Thursday Thoughts – The Importance of Festivities

Travelling means learning new things every day. I guess that is one of the best parts of life – learning new things. In this 2 million people capital, Quito, Ecuador, I enjoyed every second. Almost 3000 metres up in the Andes – you had to take it a bit easy the first day.

20161202_141419_copyDo you, for instance, know which mountain is the world´s highest? I learned from the Ecuadorian businessman sitting next to me in the plane between Guayaquil and Baltra, that it is…..Chimborazo, a big volcano in Ecuador. It is higher than Mount Everest – if you count from the middle of our planet Earth.

amazonas-och-galapagos-081_copyColourful Old Town Quito, together with Krakow, Poland, 1978 became the first UNESCO World Heritage sites. And they keep it colourful, clean and tidy.

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There were grand festivities this week – December 6 was celebrated everywhere. So, what did they celebrate? Their freedom? No, they celebrated the Spaniards conquering them in the 16th century…I asked them how this could be something to celebrate – and they all answered that they had put all this behind them – this day was just a good day for festivities and having fun. That sounded just great to me!

Beautiful city and beautiful people – and wonderful food! We enjoyed Quito despite some rain. Old and young, everybody in a good mood.

A young man came up to me with a rose. You know, the thing they do everywhere down in Europe, expecting you to give some money…This young guy was in a group of students, and he was the only one to have a single rose in his hand. I shook my head and told him I had no money, but his eyes were shining when he smiled, saying that he did not want any money…just to give me the rose.

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Thursday Thoughts – Our Young…

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Take good care of our young – let them be safe with their parents, let them play and give them food, and raise them to be able to fend for themselves, to stand on their own feet.

Animals know how to do…

Only let them – and try to learn from them…

Because we are much the same – only humans seem to have forgotten how to raise children properly…

Surely you want your children to grow up to great, magnificent people?

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Like this Red-billed Tropicbird. People who use their own wings – and fly! Together!

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Animals still know how to do…Let us believe there is hope for us humans to restore that knowledge. Because once we had it – at least many more of us had it…

Tomorrow will bring a more unstable world…let us all do our very best to make it safer for nature, animals and our young. We must decide not to give in to all these difficulties and negative movements in society, – we have to fight for the good things that are still here!

Thursday Thoughts – The Winner Takes It All…

Islas Plazas and their beautiful land iguanas were spectacular. The yellowish males are highly territorial and engage in head-butting battles to get rid of intruders. We saw two fights and the winners…took it all.

amazonas-2-och-galapagos-1-857_copyLand iguanas eat cactus fruit and other parts of the cactus, but in general they cannot climb it …instead they choose a cactus plant as their own, lie down under it and wait for a fruit to fall into their mouths…

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This brave iguana had managed the impossible though…and its friends on the ground were eagerly waiting for it to drop something tasty to them…

After watching it for a while, we noticed something happening on the ground below…

…and the 100 cm long winner took it all – at least he took their place in waiting!

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Thursday Thoughts – To Paradise and Back Again

So, I have been to Paradise – and back again. From Sweden to Amsterdam and then to Quito. After a couple of interesting days in beautiful world heritage, Quito Old Town, we flew down to the Amazon basin, Coca.

From Coca 1 1/2hour by motorized canoe on the Napo River …

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Then 30 minutes hiking on jungle boardwalk before the last bit in a paddle canoe.

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There was a slight drizzle, but we saw an abundance of flowers and birds already on this short way before reaching the lodge.

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At Sacha Lodge we were welcomed by our hosts. The Lodge had rooms for 65 guests, but at the moment we were only 13-14. Lots of space and attention from our excellent guides.

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Our own lodge was incredibly fresh and simple, just as in my dreams – but even better!

amazonas-och-galapagos-194_copySpacey and open – in fact no walls on one side, so both shower and bedroom were open to the jungle. The only thing to separate us from the real world was a net, with all the sounds of the rainforest and its inhabitants just two steps away…I tell you,  I have never slept better in my entire life. Birds, insects and howler monkeys feasting!

I remember staying in a clay and straw hut in the Nepalese jungle of Chitwan, in 1986, with giant spiders covering the ceiling and lizards and rats owning the mud floor. I did not sleep anything at all…even if I was young and brave.

We saw flycatchers and kingfishers among other birds, and in the waters below our breakfast house dwells….a cajman called Lucy!

