Liguria uncovered

RIGHT! no more travelogue, too boring.

This is me! I quite liked the mosaic surrounded mirror, so I took a photo! Lots of mosaic stuff in Liguria, well the Romans did it a lot, so an ancient skill

See below as well.

See!

-it’s worn well!—–now what next?

Guide advised avoiding this if we wished to leave with livers intact!  while he was pointing out all the places the wild boar had been foraging.

Just look, Autumn crocus in its natural environment and

is this an Italian landscape or what?

-round the corner on the headland they were telling us about the 3 pines found there———

while this is the flower of the “caper berry”  (I thought capers were buds?

this I do know is Chicory, but the one I would have in my garden, if I could find it in scotland, not the veg one, much tho I like the veg.

these were being driven round on backs of tractors, not too many food miles then!

I like it that this guy copied the stripy churches for his garden wall, not marble tho-

–might be ancient, or perhaps someone has a sense of humour?

-this speaks for it’s self

and this is the grotto.

another stripy church,

and a Town gate leading to

SHOPPING! what else!

No, not flag of England! Flag of St George, patron saint of Genoa. Apparently British PAID them to use the flag until very recently, good gracious, and here he is—-

-doing what he does best–

Abbey of San Fruttuoso, “11th centuary gem”-only reachable by long steep walk, or boat if you are on a cruise ship!

and this was the highest point, before our poor sore feet started the descent——-I WENT SWIMMING!

but not here, an Antiques race!  notice the clever use of faded colour!!!!!!!!!!!

this was some of the boats at peace-

this is men working, couldn’t let that pass,

only hope they were properly fastened on! from a health and safety point of view!

working boat among all that elegance–

fishermen!

and these 2 boats had a net encircling a mass of leaping fish, shame you can’t see them, the fish I mean, but

they did seem to take fish seriously

That’s all, until the next time.

XXXXXXXXXXX

ITALY———liguria, the cinque terre.

Now this first was from Monterosso, I think! This kind or iron work is one of the local specialties, thankfully all too big for me to succumb to buying!

Next day train under a mountain to Riomaggiore, talk about STEEP!

This was the old town, one bit of many paintings by painter who liked to show people at everyday work.

First we walked to Manarola tiny fishing port, but working, so I am in my element!

See!  and just look at the main street————–

boats all the way up as far as humanly possible to get them! And ready for the next night’s fishing, I love this

-close up tells the tale, hundreds of hooks on long line waiting to be baited and cast———-

Next for us, walking through an extremely ancient agricultural landscape———

I love the colour contrast of this taken over the sea——and on the uphill side, vines in the local style, grown horizontally at the top, or rather parallel to the ground, presumably makes best use of sun.

Back to the seaward side, more vines on what seemed an impossibly steep slope, and my companions in front as usual while I take photos!

–and this was looking back the way we had come, this has been here for thousands of years, originally only accessible by sea, unless you were a mountain goat.

–folk still living in some of the same houses today, tho of course that is not the whole story.

What goes up must come down, us I mean. This is almost certainly Vernazza, “dominated by it’s old fortress

See, I must be right about where it is.  So then train back to Levanto—————to be continued–

India, flowers

Ah well, it had to happen, a flowers only statement!

COLOUR!

EDELWEISS! now did these get here from Switzerland of vice versa, or what?

My kind of colour!

but I love this, we are talking very high alpine meadows here——————

Not sure if you find this yellow thing in Europe, I fantasise about seeds being brought to europe by camel trails over the millennia,

can anyone help me here?

Compositae! Is this erigeron?

another blue poppy sneaked in, I love the colour contrast—————

and this stream was within a stone’s throw of the melting face of the glacier——

Is this my finest hour, botanically speaking?

–and this is a very old local man sheltering from the sun under his multipurpose umbrella, in the middle of a flower meadow—————

India, further north————————-

This was the next morning, the 4 kids brought the baby as well, that is the door of their house with the family garden behind.

we had spent the night in a custom built tourist hostel, and this was the view out of the window in the morning. Inside was another truly terrifying experience in which lots of bare wires mixed freely with water in the bathroom, can’t remember if I got washed, but it seems unlikely in retrospect!

-and this was the monastery round the corner,

-and this was the view————-

now this is interesting, this was the first day of trekking, my luggage had arrived 5 days late, courtesy of British Airways and a local man who had driven 14 hours non stop, reputedly, to deliver it just as the mules arrived. These were knitted by Tibetan women who, with children, accompanied their men who spent all summer building flood defenses, and roads in impossible places, more later. I have a pair of socks! Can’t resist a bargain!

