Barton Creek - Austin

Dallas, Cole and I hiked from our house down to Barton Creek for a dip in the water.

Back in Austin

Townlake, Austin

The Scottish Islands

On May 28 in Aberdeen, we embark the Aleksey Maryshev, a comfortable and modern research vessel. She belongs to the Hydro-graphic Institute in St. Petersburg and was built in Finland in 1990. She was designed as an ice-strength­ened vessel and converted in the Netherlands for passenger use, making her ideally suited for expedition cruising. The vessel is 66 metres (210 feet) long, with a breadth of 12.8 metres (42 feet), a draft of approximately 3.5 metres (12 feet) and a displacement of 2000 tons. She has two powerful engines that allow a speed of up to 14 knots. The Aleksey Maryshev has a capacity of 46 passengers in cabins with outside views.

We voyage this week with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours of Austin through Scotland's frigid northern waters, mixing ship travel, lectures, shore excursions and Zodiac expeditions. We do not want to fall in these waters nor do we wish for the rough seas one so often experiences here. We sail north to Shetland where we explore the eerie, nocturnal world of European Storm-Petrels at their colony, nesting in a fine Iron Age broch, and we discover the strong Viking and Norse influences in these northerly outposts. We stroll around the large complex of Jarlshof, occupied since the Bronze Age. Passing many spectacular seabird colonies, we spend a morning on the lonely Fair Isle, halfway between Shetland and Orkney—famous for its distinctive knitting designs and long-established Bird Observatory.

The Orkneys have some of the best-preserved archaeological sites in Europe: Maes Howe, the most complete Neolithic tomb in existence; the Ring of Brodgar, the largest Stone Circle in Scotland; and Skara Brae, a finely excavated Neolithic village. Here, too, are more "recent" delights, such as the fine town of Kirkwall itself with its early Norse-influenced cathedral and the World War II battleships of the Churchill Barriers. We sail past 1,000-foot sea cliffs and Pinnacles of Hoy, where breeding seabirds—including Great Skuas—darken the skies, as we continue on to the Outer Hebridean islands of Harris and Lewis. Here we find more rugged scenery and remarkable ancient historical sites, such as the mysterious Standing Stones of Callanish. We discover what life was like just a few centuries past in the rebuilt villages of blackhouses, the traditional low dwelling places of the Gaelic peoples in the 16th-19th centuries.

A highlight of our trip is faraway St. Kilda archipelago, abandoned as Britain's remotest inhabited outpost in 1930. Here is a land of superlatives: the largest Northern Gannet colony in the world, the largest Northern Fulmar colony in Europe, and the highest sea cliffs in Britain at 1,400 feet.
Heading back east we arrive at gentler islands of the Inner Hebrides with further great birding opportunities—many northern specialties, breeding shorebirds, loons, and wildfowl—to keep us busy. Throughout our sea voyage we will have seabirds around us constantly (the British Isles are home to globally important numbers of all the North Atlantic species, including Manx Shearwater). The pretty and varied Island of Mull and offshore satellites beckon. Canna and Mull are strongholds of nesting White-tailed Eagles. Staffa, with its columnar basalt cliffs and Fingal's Cave, was an inspiration for Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture. We visit Iona and its Abbey, where Corn Crakes rasp their loud interminable songs in rich flower meadows that have remained the same since the island first became a site of early Christian settlement and pilgrimage by St. Columba 1,400 years ago. Our sea voyage finishes on May 4th on the other side of Scotland, in the west coast port of Oban--hopefully dry and reasonably warm.

