Bali by Val

January 4, 2007.

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

A woman walks down the street dressed in a beautiful coloured lace top and an intricately printed sarong. She carries on her head a remarkable offering of balanced apples, oranges, bananas, woven bamboo flowers with hibiscus and fangiopani petals peeking through. You barely glance at her because you are distracted on the street by the colourful paintings, delicate wood carvings, and the driver who intones"taxi - you need transport". You know there will be many more women walking by with high offerings on their heads and their hair shiny and laced with petals.

Beauty is everywhere here in Bali. Our hotel is littered with offerings to the gods on banana leaves. Our small pool is protected by huge stone carvings of characters from the Ramayana each with a hibiscus flower in his ear. There is a temple at the bottom of the property which twice a day has someone put rice on banana leaves, or a banana leafbasket filled with flowers and incense. Another temple at the top of the property has more offerings in its three room temple.

Tonight when I left the losmen (hotel) there was gamelan music coming from across the street and many scooters parked outside our inn. "Come join us please for the exhibition" our Balinese neighbour encouraged. This was in honour of the opening at the exhibion of a gallery trying to encourage the preservation and sale of village weavings by women - the gallery was selling gorgeous and intricate pieces of woven fabric. We saw three young girls dance to live gamelan music - beautiful Balinese dance. Then the grandmothers who weave - 7 older ladies - sang a couple of songs.
The mixed tourist and Balinese crowd cheered and gave an encore to the grandmothers. We then went upstairs to see a demonstration of traditional weaving. What a time consuming and labour intensive process!

Today we went on a car/bicycle trip through the side roads of Baliy. Every little village is swept clean. Each village is known for some type of art work: painters, wood carvers, mask carvers, stone carvers, sivesmiths, and on... Some of the villages are even named to describe the type of art they do. Each village has at least one temple and each compound (family home) has a temple. Celebrations are frequent, gracious, and stunning. The women dress up, the men dress up - to enter the temple one must wear a sash and sarong and the men a headress. Even the tourists looked washed and polished if just a little out of place.

Last night we went to the Kecak (Monkey) dance. The choral sound of 48 men from the local area creating the Kecak sound (ke -chak, chak chak) is a wonder of the world. There is nothing as unusual and compelling except maybe the opera Aida at the Skydome.


As you must be able to tell, Bali, for me, is magic. Eitan and Avidan have come to join us and we are about to take a silversmith course and a cooking class. This past week Arieh and I stayed among the beautiful plants and temples of our losmen and I took a couple of days creating batik and Arieh went to the town of Mas and worked with a wood carver to create a mask.

It is a place of friendliness and smiles, and hawkers. The Balinese have a great sense of humour and a sense of fun. And it feels like a giant "One of a Kind" Craft Fair in Toronto.

You must come here!! And don't forget the Bali Bird Park.

Bali, Indonesia

Dec 23, 2006

Arieh here. We landed in Bali on Dec. 18th and went straight to Ubud, the arts and cultural centre of this island. We landed at Noon and did not have a place to stay in Ubud. We decided that we had plenty of time so we arrived, ate lunch and then went strolling up the street we stayed on 7 years ago. We actually found the homestay we stayed in then but did not go in to check it out; there was an issue with water last time--not so hot and sometimes not at all!

One of my goals before the kids arrive tomorrow was to take a wood carving course (or whatever). Well, I found a woodcarver to teach me for the last 3 days and have now completed my own mask. Well, I probably did 50% of it. The "course" was in the small "woodcarving" village of Mas, just outside of Ubud. The differences in techniques between Canada and Bali are phenomenal. In Canada one would use machinery to shape a block of wood, then more machinery toperhaps rounds some parts, a vise would be used to hold the piece when using chisels (extra pair of hands for ease and safety), and then more machinery for some sanding. In Bali, no machinery; pure brains and brute muscle.

The block of wood is split with a mallet and awls (wedges). The rough parts are taken away with a small hatchet (axe). Use the wrist only; not the arm! Tough on one's primary hand when one is not used to weilding an axe. More hatchet strokes to skin the bark, roughly shape the face, and round some rough edges. Chisels now. Not round handles for easy gripping--no, no--flat and rectangular and harder on the hand muscles. The chisels are used for the medium level work and are about 2-3 cm. wide--some straight, some curved. Used for rounding edges. When chisels are used the device used to hold the wood is quite unique. In Canada, it would likely be some sort of vise. Here in Bali it is.....your feet!!. So, against ALL I have been taught about safety and woodworking, here I am using a very sharp chisel working at this piece of wood and the chisel is inches from my bare feet. Needless to say, I work very slowly--not to ruin the wood nor to gash my feet (or later on my fingers).