Evocative description! By now we were walking through villages

-and through back gardens, the rectangular house is traditional, layers of wood between stone help it to resist earthquakes, same design as in Nepal, later in time but earlier in the blog.

I’m afraid this is another of my favourites! Woman working while man rests! AND, she is distilling the local firewater from the mash in the blue barrel at the front, I bet he gets to drink most of it as well.

I love this picture, terribly evocative of something, not quite sure what————–

while this is said to be evidence that other religions have come over the mountains, presumably in summer, and mingled with Buddhism, but all remains peaceful.

and here we are getting to the Alpine flora, this is a dwarf Rose bay willow herb.

and this is the others walking in front after a night under canvas–

guess what! they are of course the weeds that grow between the crops in the fields.

more work, health and safety, this is the barber working in the sun with his customers queuing in the shade of a tree behind.

nd a business!

we were for ever walking through back gardens!

THIS IS ME! The only way to cross the river, but perfectly calm!

and this was the countryside for the day————

more kids showing off–

I think their parents owned our camp site for the night–

this was the moraine we walked over next, just a shopping trip for the locals–

melting ice water from glaciers

and lunch about to be served, this was base camp for next few days

luggage arriving!

camp with floral backdrop

Oh, the light!

and THIS was one of the things we came for, the blue Himalayan poppy in it@s natural habitat.

and he thinks the alpine flower meadow is just there to feed his goats!

Impossible to decide on the best mountain view—

but he lived up here, no problem with pink for men then!

laundry, co-operation.

men watching work

the future—-

mule possibly pleased to be finished trekking

and this is the Tibetan lady who knitted the socks and gloves, waiting for us when we got back,

our group having lunch on mountain road on way back, australian showing off!

and we came back to discover the monsoon had arrived while our backs were turned!

MORE LATER!

Ecuador-speaks for its self——

 

 

 

If you see what I mean!

This was the start of the days walk, first aim about half way round the rim.

 

 

 

 

 

-but without much descent————————–

 

 

 

 

 

—unlike these local women who were off down at great speed, after their sheep, for grazing, but not water as it is a chemical soup, just remembered that! As usual, all women were multitasking(!!!!?) Spinning wool into balls as they walked, or almost ran it seemed to me!

 

 

 

 

–so this was the start of the trail and============= ============ ======

 

 

 

 

 

–and, YES, we went all the way down then all the way back up the other side, and it was even more taxing than it looks, but it was the local’s road from one village to another, probably people from here live to be very old, so long as they don’t fall!

Now just orientate yourself on that, if you dare, but you do need a head for heights! It was round here I had my most convincing near death experience, resigned to falling all the way down to the bottom!  Just as well we had swopped guides for a mountaineer, tho I think the entire population are mountaineers.

 

 

 

We did pause briefly on the way but——–

 
That’s where we were going next, having already done one up and down, another beckoned

 

aaaaa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

——-and this was where we had been——–

 

 

 

Mind you, there was entertainment laid on when we got there–

-and those little girls were certainly demon dancers, they did pass the hat round after, and good luck to them. As for me, I elected to make the next day’s journey with the man in the bus, not on foot, discretion being the better part of valour! Lots of flower photos from that (one!) day, but they will appear elsewhere———-later.

 

Ecuador——-work, health and safety.

Yes, I am at it again, promoting my own special interests!

This is my all time absolute favorite, we were advised not to go too near!

Welding with the greatest chance of instant death, but free electricity straight from the high tension cables, different country, different risk assessment!

 

 

 

Workmen looking confused,

But it all came right in the end———

–museum courtyard in Quito

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now this was the only industry in the town, not Quito–

-and shop–sort of shortbread really that they made, ancient method, some nasty burns from that oven–

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

now I seem to remember these 2 sang trad songs on the bus for us, they were known to our guide and travelled with us for a bit, the dress is traditional to the town of Otovala, very characteristic, I even saw it on the streets of Glasgow, they are famous for textiles and sell them the world over. Back when the Spanish invaded, business was already so good the spaniards imported machinery to automate it, and left machines behind when they went.
Bags full of textiles for sale, men do it in Ecuador, their father was the weaver. I, of course, feel morally obliged to buy locally made stuff, if I am enjoying their tourist industry. Cobweb fine woolen stoles, fabulous colours (remember!) and absurdly warm for the weight.

