurant.

A little background: I'm into colours. I'm really, really into colours. 

Exhibit A: my travel wardrobe. Mind you, I had to choose a limited amount of hues for matching outfits (a word you won't be hearing often in this blog). This will probably help you understand why I'm so happy about the colours of Mexico. Finally, a place where I can blend into walls!

I know the walls are kind of popular photo motif. So, I'll concentrate on the details in my photo reportage. Hello, I'm a tourist, desperately trying to be Different. Also hello, I'm a fine art curator, seeing abstract art everywhere.

Other people exploring colourful Mexican walls: Northern Lauren, Design Idea for Decor, Suitcase Stories