stories
Wines of the Cape
Behind a stately seventeenth-century mansion, set in a formal garden flanked by five ancient camphor trees, rows of manicured grape vines rise towards a phalanx of rugged peaks, maroon in the clear dusk light On a similar crisp windy evening, 350 years ago, the first Dutch settlers urged their wagons across the low passes to the fertile valleys inland.
To the south the lights of Cape Town glimmer under the broad bulk of Table Mountain. Across the rough crags of the Helderberg range, lie the rich winemaking regions of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl.
Wines of the Cape continued....
Wines of the Cape posted in africa , food , south africa , stories , wine
Elegance among Elephants
text by Maxine Rose Schur
Sunset, Matetsi, Zimbabwe
The sun ---a fiery globe --- cast flames of light across the river. Though forty kilometers away, Victoria Falls filled the sunset air with a constant purr. Elephants grazed on the papyrus-covered islands and rolled in the mud wallows close to shore. One elephant knelt silently, head bowed as if in prayer. In the reeds, a frog chirruped. A white egret lifted off like a tiny Concorde. The river was infested with crocodiles, and the land rife with rhinos, jackals and lions but I felt a primeval peace. I had arrived only an hour ago at Matetsi Game Lodge in Zimbabwe and was now sailing on a covered wooden barge down the Zambezi. Plane-weary, our little group, clinked glasses of white wine and yelped with surprise at the water’s abundance of yawning hippos. I mentally pinched myself --- this was not Disneyland; this was Africa! Real Adventure Land. Of course even before I left home I was intoxicated with the romance of going on safari and found myself repeating the words “Zimbabwe,” “Zambezi,” “Zambia” to delight myself with the very sounds of faraway.
Elegance among Elephants continued....
Elegance among Elephants posted in africa , stories , zimbabwe
A Festival of Masks
Each October for the past six years, traditional Korean dancers from throughout the country have gathered along the banks of Nakdong River in the small town of Andong in the province of Kyongsangbuk-do for what is now one of the most popular mask dance festivals in Korea. In the open-air amphitheater and courtyard, along the lazy riverbanks and nearby in the traditional village of Hahoe, the haunting notes of the bamboo piri, the syncopated underbeat of the changgo and puk drums and the jangling of kkwaenggari gongs accompany the reenactment and retelling of familiar, funny and poignant dance-dramas.
A Festival of Masks continued....
A Festival of Masks posted in korea , stories
Serendipity
Wow that was lucky! That's amazing! How did you manage to get that?��� How many of us have heard comments like this when showing photographs from a recent trip?
While I was photographing a Buddhist temple on the banks of the Mekong River in Luang Prabang, Laos, the bright tropical light dipped behind the trees lining the river. Quickly I gathered my tripod and headed across to the earthen riverbank. Scrambling down the path to the waters edge I saw a dozen children splashing and playing in the water. Quickly setting up my 35-70mm zoom lens I began shooting their bronze bodies and beguiling grins. Gradually the sky began to turn a magnificent purple and magenta. A fisherman drifted into view, and then stood on one leg as he cast his net into the water. The moment was magical. The gesture perfect.
Was that a lucky shot? Well, yes and no....
Serendipity posted in how to , stories , thoughts
By the Waters of Andaman
The huge white squaresails billow with wind from a clear and cloudless sky. Lanyards hale and strain against the sturdy steel of the four masts as we speed forward across the turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea. The wooden deck rolls gently with the waves and the breeze fills our spirits too. It is the morning after leaving Phuket on the clipper ship SPV Star Flyer and we are finally under sail.
Palm-strewn islands lie low on the horizon, silhouetted against the sky. These are Ko Surin - green gems fringed with white sand beaches, set in crystalline water off the western shores of Thailand. The sky is pristine blue and the salt spray fresh on our faces
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By the Waters of Andaman posted in stories , thailand
Get up and Dance
The captivating rhythmic drumbeats of soca and calypso music echo across the broad green of the Queen’s Park Savannah and radiate out to the forested hills overlooking the city of Port of Spain. As you approach the central grandstand the sound grows louder, more varied, the syncopation more subtle. In the dusty forecourt crowds of dancers wait their turn to cross the stage with their bands, dancing to the beat.
Bronze girls with burnished breasts and glitter undulate in the brilliant sun. Young women in blue and red feathers, their skimpy outfits bejeweled and tasseled; muscled young men in capes and helmets, shimmering ebony and bare-chested; couples ‘wining’, thrusting their hips suggestively; grandmas who barely fit into a bikini; old men in sailor costumes; even the youngest of children; all of them follow with their footsteps the penetrating rhythms of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.
Get up and Dance continued....
Get up and Dance posted in caribbean , stories , trinidad