Falc - JT

Adventurer who fell in love with Africa, and moved there for a while.

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.:)

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Joined on: April 9th 2007
Last Login: June 19th 2008

Blog Entries: 16
Photos: 211
Recommends 3

TB Code: [blogger=35955]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Falc, order by Date newest first.

By Falc
April 9th 2008

Catching Up

Africa » Senegal » Cape Verde Peninsula » Dakar

Vultures and Griffons
These guys were chowing down on roadkill. We stopped to take some pics and video...

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, [View Full Entry]

By Falc
January 21st 2008

The Sea Tortoise

Africa » Senegal

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 [View Full Entry]

By Falc
January 21st 2008

Dublin to Dakar

Africa » Morocco

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? [View Full Entry]

By Falc
December 29th 2007

Into God's Country

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » The Highlands

JT w/ male Eagle-Owl
Bruce's gentle tiercel eagle owl, Young Wilf - a bit over 4 pounds. Can you imagine a 6 pound female?

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 [View Full Entry]

By Falc
December 28th 2007

Glasgow

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Glasgow

Chipper Bruce
Feeling good in the damp, chill Scotish breeze off the loch.

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. [View Full Entry]

By Falc
December 26th 2007

A Day in Dublin

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin » Dublin

One End
This statue is at one end of O'Connell (?) street, the flagpole in the middle, and the other statue marks the end of that district.

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 [View Full Entry]

By Falc
December 25th 2007

How Time Flies! (None in the Bush)

North America » United States » Illinois » Chicago

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. [View Full Entry]

By Falc
December 16th 2007

The Fates conspire to help us + Prelim. Big Agnes Seedhouse 3 report

North America » United States » Texas » El Paso

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, [View Full Entry]

By Falc
December 14th 2007

There and on again, a human's tale. (Citizenship of My Own Choosing)

Africa » Senegal » Cape Verde Peninsula » Dakar

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 [View Full Entry]

By Falc
April 29th 2006

Catching Up - First Great Falcon Safari

Africa » Senegal » Cape Verde Peninsula » Dakar

Red-necked Falcons
This was what I had to go by. Like looking for a needle in a haystack? NO problem! A laminated copy of this went with me everywhere as I began the search.

This is a series of catch-up blogs, of a trip to Senegal, Guinea and Mali in search of a small (180 gram) falcon that we hoped to bring back to the States for a scientific breeding project. I'll post a few places and pictures, recounting the 2-month adventure, to get y'all caught up, before moving on to the current one that begins on Christmas Day, 2007. We'll start off the tale in Indianapolis, Indiana. It has been a cold, wet, dreary winter, and I'm very much feeling the longing pangs; Africa is callling me back again. But I've given up all [View Full Entry]

TravelBlog » Falc

Falc | JT | Travel Blog

Falc - JT

Blogs & Travel Journals

Catching Up

The Sea Tortoise

Dublin to Dakar

Into God's Country

Glasgow

A Day in Dublin

How Time Flies! (None in the Bush)

The Fates conspire to help us + Prelim. Big Agnes Seedhouse 3 report

There and on again, a human's tale. (Citizenship of My Own Choosing)

Catching Up - First Great Falcon Safari