The derelict Islote de Fermina, opposite the Gran Hotel in Arrecife, isn't open to the public anymore, but once we were walking by and for some reason the gate was open. Along with a few other curious trespassers, we sneaked through and had a good look around.
How fantastic it must have looked in his mind!
four decades since he drew up the plan
on a piece of paper: the swimming-pool
solarium, jetty, café, bar and gallery
A place of art and beauty and above all, fun
for citizens, immigrants, pilgrims and guests
to meet, swim, eat, drink, sunbathe, relax and enjoy
in the capital city - almost finished but never used
Today it is the ghost island - derelict, forgotten and lonely
a graffiti playground for phantoms, addicts and squatters:
broken glass, drug litter, urine, fire damage and rot -
the dross that has smothered the vision
little evidence left of his dream, turned nightmare
by echoing scandals, haunted, abandoned and sad
- above a lone seagull caws, the entrance barricaded
and stuck with sign that shouts NO PASAR!
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