Helping a Village!!

Zambese Delta Safaris focuses on the conservation of habitat… animals, flora, and most importantly, people!!

They recently discovered that there was an area at the edge of their concession that was in limbo…. C-11 thought that C-12 owned it and C-12 thought that C-11 owned it!! It actually was part of the Coutada 11 (Zambese Delta Safaris) property.

They also discovered that there was a village in the area that no one really knew anything about. As the people from ZDS approached them, they were told a story of an old Cape Buffalo that was getting too close to the village and was threatening the people of the village.

This is the sort of thing that ZDS does best…..so they sent out a team (us, our guide Ben, and two trackers named Tasco and Jorge) to find this problem buffalo, kill it, and turn it into meat for the village.

When we drove into the village, Ben commented that they possibly had never seen a white woman before. That was an interesting thought.

We stopped at the local school, and it was fun to see the classroom….

….with the blackboard with yesterday’s math problem….

The girls wore interesting expressions….

…while the boys stood in the standard, defiant pose…

I have found that this defiance lessens if you smile and wave. Even the oldest will smile and wave back.

Two of the young men offered to show us where the buffalo often stayed, so we took off walking! The young men would stop every so often and point to where we were headed….

We passed a number of wells as we walked….

None of them had any safety measures, and who knows how deep they were.

Jorge and one of the helpers climbed to the top of a termite mound to get a better view….

Yes, it was over 10 feet tall!!

Apparently, Black Mambas like these mounds as well, so you are always vigilant when you are around them.

This was my scene for much of the trip…..

Yes, they are carrying firearms. Remember that this is a 1000+ pound animal that can turn you into goo at a moment’s notice.

You can see that I stay behind everyone else!!

Because of recent rains, the grass was quite tall, and at one point I found myself with this view….

I was only out of their sight-line for a few seconds, but it seemed MUCH longer. Needless to say, I hurried to catch up!!

We never found the buffalo, and the tracks indicated that it had moved into the neighboring Concession, meaning that the ZDS guys couldn’t do anything about it.

HOWEVER, when we were walking back to the village, the trackers started talking excitedly, finally telling us that the buffalo had crossed over our path AFTER we had walked past. Who knows how close he was with no one knowing that he was there.

As another example of the work of ZDS, while we were there, another village reported that there were 10 elephants in their village, destroying the crops and generally wreaking havoc. Mark Haldane jumped into one of the small helicopters and “pushed” them out of the village and escorted them several miles away.

At ZDS, human life and welfare always come first!!

So ended our adventure in the forest areas of C-11….. tomorrow we head to the floodplain.

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art

After spending several hours in the Kelvingrove Museum, I decided to take a walk thru the city, heading to the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art.

I enjoyed passing this sign outside a local pub…..

….and what can I say about this church…..

I don’t think that I would ever get tired of seeing views like this while walking to work each morning!!

I didn’t have long to visit and only had time to snap a few photos.

The first gallery focused on Color…..or colour, as the case may be……

I like the question of “What my relationship is to color? Something to think about!!

There were two pieces in this gallery that I enjoyed…..

“Polarization” by David Croft-Smith (1972)

“Sleeping Fairground” by Barbara Balmer (1979)

The information card said to notice that the white lines that outline everything are not painted, but are in fact, gaps between the colors. It called the unusual technique, “leaving a reserve” and described it as giving crisp lines while allowing the sleepy, quiet feel to come through.

Look closer…..

Those are some amazingly tiny “reserves”!

This was not a piece of art, but rather a shelf system, but I really like the shape of the red jagged lines….

I also appreciated this sign….

I agree with the sentiment…. my artist friends are the ones who push me to continue moving forward!!

And I leave you with one final photo…..

….and one final question…….

Is this a piece of art or merely a sign pointing to the elevator?

I’ll never tell!!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

Touring the Kelvingrove

Yesterday, I posted about my travel into Glasgow to reach the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. If you missed that post, you REALLY need to read it.

As the name suggests, this is both an Art Gallery AND a museum, a seemingly unusual combination.

