Nothing says “special time and place” to me more than sitting on a Greek kaiki, watching as the boat cuts through the deep, extraordinarily blue water, leaving a light misting of spray and foam as contrast against the sea and sky. Heaven!
weekly photo challenge
Weekly Photo Challenge: Signs
I was excited to see this week’s Photo Challenge theme on Signs. I’ve always had a thing about signs and what they have to say about different cultures. I actually have a section on my blog devoted to them. They offer little insights and clues into a culture’s priorities, buying preferences, or sense of humor. Sometimes all three. I love noticing what they have to say about where I live, or at least the questions they raise. Often they leave me stumped too.
Take today for example: Stuck in a small developing world airport, I was delayed for hours, waiting around inside a concrete box with no internet connection, a dead battery, nowhere to charge, and no book… People watching ran its course. I studied the bad paint job. I kept looking at the broken clock. I peered regularly out the window hoping to see our plane land. After a while it was just me and the signs staring back at one another. Here are the two that graced the airport’s walls today:
The Greenply company manufactures commercial plywood. Quite why they would have a public stance on bad language is a bit of a mystery? In fact, what they are trying to say is a bit of a mystery too. After hours of uncomfortable staring at an otherwise blank wall, I’m still not clear on the point? Suggestions welcome!
My other choice was this one. How to even begin?! Thinly veiled sexual innuendo, blatant false advertising (where is the “serving suggestion” label)…since when do Nepalis eat Thai noodles?… very odd indeed!
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Greek August Nights
I love sitting at night and look out to sea from our home. On a hot August night its hard to imagine why we don’t do it every night of the year.
This night we were waiting for the harvest moon to rise and it took a few glasses of wine to accompany the wait..
…and finally it rose and shone so brightly that it casts moonshadows in our garden. Beautiful!
For more stories of the night see: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/nighttime/
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Boudha Stupa at Night
Our visit started at Boudha at dusk..
As the light started to fail, the Stupa’s lights turned on and sparkled
and the colours intensified
until it was completely dark outside, but somehow the Buddha wisdom eyes were still visible, looking down.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Boudha Stupa at Night
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Fray
Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette
Looking down from a hike on a hazy day. I loved the silhouette of the birds on the wire. They almost look drawn on against the washed out colours of the sea and sky.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Texture
Favourite textures from a walk through a Spetses pine forest:
The fascinating texture of sticky pine tree bark
Lichens growing on stone walls in the shade
The crispy crunch of dried pine needles underfoot
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A Word A Week Photo Challenge – Transport
As this blog (and its owner) continues to take a much needed hiatus from all things Nepali, I thought I’d focus on Greek transportation for this week’s challenge. In particular the local ferry, which is a much needed lifeline between our island and the mainland, carrying produce, meat and dairy in refrigerated trucks as well as building supplies, gasoline– – you name it — to the local economy.
And so 6-8 times a day, its a game of “everybody off, everybody on” as the ferry disembarks and reloads on each side. Full trucks come onto the island, and empty trucks leave. Then there’s the motorbikes, three-wheelers, miscellaneous freight and pedestrians that travel back and forth too. I tried to capture a little of the chaos on the dock:
The motorcycles are made to wait for the trucks to unload….
….but once they’re on, its a free-for-all as the bikes and pedestrians head up the ramp.
…then on comes the next load.
Of course, it would be so much more civilized if they didn’t let drivers park on the dock. I couldn’t take this picture until they had let me embark. By then all the trucks had left, so it doesn’t look so chaotic. A few minutes before it was a madhouse of badly maneuvering trucks, parked cars, and jostling motorbikes.
And then for the umpteenth time, the ramp goes up and the ferry heads back across. Suddenly everything is calm and picturesque again. (Almost) like all the chaos never happened.
Sometimes it feels like this guy has the best job in the world.
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Summer Lovin’
Weekly Photo Challenge: Containers
For this week’s photo challenge, these beautiful old buildings are traditional stone water storage tanks — or sternas — water containers that are still in use today.
Wright Outta Nowhere 