Springtime in Aberdeen

Ah, Spring has sprung in Aberdeen. Yesterday the sun shone on the grey granite edifices, the grey sidewalks, and the grey cobblestones. The temperature was a balmy high 50's F., with damp, stiff winds off the sea. I wore several layers and a pure wool hat made by the Purhepecha Indians of Mexico for comfort. Mature adults glanced curiously at me as they shed their jackets baring their arms to the clement, mild weather. Young women's fancy turned to those thoughts that perenially bother one in Springtime especially, and they flitted around in stiletto sandals and flimsy, strapless and strappy sundresses. Shirtsleeves and even sandals and a few pairs of shorts sported around the city center. This was the residents' chance. What must be a very short summer season is fast approaching. I cannot imagine how frigid winter must be. Today I awoke to a grey sky as backdrop to this steely-grey city...a monochromatic cityscape punctuated by sharp spires and interesting historic buildings.
Yesterday Glen and I shared shared a gargantuan order of fish and chips, and last night we saw the black comedy 'In Bruges' at an Art Cinema House. We visited the Maritime Museum, which was particularly interesting for its displays and information on the North Sea oil drilling which is both the bones and the flesh of Aberdeen's economy.
When we board the Aleksey Maryshev tomorrow, I will not have internet access except for emergency purposes, as you know.

Aberdeen, Scotland

We visit the "Granite City" of Aberdeen on May 26 and 27.

Hello from Aberdeen

We arrived by train. It is chilly. It will be colder when we go to sea.

The Cotswold Way - Cleve Hill

We are footsore and weary walkers. Day Two went well; we found we could still walk and move. Twelve miles up and down steep slopes are not like a stroll on the flat; it cannot be that I am slower than I was. The one hundred mile Cotswold walk from Mile 0 at Chipping Camden to Mile 100 is beautiful and full of history--as well as bakery shops, from time to time, in a town. We will cover 58 miles, traveling from North to South. Every day is a sensory and mind feast. A multitude of shades of green and extravagantly colored flowers delight the eye. Today we are deviating from the 'schedule' for a visit to Sudeley Castle.

Spying a Hobbit

I hope I see a hobbit when we start our five day walk tomorrow through the Cotswold area. A diagnostic field mark is the feet. I will be on the lookout.

Walking the Cotswold Way Trail - Great Britain

This area is flowered, green and beautiful--and full of history, as well. We are drinking it all in with our eyes and loving it.

The Cotswold Way Trail
Our walk: 7 nights/5 walking days

Day 1: Sun 18th, Arrive Chipping Campden from Palermo, Sicily

Day 2: Mon 19th, Visit Chipping Campden

Day 3: Tues 20th, Chipping Campden to Wood Stanway - 12.5 miles

Day 4: Weds 21st, Wood Stanway to Cleeve Hill - 11 miles

Day 5: Thur 22nd, Cleeve Hill to Leckhampton Hill - 11.5 miles

Day 6: Fri 23rd, Leckhampton Hill to Painswick - 12.9 miles

Day 7: Sat 24th, Painswick to Leonard Stanley - 10.2 miles

Day 8: Sun 25th, Depart Leonard Stanley after breakfast for Aberdeen, Scotland.

Sicily's Best Asset: The Sicilians Themselves

The sun is shining, all is well. We leave Villa Farli tomorrow.

Sicily's greatest asset is its people. Sicilians are a delight. They are direct and assertive in their communication style, and at the same time they are pleasant and go to great lengths to be helpful. None of us have encountered any rough edges in our interaction.

Service personnel seem happy with life and their jobs, which contrasts sharply with the sullen attititude encountered in many places, which certainly includes the United States.

'Where can I find an ATM, please?' The waiter tells the owner he is leaving for a moment and takes one of our group in his own car to an ATM and brings him back.

'Where is X restaurant?' The person will most likely lead you there in their car.

A restaurant bill is incorrect. It is discussed assertively, in detail, but without any sign of defensiveness or irritation.

The people's attitude: Italy is nice, but Sicily is BELLO. 'I had the good fortune to be born here, live here and I hope to die here.'

There is, of course, high unemployment and economic hardship. Many smaller towns are closed up with houses and business locales abandoned--drab and sad, falling into ruin. Young people leave for better opportunity. Nonetheless, with all of the archeological sites, fine art and history here, our group of ten friends agree that the Sicilian people themselves have been our best and most enjoyable discovery.

18 May 2008 - P.S. Ubiquitous Sicilian charm does not seem to radiate into Palermo and vicinity. This may be a general characteristic of populous urban areas.