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In this week’s ‘Memories of Casa de Campo’ post, Carol Burke remembers the Casa de Campo summers of the late 1980’s – a time of the year when Casa de Campo was all about fun and relaxation!
…. On me the summer storm, …
Wrought magic, so that if I feared the solitude
Far more I feared all company: … while through the wild air
All day long I heard a distant cuckoo calling
And, soft as dulcimers, sounds of near water falling,
And softer, and remote as if in history,
Rumours of what had touched my friends, my foes, or me.
—Edward Thomas
Summers in Casa de Campo in the late 1980s were like no other time of year. The ambience of summer at Casa was smoother and more easygoing than in the other seasons.
There were many visitors to Casa de Campo, and Minitas Beach was always a popular place to spend the day.
The Minitas Crowd in the Summertime
One of the beach games was the crab race at Minitas Beach. Crabs with numbers painted on their backs were placed in the middle of a circle drawn in the sand. Bets were placed, and the crab who ran outside the perimeter first won the race.
Summer vacation at Minitas
Children were out of school and could spend their days on Minitas Beach.
Wind Surfing and activities at Minitas Beach
Artists were also a beach attraction in the summertime. They would set up their easels, and with palettes and brushes in hand, paint their beach scenes, and offer the paintings for sale.
Beach paintings in the Casa de Campo summertime
Summer was a quiet, laid-back time. The excitement of the polo matches, the tennis and golf tournaments, and the high season faded into a kind of peaceful harmony.
Many times during the summers I would walk over the golf courses and see only a few golfers out and about.
Golfers have it Good in a Casa de Campo Summer
Summer was a time of reflecting back on how the year had been, and looking forward to the new season coming in the fall.
The lakes of Casa de Campo offered cool contemplative scenes.
Cool Contemplation in Casa
The lakes were like mirrors reflecting the sky, the villas, and the trees.
Casa de Campo Villa Reflected in a Lake
Sometimes the trees’ reflections made a perfect oval in the landscape, joining the lakes and the sky together.
Casa de Campo Palms Create a Circle Between Heaven and Earth
In the hot lazy afternoons, a shady patio was better than the beach for those who wanted to get away from it all.
A Place to Relax in the Late Afternoon
Casa de Campo has great sunsets, and the lakes of Casa de Campo double the sunset events with their reflections.
