What I Came to This Island For

20 december, 201720 december, 2017 / Leya / 29 kommentarer

Roque Nublo (Clouded Rock, Rock in the Clouds) is the famous volcanic rock on Gran Canaria. It is 80 m (262 ft) tall, and its top is 1,813 m (5,948 ft) above sea level. It is the second highest peak of the island after Pico de las Nieves, and a famous landmark.

This is a glorious hiking area (as you could see from earlier posts, we made a couple of walks here), and several years ago we did the main trail up to the peak. I totally fell in love with the nature here, so we saved this hike for the last day.

Pico de las Nieves in the faraway clouds, and the pinnacle in the middle is called Roque del Fraile (monk)

The pictures speak for themselves – but we took the car very early in the morning, before sunrise, because the narrow, winding roads will have you driving for a couple of hours to get to the starting point.

We were among the first to start walking, and that was the idea. Later in the day there will be more people coming. And…what do you think they do, the first thing… when they have reached the top…?

The island in the ocean behind is Tenerife with the majestic volcano Teide on display.

This year we made the trek around Roque Nublo as well – to see its beauty from every direction. Look closely at the first pictures, and you will see a person in red standing in the sun below the peak.

CPH jul och Gran Canaria 2017 1279-Redigera

Is he not beautiful! Worth visiting – and returning to.

CFFC: Letter Q

12 december, 2017 / Leya / 6 kommentarer

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter Q – Simply needs to have the letter Q

Equestrians in the header and one of the many squares in the Forbidden City, Beijing.

CFFC: Needs to have at least 5 letters and start with P

11 december, 2017 / Leya / 15 kommentarer

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter P – Needs to have at least 5 letters and start with P

– A bouquet of flowers: Pelargonia (Alveston, in the header), Peony and Passion flower

Thursday Thoughts – We Must Make it Work!

30 november, 2017 / Leya / 7 kommentarer

Every December I remember our month in New Zealand some years ago. Never have I been to a country where I found so much and so many to admire and love.

This is where our antipodes live, this is where I had one of my first penfriends, this is the country whose nature I believe to be the most diverse and beautiful in the world. And this is where Rainbow Warrior went down, sending many people around the world into an unbelievable state of shock.

We are constantly reminded of how much we contaminate our world, and the focus here in Swedish media, right now, is the sea, the oceans.

Just like in Wellington, we can still bathe, swim and fish in Stockholm – but for how long?

I am a member of many organizations trying their best to help preserving our planet for generations to come. But right now, we receive news every day about all the plastic and micro plastic in the oceans – a terrible threat to all organisms-

So, I think again, with my heart wide open, about how much I respect and love NZ, its people and its genuine efforts to help the world stay healthy. Down to every detail… for example the artwork made for making us humans see and do the right things.

And these are only two, small, brilliant examples out of many, many…we saw new examples every day.

Hopefully it is not too late for the world – but You, and all of us, have to do our bit, our part, every day – to save our enigmatic and fantastic planet. Start with the little things…don’t use plastic bags, bring your own when you go shopping. Don’t throw old medicine in the toilet, in Sweden we leave them at the pharmacy for destruction.

Can you say you try to do everything you can to help? I know I try – but I also know I can do so much more.

Thursday’s Special: Pick a word in December – Y2

30 november, 201730 november, 2017 / Leya / 7 kommentarer

This was great fun – I just had to pick all the words given by Paula at Lost in Translation!

The Remains of eight New Zealand opossum – brought home by my daughter from her volunteer work there

Portrayal – a study of Totti for a dog journal

Non-human

Stellar – New Year’s EveSagacious – Non-Violence, the bronze sculpture by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd

The Blue Glass Bar – And The Brasserie

20 november, 201720 november, 2017 / Leya / 17 kommentarer

Welcome to the Glass Bar at Kosta Boda Art Hotel – care for a cool drink?

The designer is Kjell Engman, and the colour is – Blue –

…tiles and stalaktites…

After a relaxing chat over a drink in the bar, admiring the architecture as well as the atmosphere, we had to see the brasserie as well before dinner.

Totally different, with a laid back and cozy atmosphere. Fly me to the moon…in a glass balloon…

A delicious dinner was waiting, so we reluctantly had to leave. In fact, I went down to the bar once more, before leaving next day. To me, this was the ultimate feast for the eye –

– the only drink needed. We will be back.

Thursday Thoughts – You Cannot See Everything On the Outside…

16 november, 2017 / Leya / 14 kommentarer

We visited the Boyana Church, an important, medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church situated on the outskirts of Sofia. In 1979, the building was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Step inside, and you will understand just Why. Due to its tiny size, only 8 people, 8 minutes allowed.

The church stands in a quiet piece of forest in the Vitosha mountains, together with three beautiful Sequoia trees. The east wing of the church was originally constructed in the late 10th or early 11th century, then the central wing was added in the 13th century, and the whole building was finished with a further expansion to the west in the middle of the 19th century. There is a total of 89 scenes with 240 human images depicted on the walls of the church. And every face, every expression is exquisitely made. No photographing of course… but, please watch the short youtube included!

The low door is full of bullet holes, as during one of the many wars, intruders believed a treasure was kept inside the church – only to find that the treasure consisted of – old frescoes.