Val joined me for "lunch" the second day of my course. Mas doesn't have a lot of eating places within walking distance, so we hopped inot an inter-city taxi. We disembarked where I thought there would be something to chose from and there wasn't. We had one choice and it broke all the rules of eating while travelling. Almost on the street, flies buzzing all around, fruit out of the refrigerator (which we could not even see), cutlery/silverware in a basket for the flies to alight on, etc., etc. Nonetheless, we ordered. After all, we are in Bali, home of two bombings and no one comes here because of that--why should a potential little food problem make me go hungry?? What we ordered broke MORE rules--chicken, although it was barbequed. It's not Avian Flu that is a problem; it is the fact that the chicken was sitting out. It had been pre-cooked and was re-barbequed for us. I also ordered Nasi Goreng, which is a friend vegetable/rice dish done in a pan with who knows how old the oil was. While we were waiting, I asked Val how many and which of our friends would eat at this place. I am proud to say we could only come up with 2, maybe 3 names (and I am not entirely convinced they would eat where we did). Barb G. (she would have ordered vegetarian), Ernie G. and maybe Brian Y. I was, in fact, incredulous that Val nominated Barb first. Am I wrong about all our other friends (and relatives)? In any case, I am writing this more than 24 hours after that lunch and neither of us had a problem.

Let me describe the location of my course. I found Molog my asking around in the village. Met him on a Wednesday and, after negotiating, we agreed on a start of Thursday for 3 days. He used to do statues and now does only face masks. Apparently (acccoring to pictures) he has taught others before. He's a small operator, working out of his family compound right on the cement floor (and that where I sit too). Everything is there--wood, tools and shade. As well there are loud chickens and little chicks (some in cages, some not), ducks, and a dog or two all running around. Don't forget the little kids running around and the grandmother drying rice in the sun. BTW, these compounds are usually made up of multiple families (either related or not) and ALL of them have some sort of temple area for the compounds own worshipping needs. In fact, when I asked my wood carving teacher why each compound has a temple, he described the temples as the head, the compound as the torso, and the village as the rest of the body. In other words: No temple, no head and hence, no life.

Melbourne and area

December 12, 2006

Arieh here. Melbourne was fun. We spent 5 days there and managed to get our fill of the city AND the Great Ocean Road. Melbournians consider their city as the "cultural capital" compared to Sydney (or any other Australian city). Partly true and partly because it is no longer the financial capital.

Melbourne does have many museums and art galleries and we checked out a few of them. Federation Square (built and named in honour of 100 years of federation from 1901?) has a major national art gallery with a whole floor of Aboriginal art and 2 or 3 levels of Australian artists dating from the "First Fleet period (1788) on through the ages. Jonathan Amir would really enjoy this art gallery. There was one piece of Aboriginal art that the fish looked like they were jumping off the canvas. The botanical garden was huge and made very interesting by a tour with only the guide and 4 guests. The tram system is extensive and somewhat easy to navigate (the maps are a different story). We went to shul in St. Kilda, which is also an up and coming trendy area and beach. We went back to walk around the beach the next day when it was in the high 30s, although not humid.


The Great Ocean Road is about 250 KM one-way outside of Melbourne and features stunning views of beaches and coastline (obscured by smoke from the forest fires in the north of the state), interesting rock formations (12 Apostles; see picture)
and a "above the forest" walk. When looking at these rock formations I have always pondered when and how a big piece collapses and, for example, a hole is formed or a big break occurs. It would be cool to be there, but most of these events happened millions of years ago. Well, not in this picure. This break (called "London Bridge") collapsed in 199? near the end of the day with people walking around on the piece that was left DISCONECTED from the shore. A few minutes earlier or a few feet in the wrong direction and the couple would have been buried by a huge slab of rock crumbling around them. Rescued by helicoper a few hours later. We also had a lot of fun with the tour guides, Brian and Grace, from "A Tour With A Difference" (www.atwad.com.au ). If you ever get to Melbourne contact them at: tours@atwad.com.au . They are a lot of fun. The picture below shows the first and last time I ate or will eat Marmite!

