"Eternal Life for two Friends of Mother Earth" kenHuocj's Profile

When the news of Gogo/Mama Wangari Muta Maathai appeared on my news alert, on Sept 26th, 2011, the emotions of having to say fare ye well, friend of the lungs of earth, you proved yourself a fine citizen of your country of birth, and was recognised aptly with your Nobel Peace Prize. I pray that the world will not forget you, your many campaigns and Greenbelt NGO - MUST be followed by many more aspiring lovers of our Planer Earth. I shall not forget you despite your Drumbeats being muffled with your physical absence. Your Spirit and voice resonates in East Africa and across the oceans to other continents.
Al Bashir Bin Maajid comment in Facebook sums up my feelings well
"God saw you getting tired and a cure was not to be. So He put His arms around you and whispered "come to me." With tearful eyes we watched you, and saw you pass away. Although we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hardworking hands at rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best. Rest In Peace Mama miti "

Death of a visionary
"Tree Lady" Wangari Maathai Has Roots in Kansas
Benedictine Community Mourns Passing of Nobel Laureate Maathai . . . . ."she said. “If my work has changed the world, it is because you are all working through me.”
“Always follow a small voice that all of us have, a small voice that comes from deep within, a small voice that I have come to identify as the God in you,” Maathai concluded. “God whispers to you and if your heart is pure, you can hear it. Follow that voice. Be committed to it, be persistent with it, be patient with it.” . . . . . .

Wangari Muta Maathai of the Green Belt Movement from Kenya wins the Nobel Peace Prize- more in Kenya pages and about Nobel Laureate Gogo Wangari

The challenge for Africa&L* is an essential read for all caring about the drumbeats from Africa

Aids and Environment, is there a link between the two,
is Africa totally dependent on Foreign Aid- handouts?
what is the effects of past colonialism/imperialism and foreign domination
and current Multinational domination vis-a-vis natural resources?
is Tourism /travel into Africa having a positive effect of the continent's development?

some of the above topics is/was covered at the conference in Toronto
controversy shall always reign
but VT members who travel to see more
and with a more open mind to reality
follows a few links for those interested
%L[http://www.msf.ca/aids2006/front.html]Dcotors without borders-MSF
16th International AIDS Conference — Time to Deliver
XVI International AIDS Conference - August 13-18, 2006

Wangari Muta Maathai from Kenya wins the Nobel Peace Prize- more in Kenya pages and} about Nobel Laureate mama Wangari

Elder William Commanda Opening Blessing

William Commanda is a traditional Algonquin Elder from Kitigan Zibi, Quebec, an hour north of Ottawa, died on Aug 3rd, 2011 aged 97
the comments from the CBC obituary gives insight into 'Grandfathers" achievements and legacies

Bitter Melon (苦瓜) from my Veggie Patch

being a Pre Baby Boomer, i am still more partial to home cooked meals, despite the fact that i do enjoy eating out, if and preferably the eating establishment refrains from using processed ingredients e'g. Knorr, Maggi and many other industrial kitchen convenience products with flavour enhancers, i am certain many of you who read will know what i am referring to.
Food and wines is of course very much an integral part of Travel and the inter/intra-cultural experience.
With another Social networking group, we are Pot lucking our way every month from A-Z ( countries), with surprising flavours and dishes we are able to savour.

Bitter melon (苦瓜), Silky melon (絲瓜) and Winter/fuzzy melon (冬瓜) are three ethnic veggies that i grew up with, fresh from the Garden, exception was a year of drought, pity though is that with the short growing season we have here, i have to be content with mass produced products, occasionally, we get a few that one can taste, comes from a small farmer.
In my Home city pages, i shall add recipe and photos of how i used the Bitter Melon a month ago. Bon Appetit.

Table Mountain from Durbanville Hills - de Grende

Organised a Wines Tasting recently, 8 wines tasted were all under $20, double the price in SA, but the Rupert Rotschild Classique matched well with a Cape Malay Lamb Curry. Even the Cathedral Cellar Pinotage was well accepted without the "Tar" For more Wine info online, E-wines is the one to click on

" Abelia Lawrence, is the director of Blouvlei and a trustee of the Blouvlei Workers Trust. She has become the public face of Blouvlei, after having worked on the Mont du Toit farm for a number of years and undergoing training at the Cape Wine Academy, the University of Cape Town and taking other courses in marketing. She also now spearheads the group's marketing efforts locally. "
" The group currently produces between 4,000 and 6,000 cases of wine, but this is set to increase steadily over the next few years. Production is split between four wines-a Shiraz; a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend; the Klassique-a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz blend; and a Sauvignon Blanc." quoted from Wellington-based BEE wine producer Blouvlei gathers steam

To be able to taste the Blouvlei range of screw cap wines under introductory remarks by Stephan du Toit, this was highlighted by master sommelier Junel who took us there with interesting tasting comments.
this was followed by another round of tasting the Mont Du Toit range.

Photo of the Hills not to good, so here is another of Tabel Mountian fro de Grendel's tasting room patio

Photos: Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1991

. . . . glad that she is now active and free to move around the country ....
hoping that she'll be able to lead the country after the too many lost
years.........

The Nobel Peace Prize 1991 was awarded to Aung San Suu Kyi "for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights".

