Greenland

by Henberta, posted in Through Fire and Ice

One last note about Iceland…. And an opportunity to share a favorite photo:

Downtown Reykjavik with the Harpa Cathedral in the distance…. The rainbow street is not just for Pride Month, but emblematic of Iceland as a year-round LGBTQ-friendly destination. Icelanders are independent and respectful of the rights of others to live as they see fit. Vive les differences!

Getting back to …… GREENLAND!

Their flag represents the midnight sun…. And the ice that covers more than 80 percent of its surface.

Greenland is the biggest island on the planet, a bit more than 3 times the area of Texas….. but the most sparsely-populated country, with fewer than 60,000 inhabitants. Since it is covered with ice and glaciers, people live along the coastline in small communities.

Although a member of the kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is geologically a part of North America, sharing space on the same tectonic plate…..

…. Which – much as we hate to admit – would provide some rationale to the idea of our former president that the US should buy the island as a logical extension of its sphere of influence (!)

Scandinavian Vikings (mostly from Norway) first established small settlements along the southern coast beginning in the 9th or 10th century – at approximately the same time, give or take, as Inuit people emigrated to the north from what is now Canada. The Inuit livelihood was already adapted to Arctic conditions, with primary food sources from seals and other marine life. The Norse settlers on the other hand brought with them livestock and crops that ultimately proved unsuited to the harsh environment. The Norse communities shrank and were ultimately abandoned in the 15th century. The last record of their presence was a wedding in 1408 at this church on Hvalsey Fjord:

The Inuit people survived here through the ages, and represent more than 85 percent of the population today.

This is an “expedition” cruise…. a small ship going to remote parts of the world, with programs and adventures that emphasize nature – flora, fauna, geology and ecosystems – as well as the local culture of the places visited. In this part of the world, glaciers and icebergs are part of the scenery.

The weather changes frequently and dramatically.

(Please note this is a time-lapse sequence.)

Trips in small Zodiac boats get us closer to the icebergs, glaciers, waterfalls, bird colonies… and an old wreck in one of the harbors.

Of course, our ship is much nicer……

Our journey has taken us to the capitol city, Nuuk (population about 20,000), as well as to the much smaller communities of Qaqortoq and Paamiut.

Interesting sculpture dotted the natural contours of Qaqortoq:

Apparently Greenlanders have problems with the invasion of the spiky flowering lupine as well…… this worker was diligently pulling up the plants, and Henry gave him a hand.

Henry did his bit to bolster the local economy with purchases from local rock hounds!

We’re always on the lookout for creative uses for shipping containers…..

But happy to return to the relative civility of shipboard life…..

Adverse weather resulted in cancellation of another community visit, and the ship is moving on to Nunavut province in Canada’s far north……

Arctic Canada

by Henberta, posted in Through Fire and Ice

The Inuit people have lived in the Arctic regions for thousands of years – not just in Canada, but also Alaska, Greenland and Russia – and obviously adapted well to the harsh weather conditions. They had occasional contact with Europeans through limited trading, primarily in furs.

INVASION NUMBER 1

The British crown, however, turned informal trade in Canadian territories into an organized business with the establishment of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the late 17th century.

Beginning in the southern parts of Canada, this organization eventually extended its reach into large and small communities throughout the Canadian Arctic. The Inuit traded furs and marine animal products such as sealskin and ivory for metal and wooden goods, and woven cloth…. Most notably the famed Hudson’s Bay point blanket, seen here worn by an indigenous gentleman helping out a Mountie with some directions. (Points referred to markings on the finished piece that indicated its size.)

Over time, commerce and exposure to Europeans made the Inuit fairly reliant on this exchange of goods, but they worked hard to maintain their distinctive culture.

INVASION 2

Then came a different kind of invader…….

Big cruise ships started visiting these remote villages only a few years ago. The jury is still out on whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Stepped-up tourist business was expected to create jobs and a vigorous market for local handicrafts; however, the experience of some of the locals is that cruise ship visitors often spend no money, but stay an hour or so, then reboard the ship in time for their pre-dinner cocktails.

Fortunately, the folks that we met were warm and welcoming and happy to spend time with us. The villages are quite small, with 100 to 500 residents, and situated along dazzling and pristine waterways.

Sheila would not sell us anything, but enjoyed trading some small handicrafts for polished rocks from Texas!

Sam showed off her son, Theo, whom she toted in a traditional quilted sling.

This fellow was astonished when Henry agreed to pay his first price for some soapstone carvings…..

These ladies were pleased to get some fruit that Henry cadged from the ship. They told us a bit about their lives, families and the surrounding area, making us want to stay much longer to get to know them and to explore their turf.

