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

Thursday Thoughts

Finally the colours are coming…but I guess they will not stay for long. Too much wind and rain – even hail. And two days ago I saw the lapwings like pearls thrown over the water, preparing to return south.

In the early morning light the heron was almost one with the sun.

And towards noon, the horses grazing in a complete painting.

A glorious day!

Thursday Thoughts – The Fairy – Castle

We were driving along the road from Bilbao to visit Gernika this day, when suddenly, out of nowhere, without any road sign – we saw the pinnacles above the dense forest. A castle. This castle is located in Gatika, in the province of Biscay, in northern Spain

We turned left off the road and decided to have a closer look at it – and after some twists and turns of narrow roads – we found it.

The castle has a fairy-tale look about it, and as we started walking around it, we realised that the place was abandoned and nobody lived there. Further down the road we found pictures of knights and horses, together with a closed down, dilapidated café. The premises had probably been used for games or jousting.

A look at Wikipedia tells us that the present building was created as a hobby for its then owner and to create something visually spectacular rather than to produce something for people to live in. ” In fact it would be quite inconvenient as a home as the towers have little useful space and various parts of the castle have exterior connections which are not particularly apt for the wet Basque weather.”

The building is surrounded by an overgrown park which includes palms and exotic plants. We thought the forlorn castle must be totally unknown, but in fact it seems this is not the case…As any other little girl,  Kate Middleton’s dream once was to get married in this fairy tale castle. (Said in a BBC interview with David Ferald.)

Back in Bilbao again in the evening, we learned from our host that the castle is named Castillo de Butrón . (He even had a painting of Butrón on the wall.) It dates originally from the Middle Ages, although it owes its present appearance to an almost complete rebuilding, inspired by Bavarian castle models, begun by Francisco de Cubas (also known as Marqués de Cubas) in 1878.

The castle fell into disuse, was later renovated and opened again, but the building was finally closed to visitors although the grounds remained open.

In November 2005 the building was purchased by INBISA (Grupo Empresarial) for about 1,6 million euros, but it remains under the general protection of Spanish law in respect of historic buildings in Spain.