Watching the BBC broadcast of Aung San Suu Kyi's relesae from House Arrest took me back to the TV coverage in S Africa When Nelson Mandela was released from Detention on 11 Feb 1990

My nurturing in Southern Africa where the following have received the Nobel Prize keeps my fingers on the pulse of "Rights" issues
1991, THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE Aung San Suu Kyi

2003, THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE John M. Coetzee
2002, THE NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSIOLOGY OR MEDICINE Sydney Brenner
1993, THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE Nelson Mandela
1993, THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE Frederik Willem de Klerk
1991, THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE Nadine Gordimer
1984, THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE Desmond Mpilo Tutu
1979, THE NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSIOLOGY OR MEDICINE Allan M. Cormack
1960, THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE Albert John Lutuli
1951, THE NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSIOLOGY OR MEDICINE Max Theiler

A quote from her son Alexander Aris's acceptance speech . . . . "the concept of perfection, the urge to achieve it, the intelligence to find a path towards it, and the will to follow that path if not to the end, at least the distance needed to rise above individual limitation... ". "To live the full life," she says, "one must have the courage to bear the responsibility of the needs of others … one must want to bear this responsibility." And she links this firmly to her faith when she writes, "...Buddhism, the foundation of traditional Burmese culture, places the greatest value on man, who alone of all beings can achieve the supreme state of Buddhahood. Each man has in him the potential to realize the truth through his own will and endeavour and to help others to realize it." Finally she says, "The quest for democracy in Burma is the struggle of a people to live whole, meaningful lives as free and equal members of the world community. It is part of the unceasing human

The Huo Family after a dinner at my Cousin

The family tree, the traditions of of the Lunar New Year Celebrations,
Village life, the effects of industrialisation of a country that was rated one of the poorest of the world in 1948, dominated during the previous century by domination of war lords, civil war, foreign interventions in many forms.

there will be many photos of my trip plus , hopefully, insightful comments under Foshan;
my personal interactions, softened by family who took me around,
being able to speak Cantonese helped, a slattering of Putonghua / standard Chinese will have been useful, alas

an experience of a lifetime

photo of clansmen who have the same great grand father as me, living in Shunde region under Foshan City administration, in Guangdong Province of People's Reublic of China

Dinner with Eberhart Albergue Perdeborn, Pamplona

wednesday Oct 14th, 2009
after leaving St Jean Pied de Port in France on Sept 10th

arrived in Santiago de Compostella about 9.45am from Monte Gozo 6.5 Km from the Cathedral.
almost day after day, depsite the weather, it was step by step

will leave for fisterre tomorrow morning, was delayed today
after i get home Photos, photos and photos

Other made it to the great peaks, my meagre effort was fun too, made it to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town
whilst the Goal of seeing the Wolfsberg Arch of the Cedeberg mountain never materialised, I waited patiently at the bottom of th Crack.
This spurred me to take on the Camino de Santiago, staring at St James Pied de Port in France, via Pamplona Leon, Burgos etc till Santiago de Compostela and finally Fisterre on the Eastern shores of the Atlantic I have the odd tidbits in my a long stroll to Santiago de Compostela & beyond Album

Africa beckons visitors with it's drumbeats; sadly other forms of BEATINGS tarnish the many goodness it has, TYRANTS, DO NOT desreve to cling onto power

"Meagan McGrath, 29, was scaling down the world's highest mountain on May 21 when she came across Nepalese climber Usha Bista."
on my Canada Page
she is so humble about her caring that she does not even mention it in her travelblog
McGrath, who now lives in Ottawa, had been preparing for her Everest climb for years in an effort to become the first member of the Canadian Forces to climb the highest summits on each of the seven continents.
Andrew Barsh was 200 metres from Mt Everst summit, but he stopped to save another Australian mountaineer in distress

a stretch of the Camino France

The flight had been booked ,, way back in March 2009.
the train to St Jean Pied de Port in France and Auberge Orisson had been reserved, thus the commitment.
SJPP in part of the Camino France beginning in Le Puy, a journey followed by many over the centuries, since getting the EU and Unesco rating as a cultural route, the various routes have had an increase in numbers of walkers
video intro of the Camino
Quite a few library books devoured, you tube videos, websites et al,
getting the backpack and cuttings down the weight,

In hindsight, as 2 years ago, . . . . . .( more to come soon )
Beginning with the first 8kms uphill to Orisson before the next over the Pyrenees to Ronscevalles in Spain, then day after day between 20 to 30 + kms daily,
the recurring questions, wil the body and mind synchronize ?
i my own feet get me to Santiago de Compostela and even further to Lands end - Fisterre and further north, Muxia ?

Alas, after 38 days on he pathways, with a few days rest and recreation,
i did get to see St James in the Santiago Cathedral, with the Botafumeiro swinging over the heads of the many Peregrinos / Pilgrims sharing its incense with all willing to accept it's symbolism.

All who have walked along the Camino appreciates the many facets of the journey, which is very personal so i shall not repeat what is known, bar to say that i been graciously blesses to be able to complete the journey with so many others.

the Tao is towards Aum . . . i am trying . . . Meegwtech

Nature seeks the narrow middle path
so that - all it's inhabitants may share equally
only what it needs for survival
yin - yang does strive for balance of co-existence

is that not the central point of "Deep Ecology" ?