kenHuocj's VirtualTourist Home Page

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

The flight had been booked ,
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,

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" ?

"America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love." . . . . . . .Barack Obama

was part of his inauguration in Washington D, one of many there just to get the vibes
then his quick in and out in Ottawa, was there too

His call for change is in positive and fair, that is what the world wants to see;
obviously i am following the media on www
the ones that i use are Google News for access to many with a click
Financial Times In Depth
The London Times The A-Z of Barck Obama
New York Times calm in the swirl of history June 3rd Superdelegate graph
Alternet Blogs Elections 08
Washington Post
Guardian
Huffington Post Historic
BBC online Media marvel at Obama phenomenon Jason Linkins Liveblogging

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/imperisalim 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
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

" 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

be it the CBC or Ottawa Citizen or weather network, SNOW is the topic, my shoulders and back are tired and sore from shovelling snow
we're close the breaking the winter record in Ottawa for amount of snow,
very different to rain in it's various modes, falls and then flows away.
SNOW lingers and with winds , dances before one, enthralling it's audiences day and night.

despite the clock springing forward leaving us with an hour less sleep,
for the past 24 hours, during the fall and lulls, i have been keenly watching the news and since 11 am Saturday am watch the continuous fall pile up around the house and neighbourhood - fun sharing with Mother Earth her seasonal changes

from the sa trip
Monday 31st 2007 , we departed for Cape Town, via a few Wineries, pity that most en route were closed,
we however were fortunate to get to De Grendel - the de Villiers Graaf Estate, with amazing view of Table Mountain and Devils peak

New year Eve at the Waterfront was uneventful , a disappointment, especially checking into the Cape Town Westin Grand [ Sheraton Arabella ]

Stellenbosch Mayvilla B & B was homely and friendly
Fine dinner at the Volkskombuis

Cape winelands always exciting; this time we had a Master Sommelier taking us to two small wineries, Mont du Toit and Colmart, lunch at Franschoek, followed by tasting at Graham Beck and Boschendal, with it's historic buildings

More wineries, Asara, le Riche and uiterwyk-de Waal before heading back to the airport for another Mango flight back to Pretoria via O R Tambo Airport

Whilst in Pretoria and Johannesburg area, a big fat ~ree~ wedding was raison d'etre for the trip down below the tropic of Capricorn, but it also enabled us to visit Johannesburg central and Soweto.

are we prepared to discover more ....
...who are the indigenous ???
MAN or ANIMAL or PLANT ???

> > > see " Amelei " for some fine paintings and spiritual words < < <

images and words toegther may be a constant reminder of co-existence and evolution.....
Indigenous People
Modern, especially Urban people are heavily dependent on
manufactured cosumer products, food included,
are they essential for our existence ?

If you are in Ottawa, you have until Monday 4th September 2006
at the Canada Science and Technology Museum on St Laurent Boulevard off Smyth / Lancaster Roads, to see a travelling exhibition of the 600th anniversary of Admiral Zheng He's Voyages to the Western Seas.
Gavin Menzies a retired Royal Navy Officer published a book 1421: The Year China Discovered the World
Prof Richard von Glahn of UCLA commented on Prof Jin Wu's talk on the Voyages of Discovery