Falc
JT Joined: April 9th 2007
Logged in: March 28th 2009
Logged in: March 28th 2009
Activities: Aikido, Falconry, sailing, surfing, SCUBA, aviation (I can fly, not currently licensed,) eco-construction and sustainable harvests... getting all Africans a polio vaccination and wiping out Malaria are dreams of mine as well.
Those of you who have been there will understand what I mean by this: The red dust that covers your skin and stains your hair seeps on through the skin and into the soul; In my heart, I am now part African.
Though I've come to believe that my rightful place is not to live in W. Africa permanently, there's still some strange alure, something I miss when I'm not there... Maybe I'm just a vagabond.:)
Travel Blog Posts
As I write this, it is 3:20 am on October 23, 2008, and I'm in Satellite Beach, FL... for another week or so. In so many ways, this whirlwind existence of mine would be best wasted on a younger man than I. But here I am, as I am now, not back when I was that younger man, and so it goes. If that last sentence made sense to you, seek competent professional psychological counseling. What happened in Africa? What about the rest? I hardly know where to start, and yet I have to, if I'm to commit it to text before I forget. I took the motorcycle to Mbour... Took the Landcruiser there as well, albeit briefly and in passing. I hunted for raptors, found several of the wrong species as the road took me ... read more
Vultures and Griffons
It has been a very busy couple of months. For those of you interested in more pics, please see my Picasa site. Being without a computer of my own, it is just too much to be getting them up in multiple places every time... To catch you up: St. Louis... not much there, but it is greener. Then on north to the Senegal River -- on the other side is yet another country and passport stamp. We went on through the bird park and along the river eastward to Richard Toll. On the way back, a stop at the Desert Encampment, and another stop at Lac Rose and the Tortoise Village... Along for the ride were a young Dutch couple and an American living in Spain the past few years. When I got back, I began ... read more
Dakar, Senegal, West Africa -- Filthy on a good day, just blatantly vulgar the rest of the time. The stench can be downright gutwretching at times and in places... and yet somehow the place has its appeal. The locals are an amalgam of tribal leaders -- the neauveau riche strutting about in their overpriced cars and authentic bling -- the Euro-mutts, the Sophisticates... all of which collectively comprise less than five percent of the population -- living alongside some of the poorest people on earth. Believe it or not, Senegal is well off, as West African nations go. Most people have something to eat and a place to lay thier heads every night. The lodgings might be considered squalor by most Western standards, but the climate is perfectly moderate here at the coast. Day and night, ... read more
Pictures for this blog are found at http://picasaweb.google.com/Gyrkin/DublinToDakar/ for the moment, as I am on a by-the-minute internet connect, but wanted to catch y'all up a bit. I conceded to the prodding by a few good friends to not take the overland path, after the Paris-Dakar rally was canceled, for the first time ever, out of fear of terrorist threat. Instead, I gave Royal Air Maroc an obscene amount, about $550 all told, to go from Casablanca to Dakar instead. This required going from Agadir (you've seen one Moroccan tourist town, you've seen them all) to Casablanca by bus. Total fare? $28 or less, all told, in a comfortable bus, with a lunch break. Pictures are amongst those in the above link, and the Atlas mountains are stunning. THere in Casablanca I met Milkshake and Danny, ... read more
JT w/ male Eagle-Owl
Hello, beautiful Scotland! The flight (December 26th, 2007) was painless, a mere 35 minutes later, and I was on the ground. We came in late and didn't even see a customs agent. My guitar arrived in good shape, without incident, and I walked 10 feet out of the baggage area to a familiar voice. "Hello, Yank!" It was good to see him, a bit pale and sallow in the eyes, but standing tall, a far cry from the man who'd suffered a near-fatal heart attack the week before. Anne was off to one side, and it was truly good to be greeted by them. Some people just feel like family from the start. We drove on in from Glasgow to the house, some 20 miles, and I settled in front of the compact coal & wood ... read more
Chipper Bruce
The first four are from the visit to Loch Lomond. The rest are from the trip to Glasgow proper. I'll let the images tell the tale.... read more
One End
Greetings from Dublin! It's St. Stephen's Day here (Boxing Day in the UK and Canada) so little is open... but the weather's pleasant, leaves still green on the trees. I'll add pictures in a day or two, when I'm not posting from a per-minute internet connection. The thing most striking so far is that all the signs are in both English and Gaelic... though I've yet to hear anyone speaking the latter. So far, the Irish accent isn't bothering me anywhere near as much as the Scots'... and everyone is very friendly, helpful, pleasant. I saw a pub, and inscribed in the stone is "Established 1777, renovated 1928" Gotta appreciate the tenure.:) Post Script: It's now early AM on the 30th, and I've departed Ireland, and have been enjoying Scotland and the hospitality of Bruce & ... read more
The last entry was nearly ten days ago. I was sitting in the houseboat, staring at all the Stuff, procrastinating, wondering what I should take, what I could live without... The trip to Kentucky was pretty much uneventful, and the flight to Chicago went well. My guitar was lost, found and returned within 24 hours, none the worse for the wear. So far so good... almost. My laptop, the one I just spent money to give a new keyboard, battery pack & power supply, has decided it will not switch over to battery power, essentially rendering it a small desktop machine. If I can't use it as a laptop, its use to me is greatly diminished while traveling. Less than 7 hours away from the time that I'm to leave for the airport on the trans-Atlantic ... read more
Destination: Senegal
As I make the last of the preparations for travel, I have to chuckle at the irony. I came to West Texas because I don't care for cold weather except to go there to ski. Now as I prepare to leave, the Powers That Be want to make sure I don't lose my resolve. It's as though this is an omen: It's 27 degrees at 2:49 am, and still dropping. I've got the space heater going full blast in this 8x16 room and I'm still going to need the sleeping bag tonight! Okay, okay, I get the hint, I'm going, I'm going! Ticketed to Dublin, a few days stopover in Scotland, and then on to Agadir, Morocco via Aer Lingus. The fare was AWESOME, by the way- $123 USD from Dublin to Agadir, including taxes! ... read more
Dec 10, 2007
I've finally blogged a catch-up from last year's romp through Guinea, Mali & Senegal. Perhaps one day I'll revisit Europe and Morocco, but I think I'd rather look forward with these writings. I'm having a birthday, you see, one of my own choosing. The rebirth will happen somewhere around the 2nd week in January. But I'm getting a bit ahead of the tale. The ticket is booked, Chicago to Dublin on Aer Lingus (bless them, for showing Ryanair how it ought to be done!) I'll have a day in the Emerald Isles, and then on to Glasgow that evening, to meet up with a falconer couple, friends who live some 20 miles north of Glasgow. I'm told I'll be forced to celebrate with Hogomony (pig-what? Scots speak an english that's harder to understand than French!) After ... read more