Sydney, Australia

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Arieh here. Here we are on the train from Sydney to Melbourne (12 hours) and we have just finished 7 loverly in Sydney hosted by Val's cousin Jim and parnter, Robyn. Jim, without consulting us, is travelling around the world in the opposite direction as we are. So, unfortunately, we only saw him in Vancouver in September. However, it meant we had Robyn all to ourselves and that was indeed fortunate for us. Robyn is a true bird lover--she feeds them real food, not just bird seed. Hence they come right up to her balcony and eat out of her hand.




We did NOT go sailing or to an ashram as Val did 30 years ago. On the other hand, we did sail the harbour many times on the ferry transport system (an example of one of the ferries is in the picture of the Sydney Opera house).


Before the Sydney bridge was completed in 1932, the ferries were the main means of getting from the downtown city of the North shore. Now the bridge, plus a tunnel completed in 1992, are the primary means (although the ferries and still very active, plentiful and punctual). We used them to get to Torango Zoo (which has a great view of Sydney) and Darling harbour (which is an alternative harbour to the original central one opened up in the last 20 or 30 years).

Sydney is quite the city. A beautiful defining bridge from 1932, the world-famous Opera house (picture) that cost 14 times the orignal cost estimate (and now they have budgeted $700 million for repairs and upgrades), an extensive ferry, rail, monorail and light rail transportation system, loads of museums (the Australian--with a lot on Aborigines; (the picture of the umbrella stand is what you do on a real RAINY day--wrap it in plastic)
the Powerhouse--with a pretty good design section; the National Maritime--with a de-commissioned diesel-powered Australian submarine and 2 replicas of ocean-sailing ships), beautiful beaches (which we did not get to) and nice walks in the city core and outside. Of course we ate well (both home-cooked by Robyn and out) and drank lots of lattes. Robyn joined us for a day bus trip to the Blue Mountains (west of Sydney) to see gads and gads of Eucalyptus (or Gum) trees--apparently there are over 750 different varieties. And I thought they were only used to dry up the swamps in Israel and sing songs about.

Australia has been suffering from a draught for the last 2 or 3 years and it has affected a lot of people. Farms closing, livestock being sold off, water restrictions in the city, etc. The weather in Sydney was weird (wait until you read about Melbourne's weather)--hot and humid the 1st day, cooling off at night and then quite cool the next two days. Then it repeated (or close to it), ending off with a beautiful day on Monday--a nice 22 degrees ABOVE zero. (As the train is travelling West and South of Sydney, it is hard to tell if what we are seeing is normal for early summer or because of the draught--dry earth, brown grasses and brownish trees, although not dead by any means.)

One noteworthy event was meeting up with someone I knew 27 years ago in Israel. A young lass (a very good friend of our Boston friend, Amy Willinsky) born is Israel who moved to Australia at age 12. Wouldn't really know she wasn't born in OZ. Lizi invited us for Shabbat dinner, where we met husband Gary and daughters Clare and Laura. Lots of action in the house. Shabbat tunes similar but not exact (they belong to one of the Progressive shuls in Sydney) and Lizi brought out a photo album (can't do THAT with digital) from 1979. I sure had a lot of hair back then. Also, one of the pictures was of David "Lawyer". It turns out he was the son of Judge Wapner (one of the orignal TV judge shows from the late 70s and early 80s. The next day we joined Lizi and Gary at shul (and after for lunch). Good service at shul--lots of singing and davening. They have a Cantorial Soloist. However, the Rabbi has a nice voice and did most of the vocals. The Cantor has a cushy job.

Finally, while we DID NOT spend $145 AUST. each to climb on top of the Harbour bridge

(turn your head for this picture), we did both of us climb the 200 steps tothe top of one of the 4 concrete/brick pylons that are located on each side of the harbour, allowing me to take the picture of the people who did pay the $145. Nice views and good exhibits of the building of the bridge over an 8-year period.

This next picture is one of the sights of Sydney. Couldn't resist the advertisement in the Dr. Scholls store--anything to make one's body parts feel better.