Getting too long for a cameo, so last but not least!!!!!!!!!

An agricultural interlude===

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ploughing was for small fields and tourists, if you see what I mean!

They did have tractors but they went from farm to farm–

 

 

You will meet our host again, we had a couple of nights home stay, which was his business,  no central heating and very cold at night, but an enormous pile of Alpaca blankets to sleep under, bought some of that as well, highly recommended.

Ecuador——-the jewel in the crown.

For decades I had wanted to go to Ecuador.  When asked why,  I had no explanation. Word was put about that the reason mother wanted to go to Ecuador was that THEY wore red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, and goodness knows what else besides, ALL at the same time, just like mother.  Now there is certain amount of truth in the colour story, but many many hours as a child, spent reading a whole cupboard full of back copies of National Geographic, might give us a clue!

Whatever, after a bizarre false start, when I ended up in Himchal Pradesh, of which possibly more later?  2008 was the year I finally made it.

Flying in to Quito was heart stopping, and not in a bad way. Much of Ecuador is a vast high plateau running  between 2 marching columns of volcanoes, for the length of the country.  When I found myself back less than a year later, en route to Galapagos, it was no less a heart stopping sight.

Now this is the road south out of Quito, looking east, of course!

–

while this I just love, gives an idea how no slope was too steep to be used.  The story was that when the Incas, or was it Aztecs?  invaded they took all the fertile cultivated land. Native Indians just moved higher and higher up, and don’t seem to have given up this plan.  Spanish in their turn displaced Native Indians from the best land of course, that’s what life was like then.

now the one below is interesting, it’s the bottom of a monument to Ecuadorian independence, in Quito, and shows the Spanish lion. A slinking off, defeated.  A bit higher up, underneath if you see what I mean, is the victorious Ecuadorian Condor with its chains broken.  Lots more imigiary, is that a word?, but memory fades, Ecuadorians have very long history of are/craft skill, or which more later——–

–I think that will do for now, Ecuador needs to be lots of short cameos, well partly as the memories come back,but also because each moment was so different from the others—

This walk in the streets of Quito was enlivened by our lovely guide, who looked at the persistent ice cream vendors and said “that’s 3 weeks diarrhoea, avoid it”  The other thing he did was tell any restaurant we were in that we had to have dishes washed in hot soapy water, not just rinsed in cold as was the usual habit! So thanks to Exodus for their invariably excellent guides! See you later!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lesotho again, 2nd part that is.

http://www.msf.org.au/nc/about-msf/where-we-work/country-details.html?tx_ttnews[country]=71

Let’s start with the advertising! They need you to take your tourist money there.

Back to 1971——————

Confess, did you ever hear of Lesotho at all? Anyone out there wanting a completely different Africa experience, TOO HIGH UP FOR MOSQUITOES TO SURVIVE! Safer than houses.

You can travel by horseback, but BEWARE, they train them to go when you pull on the reins and stop when you kick, or they did in 1971, so no call for dressage skills then!  Men, mostly, rode for days on horseback across mountains to get to towns.  Most startling story was of a young man who rode 2 days with acute typhoid and perforated bowel, to get to hospital. In those days, men wore a very colourful big blanket, but sometimes otherwise stark naked, not the ones in the photo!

Took this during whole day ride, and I mean whole! Just 3 of us, there was a little navigation issue so it was extremely late when we got back, pitch black except for the stars, and what stars.  Almost made me forget the severe pain and disability on getting down from horse after about 12 hours in the saddle. Zero light pollution and the southern cross looking as if you could put a hand out and touch it.

In retrospect no one had done a risk assessment, but hey, what is life for?  I fell off first time ever, when otherwise nice horse took a little leap over a log, sheer exuberance, no hard hat, but I am still here! Horses were a bit like the ones in Connemara, of which more later perhaps?  In particular, they performed feats that I would normally associate with mountain goats, natural selection at work there I think.

Took this on the same day, no sunburn risk!

We visited people at home, in their rondavels. Bizarrely many people at that time afforded Queen Victoria a very high status, all sort of artifacts on walls, being a British Protectorate previously had perhaps left good memories? Hospitality was corn on the cob, but not as you know it, multicoloured, enormous, previously dried then boiled up for ever. Essential to eat more effective than cascara!