Kids get excited about the visitors, and never lose hope that they will be able to go for a ride on the Zodiac!

An interesting chart posted in a village center….. the equivalent of the “food pyramid” that defines the contours of a healthful diet. Instead of a pyramid, the graphic is displayed on an ulu, which is a knife traditionally used by Inuit women to skin animals, cut meat and scrape hides. It looks like this:

Here is the chart….. Look at it closely.

Note that for strong muscles, you must enjoy traditional foods such as caribou, seal and beluga whale meat! The other categories are revealing, too, of limitations on the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables that are available in such remote places. Most foods not hunted or gathered locally must be shipped or flown in – frozen, canned or packaged…… and consequently quite expensive.

It would have been terrific to spend a few days in one or more of these communities, but alas, the ship was on a quest to see a polar bear or two. On the way, we bumped through an ice field, an otherworldly experience…

And finally, a small island with some walruses, and a …..

The expedition cruise ended in Churchill, the self-anointed Polar Bear Capitol of the World.

In this town on the shore of Hudson Bay, residents are required to leave the doors of their homes and vehicles unlocked, to provide a shelter to anyone who may be imperiled when a polar bear ambles down the street. (It happens, but not often.)

Colorful murals brighten the township.

The highlight of a trip to Churchill is without doubt a boat ride or kayak through the beluga whale calving area in an estuary on the edge of town. The cheeky whales like to pop up right next to the vessel and blow bubbles…..

Although the growing season is short, hopeful gardeners are still compelled to try….. We found Helen working on her vegetable garden, some of which is planted in a line of elevated bathtubs running along the side of her house, providing drainage, heat retention and protection from the wind. Brilliant!

Montreal was a shocking return to warm weather and an urban environment. A visit to a local farmer’s market provided a nice transition …

What a lovingly-arranged display!

And we felt compelled to share a “medium” order of the national food of Canada, poutine….. French fries mixed with a mild cheese and topped with brown gravy.

A gloppy mess and more than a little heavy, but what the heck – we have been eating mass quantities on the cruise over the last few weeks…. In for a penny, in for a pound (or 10!). We felt better later when we found a “slenderizing” mirror, all excesses forgiven….

And still another point in favor of Canada and the Canadians….. free women’s sanitary supplies in public restrooms!

How civilized!

Hudson’s Bay Company is now a boring, sterile department store, much like Macy’s on the inside…… the last vestige of its illustrious heritage is an array of products with the point blanket design.

Farewell for now. It has been exhilarating spending time in the cold north and discovering new places and people.

We return to the “oppressive heat dome” of Texas for a short while, but will be heading out again in a couple of weeks on a completely different kind of expedition….

Thanks for watching, and please stay tuned!

The Kalahari

by Henberta, posted in Back to Africa

Henry as usual made friends in Cape Town before we left for the bush…… with this street band, from whom he bought a CD. Love this guy’s outfit!

The Kalahari Desert is not really desert…. It is classified instead as semi-arid savannah.  So not just sand and sun! We went to Tswalu, north of Cape Town and close to the border with Namibia. And these lucky travelers had rain… for three out of four days.  This level of moisture is unheard of in these parts, but has amazing impact….. beautiful bright green grasses and scrub with red dirt, tiny flowers and blue skies.

Mother Nature – once again a “mad scientist”!

So excited to be back on safari….. great animal sightings right off….

Africa’s tiniest raptor – a pygmy falcon

A “meerkat encounter” was on the list of things to do.  I feared that it would be a cheesy activity with trained animals, but it was really time spent with wild critters (never fed by people) who simply tolerated our presence in their colony. 

Curious but not frightened or aggressive.  Could have spent hours watching their day-to-day doings. On this clip, watch for the little guy in the back maintaining one of the burrows…..

A beautiful and remote place, with great trackers and guides…… We had so much fun with them!

There is a fine restaurant associated with this reserve…… at a great distance from pretty much anywhere. The chef is one of only two South African chefs who have received a Michelin star (which is a pretty big deal in the culinary world). People fly to the Kalahari from Cape Town or Johannesburg just for this ingeniously-prepared meal. The restaurant is dedicated to the chef’s childhood experience there, utilizing native ingredients… including wine and locally-made cheeses – as much as possible. It’s called Klein Jan, and… well, it’s just an incredible experience, starting with its entrance at what appears to be a farmhouse out in the bush…..

We were amazed at the background music played during our cocktail…… recalling for Henry his childhood in San Antonio, Texas, of all places.

