A Sunburned Haven for Sea Birds and Hardy Fishermen part 1 October 10, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Africa, Cape Town, Destination, Hotels, Restaurant, Round The World, South Africa, Tickets, Tour, Trails, Travel Insurance , 2commentsSaldanha Bay and Langebaan Lagoon are the focal points of this drive through some of the finest west coast scenery. From Saldanha the route leads around the lagoon to the Postberg Nature Reserve — then heads north to the historic fishing harbours that dot the coast between Laaiplek and Paternoster. Roughly half the route is tarred, the rest is good gravel. (more…)
A Thundering Waterfall in a dry, Desert Landscape continue… September 30, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Africa, Cape Town, South Africa, Tour, Trails, Travel Insurance, Trip, Victoria Falls, Zambia , 2commentsWalks and drives
From here there are a number of walks and drives that you can take to outlying viewpoints. One of the most popular walks is along the 2,5 km path leading to the Arrow Head viewsite. From here you can look out over the rapids that career along the bottom of the gorge far below. For the more energetic there is the Klipspringer Hiking Trail which runs for 26km along the southern bank of the river. This is a three-day hike and walkers stay overnight in huts along the route. The trail passes Ararat, a granite rock that offers a magnificent view along the gorge, and also Moon Rock, which provides panoramic views over the whole park. (more…)
Norway Røros Mysterious Light Phenomena continue… September 19, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Air Tickets, Beach Resorts, Canada, Destination, Hotels, Norway, Travel Insurance, Travellers Cheque, Travelling Bag , 2commentsThere seem to be various geological properties that recur frequently in zones that are prone to the appearance of these ‘earth lights‘ .’ Faulting is one of these factors, and faulting occurs around Hessdalen. Mineral deposits are another, and, of course, with Røros being famed for its mining heritage, it is not surprising to find that the area is heavily mineralized with all kinds of ores. (more…)
Meal in India; Travelling Across Indian Crazy Kumbh; it could happen only in India July 3, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Air Tickets, Airlines, Cars, Destination, Europe, Flight Schedule, India, Restaurant, Travel Insurance, USA , 5commentsInevitably Melas such as this also drag the weird, wonderful and absolutely berserk out of the Indian woodwork, and that night they all seemed to have appeared in Hardwar (apart from the infamous and lusty Bhagwan Rajneesh, holed up somewhere in Uruguay). There were the magicians; the Yogis; the jugglers; the preachers; the Hari Krishna devotees (looking more at home if no less limp than they do wandering down Oxford Street); and, perhaps the craziest of all, the Sadhus. Many of these supposed spiritual pioneers of Hinduism were sitting in large groups smoking their chillums (pipes) filled with marijuana, which they held high above their heads, and which were no doubt taking these holy men even higher. The Mahatma condemned this sort of hollow spirituality saying, “These men were born only to enjoy the good things in life”. However, this couldn’t be said about some of the “Naga” Sadhus who, standing near the river, painfully demonstrated their rejection of desire by piercing their penises and hanging rocks from their genitals. This extraordinary self-mutilation didn’t even merit a free radio. Maybe they should have kept their lingams in their lunghi? (more…)
Climbing, Riding, Sightseeing Midnight on Mont Blanc continue… July 2, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Air Tickets, Cars, Europe, Germany, Greece, Hostels, London, Memorial, Mexico, Motel, New York, Travel Insurance, Travelling Bag, USA , 3commentsBernie pulled on the rope and cursed me for stopping; I plodded on. My feet hurt.
Four days later, the train heaved its way out of the valley towards the end of the Bionnassay Glacier. Through the glass I stared at the pine trees and the brilliant meadow flowers. The carriage filled with the perfume of tourists, up for the day, and the sweat of climbers, rucksacks balanced on their knees, all heading for the Blanc. When the track wound alongside a cliff the small girl sitting opposite looked out in disbelief as the trees gave way to nothing. She pulled her eyes away in fear and looked around the train — the view there was worse, rucksacks, hairy knees, ice-axes, unshaven climbers lost in contemplation of the weather.
We arrived at the top station and the train disgorged. Tourists wandered slowly across to the cafe or to the viewing platform from which they could look up at the great bleak sweep of the mountain opposite. Down the valley the world became more sane, as the stone desert below the glacier gave way to meadows and woodland. (more…)
The Alhambra: Cool courtyards of the Moorish kings overlooking Granada continue… May 12, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Airlines, Beach Resorts, Destination, Granada, Hotels, Italy, Lodges, Round The World, Travel Insurance, USA , 3commentsToday, stripped bare and despoiled, scarcely any furnishings remain to remind us of this well organised palace life.