I started on the first floor, entering the Ancient Egypt exhibit. There I saw….

….crocks filled with mummified organs, and even a mummy’s coffin…..

I must say that I LOVE the colors….feel free to bury me in something like this!!

In the Natural History area, I met all sorts of animals from the past….

I saw a Ni’isjoohl memorial pole….

Again, I am really keen on these colors!!

I was more interested in art, than exhibits, so I quickly made my way to the first gallery…. works from “The Glasgow Boys”. These were the most significant group of British artists of their time. they worked in a modern European style and inspired other artists to broaden their horizons.

This piece was my favorite….

“Anna Pavlova” by John Lavery (1910)

But, what I really enjoyed was watching this school group as the observed the painting….

Other interesting pieces in this gallery included…..

“Maidenhead Regatta” by John Lavery (1932)

“Chaff” by Alexander Mann (1905)

This one appealed to me because of the everyday nature of the scene….nothing fancy here…..just two people working in a barn!

There was on very famous painting by Salvador Dali that I had never heard of before…..

“Christ of St John of the Cross” by Salvador Dali (1951)

The perspective of this painting is mesmerizing.

Another gallery was filled with Impressionist artist’s work. These are a few of my favorites….

“The Young Girls” by Mary Cassatt (1885)

“Portrait of Alexander Reid” by Vincent van Gogh (1887)

“Vetheuil” by Claude Monet (1880)

“Landscape with Willow Trees” by Maximilien Luce (1887)

I find these pointillist paintings so intriguing….

“Sunset, Herblay, Open 206” by Paul Signac (1889)

“The Pink Tablecloth” by Henry Matisse (1924)

There were very few fiber pieces, but I did enjoy this exhibit of creative darning…..

There were numerous sculptures, but this one caught my eye….

“Motherless” by George Lawson (1889)

The information card said the this sculpture has always been a favorite at Kelvingrove, proof that sadness can be popular.

There is one more museum to visit…..the Modern Art Museum, but I will leave that for another day.

Since I had some idea of what I was doing, the trip back to the ferry was fairly uneventful, although I didn’t give myself enough time to make it to the 4:00, so I had to text Joe and tell him that I would be on the 5:00!

I made much of this journey in the rain…..

…but a rainy day in Glasgow is still sweet!

My only contra-tempt was arriving at this point……

…but not being able to figure out HOW to get into the station. I asked a passerby and he walked me around the corner and to the door!

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SO KIND!!

As I waited to board the ferry to Dunoon, I was met with a double rainbow….

…reminding me of how sweet the day had been!

Joe met me at the ferry, picked up dinner and we feasted on…..

YES….it WAS A GREAT DAY!!

Is This the Way to Glasgow?

On the Tuesday morning of our trip, I decided to forego the physical, Scottish Highland climbing portion of the day and, instead, headed to Glasgow.

Now, getting to Glasgow was not as easy as I thought it would be! Our host (Joe) offered to drive me into the city center and then pick me up afterwards, but….

…where’s the fun in that?

Instead, I told him to drive me to the Ferry and I would take it from there!!

My first “problem” was how to buy a ferry ticket. I finally asked one lady who told me that she had purchased online. Yikes… I pulled out my phone and started the purchase but another woman walked up and said that I could buy a ticket on the ferry itself.

WHEW…first crisis averted!

Now, when I was researching this, I thought that I could pick up the subway from the ferry station….

No…no….no!!

As I got off of the ferry, I was confused because I was obviously at a train station, as opposed to the subway, although the architecture was outstanding….

So, I once again asked where I would buy a ticket. The woman asked “to Glasgow Central?” Not knowing exactly how to respond, I said SURE.

She helped me to purchase a ticket, and I boarded the train to Glasgow…..

Wait…wasn’t I already in Glasgow? Apparently not!

The train ride was 45 minutes to get into the central area of Glasgow, and I spent much of the trip glued to my phone, trying to find out how to get to the subway.

I loved stepping out of the station and seeing a typical Glasgow street….

