On my velvet chair in the velvet darkness of Sala 2, I am trying not to make wow sounds too loudly as Fred and I exchange glances through our ludicrous 3-D specs. We’re watching a documovie (moviementary?), Werner Herzog’s 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams'. The gossamer drawings on the walls of the Chauvet caves, made more than 30,000 years ago by people like us, hover close enough to trace with my fingers. Dazed and delighted, we stumble out of the Albeniz cinema into the warm Málaga night.
A week later, we’re in much the same state, and caves are the cause again. That is, our new shelter-to-be in a quiet residential street just 15 minutes stroll from all that the city has to share with us.
Our week of househunting was stressful but also magical: yoga and early-morning coffee on my friend’s little terrace, looking across wooded hillsides to city rooftops; viewing apartments dull, dire or diminutive; fleeing the city's heat and glare for an afternoon siesta and returning to welcome the evening sea breeze; happy red and yellow-streaked people filling Plaza de la Constitución as their Euro cup runnethed over; mussels poached in partridge stock and served in a sardine tin at Dani Garcia’s Manzanilla Bar; night-time walks wreathed with madly perfumed galan de noche.
Now back at Los Piedaos, with its generous flora and beloved furry fauna that we will have to leave behind, I wonder if we are doing the right thing. Probably end up mad, sad, fat and broke (horse? bolted?) but it’s too late now - we’re answering the siren call of the city by the sea.
Where do you live now, and where would you like to have your cave if you revived your ‘forgotten dream’? Wherever you are, I hope you’re enjoying your summer...write and let me know.
Dear Maureen, thanks for your comment as ever. I do understand your thought about Spain not being an easy country to dream in, it is well said. Dreams here have to be tempered with all the stuff you know will happen - bureaucracy, misunderstandings, the big heat of summer. I hope you will be able to realise some of them though? By the way I would be happy to correspond via email if you wanted to supply your address.
All the best and thanks again, Arpy
Posted by: Arpi Shively | July 15, 2012 at 08:11 PM
Arpi, this blog post is a little work of art. I love its evocative tone and the cave metaphor! Painfully, however, your post reminds me that I don´t inhabit the kind of "cave" I´d like to. While I love our flat, I dislike where it is and often wish I could transport it tal cual to somewhere open and green. I wish that externally it was white and covered in geraniums ... but most of all I wish that more dreams could come true in Spain. It´s not an easy country to dream in and I resent that. So, maybe it´s time for me to wake up, sell up and move on.
Posted by: Maureen Dolan | July 12, 2012 at 03:01 PM
Hi Maureen, it's great to hear from you, in fact you inspired me to beat the big heat and write another post! I hope you'll carry on adapting to summer routines and pleasures, keep me in touch with your ideas!
All the best, Arpi
Posted by: Arpi Shively | July 11, 2012 at 09:24 PM