Until the day when the Cross of the Reconquest was planted on the Torre de la Vela, much of the history of its development is uncertain. The summit of the Asabica, the Moorish name for the hill on which the Alhambra stands, was certainly fortified from ancient times and grew in importance in the ninth century, when this region was dominated by the Emirs of nearby Cordoba. Formerly it faced a similar fortification on the opposite hill of Albaicin — the palace of the Berber chieftain Zagui ben Ziri, a descendant of the Royal Family of Tunis. In 1238 Mohammed ben Alhamar, vassal of the Christian King San Fernando, occupied Granada, having first seized the fortified citadels of Jaen, Baeza and Guadix. (more…)
The Alhambra: Cool courtyards of the Moorish kings overlooking Granada May 12, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Air Tickets, Airlines, Beach Resorts, Cars, Destination, Greece, Hostels, Hotels, India, Library, Lodges, Memorial, Motel, Museum, Travel Insurance, USA , add a commentIt is the imaginative setting of the Alhambra which stars the originality of the Arabs and not only demonstrates them as being decorators of genius but, above all, eminent poets in the siting of their fortresses. Seen from the heights above Albaicin, the rectangular geometry of the twenty or more towers shows a magnificent Cezanne-like rhythm of descent down to the ravine below. Though sharp black stabs of tall cypress trees give some hint of the many hidden courtyards, yet for all its intricacies the Alhambra remains secret and even austere, as compared with any trellised and domed rose-pink Moghul palace. Together with the gardens of the Generalife, the setting of this unique citadel is further enhanced by a magnificent backdrop — the perpetual white-capped brilliance of the Sierra Nevada, shimmering against the cloudless turquoise sky. (more…)
Kronborg: Hamlet’s pinacled castle at Elsinore on the Baltic shore April 23, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Air Tickets, Airlines, Beach Resorts, Denmark, Hostels, Hotels, Lodges, Memorial, Museum, Sweden, Travel Insurance, Travellers Cheque , add a commentKronborg is situated outside Elsinore, on the coast, forty kilometres north of Copenhagen, and on the promontory farthest to the north-east of Zealand. Although close to Elsinore, Kronborg is not really, and never has been, that town’s citadel. Even more than is the case today, Kronborg in former times stood apart from Elsinore. In those days, as the old pictures show, the open stretch between the castle and the town was still broader, and the great fortifications then as now surrounded the castle only, while the town remained defenceless.
Kronborg stands at the narrowest part of the Sound between Denmark and Sweden. On the journey by sea from the north towards Copenhagen the towers of the castle are the first thing to come into view. In former times this sight certainly more often than not gave cause for mixed feelings, especially to captains of foreign merchant vessels. For, from 1425 until 1857, the ships had to cast anchor at Kronborg and there pay a toll for passage through the Sound, both sides of which until I 66o were Danish territory. As this toll yielded a large revenue, which went direct to the King’s own privy purse, the Danish kings bestowed great care on Kronborg, which by virtue of its guns was expected to ensure payment of the toll. (more…)
Ceremonies in the House of God April 20, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Beach Resorts, Egypt, Travel Clinic, Travel Insurance, Travellers Cheque , add a commentThe concept of the temple as the “house of god” has been accepted, with the proviso that it should not be taken too literally. But in examining the relationship between the physical elements of the temples and the ceremonies that took place therein, the concept helps to illuminate Egyptian religious attitudes. Some such relationship is inherent in all religious structures, of course, even when the concepts and the temples differ greatly from those of the ancient Egyptians, as in Christianity. In the classical Greek temple, for example, the statue of the god was retained but the altar was situated in an area in front of the temple; the same happened with the ancient Roman temple. And in these two civilizations, not only did the most important moment of worship, the sacrifice, take place outside the temple, but it occurred on certain occasions only. (more…)
The Interior of a New Kingdom Temple April 19, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Egypt, Flight Schedule, Museum, Travel Insurance, Travellers Cheque , add a commentBefore entering the temple, let us again emphasize its image as a “house of god,” because this is the simplest and most useful way to look at it. Consider the temple organized like a human dwelling. There is one part for private living, another for supporting Services, and a third for “public reception.” So with the New Kingdom temple, we have three roughly analogous parts: one where the god lives; another where the preparatory ceremonies (or functions not directly connected with the cult) take place; and the third, which is public, a place where the god and worshiper can meet. In order to avoid confusion it would be better to use the technical names for these three parts : the sanctuary, the hypostyle hall, and the courtyard. (more…)
The Meaning of the Sphinx April 18, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Beach Resorts, Egypt, Hotels, Library, Memorial, Museum, Travel Insurance, Travellers Cheque , add a commentThe so-called classical sphinx is a lion with a human head ; the oldest example we have is the colossal one at Giza. We do not know exactly what meaning it had for the ancient Egyptians. According to some scholars, it symbolized the force and wisdom united in the person of the pharaoh; but we feel that such symbolism is alien to the Egyptian way of thinking. The Giza sphinx was at one point in history related to the sun god by the Egyptians themselves. But even this interpretation seems to have an a posteriori motivation and was limited to that particular case. We can safely say only that the sphinx in Egypt was always male (whereas in Greek mythology it was female), and almost always associated with the pharaoh. (more…)
