Thursday Thoughts – Easter Rain

Rain, rain…Easter Rain. But inside, indoors – there is much to be seen and contemplated this week of exhibitions and art work. And good food, and good thoughts. I will be spending this week with my children and plan to visit some nice exhibitions as well. In fact, some of my photos will be up too. Exciting…

More reportings from the exhibitions later…

Wishing you all a Happy Easter!

 

Travel theme: Over

Travel theme: Over

Over my head in the header and in the skate park. Over the water in Tibet.

As a teenager, my son´s happiest moments were in the big bowls of Malmoe skate park. I have been there too, just to see him enjoy, jumping Over me!

Travel theme: Woman

Woman

There are so many women in the world…and they are all important. My choices are still easy to make – the two most important women in my own life: My daughter and my mother. My daughter, some years ago, a summer in our cottage by the sea, and my mother hiking one of the Madeiran trails at the age of 75.

Woman – industrious, hard working, smart, loving, kind, helping, generous, caring…

Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge: Any Camera or Photographer

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal, Galapagos.

Pelikan and photographer – both of them relaxed.

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CFFC: Looking Down at Things

For Cee´s Looking Down…, here we are at Prins Philip´s Steps, Galapagos, waiting for the panga to come and take us back to Cachalote.

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Jokkmokk – The Reindeer Race

Every year there is this race on the lake – and it is great fun to watch it. The reindeer are indeed not very tame, and they have to be handled rather like the wild creatures they are… But they seem to like this game – and the running!

Well…the last guy was really funny – and he most certainly enjoyed this game even more than the reindeer….No sledge, just his boots!

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The reindeer are quite unstoppable as well, as you can see from the pictures. When they have finished the race…they will go on running!

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And walking them home can be rather tricky too – even more if they are two…

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Thursday Thoughts – Jokkmokks Marknad -412 Years Old

”Jokkmokk’s Market has a long history and is considered to have a four hundred-year unbroken tradition. Permanent marketplaces near the Sámi’s winter settlements were established by the Swedish crown at the beginning of the 17th century in all the Sámi Lappish territories on both sides of the Gulf of Bothnia. The purpose was to strengthen the state’s control of the population in the north as well as to collect taxes, hold legal court and spread the Word of God. Planning a market in the Lappish territories during the coldest time of the year had several advantages. The Sámi were gathered in their winter settlements in the forest area with winter grazing for their reindeer and the frozen waterways constituted magnificent roads for the merchants, state officials and men of the church.”

http://www.jokkmokksmarknad.se/visitors/history/

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”Renrajden” is every year led by Per Kuhmunen and his family. It takes at least a year to tame the reindeer as much as needed to follow their leaders through the market place and let people touch them. At the Snow Scene in the middle of the market place, they sometimes let themselves be interviewed and photographed in the traditional Gákti. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A1kti

The Sámi people have always led a harsh life, and today they also have problems with the global warming that hits hard up north. As the weather wavers between warm and cold, the ground will get icy and the reindeer cannot find food enough. Last year some 30000 reindeer starved to death in northern Russia.

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Per Kuhmunen and his family comes back every year to Jokkmokk’s Market. Today they are met by film cameras and ordinary cameras, radio and TV. But they seem to enjoy it.

Between Old and New.

Thursday Thoughts -Falling in Love…

Last week I went visiting my daughter up north, in Umeå. But I also took the chance to visit the 412 year old market in Jokkmokk – a meeting place for Sami people from Norway, Sweden and Finland, as well as people from all over the world. A colourful experience! More about this old market in posts coming.
I think I fell in love again…Finnish Lapphund is a dog breed, and traditionally it has been used for herding reindeer. This is a hardy, easy going, medium-size breed of Spitz type. At the market there were two shining beauties exposing themselves on reindeer skins.
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Finnish Lapphund has a normal lifespan of 12-14 years, and is known to be faithful and friendly, as well as being calm, keen and corageous.
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This breed comes in black, white, wolf-sable, red, sable and brown. About 50cm in height and normal weight 15-24 kg.
Totally wonderful dogs!

Santiago – Sullivan Bay

On the northeast side of the island Santiago, Galápagos, is Sullivan Bay. The lava walk here showed us a lava phenomenon called Pahoehoe – a ropy lava flow, coming from from the latest eruption in 1902.

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The day started rather misty and the only thing we could see on shore was the dark lava flow, interspersed with red streaks and topped with lava mounds and volcanoes.

The Galápagos Islands are in a highly volcanic area, and the volcanoes seldom rest. On Isabela, the largest island, there are several of them alive. In the end, all these 19 islands will disappear in the Pacific Ocean. Some of them are already dying.

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We anchored between Santiago and the small island of Bartolome. Already there was a blue sailing ship waiting to unload its group of Americans.

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You had to watch your step – crevices and very uneven ground. This lavafield is indeed the largest I have ever walked. Iceland’s Krafla area we could not walk properly as we visited when the eruption was just over. The ground was too hot and too dangerous.

galapagos-3-and-4-945_copyMany beautiful and interesting patterns were found on the walk, and each one of us had his or her own interpretation…What is yours?

Walking back to our beautiful ship, the sun lashed its late evening colours on our steps.

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Bartolome consists of an extinct volcano, and its landmark is called Pinnacle Rock.

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The evening offered a bright moon, and in the velvety air, we all went soft and still on deck. This was our last day but one in Paradise.

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