Remake of Crin Blanc or Hidalgo? Crin Gris and the 90 km of Camargue in Les Saintes Maries de la mer
By Richard | April 7, 2008
Pascal Lamorisse and his filming crew were the only ones missing… It’s a remake of the film ‘Crin Blanc’, 56 years after its release, that a young foal, Crin Gris (Grey Hair), acted in front of us this morning at the crossing of the road of Méjane and the road of Cacharel where some people waited for the riders, members of their family and\or their team, who had departed the endurance riding race at the Mas of the Cure half an hour earlier. He showed up, galloping behind some competitors’ horses, a little frantic but sure of himself; he was probably following his older brothers and sisters, full bred Arabic and others. Folco (the actor Alain Emery in the 1952 movie) was at this moment expecting to follow, running behind him…
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© Richard Palumbo
Some men then tried to tie him with a piece of rope to stop him crossing the road but he didn’t allow them and just went away for a while in a Camargue marshland where he dreamt for a while of wild spaces and freedom.
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© Richard Palumbo
Taking advantage of the passage of some competitorss and the innatention of his ‘gaolers’, he escaped, crossed the road and followed the path of his elders whose riders weren’t dreaming of freedom but to do the best possible time of the 90 km equestrian long-distance race, while managing their mount. The 90 km race is a preparation and a test to know if a horse is fit for longuer distances (like 119 km yesterday in the Saints Marie of the sea, 160 km of Florac or other races in France and the around the world). Big bucks are at stake… Every year, the first ten of the best horses of endurance riding French championat are bought, for a good amont of money and if their owner is a seller, by United Arab Emirates stables for this equestrian long-distance discipline.
But wait a minute! We’ve maybe made a mistake about the film remake, we were this morning in the 2004 Joe Johnston’s movie Hidalgo, about the true story of a famous cowboy, Frank Hopkins, who ran and won, on his mustang, an historic long-distance race in the desert of Arabia. It is thus the actor Viggo Mortensen who was missing this morning, riding on Crin Gris’ back the wild landscapes of the Camargue.
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© Richard Palumbo
The foal was now galloping through the dried up marshlands of the wild Camargue in the direction of the village of The Saints Marie of the sea. But, after reaching a ‘roubine’ (local term: canal dug out by man), he didn’t choose the good path and, instead of crossing a bridge as the competitors of the event did, he decided to go out of the marshlands and cross the main road. It’s then that the leader of the herdsmen arrived in his 4×4 and locked Crin Gris between him and a barrier. The foal threw a last nostalgic glance to two full breds which passed behind him, letting his dream go; but which dream? Running one day a long-distance race with Viggo on his back or avoiding the men and tasting freedom, with Folco on his back, swimming through the Mediterranneen Sea towards an island where children and horses live happy. The leader of the herdsmen called Crin Gris’ owner with his mobile (which he wouldn’t have been able to do at the time of Folco and Crin Blanc, without mentioning the 4×4…), who came to look for him, catch him and return him to his herd, the full bred Camargue. Soon they are going to tame him, ride him and use him to sort out a herd of bulls or as a tourists’ ride through his native Camargue for a horse riding business.
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© Richard Palumbo
With this curiosity and this thirst for freedom it seems that Crin Gris is on the path of his legendary ancestor Crin Blanc which hasn’t been forgotten and is still celebrated in our days in the the village (Read article Innauguration of the Crin Blanc crossroad’ from March 1st, 2008). Or maybe will he become, in spite of your short height, a racehorse racing against full bred Arabic in the Emirates sand deserts…
It is necessary to say that, observing this foal’s behavior in its morning adventure through the Camargue wilde landscapes gave me an idea of the context and situation in which Denys Colomb de Daunant was when he wrote Crin Blanc. He lived at the time in the Mas Cacharel, with his wife Monique, daughter of the Marquis Folco of Baroncelli (Folco… Isn’t it the name of the young boy in the book…? Boy/Man, what a coincidence!). Maybe one day, John Fusco, the scriptwriter of the film Hidalgo, riding a mustang through some North Amrica’s landscapes, has come accros an equestrian long-distance race… R.P.
Click on the following link to read this story in Italian, Spanish or/and French : Read the rest of this entry »
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Snowboarding in the French Alps.
By Richard | April 3, 2008
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Quietness, Peace, Freedom, are the first feelings coming from this amazing 360° view you discover when you’re going out of the funicular which brings you to an altitude of 3421m on the Dôme of the Puy Salé where skiers and snowboarders go down the slopes of the glaciers of the Mantel and the Girose. One of the biggest summer ski domain of Europe (3200m to 3600m). Then you get lucky and the weather this day allows you to have a view from another world, of the top of the Mont Blanc (4810,90m) over a sea of clouds…
But we were still in winter, even if on March 26th when this photo of the Mont Blanc has been taken spring had started five days before. Snow has been abondant on the resort of Les 2 Alpes all week long. It has been a dilightful pleasure to snowboard the thick white powder slopes, specially when it had snowed the night before…
The village of the 2 Alps (Les 2 Alpes) got its name from the coming together of two villages, the Alp of the Mont of Lans (l’Alpe du Mont de Lans) and the Alp of Venosc (l’Alpe de Vénosc) to form one of the two main ski resorts of the Oisans with the Alp of Huez (l’Alpes d’Huez).
This photos serie of this week spent in the mountains gives you a glimpse of the resort and its ski domain. I have managed to arrange the photos from the top of mountains at 3400m to the village at 1650m, therefore by running the slideshow (top right of the page), you’ll have a enjoyable visit of the resort area. R.P.
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Click on the following link for Italian version: Read the rest of this entry »
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A Visit at Wat Umong - Chiang Mai - Northern Thailand
By Richard | December 15, 2005
Wat Umong, two to three kilometers outside the old city’s walls on the Doi Suthep Road (turn left on a road opposite to the entrance of Chiang Mai University campus), is well-known among the travellers (written in the guides) for its Sunday afternoon monks’ talks (from 3.00 to 5.00 p.m.) around the interior lake of this Buddhist temple situated in the middle of a small forest area. It was for this reason that I first went to this temple seven years ago during my initial trip to Chiang Mai. Then I remember going back twice or three times since during each of my stays in The Rose of the North (Chiang Mai); for a monk’s talk or simply to walk around reading the Buddhist masters’s quotes written on small woody boards nailed on the trees or simply to meditate sitting around the huge stone Chedi built on the little hill in the middle of the temple.
Well this time we’re going there for another purpose …’ told me in October my Scotish friend Alan who wanted a ride to the temple. ‘And bring your camera!’ He added.
Here are we on my motorbike among the Chiang Mai messy trafic driving to Wat Umong. As soon as you enter inside the walls surrounding the temple you do feel peaceful and relax.
But this sensation definitely increased in its intensity when we reached the square area of the temple where broken sculpted in stone statues and heads (mostly heads) of Buddhas have been abandoned and stored. I even waited a while before to pick up my cameras and start shooting, the time needed to feel up with this intense inspiring spiritual and creative energy.
The result is this serie of photos which I would very much like to share with you. Looking at them definitely gives you a glimpse of the peace, quietness, wisdom, plenitude and equanimity of these enlightened faces, showed by their skilled sculptors centuries ago.
My wish is to print posters of some of these photos and share the benefit of the sales with Buddhist charitable institutions and other charities around the world. You can see my serie of 45 photos by clicking on this link or on the photos. R.P.
Click on the following link for Italian version: Read the rest of this entry »
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