After cocktails, we moved into a subterranean pantry for starters……

And from there to the main dining area, open to the bush to one side, with chefs assembling the beautifully presented food on the other.

After this experience – including a cocktail and at least several glasses of wine – I was thrilled to be allowed to ride in the tracker’s seat at the front of the Land Rover for our trip back to the lodge. A clear, cool, beautiful night.

From here we fly to South Africa’s eastern region…. the Wild Coast!

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The Wild Coast and Cows on the Beach

by Henberta, posted in Back to Africa

Kwa Zulu Natal (aka KZN) is a coastal province in South Africa on the Indian Ocean….. home of the famous Shaka, a Zulu king of the early 19th century who developed a very effective and brutal military.  His army conquered and pushed neighboring tribes out into other parts of the country, creating a ripple effect of migration that permanently changed the ethnic and cultural make-up of the region.

History lesson over……. KZN is possessed of incredible natural beauty, one aspect experienced vividly with a helicopter ride along the coast from the city of Durban down to the Mngazi River.   Tertius came along for the ride (along with his friend and colleague Ty).  

It is a striking and abrupt  transition from the developed areas in and around Durban…….

…… To the bucolic homesteads of the Zulu tribal land further south.  

The lack of industrialization and residential development here means that this stunning coastline is almost untouched, with craggy cliffs, clear waterfalls and  beaches.  

Because of its remoteness, strong tides and rocky beaches, it’s called the Wild Coast, virtually unapproachable from the sea.  It’s hard in retrospect to imagine how to truly appreciate this place’s beauty except from the perspective of a helicopter…….  A lunch on top of a cliff gave us a chance to catch our breath …..

before moving on to a view of a well-known feature called The Hole in the Wall.  

A few days spent at a retreat on the coast……

gave us a close-up experience with….. cows on the beach!  

These bovines are apparently free to roam as they wish, up and down the lush hillsides….. But somehow they gravitate to the sandy shore, where they lounge quite comfortably.  Why?  There is no potable water or food for them there….. Henry imagines that the breeze off the sea minimizes the number of flying insects that could irritate them.  I like to think that – like us – they enjoy gazing at the waves and contemplating their role in the universe…….

From the resort, there are wonderful walks in the neighboring hills overlooking the ocean…. (Please note the cows on the beach.)

Some relaxation

And some lovely sunrises…..

One cow was not dismayed or frightened of the noisy contraption that picked us up for our return to Durban.   She bid us a moo-ving farewell from the Wild Coast……..

Rain, Beautiful Rain

by Henberta, posted in Back to Africa

(As noted previously, if you get the blog via e-mail, you need to access the on-line version by clicking on the title of the post in order to view the videos. Please do so, as we’d love to share these clips with you.)

What a wet place Africa is! Or at least, such has been our experience since landing in Cape Town, and for three weeks since.

In the Kalahari – where we expected desert conditions – there was rain….. even thunderstorms!….. three days out of four. We enjoyed it then….

But it got old…… we were unable to get out for game drives entirely at several of the lodges we visited, including Thula Thula, where the elephants and other wildlife were hiding from the deluge.

I ended up studying the wildlife field guides while watching and listening to the downpour….

When visiting a game lodge, you are very limited as to other activities when there are no drives to view the wildlife…… but we made do once or twice with a cozy fire and some music.

And the rains continued.

When we did spy animals, they were pretty waterlogged as well.

In the Kwa Zulu Natal province where we have lately been, the rains were devastating, especially around the city of Durban. Roads and bridges collapsed, and a number of people lost their lives. The region continues to feel fallout from the damage. Hope they recover soon…..

But eventually, things work out. After a laughable number of activities and plans have gone unrealized due to the heavy precipitation, it looks as though we will have clear skies for a while.

Cheers!

Adventures in Lesotho

by Henberta, posted in Back to Africa

Lesotho (pronounced le-soo-too) is an independent country entirely surrounded by South Africa.  

A constitutional monarchy, its king is currently Letsie III, but it is governed in all material respects by a prime minister and representative councils.

Called the Mountain Kingdom (for good reason), Lesotho is made up of the heights of the Drakensberg and Maluti ranges, and lies entirely over 3400 feet above sea level, its highest point being Mount Ntlenyana at 11,424 feet in altitude.

Access from South Africa in the east requires a trek up the Sani Pass and a 4X4 vehicle.  The steep gravel road rises about 4,400 feet over the course of a very rough five miles.

Happy motorists often celebrate completing the route and entering Lesotho at the Highest Pub in Africa (9,429 feet) with a locally-brewed Maluti beer.

The Lesotho flag features a shape that recurs repeatedly throughout the traveler’s experience there……

In the dwellings….