On the night walk we met many animals…many crawlers (millipeeds too), possums and some spiders of gigantic size. One of the The tarantulas was a pink toed giant sitting high up under the roof of the butterfly house. We also saw a wolf spider about the same size…Crickets, grasshoppers and the world’s biggest ant – a bullet ant – who has got the worst bite in the world with terrible pain for 24 hours. ”Watch out where you put your hands” was the advice. They might walk on the same rails or twigs you happen to use…

My favourite was the charming tree frog of course…!

This was our first day at Sacha Lodge – and I just Loved every minute of it. For the next day we were promised parrots, weavers, a women’s collective, curare, arrows and local cooking, canoe through narrow rainforest waterways and maybe…anaconda.

Good night to our extremely initiated and knowledgeable guides, Pablo and Luis.

Thursday Thoughts – Ama la Vida!

Ecuador Ama la Vida – and they do. And they make us, all visitors, do. And we love them, the Ecuadorians and their astonishing country and nature.

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I came back a couple of days ago, but in my heart I am still there – and I will never leave. On my first day in Sweden I immediately caught a severe cold, but still had to go to work. Yesterday was my last working day before Christmas.

So, where to begin, trying to explain that my childhood dream has come true? That this journey was the greatest adventure of my life? But we all have different dreams…

As a 7-year-old girl I first borrowed a book about the remote Galapagos Islands, and learned there was a place on earth where animals and humans lived in peace with each other. The animals were not afraid of humans, and you could sit right next to them and  we could talk to each other as true friends. The little girl marvelled and nourrished a dream in her heart, that someday and somehow she would travel to these enchanted islands…

After this day she devoured everything about the Galapagos Islands…and later, on TV, she listened to David Attenborough and …her heart and mind was set. About then, she also decided to one day walk in the jungle, listening to all the sounds in the dark night, in the REAL jungle, the Amazonas. I do not think she realized the possibility of these two dreams once coming true within the same country, within the same year and the same month.

To a little girl who loved animals more than people, and who, in fact, in many ways still prefers animals to people – such a journey was the ultimate dream.

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On this fantastic journey, I met some astonishing people as well…people I never will forget. They enriched my life and will hopefully continue to do so. The artist Jane Tomlinson and her photographing husband Moth Clark are two extraordinary gifted people. Their deep feelings for, and knowledge of, the natural world are genuine and vibrant. Moth’s photos are outstanding and Jane’s paintings as vibrant as life itself.

I received the permission from Jane herself to use one of her paintings in this post. I love starlings, so this was a natural choice. Now I am looking forward to seeing more of Moth’s photos from the Galapagos Islands and some lovely paintings by Jane. Ama la Vida – easily done when you see Jane’s artwork! The art of Jane Tomlinson.

Thank you so much for visiting, and waiting – I will be posting more when I am recovered!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Ann-Christine

Thursday Thoughts – A Story of …Love

In Vilnius I saw this young couple coming out of a church. They did not hold hands. The young lady was holding her dress instead. He was walking casually right behind her.

In one of the old city’s most famous spots, they were photographed.

They looked so young…yet I believe they had known each other for a while. No infatuation shining, no signs of being ”in love”. I watched them silently walking down the street – no sign of guests or friends. Still not holding hands. Half an hour later we saw them sitting on a bench in the square, munching some fast food and watching the air balloons sailing across the sky.

I wonder what they were thinking. I wonder about their lives and their future. I would have liked to listen to their story.

Thursday Thoughts

Empty. Void. The last two days leaves many thoughts, but the feeling is emptiness.

Give me that bridge to walk safely across.

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Thursday Thoughts – Tiny Worlds

Tiny, enigmatic worlds…

They fascinate and they haunt us…

Because they are still possible to fathom?

Because we realize that we cannot decide over or rule Nature?

Or is it because we deep inside know…that everything just might be too late…

Thursday Thoughts – From Totti

So, I think it is time for me to take you on a guided tour …a typical day in the forest – for Me! Here we go…

Mmm, so what do you think? I doubt it that you are having just as much fun when you are out hiking! But I hope you enjoyed my little tour! OK, the shower next…

Thursday Thoughts

I have been thinking…but I have also been away the whole day. Maybe this was the last fine day of autumn colours – rain and wind coming our way…So, I went on a photo tour. I hope you will enjoy a couple of the the photos! All of them are from the little village Vittsjö, about 45 minutes from my home.

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On the river

The leaves paint intricate patterns in the water