Finally, we stopped on our way down to Melbourne in a small city called Wagga Wagga (and pronounced Wogga). They had a beautiful city garden in the middle of town and in this garden, in addition to a memorial to all the soldiers who fought in all the wars from the Boer war onward, there was this sculpture honouring "Waltzing Matilda". This is the "swagman sitting by his billabong".

Last bit of New Zealand

Tuesday, November 28, 2006.

Arieh here. We left Auckland today at 05:45 AM which meant we were up pretty early. Our last 10 days in N.Z wer spent, as "planned", entirely on the North Island. Travelling from Wellington to Masterton to Taipu to Rotorua to Waitomo to Auckland. On the way we looked at more dumb birds in a drizzling rain (Mt. Hood), met two more nice people from Masterton (one of whom studied at the Geography building at Givat Ram in Jerusalem in 1972-73), saw the largest clock collection in the Southern Hemisphere, drove over the "Desert Road" of N.Z., luxuriated in thermal hot tubs in Rotorua, walked beside boiling mud, lakes and streams in the Craters of the Moon, Waimanu and Waiotapu, at sultana scones and clotted cream everywhere, took a river tour of the Waitomo caves and saw thousands of glowworms, returned to Auckland and spent 3 wonderful days there with our friends, the Listers, and attended shul again at the Progressive congregation in Auckland. Whew, I am tired from reading this paragraph.

I mentioned in a previous posting about hospitable Kiwis. Well, in Masterton they struck again! We left Wellington on Saturday after services and our goal was Masterton (about 100 KM away). All of you know how "laid back" I am and how anal Val is. This day we decided to do it "my" way--just go to Masterton and "find" a place to stay--no calling ahead. So, off we drove and we got there around 5PM. For the next hour we drove back and forth going from one full place to another. Finally, we got lucky and were directed to a motel off the main street with very nice and reasonably priced accomodation. By then, Val had to have a nap, I fiddled around and around 8PM we went to the only decent place open to "grab a bite". We sat down at a table for 2, ordered, ate and then the guy next me says "where are you from?". We start talking and it turns out Ian had spent a year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1972-73 studying in the Geology dep't at a post-doc level. (I got there in April, 1973). In the meantime, Val and Jean are chatting away. We are then invited over to their house for coffee and off we go. We spent a wonderful two hours sharing stories, learning about water issues in NZ (Ian's line of work), talking early childhood education in NZ (Jean's line of work), learning about Maori culture (both Ian and Jean had studied the language and culture) and getting tips on places to visit and how to get there. The next day, after trudging around in the drizzling rain at Mt. Hood for two hours, we were ..... eating (what else?) in the coffee shop and in walked Ian and Jean. We chatted for another full hour before we went our separate ways.

And because of them we came across the largest collection of working clocks in the Southern Hemisphere--2,342 working clocks. BTW, the owner bought an old church and had it transported to his farm (about 30 miles) to house his collection. Only in NZ.

More New Zealand

Monday, November 20, 2006

Arieh here. We are now in Rotorua, N.I. and have had a good week in weather and activities. In addition to driving the winding roads of the eastern side of the N.I., we had a wonderful tour of Napier, got pretty wet (finally, some rain) in Wellington, finally went to shul outside of N.A. and have moved back northward on the way back to Auckland.

Napier is a small city on the East coast of the N.I. on Hawkes Bay. It is the centre of one of the wine producing areas of NZ, similar to Napa Valley in California and has great weather. Napier is also famous as the Art Deco city of the world. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931, over 100 people lost their lives and it was completely rebuilt in TWO years. Four architectural firms oversaw the construction and thousands of people were working at the "height" of the Great Depression. It is something to see (pictures to come). While we were in L.A., we walked around Westwood and they still have some Art Deco buildings (mostly theatres), but this is a whole downtown preserved. The buildings are also built to last as Napier is still in an earthquake zone. Napier was also the first time we bit the bullet and stayed in a Youth Hostel. Quite different from the last time I used them in Europe in 1972. People our age are allowed in, not just "yutes"; one can stay inside all day and not have to leave and come back to the YH; no more breakfast included; double and family rooms available with or without ensuite bath; recognition of driving and coupons for parking offered; laundry facilities offered; cooking facilities and food storage available. Quite pleasant really.