In the formation of sheaves of wheat…..

In the traditional headwear…..

And even in the landscape itself…..

The mountain vistas are breathtaking……

Roadway perils are common……. You never know when you might emerge from a hairpin turn to be confronted with……

Crossing the sole access point across a river from one of the lodges after a night of heavy rain felt treacherous……

Even in the capital city of Maseru, an almost invisible drainage ditch can foil the most skilled driver…..

……making one thankful for well-prepared travel companions.

Why are we here? A common question posed by many of the locals we met, as they get very few outside visitors.

Would you believe that Lesotho actually includes an area that is reputed to have…… banded agates? Our entire crew helped Henry look for the elusive stones in river valleys as cows, donkeys and shepherd boys passed by……

Scooting down a steep hillside on her rear end, our heroine made the find of the day…..

A number of other decent specimens were found as well, but this won the prize!

Tertius was on a different quest entirely……. for a very special aloe plant that he had glimpsed before, but only just now found out was endemic to Lesotho!

He explained his interest to a resident who was observing the rock hunting…..

….. and our new friend invited us to his home nearby, as he just happened to have such a plant that he would be willing to sell!

A good time was had by all as we met and visited with his extended family….. here’s Henry showing photos from our travels on his iPad.

(Disbelief clear on the faces when Ty explains in Zulu that the penguins they are seeing are actually birds!)

Hilarity ensued when Tertius and Ty produced a six-pack of beer, which was immediately claimed for later distribution by the group’s head woman.

I had a grand chat with one of the ladies…..

Henry presented the chief of the clan with a Texas memento….

And Tertius got his special succulent…..

Clearly, the local Basotho people are charming and friendly.

Also of note is the special local breed of Basotho pony, a sturdy creature descended from the horses brought to this part of the continent by the Dutch in the 17th century. They are a very common mode of transportation, both off but mostly on the highway.

We stopped to try some grilled corn from a vendor, Henry imagining a delicious treat…..

…. and ending up a little disappointed, since it was a strain of what Henry calls ”feed corn”, and butter and spices were notably absent…

Since it is quite a cold climate at this altitude, people routinely wrap themselves in distinctive blankets in a variety of special patterns…. called Basotho blankets. We had to have some.

We visited several spots in a commercial center….

….. before finally finding the local source….

Purchases made, we proceeded to the border and back toward South Africa, all of us – Tertius, Ty, Henry and me – sad to be leaving so soon and hoping for another visit to this special place, with spectacular mountains and welcoming people.

The Lesotho greeting as we pass toward the border……

We hope we leave them with the same…….

Hiatus

by Henberta, posted in Back to Africa

Two more posts have been written and scheduled for publication in the next week or so. After that, we will be silent for a while as we will be traveling the back roads of northern Namibia. Not sure when we will again have sufficient internet coverage for an update, but please stay tuned.

If you normally correspond with one or both of us by email or text, we will have periodic access, but sporadically.

All the best!

Miscellaneous Fun in Africa

by Henberta, posted in Back to Africa

Some random sights along the way…..

Pretty pictures.

An abandoned sea turtle nest, discovered while we were cleaning up a little plastic on the beach….

A rollicking trip in a safari vehicle…. at high speed while the guide tries to find some big game!

A random encounter on a walk in the Drakensberg Mountain Midlands with a horse farm manager, pet pig and a couple of dogs…..

One of the nicest pigs, ever! (The dogs were awfully nice too…..)

An inquisitive goose and a millipede….

A unique overnight stay in a massive converted barn…. this is the entry hall.

We chose to sleep in the larger banquet hall beyond, bypassing the bedrooms for 12 upstairs in favor of a ”Christmas bed” on the floor in front of the only feeble source of heat…..

As the unofficial ambassador from Texas, Henry presented pins from our home state to worthy individuals, like this helicopter pilot who longs for a visit to the Lone Star State…

…. and a young woman in a bar in Durban wearing a NASA patch that caught our eye. She, too, dreams of coming to Texas some day…..

My first shoeshine ever… while I was actually wearing my boots!

In times of shortage, you take what you can get… in this case, cannabis-infused toothpaste, which is legal in South Africa and the only brand available at the resort where we stayed.

A supporter of local entrepreneurs, Henry bought five of these “butter avocados” at a highway tollbooth….. each the size of both my fists bunched together! We ate a couple and gave the rest away.

Finally, Henry and Ty contemplate the possibilities of trying to drive two large, fully-loaded 4X4 vehicles over this washed-out roadway on our way to Durban…..

Prudence prevailed….. we took a detour and actually reached our destination unscathed!

More later…..