The Ictineo II, the cutest little “das boot” ever to be seen! And the first submarine (well Ictineo I was the very first, but it was crushed by a freighter)! Built and cruising in 1862. Interestingly, the first Ictineo was propeller driven, with the propeller operated by 16 men! Ictineo II was steam powered.




One would think the maritime museum would be a really big deal in Barcelona, given its history and the 200-ft tall statue of Columbus that marks the climax of their maritime power. Yet it took a beautiful young woman from New York to actually show me where it was – after the maitre’d, the Aquarium ticket seller (you would think it was close when there was an aquarium), the street sweeper, and the policia all pointed me in different directions. Could possibly be my poor translation skills. Unfortunately, when I finally did find it, it is partially closed due to reconstruction. However, the building is part of the ancient wall of old Barcelona, and this portal is from the 14th century. I liked it. Me gustó.




The woman from NYC was interesting – a video anthropologist working in Croatia. We had an interesting conversation while on board the M/S Hulda. Owned by the family of Ilman Koman, an artist whose work is being displayed on the vessel in ports around the world for “The Journey of Art and Science.” Check out this tower – if you look really closely you will notice that it disturbs your sense of how things work. For example, shouldn’t the chain be suspended from something? Shouldn’t the wooden pieces be connected to something? It’s quite delightful – I would like to have one of these in my classroom or house.





Here’s a picture from their website of the Hulda under sail. Beautiful! I met the grandson of Ilman Koman, who is learning to sail her. He said that he first sailed for 2 weeks and just followed his uncle’s instructions. Then, his uncle left the ship and he learned more in 4 hours, trying to figure out what to do on his watch. I also was interviewed about my reaction to the exhibit, so maybe I’ll show up on their website some day.