From Napier we drove down to Wellington and was it windy or what? However, the crazy Wellingtonians were walking around without coats thinking that because it is late spring it must be warm. They were wrong. Later that evening we also saw that there were many people sitting outside restaurants or bars in the blowing wind. We quickly figured out that they are doing that because they are smoking and not allowed to do so inside. But no one was wearing coats--the women were in sleeveless dresses and the men were wearing shirts only (with pants). Wellington has the Te Papau museum which is built on "raised on earthquake land". NZers have invented a new way to stablize and protect buildings during earthquakes. As its premier museum, the Te Papau museum is built on these contraptions. Essentially, the building sits on rubber blocks (big ones) reinforced with lead. All you scientists will know that lead is flexible, etc. and is good for this sort of thing. The parliament buildings, which were damaged in a fire in 1992, were renovated and also put on these rubber blocks. The other highpoint of Wellington was going to shul. Two different ones--Orthodox on Friday night and Progressive (Reform) on Shabbat morning. Quite interesting. The Orthodox shul was mostly men, a multitude of siddurim and the requisite mumbling for the Mincha service. However, for the Kabbalat Shabbat service, there was surprisingly a lot of singing and much of it similar to what we do at HBT. (The Rabbi later mentioned something about a Karlebach service). The service was also led by two of the regulars, but certainly not "staff". The attendees for the most part were veteran NZers and quite a few visiting Israelis--there were about 35 men and women all told. While it was obvious we were visiting (and there were others), I was kind of surprised that no one really spoke to us except one older NZer who was there early with us. And no one asked what our dinner plans were. In the end, we had dinner with an Israeli and German woman who had just moved to Wellington to live and work one week before and they were clearly in the same boat as us. We had a lovely Indian dinner. The next day we went to the Progressive shul (which broke away from the Orthodox in the mid-1950s). The siddur was a photocopied experimental version--first time being used--and the Rabbi happened to be at a regional convention in Australia. The leader was a lay leader and I think the Chazzanit was pretty new. LOTS of singing and many identical niggunim as at HBT. One interesting additon to their "siddur" was the inclusion and reading of the 10 Commandments. Nice touch. The Torah was read, not chanted, and the reader clearly didn't understand what she was reading. Haftorah was read in English. Haggbah was pretty good, but he didn't extend the scroll--no 7 columns to see! Fortunately, no one asked me to do anything and I didn't goof up.

Time to post this without pictures. The demands of the readers are overwhelming us.

People and wildlife in New Zealand

Val here -

I could not write about New Zealand without talking about the wonderful people we have met - and oh, yes, - other wildlife we've seen on this small but vast and slow - travelling North Island.

Yes, it can be slow and quiet in the small towns. You have to realize that there are only 4,000,000 people living in New Zealand - so it is amazing that they have a national acquarium, museum, and untold numbers of nature reserves. Yes, sometimes you can wait hours (to forever) to get coffee after a meal (perhaps there's a reason that tipping is part of the culture in other parts of the world) - but the fact that the person next to you starts chatting and invites you to their house for coffee makes up for it many times over. New Zealanders are wonderfully friendly and accepting people - and we've enjoyed every hour here.

People:

We started with a great visit with Maureen and Terry Lister. They were the couple who, on the basis of an hour's conversation over dinner and drinks (at the Beachside Hotel in Fiji - excellent cuisine!) - decided that Arieh and I should have the best holiday possible in New Zealand. Maureen and Terry met us at the airport with hugs and borrowed car (their car holds only 2 people) - and took us home to feed and pamper us. We spent the night at their home, moving out only to accomodate their son and family who were visiting from Melbourne, Australia. so that we would not feel abandoned at all - they gave us the key to their "bach" or holiday house - (as well as the key to their house) and sent us on our way with advice to enjoy their wonderful country. (Which we are!) we discovered Waihi (pronounce wha hee) and Waihi Beach. Not only that, we had a wonderful dinner at the RSA which serves beautiful roasts at low prices - but only the locals know about them.

Then to Whagamata...

