No, the inspiration had not dried up in the past few months. Yes, big travel plans were put on hold for a while. Professionally, things were rather busy. So, there was simply too little time to write a piece for my blog. But here we go again. I hope you’re still here.
On YouTube I published two short videos about our latest ‘in between’ travels. We did indeed have a short but great holiday in Spain, with many dusty tracks leading us through impressive landscapes and from one delightful water bed to another. I know, it sounds a bit silly, but after Spain, we had a one week stop at home after which we headed to… the south of Sweden. The reason for this is rather mundane: the beginning of the pandemic in spring 2020 left us with an unused voucher for theTravemünde-Trelleborg ferry. We didn’t need any other reason to leave for yet another extended week. Just the fact that it was possible.
Windmills at Öland, Sweden.
I made the trip to Valencia on my own, as my wife had already travelled there for a week beforehand. I found it fascinating that the distance between home and Valencia is exactly the same as the Canning Stock Route in Australia. With the minor difference that the latter has no facilities whatsoever, over no less than 1,750km, except a water source every 50km or so. My trip to Spain took only four days on quiet and lovely secondary roads, while this legendary Australian track is estimated to take at least three weeks through an unrelenting environment. This is just to show what goes on in my head when it comes to travelling. Could it be that the trip to Valencia was a somewhat unconscious rehearsal? I secretly hope it was.
It is, of course, a comparison that does not hold true. Travelling through France and Spain is easy, relaxed and hassle-free. After picking up my wife and son in Valencia – who had spent six months there for an internship – we immediately headed for the beloved Spanish interior. We love this country because of its – in European standards – remote areas, magnificent nature and culturally diverse and rich past. It was most likely culturally rich because it was diverse. Not least, the diversity that is expressed through its music. My search for a contemporary equivalent of Spain’s rich musical tradition led me to the music of L’Ham De Foc and Ana Alcaide. To illustrate this idea with the video about Sweden, I chose the music of SKALD.
Enjoying a hidden riverbed paradise in central Spain.
Indeed, something that constantly fascinates me is music’s ability to teach us about human nature. The way musicians create or improvise together, blending past and present, how they collaborate with colleagues from different cultural traditions, shows music’s capacity for connection. Art in general, but music especially, seems to be our species’ tool to explore what it means to be human, what it means to cross borders in the mind, to navigate through time and space, and to probe new possibilities of interaction and understanding. Ian Cross was right when he stated: “It may be that music is the most important thing we humans ever did.” Except for travelling, of course.
So, in the end it wasn’t a real surprise to find ourselves as two Belgians coming from Spain, roaming with an Italian car through Sweden to music sung in Old Norse by a French band while looking forward to yet another destination.