-and more scenery, huge amounts of information in this picture about way of life, no way to see this by road.

Every weekend was an adventure, specially devised for me!

One time we went to graduation at the university of  OH, OH, OH! just seen Google earth Lesotho, FANTASTIC, go and stay at guest house in Morija, where mission hospital is.

Anyway, University, whose name I forget, was/is linked to St Andrews Scotland, so for graduation they wore scarlet academic gowns, not black,    what a spectacle, what a fabulous day.

We had gone knowing the King of Lesotho was going to be handing out the degrees

Law faculty was Roman Law, like scotland.

-and off to one side, initiation ceremony for boys, who did a sort of barn dance in wellies made out of old tyres, surgery might have come into it somewhere but did not inquire at the time.

Back in Morija,

patients waited to be seen in outpatients, hundreds came, some in buses, which mostly looked as if they had been rescued from a ravine.  Inside crammed to bursting and roof, well fenced round, also packed with people as well as luggage. There was always enterprising women who came and set up kitchen under trees to feed them.

-now she looks well of enough to be enterprising, lots of eucalyptus as you see, lots of mimosa as well, in full bloom while I was there, very yellow

Now that was definitely the maternity hospital, more waiting as well.  Ladies who had travelled to deliver spent their days playing football round the back, and I am not joking, they seemed to think it speeded things up, perhaps they could try that in Scotland!

Another time I went with one of the doctors to a peripheral clinic, of which there were many, and they are now a base for the medcin sans frontires work.  He was a lovely american who had spent time doing nothing but vasectomies in USA to get the money to bring his family over and work in the mission hospital. Extremely good at what he did, as were they all. Mind, he did send me out of the clinic to get something and when I came back was just finishing using the window as nature intended, ok for him but not for me!

Fascinating that in the adjacent field the local witch doctor had set up a clinic, which stared with a goat being sacrificed. He had just as big crowds as we did. Lots of bets being hedged methinks. Some of the patients we saw has been marked by him in a way that suggested he did know what was the matter, identifying underlying organs. Mind you, we got a woman in the hospital who had been given ergot by a traditional doctor, either to stop bleeding or some other female thing.  He gave her so much both feet were necrotic and she needed amputation.

When we left the clinic that night the land rover wouldn’t start, so we has a glorious push start from possibly every able bodied person there. HOWEVER, that did not solve the problem and we were struggling up a hill as the sun went down, apparently in the middle of nowhere, when the engine gave up. Like a miracle swarms of kids appeared and deciding that the empty radiator might be an issue, they were dispatched off and returned with water in every imaginable kind of container, including victorian chamber pots!

they were, of course, originally intent on selling us stuff, and were adequately recompensed for their efforts. We got home safely.

My last weekend the german doctor threw a huge party for me, crowd sand crowds in the house, food a bit more memorable than their own mealy meal and mutton.

Sadly I had to go, due in Cape Town at the Medical school, and Groote Schuur, where they had just started heart transplants.

=and here it is, Table Mountain behind. At that time one of the wings was for white and the other non white, but I think we can leave all that to history.  The quality of treatment was as good as the best in UK in both wings, tho if you couldn’t get in to hospital, that was another story.

I am now intensely frustrated as it feels as if I could write a BOOK just about the 3 months in Africa, any one out there like to offer me an advance to make it worth my while?

-and this is 1. Alma road, where I stayed with a number of univ students, have to confess to some very fond memories.  As well as that, got to know a girl from what was then Salisbury in Southern Rhodesia, and took up invitation to stay with her family at the end of my 6 weeks in Cape Town, as it was end of term. More later perhaps.

-anyway, this is Cape Town university, easy walking distance from good old Alma road.

Got to know one of the med students well and she took me to Stellenbosch, now a wine growing estate, but with some preservation of the old slave quarters, chains on walls and so on.

There is so much coming back to me after all that time which will probably remain forever unrecorded, never mind, worse things happen at sea!

So at the end of term I got on the train to Salisbury, took day or two!
fabulous hospitality with family of girl I had only met a few weeks before.

-and I took myself on a day flight to Victoria falls, photo taken from centre of bridge between N and S rhodesia that were, soldiers with guns to keep us right.

did a boat trip on the river above the falls as well.

-but not too close to the edge, just in case.

some sort of deer in there, I did have a big game experience as well on a different occasion. , private trip with ranger, SITTING ON BONNET of land rover! again no risk assessment, very close encounter with white rhino and baby, just as well they can hardly see at all!

