Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico's victory at the battle of the Puebla on May 5, 1862.   The victory of the smaller Mexican army against the larger French forces was a boost to the morale of the Mexicans. The city of Puebla marks the event with an arts festival,  with exhibits of local cuisine and with re-enactments of the battle.

The day is mostly celebrated in the United States and is associated with Mexican culture.

Cinco de Mayo celebrations began in California where have been observed annually since 1863.

Cinco de Mayo is often mistaken for Mexico's Independence Day which is celebrated on September 16th.   It was in 1810 Miguel Hildago, a Spanish Catholic priest gave his famous speech Grito de Dolores and initiated Mexico's revolt that lasted till 1821 when Mexico obtained its independence from Spain.

Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame is a medieval Catholic cathedral that was built in 1163 on the ground where a temple to the Jupiter pre-existed. The cathedral is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Its sculptures, the rib vault and its huge rose windows make it unique.   Photo by Eduard Valdus exhibited at The Met 

Notre Dame de Paris is the Eclisethat as the name implies it is the place where people come together.  It is not only a widely recognized symbol of Paris but it is also part of the French national identity and the place where Victor Hugo’s novel the Hunchback of Notre Dame evolves.  It is the place where the French kings got married and where De Gaulle went to when he entered Paris after its liberation on August 24, 1944, while the bells of the churches around the city rang.

The April 15, 2019 fire started at the vault and the spire during work of restoration and renovation.  The cause of the fire is unknown and the event is currently under investigation.

The iconic spire also caught fire and fell making it the French equivalent of 9/11.  The major damage to such a unique religious and cultural monument is of enormous significance and has psychological repercussions not only in France, but Europe and the Christendom at large. 

The Notre Dame cathedral had been damaged several times in the past with a major damage in 1793 during the French Revolution when subsequently was used as a warehouse.   

In 1801 restoration work was started and in 1804 it was used for Napoleon’s coronation as an Emperor.  

On 26 August 1944 a special mass was held in the cathedral to celebrate the liberation of Paris; the Generals De Gaulle and Leclerc and other dignitaries attended it. Just as General de Gaulle was about to enter the Cathedral of Notre Dame, firing started all over the place. 

General de Gaulle walked straight ahead in what appeared to me to be a hail of fire from somewhere inside the cathedral. But he went straight ahead and walked right down the central aisle, even while the bullets were pouring around him. It was the most extraordinary example of courage that I’ve ever seen Bob Reid from the BBC reported. Photo from the Mussee de la Resistance en ligne. 

Artwork, relics, and other antiques stored at the cathedral include the crown of thorns which Jesus wore prior to his crucifixion and a piece of the cross on which he was crucified, a 13th-century organ, stained-glass windows, and bronze statues of the 12 apostles. 

Notre Dame as seen from the Quai de la Tournelle, by Jean-Francois Raffaelli (1897-1902).  In 1963, to mark the 800th anniversary of the Cathedral, the facade was cleaned to its original off-white color.  President Macron vowed to rebuilt Notre Dame in the next five years hopefully to coincide with the summer Olympics in Paris in 2024 and make it more beautiful than any time in the past.

The Strait of Bonifacio

We started our passage of the Strait of Bonifacio at its west end, which is wide-open sea.  Although the weather was unsettled no major storm was present in the western horizon and the navigation was easy.  Most navigators today use longitude and latitude readings obtained from GPS (Global Positing System).  As all digital instruments may malfunction knowing and using navigation methods that are always available such as information from the magnetic compass and the boat’s speed allows the navigator to know the vessels position albeit not as accurately (dead reckoning). The distance from the west end to the islands in the east varies between 20 and 40 nautical miles depending what one considers as his starting point.  

As our speed over ground was 5-6 knots and we started the crossing in the late afternoon it became apparent that we were going to reach the narrows of the strait where the islands are at night.  Night navigation especially in unfamiliar waters can be dangerous as visibility of the shore and other hazards, optimum at daytime, is limited at night.  Night navigation depends on lighthouse identification, finding Polaris, the North Star and being familiar with visible planets and stars.  In our case the planets Venus, Jupiter and the constellation of Gemini (Castor and Pollux) who were the sons of Leda and Tyndareus, the king of Sparta were in our western horizon for most of our trip.  As we were progressing eastwards the weather deteriorated and we had to deal with a light but continuous drizzle.  We put on our foul weather gear, essential clothing, for those mariners involved in open water passages as it is near impossible to avoid inclement weather.  

Fortunately, we had proper marine maps with us and our GPS was providing trust worthy latitude and longitude readings.  I cannot emphasize how important it is to study the passage on detailed marine maps in advance, record and even memorize the lighthouses which together with depth readings and most important the Lat&Long readings from the GPS makes a night passage safe instead of dealing with a catastrophe such as ending on the rocks.  

When we were at the middle of the strait we encountered several cargo vessels and at its east end at night we came close to a cruise ship, which could be easily recognized as it had a multitude of lights. On the other hand merchant marine ships have few and depend on their navigation lights (green, red and white) for visibility.  Therefore, at night good binoculars and 20/20 eyesight were needed to identify vessels and decide if we looked at their right or left side and if they were steaming towards or away from us.  Although we had a radar reflector common sense dictates that it is better for a small vessel to stay clear of the big boys.  As we advanced towards the east end of the crossing the weather worsened.  A description of our experience with the storm we encountered in the Tyrrhenian Sea will be in the next post to be uploaded in the end of this month.  I thank you my for following our crossing of the Mediterranean and wish the month of October to be good to all.  

Bonifacio and the Land of Laestrygonians

Bonifacio (Corsican:  Gunifaziu) is a beautiful city in the southernmost tip of Corsica.  The city was built on high cliffs that surround a channel that serves as its harbor.  The city has two sections the Old town (Vieux Ville) and the Upper City (Haute Ville) that was built on the site of the citadel a 9^th century fort that overlooks the straits of Bonifacio.   

Bonifacio has all the characteristics of the site where Ulysses had his encounter with the Laestrygonians (Greek: Λαιστρυγόνες).  Homer tells us that Odysseus and his men arrived in a dozen boats at the “rocky stronghold” known as Lamos.  The ships entered the harbor that was surrounded by steep cliffs and had a single entrance.  Odysseus kept his own ship outside the harbor and sent two of his men to make contact with the locals. The men followed a road and met a young woman who was the daughter of Antiphates, the king, and directed them to his house. However, when they got there Antiphates snatched and killed one of the men, and drank his blood.  Antiphates and thousands of Laestrygonians, who were giants, preceded launching vast rocks from the cliffs, smashing eleven of the twelve ships, and speared the men like fish.  

Odysseus made his escape due to the fact that he moored in a cove near the entrance of the harbor.  Odysseus watched in horror, as the rest of his men were lost to the cannibals.