“Fossa” de Mar???

Tossa de Mar, #85, Catalunya, 2020

Tossa to Fossa

In Catalan, you might translate “fossa” as a “burial pit”. So… “Fossa de Mar” might easily translate to a “Grave by the Sea”…

The world, though, knows this place as “Tossa de Mar“, on the Costa Brava of Catalunya, Spain. Even with the massive number of non-descript, bunker style hotels that have been erected in recent years, Tossa still retains much charm–the beach, the old part of town, the church and fortress ruins above, the soft sand, the blue-green of the Mediterranean Sea…

Why would I say “Fossa” vice Tossa, you ask? Well, I see it as a sort of play on words to indicate the impending death of this place due to excessive tourism. Only this year’s Covid-19 plague has given the town a brief reprieve. I expect the steady erosion of its quaintness to continue unabated once the virus is no longer a threat to packed planes, trains, and automobiles. On the other hand, those who make a living from tourism are liking the [pre-Covid] trend, so what can I say.

Tossa de Mar was once just another coastal fishing village, also producing grapes for wine and even cork for the bottles. Then, in 1950, Hollywood arrived in the persons of Ava Gardner and James Mason (et al en masse) to film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. Ava fell in love with the place, they say, and things here haven’t been quite the same since. The gat was out o’ the bossa. Tossa was “discovered”.

So, count Tossa de Mar as yet another casualty of the grand success of mass tourism. I would not recommend a visit during the summer months. I would, though, consider a visit during the late fall, winter, and very early spring months–when the beach and streets are nearly empty of humans and one doen’t feel so smothered by all those bronzed sapiens.

With the world currently semi-shut down due to the virus, our October visit revealed a very calm and tranquil Tossa de Mar of the past… a handful of French tourists, another handful of semi-local Catalan tourists, and empty beaches. Good for photography, but maybe too quiet I suppose for those who have come to rely on tourist dollars.

Monochrome Images

If you Google Tossa de Mar and select “images” to see the thousands of photographs people have taken of this place, you’ll notice very, very few are in black and white. To upset the olive cart, I present the following…

A selection of interesting objects, arranged just right:

Tossa de Mar, #2a, Catalunya, 2020

The classic Tossa photo… but wait for Jonathan Seagull to cross through your field of view!

Tossa de Mar, #3b, Catalunya, 2020

The flag of Catalan independence, the senyera estelada. The original construction of the fortress dates back to the 12th century, but it has obviously been fixed up over recent decades and centuries:

Tossa de Mar, #4, Catalunya, 2020

I’m always looking up, I guess. Nice trees up by the fortress:

Tossa de Mar, #5, Catalunya, 2020

Ava Gardner watches over the town:

Tossa de Mar, #7, Catalunya, 2020

Another standard tourist shot of Tossa–everyone stops to take a picture here. In summer, it would be hard to see any sand on that beach for the massive quantity of human flesh sprawled thereupon:

Tossa de Mar, #8, Catalunya, 2020

The above, but zoomed in a bit:

Tossa de Mar, #9, Catalunya, 2020

This is Església Vella de Sant Vicenç, on the hill above town. Symbolically, it was located above the old town (the people), but below the original castle site (political power)–a message there? This church, like the fortress, had it’s beginnings in the late 12th century, with many destruction and reconstruction cycles up to the present day:

Tossa de Mar, #10, Catalunya, 2020

Tossa de Mar, #15, Catalunya, 2020

Tossa de Mar, #17, Catalunya, 2020

A perfect place for a romantic lunch, high above the sea. But… Covid-19 = No Tourists (the place was indeed open):

Tossa de Mar, #19, Catalunya, 2020

Seagulls between sea and pines. Do you see the second one?

Tossa de Mar, #20, Catalunya, 2020

The lighthouse, built in 1919:

Tossa de Mar, #22, Catalunya, 2020

A spiderweb of pines:

Tossa de Mar, #29, Catalunya, 2020

Selective color always seems a bit gimmicky, but what the heck. I liked the private little Eden of the swimming pool and its garden:

Tossa de Mar, #30, Catalunya, 2020

Jonathan guards the town with a sharp eye. That’s the “newer” village church in the background, dating from the later 18th century (our revolutionary period in the USA!):

Tossa de Mar, #31, Catalunya, 2020

A view of the Old Town, inside the fortress walls:

Tossa de Mar, #39, Catalunya, 2020

Roof scenes:

Tossa de Mar, #43, Catalunya, 2020

Tossa de Mar, #44, Catalunya, 2020

Tossa de Mar, #45, Catalunya, 2020

Old Town passageway:

Tossa de Mar, #47, Catalunya, 2020

Tower, windows, and walls:

Tossa de Mar, #48, Catalunya, 2020

Random Old Town view:

Tossa de Mar, #49, Catalunya, 2020

More roof scenes:

Tossa de Mar, #50, Catalunya, 2020

Tossa de Mar, #51, Catalunya, 2020

Tossa de Mar, #54, Catalunya, 2020

A better view of the 18th century Església parroquial de Sant Vicenç de Tossa de Mar:

Tossa de Mar, #55, Catalunya, 2020

Another Old Town passageway:

Tossa de Mar, #56, Catalunya, 2020

Filled in… when and why?

Tossa de Mar, #60, Catalunya, 2020

Telephoto compression and an arcing composition:

Tossa de Mar, #62, Catalunya, 2020

Ending with… a classic Costa Brava scene:

Tossa de Mar, #85, Catalunya, 2020

In Color

And now, a few images for the “monochrome-impaired”…

A color version of the senyera estelada, the flag of the Catalan independence supporters, atop the fortress tower. Texas and Chile aren’t the only “lone star” flags!

Tossa de Mar, #4, Catalunya, 2020

The fortress cafe. On a normal day–even in October–this deck would be quite full of humans with their conversation, laughter, and much clinking of wine glasses:

Tossa de Mar, #19, Catalunya, 2:

Joaquina would be honored and proud. Was it the fisherman’s wife? Daughter? Assuming, of course, it was a fisherman since it was decades ago. We can’t assume the same today: