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Gulliver's Travels 02/17/2020

2/17/2020

Patagonia, South America

I've always liked the name of Patagonia. Maybe that explains why I've now been there three times, in 1998, 2003, and last December. No, I actually go there because it is so incredibly rugged, beautiful, and absent the tourist crowds found at other beautiful places in the world. Plus, during the short daylight days of Wisconsin in December, I like the sunsets there at 11 PM, making it a more cheerful place than home.

I left home on December 16th, flying first to Santiago, Chile, then on to Punta Arenas, near the tip of South America. Then I took a bus to Puerto Natales, where I took several day trips into two national parks, one in Chile and one in Argentina, on the east side of the Andes Mountains. I've been to both parks before, but they are so fantastic that a return trip was warranted. Then on Christmas Day I flew back to Santiago before flying to Easter Island, a couple of thousand miles west in the Southern Pacific. Where else would an inveterate traveler go on Christmas? Maybe next Easter I'll go to Christmas Island.

Torres del Paine Nacional Parque, Chile

Or, if you speak English, it's Paine Towers National Park--though the Paine means green in the indigenous people's tongue. It's my fourth favorite natural place in the world, beating every one of the 62 US national parks I've visited. Only Mt. Rainier in Washington and Arches in Utah come close. But.....it's WINDY, most days I've been there 40-70 MPH was the norm, at least for part of the day. I backpacked there in 1998 for six days, at times finding it difficult to walk into the wind. Yet, there are still plenty of days and places where it is sunny and only mildly windy.

The three Paine Towers from outside the park

The towers from just inside the park boundaries

Finally getting a glimpse of the tops of the towers

Hiking to the towers, an 8-hour, 13-mile long trek (it was easier in 1998!)

At the lake at the base of the towers, rising 6000 feet to the 9350 foot summit

Nearly tame guanacos are relatives of llamas, alpacas, and camels.

Yes, they are cute.

Guanacos seem to like the "cuernos," or horns of the mountains, the distinctive feature of the park, as much as I do.

The low vegetation makes a nice presentation of the cuernos.

Explora Lodge, one of several simple hotels costing hundreds of dollars a night

At times the clouds make the area rather ominous looking.

I just can't get enough of the cuernos!

Grey Lake, fed by unseen Grey Glacier

An ice floe in Grey Lake

Los Glaciares Nacional Parque (Glacier National Park), Argentina

This park is on the east side of the Andes Mountains, basically opposite to Torres del Paine. This park is drier and less windy, so one is less likely to die of exposure. It is my 11th favorite natural place in the world, so I also get real excited visiting it.

The Fitzroy Massif, its summit at 11,073 feet, took me a whole day trek to its base.

Perito Moreno Glacier, with a total length of 19 miles

Epilogue

Patagonia, just sounding out its name should inspire one to visit it. Is it too far away to visit, so close to Antarctica? Well, it does take many flights and bus rides to get there. But the good stuff it has is so very, very neat, the payoff so big, that to me it's a no brainer. Just have to go.

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Gulliver's Travels 01/XX/2020

1/27/2020

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Burma (Myanmar)

From my house to Waukesha, I couldn't find any of the following, so I went to Burma to see them: a five-man convey of motorbikes, each carrying another motorbike, upside down, on the back; a mother nursing her baby sitting in front of her husband who drove their motorbike; a man in the middle of a highway with a brush painting dividing lines; car drivers believing such lines were a suggestion, not a line of demarcation; 20% of motorbikes with no headlights on at night; hand-made wooden carts with five-foot high wheels pulled by bullocks; and herds of cattle blocking traffic. Such sights thwarted boredom while touring the country.

   But, seriously, Burma does have positives, especially the incredible number of Buddhist temples, stupas, and chinthes (temple monster-like "guards"). It is astounding the reverence its people have for the 2400-year-old Buddha.

   The official name of the country is now Myanmar (Mee IN mar), changed from Burma in the 1990s. However, I prefer the name the conquering English (1820s) gave to it, rather than the one the ruthless dictators changed it to. Civil war, rampant for decades, is still going on in various parts of the country, mainly the forested highlands, but less so recently, making it possible for tourism to develop. And the government is becoming far less authoritarian, so the country has a fighting chance to no longer be the poorest country in SE Asia. Most workers made the equivalent of 40-50 cents an hour, but adjusted for low prices, the real wage is closer to $1.50 an hour (of course, still extremely low).

   I left home on November 18th and returned on December 3rd, which included a full-day layover in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mandalay

Mandalay is relatively new, built in 1857 by King Mindon as the new capital of Burma. It has just over a million people. The palace and much of the city was wiped out by British bombing of the Japanese occupiers during WW II. Most of the many temples were either repaired or completely reconstructed.

Hsipaw Pagoda

Chinthes ("guardians") at Kyauktaw Gyi Pagoda

Sada Muni Pagoda

Kuthodaw Pagoda, built in 1872, has 729 small white pagodas

The water is the moat surrounding the four-square mile Royal Palace.

The Royal Palace, built in 1857 but reconstructed after WW II destruction

Hindu temple

Maha Lawka Marazein Pagoda, gold covered and 100 feet high

U Bein Bridge, built in early 1800s three-fourths of a mile long for pedestrians

Kaungmadaw Pagoda, built in the 1600s at 151 feet high

Mingun Bell, the third largest bell in the world, cast in 1790

Shwedagon Pagoda, built in the 13rd Century, 325 feet high (actually in the city of Yangon)

Memo from HQ to Electrical Dept.: People on Padaw Street are without power. Find the problem.

Bagan and Inle Lake

Bagan, the modern spelling of earlier Pagan, is considered to be the largest archeological site in the world. Its earliest history begins nearly two thousand years ago, but documented history begins in the 9th Century. It was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom from 1044 until 1287. During that time (of wealth), some 1200 Buddhists temples and pagodas were built. Most have been destroyed by earthquakes, but some 2200 still stand in an area of approximately 25 square miles. It is really, REALLY, some place to see--easily making it onto My Favorite 50 Man-made Places in the world. UNESCO agrees, as they made it a World Heritage Site.
A short plane trip took me east to Inle Lake, a lake about 20 miles long and three miles wide, with innumerable points of interest. I hired a man with a long, narrow motorboat for eight hours to tour the area for $16--for the DAY, not for an hour. Attached photos describe them better than I can.

Taken on top a 150-foot observation tower, with numerous Buddhist sites in the distance

One of innumerable structures that is gradually decaying

One down, two to go

Ananda Phaya Temple

Fishermen row their boats with one leg

Boats are made of teak wood without any power tools.

Women of the Pa Daung tribe wear brass coils (starting at age nine) on their necks (18 pounds) and legs, supposedly for "tiger protection."

Nyaung Ohak Monastery, having seen better days

Most women (and girls) apply a paste daily made from the bark of the thanaka tree, both as a sunscreen and for cosmetic reasons.

This young lady is washing her hair in a canal connected to Inle Lake.

Men don't wear pants, prefering a wrap-around called a longyi. Some also decorate their faces with thanaka paste. And some are addicted to their phones (just as in the US).

The Hinterlands of Burma

Being a farm kid from Newton, I am always more interested in rural areas than in cities. That is especially true of undeveloped countries, as I get the feeling of how my farming ancestors in Poland must have lived. I visited my third cousin in Poland in 2012, who still farms "the home place." Quite the experience for me.

After cutting the rice, it is bundled and stacked to dry before being threshed.

Harvest of rice is still commonly done with knives and sickles.

Plowing takes a long time when John Deere is not around.

Rice noodles are made in small factories, then hung on racks to dry.

Such carts are very common in Burma.

Trucks and other carriers are usually custom-made by buying engines and other parts, then assembled, often by the user himself.

Women carry baskets of stones to where a roadbed is being prepared, probably for a blacktop surface. Nearby I saw two men with sledgehammers making an enormous rock into such smaller stones. Interesting. And amazing.

I was confused here. I think the building was an outhouse. And I know what two connected hearts mean. So, was this simply an outhouse? Or was it a cathouse? Or was it both? Never found out, as nobody was "home."

Epilogue

I find that my most interesting trips invariably turn out to be those taken in underdeveloped countries. Not always the best trips, just more interesting ones. It always makes me appreciate how good we have it here, and in our times. Even Americans below the official "poverty line" live so much better off than much of the world--as well as Americans of the 1800s, often not even being aware of it. As do I, it seems to me Americans would be happier with their lot in life upon returning home.

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Gulliver's Travels 01/06/2020

1/6/2020

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Bangkok, Thailand

I planned for a full-day layover in Bangkok, Thailand on my way to Burma in November 2019. I was so impressed on a visit there some 20 years ago that I just had to return to see, at least, The Grand Palace and adjacent Wat Pho. Both retained all of their beauty and charm for me over the years. They were built on Rattanakosin Island on the west side of Bangkok.

The Grand Palace

The Grand Palace was the residence of the kings of Siam (later, Thailand) from 1782 until 1925. It would have been, therefore, the site of the 1956 film "The King and I," starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. The total area of the complex is just under a square mile, much of it filled with dazzling structures. Several buildings are covered in gold leaf pounded on with hammers. Good thing Dorothy didn't accompany me the first time I went, as she loved gold and would probably have tried to peel off a lot of the gold from the buildings for more rings for her fingers and bracelets for her arms.

Wat Pho

Wat Pho, immediately to the south of The Grand Palace, is a Buddhist temple. Its origins are unknown, but it was significantly expanded in the late 1600s. Its buildings seemed more ornate than those of the palace, with more carvings and bizarre heads with grotesque faces.

This was a Buddhist prayer service inside one of the temples.

This is the Reclining Buddha, 150 feet long. Reclining Buddhas are actually quite common in Asia.

Monks on their way to some function

Epilogue

The Grand Palace and Wat Pho of Bangkok are well-entrenched on my Favorite 50 Man-made Places I have visited. Disneyworld seems miniscule to the stunning structures the Thais (and Siamese) created so many hundreds of years ago. I have to wonder if the Disney efforts will even last one hundred years. Thirty years ago I already noticed deterioration of buildings in The Magic Kingdom. Then, too, I think of Milwaukee's Bradley Center lasting a mere quarter century. Poof! Not so in Bangkok.

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Gulliver's Travels 12/24/2019

12/24/2019

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Hi Everyone!

I'm in Patagonia, soon off to Easter Island.

"After arriving in Chile, I found I would never have enough cash or credit card limit to afford the prices here, especially cupcakes ($500!!!). Then I discovered the dollar sign here also is used for their currency--the peso. And a US dollar exchanges for 740 pesos. Whew!!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Dale

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Gulliver's Travels 12/16/2019

12/16/2019

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The Caucasus

The Caucasus usually refer to the three countries of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, which I visited in April 2019. All three were former republics in the old USSR. The Caucasus also refer to the mountain range at the northern borders of Georgia and Azerbaijan, which also extend into Russia. Georgia

and Armenia have a rich Orthodox Christian history, so they are filled with old monasteries and churches, some dating to the 4th Century. Azerbaijan, on the other hand, is almost completely Muslim.

After landing in Tbilisi, Georgia, I took trains east to Baku, Azerbaijan and south to Yeravan, Armenia. Then I generally took day tours, usually by taxi, to outlying areas. My favorite trip was to the border with Russia, high into the Caucasus Mountains

Georgia

Georgia, with 27,000 square miles, is about half the size of Wisconsin, and it has nearly the same population. However, much of it is mountainous or hilly, so its actual population density is higher than Wisconsin's. Its most famous "native son" was Josef Stalin. Though castigated throughout the world (who wouldn't despise a man who said, "A single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic."), Stalin is still revered by many in Georgia.

Gergeti Trinity Church, near the Russian border, in the Caucasus Mountains.

Boyhood home of Stalin. No lawn to urinate on, as planned, and I couldn't firebomb the house, either, being ensconced in a shelter.

Caucasus Mountains

Tsminda Sameba, or Holy Trinity Cathedral, in Tbilisi, ca. 2004

Gremi Monastery, ca. 16th Century

A shaped olive tree

Local women holding boxwood branches, a tradition on Easter Sunday, which this was

Ikalto Monastery, ca. 8th & 9th Centuries

Armenia

Tiny Armenia, a bit over a quarter the size of Wisconsin, packed a lot of punch in history for its size. It has three million people, but would have had more, as Turks killed over a million Armenians early in the 1900s. To this day, Turkey denies that happened--notwithstanding overwhelming evidence. Many fled to avoid death, some to the United States. Almost all Americans with a surname ending "ian" have Armenian heritage--including Cher (Sarkisian). Though loaded with beautiful old monasteries and churches, my favorite sight there was the incredible view of Mt. Ararat, actually just across the border in Turkey.

Mt. Ararat, at 16,946 feet high, is where Noah's ark landed (hidden in this view under the morning clouds--but I actually saw it when the skies cleared)

Noravank Monastery, ca. 13th Century

Precarious steps which I refused to climb

Zvartnots Temple ruins, ca. 7th Century, with Mt. Ararat behind (note the ark near the top left)

A new church and religious center near the capital of Yeravan

Tiny Astvatsatsin Church, ca. 12th Century, which "miraculously" survived a 17th Century earthquake, backed up by new (2011-2013) St. Ana Church

Street in Old Yeravan, one of the few old medieval sections of the town remaining

Azerbaijan

Because of its odd name, I have always been intrigued by Azerbaijan--so, of course, I had to visit it. It did not disappoint. It has lots of oil. REALLY lots of it, and it shows in the enormous amount of fanciful new construction. And the best is yet to come, a just-begun complex of many buildings just outside the capital, Baku, one of which will be the tallest building in the world--at nearly 4,000 feet high. For its sake, oil prices better not collapse.

Azerbaijan is a bit more than half the size of Wisconsin, and it has 10 million people, 97% of who are Muslim.

Maiden Tower, ca. 12th Century

The building made of five sections actually has each section capable of rotating independently of the others--pretty unique, even for Baku

One of many such unusual buildings in Baku

The new cultural center in Baku

The Heydar Aliyev Conference Center and Museum in Baku

The Rack in a museum of medieval torture devices in the old Baku palace

The Interrogation Chair (Ouch!!!!)

Yanar Dag, only one of four places in the world where escaping natural gas burns continuously (I saw one of the others in Turkey)

Nearby the open flames are many mud pots with large bubbles caused by escaping gases

Epilogue

Do you want to visit the "Old Country," seeing lots of neat old buildings with tons of history--but don't wish to spend a fortune on a riverboat cruise on the Rhine or Danube (and being exposed to the insufferable snoots and/or jerks you are bound to endure for an agonizing week or two)? Then go to the Caucasus, take local buses, trains, and taxis and private cars--and save tons of money and have more fun. Of course, it might be a bit more precarious, but, hey, as George Carlin often said, "Live a little and take a XXXXing chance!"

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Guilliver's Travels 11/18/2019

11/18/2019

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Dale Sievert

.Red Rock Country Travelogue

The Colorado Plateau, extending from western Colorado westward hundreds of miles, is rife with incredibly beautiful sedimentary rocks, mainly limestone and sandstone. It is enormously colorful, with red rocks dominating.

I first visited the area in 1969, and I've been back 10 times or so, never tiring of the stunning rock formations and canyons formed by wind and water erosion. I'm going again next July, introducing my grandson to such grandeur he won't find in Wisconsin. I know, the Wisconsin Dells has pretty reddish rocks, too. But I took the boat trip there in 1971. When the boat turned around to go back to town, I asked the pilot why we were turning back, as I expected the beautiful rocks were yet to come (as I remembered them from my 1963 trip there). That's what happens when you visit Utah and nearby states--you get spoiled.

Bob Kattner and I visited a few of my favorite spots in the area in early October. If you never visited any of them, we highly recommend visiting them.

Utah

Utah is my favorite state (at least the southern third, home to five national parks and several national monuments). Had my great grandfather been one of Brigham Young's many children, I might have lived there--rather than milking cows as a youth 730 times a year in Newton.

Zion National Park, along Kolob Resevoir Road

Zion Canyon, carved by the Virgin River, seen at the bottom

Beginning of the Narrows hike, with Bob navigating the waters of the Virgin River, two feet deep at times

Nearly three miles up the canyon, which eventually narrows to 10 feet wide and over a thousand feet straight up

Zion Canyon in its late afternoon fiery glory

Bryce Canyon National Park, on the Queens Garden trail, displaying the limestone rocks

Farther along, and much lower into the canyon, on the QG trail

Natural Bridge in BCNP, about a thousand feet higher than the previous photos

At Cedar Breaks National Monument, also a limestone formation

Along Scenic Highway 12, just west of BCNP

Unusual erosion along Cottonwood Canyon Road, Utah

Grosvenor Arch along Cottonwood Canyon Road

Grosvenor Arch up close

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah

Children of fundamentalist Mormons (there were lots of kids--and one mother)

Arizona

Northern Arizona is on the southern fringe of the Colorado Plateau. We saw a truly magical place there--Antelope Canyon. It is on Navajo land. We also saw Horseshoe Bend, an enormous twist in the Colorado River. Both places are very close to Page, Arizona, which was built when the Glen Canyon Dam was constructed in the late 1950s.

Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell on the Colorado River, Page, Arizona

Lake Powell, on our 50-mile boat trip to Rainbow Bridge National Monument in Utah

Rainbow Bridge, 290 feet high, near Lake Powell

The bridge from the other side

Entering Lower Antelope Canyon, cut 65 feet deep by flash floods, near Page, AZ

Violent water flows carve unusual formations into the sandstone

The white in the photo is actually an overexposed blue sky, 65 feet up.

This formation is called The Eagle.

Hanging precariously

Two handsome dudes from Manitowoc County

This is in a nearby canyon, Upper Antelope Canyon.

Horseshoe Bend, where the Colorado River does a 180-degree turn, 5 miles from the Glen Canyon Dam

Near Page, AZ

Just before sunset the rocks turn much darker red color.

Nevada

The only thing we saw in Nevada was Valley of Fire State Park, just off I-15, an hour from Las Vegas, on our return to the airport.

A lot of Westerns were filmed in this park.

The deep red colors come from the iron in the rocks.

This one spot in the park had some unusual purple rocks.

You had to have been there to appreciate it.

A very pretty combination of colors

Epilogue

I remember in grade school looking at pictures of Utah, impressed with the colorful rocks. Never have I been disappointed in visiting there. The variation in color, in rock formations, and in vegetation (or lack thereof) keeps me from boredom as I travel through lower Utah, and into Arizona. I think you'll find the same when you go there--and I hope you do.

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Gulliver's Travels 10/07/2019

10/7/2019

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Dale Sievert

ALASKA

In June my 12-year-old grandson, Braxton, and I took an eight-day trip to some lesser-visited parts of Alaska. I went primarily to see the last three national parks there are, after having already visited 58.

Also, I always wanted to go to Barrow, the northernmost city in the US--as well as visit the Arctic Ocean upon which it resides, which completes my quest to visit every one of the world's oceans. All these quests I have, including visiting every state and every continent and all ten of the world's tallest mountains was very time consuming--not to mention costly. But, it sure was fun.

The dotted lines on the map show the flight routes we took. Two routes were done in four and six passenger planes, both necessary to visit the three national parks.

Lake Clark National Park
We flew to this park in a six-passenger plane for about 90 minutes southeast from Anchorage. It has a large population of grizzly bears (we usually saw over 20 at one time)--which delighted my grandson.

Volcanic Mt. Spur, which erupted in 1992 while Dorothy and I were on Kodiak Island--marooning us for three days until the ash cleared enough for planes to fly.

In Lake Clark National Park

A mother grizzly with three cubs

A couple of two-year old cubs wrestling

Digging for clams

A thought for the next life

Kobuk Valley National Park and Gates of the Arctic National Park

We reached these two parks in a four-passenger Cessna, taking about two hours west of the village of Bettles, which is north of Fairbanks. It was so amazing to see virtually no sign of humans for the whole trip. Just stunning how large Alaska is.

Kobuk Valley National Park

There are some large sand dunes in parts of the park.

These are tough plants to be able to grow in such sand.

This is a small island between the two parks. I would name it Sperm Island if I had the authority.

Gates of the Arctic National Park, noting (with sticks) that I finally visited the 61st national park with sticks

In GA NP

On the way back to Bettles

Barrow (Utqiagvik)

Barrow is the name of the northernmost city in the US. However, as its 30-some thousand residents are Eskimos, it is now called Utgiagvik. And, no, I cannot pronounce it. It is almost always cloudy there, so I could not see the sun all night long, though it stayed very bright all night given that in June it is out 24 hours. And it rarely gets above 50 degrees in summer.

We happened to be there when there was a whaling festival, where boat caption provide a big spread of food for all comers--including whale meat. Quite interesting.

Flying over the town

Locating where there are other places to be

An arch made out of whale bones

My face shows my agony coming out of a dip in the Arctic--30-degree water temperature

At the whaling festival

I never saw a loader hauling whale meat in Manitowoc

Pieces of whale ready to be sliced into small pieces

Braxton did not become an aficionado of whale meat.

Denali National Park

Denali is the native American name for the tallest mountain in North America, at over 20,000 feet. It was named Mt. McKinley, after the president, in the early 1900s. It is inside Denali National Park, just over an hour south of Fairbanks.

Flying near Denali on the way from Fairbanks to Anchorage

Braxton hiking in Denali National Park

A nice rock formation

Epilogue

Alaska is big, beautiful, and home to great weather--and horrible weather. So, if you go, be prepared tor many things not to be found in the "lower 48." It's not for everyone, but my 3rd cousin, who lives 20 miles east of Fairbanks and grew up in Newton, would live nowhere else. And if you go, do more than just the common things. See the Inland Passage and a few other things. Go where we did in June. Go to Kodiak Island and other islands, as Dorothy and I did. Go to Wrangel-St. Elias National Park and stay at the quaint sort-of-ghost town of McCarthy, as we also did. You'll find few people--and astounding sights. Skip knows that.

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Gullivers Travels 08/05/2019

8/5/2019

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 Doha, Qatar

Qatar is a tiny country in the Persian Gulf, just east of Saudi Arabia. It is about the size of Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties combined. But because it is awash in oil, its wealth makes our childhood hometown look poverty-stricken.

But, with all their wealth--they don't have Late's. So there!

I had a day layover in its capital, Doha, on April 16th, before heading to Tbilisi, Georgia, then Azerbaijan and, finally, Armenia.

The architecture is quite stunning, showing what oil wealth can build. It was quite easy taking a cab to one end of the strip along the coast and walking to the other end. And as I walked at night, I did not fry in the desert heat.

Skyline of the financial district.

I felt as if I were in a rowboat about to be rammed by an ocean liner.

The top of the building is actually quite red.

This closeup shows the true color.

Some really strange buildings.

A hotel (not mine)

City hall

A restaurant

Closeup of the restaurant.

In the medina

A large thumb sculpture.

Food stall in the medina.

One will never see this outfit in Manitowoc.

An incense burner.

A sword shop (also, never seen in Manitowoc)

I have no idea what they wait for.

Epilogue

Qatar is really a nice place to visit. Also, I don't really wish to live there. But, if you have a chance to do a layover there, I would advise you to do it.

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Gulliver's Travels 05/13/2019

5/13/2019

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Gulliver's Travels

Tunisia

North Central Africa had beckoned me for decades, always seeming to be a place of intrigue. Kasbahs, medinas, desert nomads and the battlefields of the Desert Fox (Field Marshall Rommel) and Patton being things not found in Wisconsin--so I had to go. Dorothy and I already visited Morocco and Egypt, liking both very much. Now, Libya and Algeria were a bit too dicey to try (my intrepid nature does have limits). While driving my rented car in Tunisia, I even felt a bit strange to see road signs announcing Algiers and Tripoli. In Tunisia I visited the cities of Tozeur and El Kef and got to a half mile of the Algerian border. After the trip, I checked the State Department advisory on Tunisia. It said to avoid Tozeur, El Kef, and the area within 30 miles of Algeria. No problem for me, as I have the attitude of the venerable Alfred E. Neuman, "What, me worry? I read Mad."

I flew to Tunis, Tunisia on March 5th and returned on March 17th. I drove about two-thirds of the way to the southern border, then turned west to near the Algerian border. Then I drove north through the battlefields where Patton was first badly defeated at Kasserine Pass, as well as where he finally had success farther east. Then I continued north to near the Mediterranean Sea, finding the landscape surprisingly very beautiful, with expanses of winter wheat and rape (the source of canola oil) in mountain valleys. Finally I turned east to return to Tunis, visiting the ancient, famous site of Carthage.

If you visit Tunisia and have heart problems, I do not recommend driving a car. I have never, ever, seen worse drivers! And pedestrians are even worse, constantly walking in front of cars without looking first. However, it was quite exciting driving, so I had little danger of falling asleep. Oh, and it was also exciting driving through a sandstorm with 50 MPH winds, creating "brownout" conditions. Yet, it took until the ninth day of driving before I saw an accident. Drivers there all know everyone is dangerous, so they are on constant alert.

Muslim Influences

Tunisia fell to the Muslim armies in the eighth century. Many very old buildings constructed shortly thereafter remain today, often

Mosque in the city of Hammamet

At prayer in a mosque in Tunis

Early morning light on a mosque in Tozeur

Monastir Fort (11th Century), used to fight Christian Crusaders

Monastir Fort

A caravanserai, a resting place for members of caravans

The inside of the fluted dome of the caravanserai

Star Wars

Many of the scenes in the Star Wars movies were filmed in southern Tunisia. I visited four of those locations. I actually stayed in a "hotel" where the first movie (from 1978) in which Hans Solo and Chewbacca first appeared in the bar filled with weirdos. The scene was filmed in one of five caves dug vertically 25 feet deep, which was then connected by tunnels. My room was in another of those caves.

Hotel El Sidi Driss, a series of five caves dug 300 hundred years ago for dwelling places

One of the caves used in the bar scene where Luke Skywalker met Hans Solo and Chewbacca

My "hotel room," which cost me $16.70, including dinner and breakfast (that's what you get when you stay in half-star hotels).

The 300-year-old town of Ksar Hedada, which was the spaceport town of Mos Espa in "The Phantom Menace," filmed in 1997

The "artificial" part of Mos Espa built for "The Phantom Menace"

The town of Chenini, a town built hundreds of years ago on a steep hillside and occupied until recently (it did not appear in any Star Wars films)

The Roman Era

The area now called Tunisia was part of the Phoenician Empire, starting in the 9th Century, B.C. It was based in the city of Tyre, now part of Lebanon. In 146 B.C. the Romans conquered the Phoenicians and ruled the area until the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century A.D. Lots of history, lots of towns dotting present-day Tunisia--so I just had to see it.

El Jem Colosseum, built from 230-238 A.D., which held 30,000 spectators of the bloodbaths held there

Dougga, a huge, well-preserved Roman city

The Temple of Mercury in Dougga

Mosaics in a house in the Roman town of Bulla Regia

Roman baths in the city of Carthage, near present-day Tunis

The Berber People

Most of the people living in Tunisia today are ethnic Berbers. They are actually a mix of ancient Africans and Europeans who migrated there thousands of year ago by crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Most people speak both the Berber language and Arabic, but those living in remote areas only speak Berber.

This man is making a cup with a handle in a small shop in the medina of the city of Sfax.

A woman resting at the Great Mosque in Kairouan

A man and his donkey

Two women walking in the road (well, where ELSE would they walk?)

A mysterious man walking (of course, in the road)

Granaries, where each farmer has his own niche granary in a huge complex that is walled in to prevent thieves and animal attacks

Miscellaneous Tunisia

I could post dozens of photos of interesting, unusual, and beautiful scenes in Tunisia. Here are just a few.

A typical roadside meat market

The ubiquitous "gas station," where "benzene," rather than gasoline is sold from bottles.

The sandstorm I drove through for several hours in winds of 50 MPH or more

Fields of winter wheat and rape (the yellow flowers ripen into rapeseed, the source of canola oil)

More rape, mixed with olive trees

The mountain scenery of northern Tunisia was surprisingly beautiful.

Epilogue

Why visit Tunisia? Because it is interesting, it is beautiful, and it is cheap. Dinners in nice restaurants, with a beer, cost $5-6, 3-star hotels $20-30, and fuel costs about the same as here. An English man told me he lives in a 5-star hotel for $1000 a month, including breakfast and dinner. So, why would anyone spend winter in Arizona, Texas, or Florida for $3000-$6000 a month, with relatively fewer things of interest to see? I can't think of any reason other than that is it convenient and a bit safer. But, hey, get intrepid like Alfred E. Neuman and say, "What, me worry? I read Mad."

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GULLIVER'S TRAVELS 04/01/2019

4/1/2019

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GULLIVERS TRAVELS

Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands was one of those famous islands or island groups that I just HAD to see. So, now I've done it.  A few thousands miles southwest is another--Easter Island. I'll visit there next January. One by one...

   Charles Darwin made the Galapagos famous after he published his theory of evolution, based upon the concept of natural selection. He came upon that concept when he visited the islands in 1835 as the naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle. He was particularly fascinated by the variation in the beaks of finches. He eventually reasoned that the variation occurred as strategies to become more efficient at finding food under differing environmental conditions.

   The islands, 21 in all, are volcanic in origin and are on the equator a thousand miles west of Ecuador. The oldest is at least eight million years old, and the newest is about 10,000 years old. But they are still forming, much like the Hawaiian Islands are--formed because a "hot spot" beneath the moving Nazca Tectonic Plate upon which they reside pumps up molten lava.

   I spent eight days touring there in February (following visits to the giant "old folks home" called Florida and the Virgin Islands), but one could easily spend weeks--or months as Darwin did. But I have other places to visit, so I came home for a few weeks to rest up for my trip to Tunisia.

Landscapes and plants of the Galapagos Islands

The landscapes of the Galapagos are highly variable, from new lava flows and "moonscapes" to mangrove groves to farmed grasslands. And the altitudes vary from sea level to 5,600 feet high. Consequently, the plants that grow there are highly variable, as well.

This is Bartolome Island, one of the newest--and most barren.

Tourists come on boats of all sizes to see the wonders.

Some lava is quite beautiful--and odd-looking.

This steep slope illustrates the barren nature of the island.

The island in the distance is a relatively new volcanic island.

One has to marvel how plants can manage to survive such brutal conditions.

The relatively soft volcanic rock is easily undercut by ocean waves.

This bromeliad is growing amongst some beautiful moss.

This is an acacia tree.

Tortoises

For many, to see the tortoises of the Galapagos is the main reason they go. They are huge, as large as 550 pounds. About 15,000 of the giant tortoises are left from an estimated 200,000 when humans first arrived--and promptly began eating them (mainly sailors). And they can live to be 150 years old. (Funny, you'd think they'd all want to swim to Florida.)

The one on the right ate about three times as much of this banana tree than the others, fascinating to this economist.

This was an attempted rape. The 500-pound male tried to mate with a 200-pound female--but she eventually escaped (without reporting it).

Iguanas

Judging by the shrieks and comments by many on my tours in the islands, nothing creeps out and freaks out people more than iguanas. And they are EVERYWHERE! On sidewalks, decks, and parking lots. And with some species up to four feet long (including very long tails), one must constantly be on the lookout for them. I often wondered if their mothers could actually love their young.

What is a group of iguanas called (I don't know, either)?

A marine iquana

A land iquana

Another land iguana

A marine iguana, a species that loves to soak up the sun on rocks

Sea lions

Though not as numerous as iguanas, sea lions can often be difficult to avoid at times, as they love to hang around docks where people congregate. And they really seem to sleep a lot.

Did I mention that sea lions sleep a lot?

What, STILL sleeping!?

I wanted to rest, but this one gestured to me to buzz off.

Birds, fish, and crabs

Being on the equator, one sees lots of pretty birds and fish (lots seen while I was snorkeling) never seen in Wisconsin. Some nifty crabs, as well (though not pretty).

A pink flamingo (the coloring due to eating pink shrimps?)

Blue-footed boobies (yes, that is really their name)

A heron

Groupers in a fish market

A dolphin

CRABS

Epilogue

Well, that's a big one off my "list," being on it for a quarter century or so. One by one, I'm checking them off (I had a "bucket list" before the movie came out) -- so that I'm not doomed to an eternity of regret in case one or more are left "unchecked" before I "check out."

Should one visit the Galapagos? Yes, if you want to see lots of wildlife not found in Wisconsin or if you want to be where the idea of evolution began or if you want to hang around the equator for a while. Or, finally, if you want to say the cool word Ga LOP a gos while actually being there.

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Bangkok, Thailand

Hi Everyone! I'm in Patagonia, soon off to Easter Island.

Merry Christmas Everyone!​Dale

The Caucasus

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Hi Everyone!

I'm in Patagonia, soon off to Easter Island.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Dale