Call me crazy, but THIS everyday scene is what makes me enjoy foreign cities!

I followed Google Maps to the nearest subway station and was amused to see that the subway map was a circle….

It has been given the nickname of “The Clockwork Orange”.

The nice thing about this setup was that I couldn’t get lost. No matter which direction I went, I would get to my destination!!

Now, exactly where was I heading?

Joe had suggested the “Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum” so that was my intention.

My first sighting of the highly touted museum was this….

….followed by entering the building to this view….

Tomorrow, I will show you some of the artwork and exhibits, and talk about my less than exciting return to the ferry!

But, to end this off, I want to tell you about a sweet encounter. Joe had told me that there was a tremendous pipe organ and that there was a short concert everyday at 1:00. He emphasized that I should NOT miss it.

So, at about 12.45, I stepped into the cafe, bought myself a sandwich and a drink, and headed to the small courtyard to eat and listen to the concert. But, there was a problem as all of the tables were already filled.

A young man sitting at the table nearest me looked up and asked if I would like his table. I told him to stay put, but could I use the chair across from him. He politely invited me to join him. As we talked, he told me that he was an “Accounting & Economics” student at Glasgow Uni. Needless to say, we spent a few minutes discussing the ups and downs of the accounting industry.

He also told me that he grew up in this neighborhood and had a special affinity for the Kelvingrove because of the many times he visited it with his family. Since the university is right next door, he often comes here at noon and listens to the concert.

The organist soon appeared, beginning with two classical pieces. He then launched into a medley from “Sound of Music”. I figured that the climax of this third piece would be amazing, so I pulled out my phone and recorded.

Enjoy…..

Come back tomorrow and I will give you a further tour!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

A Morning in Dunoon

On our last day in Scotland, we had accomplished everything that we came to do, so Michael and I decided to spend some time in the town of Dunoon.

Our host dropped us off on the corner, and we started our trek through town. We didn’t get very far before we found the Swallow Cafe…..

…and even though we had eaten breakfast only 2 hours earlier, we decided that it was a great place to spend some time.

After perusing the menu, I ordered cheese on toast and Michael went for a sausage sandwich with a side order of Haggis…..

After finishing our 2nd breakfast of the morning, Michael decided to sit at the table and do some writing….

…..and I went out to explore main street a bit…..

My first stop was this gorgeous church, Cowal Kirk……

As I was walking around taking photos, looking for a way inside the church…..

…. I met an older couple who talked to me about the church. Although it is still a functioning church, it is no longer open during the week. They live just a few blocks from the church and said that they enjoyed worshiping there. They were originally from Edinburgh and had moved to Dunoon about 10 years ago. It was sweet to stand in the street and chat with them!!

After I had explored up and down the main street, I met back up with Michael, and we headed to the shoreline, specifically on the Firth of Clyde. Now what is a Firth you might ask?

A firth is a Scottish term for a large coastal inlet or the wide mouth (estuary) of a river where it meets the sea. Firths are typically the lower, wider part of an estuary where fresh river water and salt sea water mix, although some contain only salt water.

After reaching the shore, we checked out the War Memorial…..

I was fascinated by the crocheted poppies that were strewn across the memorial…..

Next, we saw a building on top of a hill and were thrilled to find out that it was the Castle House Museum!!

The museum was quite small but we had a fun time checking out the exhibits.

I enjoyed the Sailmaking tools, especially since they looked a lot like my quilting supplies….

These are exactly like the wood irons that we use to flatten seams!

AND, this palm thimble…..

…..would be VERY useful!!

To top it all off, there was this sweet quilt high up on one wall…..

We walked a bit further and found yet another cool church….

By this time, we were ready to head back to our home base. We enjoyed walking hand-in-hand along the promenade, especially appreciating this sign…..

It is so good to know that they are taking care of us “elderly people”!

A short while later and we arrived at our lodge (Rosscairn)……

…and spent the rest of the day relaxing and packing.

A SUPER way to end our trip!!

…

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!