-and back to Salisbury, which looked like this in 1971, before Zimbabwe, I suspect trees have gone for firewood.

That’s all, off to Moffat for the weekend to get on with the rest of my life! Watch this space.

Foothills of Andalucia======

====actually they were mountains but we were driven high up to start walking so not enough ascent to claim a mountain!

The question is, is is possible to present a bit of walking as a literary triumph, especially if photos are taken on the run rather than with due consideration? Not very likely but hey, might be fun to try!

Well, first of all, this was the view from the terrace as we arrived at the farmhouse, so definitely worth the effort so far.

=and this was lavender and other things in the garden, I do like this picture!

Must use this, tho its not exciting, but beginning of first day’s walk down through the eternal olive groves, some only just planted. And yes, Ritchie, I do remember Spain produces 30% of WORLD olive oil, almost all in Andalucia.

=and this was the cool delight that met our eyes as we, or certainly I, struggled to the end of the uphill bit in temperatures of 39C, a freak heatwave no less, of which more later. Vast amounts of idyllic(is that the right word?) food and drink followed============but the afternoon was to come!

=and THIS was where we were walking-

=well, at least some was downhill!

=this is me with my health and safety hat on, he is hoeing weeds from round the olives, and I bet he never even heard of sunscreen!

Now this looks chaotic, we are next day now, but it’s zillions of goats being fed their dinners.

=see?  Goat meat is tasty, take it from me! =and they were certainly free range.

=view of native Spanish cork oak forest op the hill where we stopped for lunch========

==but we didn’t make it quite to the top of the hill

the oaks were in flower tho========

==short geology lesson, imagine this as having been a giant coral reef, goodness knows when, the sandstone round it has all been worn away and formed part of a vast alluvial plane,so it’s limestone, even tho it’s pointed.

=oh, my poor feet! I think this was the day it was 42C!

==next day, LOTS of these, but no nasty incidents.

=but they did inhabit lovely countryside==

==AND they picked us up in a bus, halfway through the 14Km, and took us up a big hill to a lovely shady old monastery with views to die for, likewise the lunch!

==after lunch, figs, but not to eat just yet.

=and THIS is one of next year’s walnuts, promise!

==and seen walking along the river, a Roman aqueduct with a much later watermill built on.

==and eventually to the White town of Septenil de las Bodegas. Tho I can’t guarantee the spelling! ==but the area produced vast amounts of wine in Roman times.

==and a history lesson! Moors made streets this narrow so not more than one attacking horseman could ride up at a time, clever eh?

==and next day to Seville for a whole day in the gardens and palace of the Alcazar=====so brace yourselves for the photos!

==see

==but much the best tiles were on the walls=======

OH!! and this was the only musical instrument, a distant relative of the piano I think.

=rather busy for my taste!

=prefer Moorish garden architecture

=ceiling a nightmare if you were trying to get to sleep==

==but I did like this floor, in the garden.

==and a certain stark simplicity.

==ah, yes, gardens. Now this is a myrtle maze and yes, I did get lost, and panic, and exited by an unconventional route, as did others before me I think.

=fountain, in case you were wondering.

==described as the english garden, probably because of all the roses I think=

==not english!

=I love this, Moorish influence for tranquility===

==likewise==

==and this is the running water down the middle, which even I could hear clearly, and the rind neck dove was trying to drink dry!

==but ENOUGH! 40C this day.

=Roman acqueduct glimpsed from the bus on the way home.

==plus a modern use of tiles, well, perhaps not cutting edge exactly!

=Moorish square tower glimpsed “en passant”

==and lovely “white town” beneath its Moorish tower.

==I’m at it again! Instruction on limestone pavements, just as well I knew a bit about that already as my Spanish not quite up to it.

==but this is Andalucian limestone country.

=and again==

==lunch!

==next day==

==and another geology lesson, ask me if you are interested!

=river, why does it bring to my mind the word “Limpopo”?

==it used to run through this gorge before they dammed it, but what you can’t see is the vultures nesting in holes on the far side, long time watching then thro binoculars, we even found a chick when parent landed once, chick have to be fed for 2 years before they fly the nest.

=and back down we go==

=viewpoint on the way==

=and this is the knife grinder’s bicycle, to end on a slightly incongruous note.

=and off we go.