The Story Behind the Photograph: The Khunjerab Pass
Friday, July 5, 2024
This story started as an exploration of the speed of travel, but I decided that there was a story within that just about my traversing of the Khunjerab Pass. The Pass is closed for a part of the year simply because of snow, it sits at 4,693 meters (15,397 feet), and for the rest of the year is at the whim of politics. I made the journey in 1989, only a few months after the student protests in Tiananmen Square and the subsequent Chinese government crackdown.
Cadaqués, Spain by day and by night.
Nautical scene, Cadaqués, north eastern Spain.
The Bullring in Alcácer do Sal. I believe that there are very few bullfights there, maybe two or three a year. One was due to take place just after we left Alcácer mid-June.
Bullring, Alcácer do Sal
I find myself disagreeing with the idea of a bullfight. I don’t know what the majority feeling is in Portugal and specifically in Alcácer, though I have heard that one of the best bullfighters in the country comes from/came from the town? We were told by a friend in Alcácer that the bull is not killed in bullfighting in Portugal, though I don’t know when a fight is deemed to be over?
My wife and I discussed whether we would have attended if we had still been in Alcácer when the fight took place. I went from not at all to only if I could sit on a seat near to an exit should I choose to leave early. I started to feel that if I lived in Alcácer I had to understand the people and the culture better before offering my opinion.
My repulsion towards bullfighting comes from my sense that it is simply cruel to bulls and in this day and age does not have a place. I have a similar feeling towards fox hunting in the UK which is now outlawed. However, while I come from the UK and use to have fox hunts pass where I lived in South Wales and so had some experiential sense of that activity, I hesitate to call it a ‘sport’, I have not seen a bullfight. Could I critique that which I have not seen - yes, no, maybe? I felt better that I see it. That time will have to wait though.
Poop Fright
Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Now there is a click bait title if ever there was one. However I am guessing that what I am going to write about below is something that anyone who has traveled can relate to in some shape or form (please excuse the uncomfortable imagery).I have even heard the Dalai Lama in a public talk make reference to his own personal experience with disturbed bowl movements. I am of course referring to one’s pooping cycle being interrupted and pushed off course by traveling long distances.
Back in the land of the rainbows. Here is this morning’s. If you look closely, it is possible to make out a faint second one above the first. 🌈
Somewhere around 2010 I went to an evening celebrating the anniversary of the massive eruption of Mt. St. Helens that took place in 1980. There were three speakers at the event. Gary Snyder, Ursula Le Guin and a scientist whose name escapes me, but who had worked at the blast zone since the eruption.
The evening was memorable for the very different and personal accounts of Mt. St. Helens that the three speakers brought. I remember Ursula Le Guin speaking about watching the eruption from her house in Portland, Oregon.
Now other writers will be able to enjoy the view of Mt. St. Helens from Le Guin’s house, as her home is set to become a writer’s residency.
🏝️ I drove up to my acupuncture appointment this morning with the windows open instead of the A/C on, enjoying the tropical smells and humidity of the island.
🏝️ I drove up to my acupuncture appointment this morning with the windows open instead of the A/C on, enjoying the tropical smells and humidity of the island.
The air, the landscape was so still and quiet this morning. You’ll probably have to turn up the volume to hear the bird song in the recording below.
🥵 After the dry heat of Europe, I forgot how hot & humid Maui can be. My gratitude for the Trade Winds that keep the islands cooler than they might otherwise be.
🥵 After the dry heat of Europe, I forgot how hot & humid Maui can be. My gratitude for the Trade Winds that keep the islands cooler than they might otherwise be.
🙉 As we make our way back home, I find myself wanting to push back on the familiar sights, sounds and stimuli that are returning to us, and instead hold onto the tastes and experiences that the last three months have brought.
Letting go is not always easy.
🙉 As we make our way back home, I find myself wanting to push back on the familiar sights, sounds and stimuli that are returning to us, and instead hold onto the tastes and experiences that the last three months have brought.
Letting go is not always easy.
🛫 We will soon be taking off from Barcelona airport. San Francisco next stop. Starting the journey home…though I’m starting to wonder where that is right now?!
🛫 We will soon be taking off from Barcelona airport. San Francisco next stop. Starting the journey home…though I’m starting to wonder where that is right now?!
🛌 My bed wouldn’t let me get up this morning. At least that is my excuse and I’m sticking with it.
🛌 My bed wouldn’t let me get up this morning. At least that is my excuse and I’m sticking with it.
Out walking, pounding the streets of Barcelona.