Then we went to the wonderfully welcoming Sue and Tom Rawson. I worked with Sue at Oak Park Junior High School from 1974 to 1976 (we think) and we had great fun together then. We acted in staff plays together, went to Quebec together for Carnaval, and picketed together during the 1975 OSSTF teachers' strike. It was as if we'd never been apart. I had met Tom on several occasions - and visited Tom and Sue in 1978 - so I felt so very comfortable in their home with them. Both Sue and Tom are retired - but Sue works afternoons with a real estate company, and Tom drives cab two evenings a week and drives the school/transit bus every morning and afternoon. They live in Whangamata (pronounced Fang - a - maw- taw) on the west coast near a gorgeous beach in their newly built house. We had a fabulous walk along the beach with Sue, Tom, and Bella, the Jack Russell. Tom was unable to come with us - but Sue, Arieh and I spent a wonderful day exploring the Corumundel peninsula - the highlight being our stop in Hot Water Beach to dig holes in the thermal sand to make warm pools to bathe in. The cold water came in from the sea - but we were warm (sort of) as we sat in our pools, the wind howling and the rain dripping around us! What fun it was! Sue and Tom are two friends who have found the place they love and enjoy both work and play!

The hospitality we've experienced did not end in Auckland and Whangamata! We were warmly welcomed by Ron and Sue Janes of Wairoa - (pronounced wie- ro- a), transplanted Canadians. We went to their bach with them and enjoyed the lovely view of the beach below and the great harvest (peas and strawberries) of the garden above. We had a delicious lunch - then off to visit their friends Roz and Michael. This couple had just won 1,000,000 sky miles (like air miles) and were delighted with the prospect of travel despite three young children and a large cattle farm to run. Roz was excited beyond belief. We then went to dinner at Liz and Bob's - met the teacher contingent of Wairoa - and enjoyed a delicious meal and lovely company with their son Greg, Judy - the home economics teacher, and Ron and Sue. We played crokinole (yes!- in New Zealand), a lot of laughts, a variety of wines, then went home to the Janes house. Ron and Sue's warmth and hospitality, and their knowledge of the medical system and the area made it a wonderful visit. and best of all - they shared their friends.

We also had dinner with a wonderful young couple we found in the National Aquarium in Napier. Cameron and Sarah are from Kamloops and had bought a camper to explore New Zealand for a month. They had already spent time in Australia. They made us understand why meeting Canadians is a homey experience - they knew Vancouver and Toronto and we could discuss the lack of attributes of Fort McMurray where Cameron worked for a while. I hope that Cam soon pursues his interest in studying dentistry and that Sarah becomes a fire fighter.

Well, we were sitting in the only cafe open in Masterton (southern North Island) and drinking coffee when a woman sitting next to us tentatively asked "where are you from?". We started a conversation and could not believe that these Kiwis (historically Scots/English) could have so much in common with us. They had recently returned from a holiday in Samoa (we'd been in Fiji) and have two grown sons. Moreover, Ian Gunn had been studying at the Hebrew University at the same time as Arieh was there. Both have an interest in Geography. Jean is in education and develops curriculum. They are inverterate travellers in that Ian worked (Jean usually accompanying him) in Ethiiopia, Iran, Borneo, Saudi Arabia. Ian is a Hydraulic Geologist. What a wonderful discussion we had when we were invited to their home to drink coffee! They had just come back from Samoa and also have two grown sons. What a surprise when we met them the next day after our walk through Bruce Mountain wildlife sanctuary. They decided to check if we were there!. What great conversations we had with the Gunns who've enjoyed wonderful adventures at home and around the world.

New Zealand Rocks!

Monday, November 13, 2006

Arieh here. We are in Napier, North Island, New Zealand on the East coast of the island. We just spent a lovely day driving a grand total of 110 KM from Wairoa to Napier. After a Noon departure from the gracious hospitality of Rhonda's friends, Ron and Sue Janes, we stopped at a bird wildlife sanctuary and walk around a bit. Black swans, mallards, some kind of beige duck, and a few other different birds were the order of the day.

Arrived here around 3PM to our pre-booked Youth Hostel twin room--doubles were not available. Because of the very poor lunch we had on the road we were forced to go straight away to a coffee and scone (pronounced "scon") break. No clotted cream (that came the next day), but the butter was good. We have been in N.Z. one week now and have rented a 1995 Corolla car for $13 CDN/day, bought our air tickets to Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Bali, driven 1000 KM, and picked up one Swedish hitchhiker. We have also decided to forego the South Island and stick to the North Island only and that is because of the driving conditions (more later).

The major comment on N.Z. is not all the geographic beauty, which it has from rolling hills (with or without trees) to planted forests to beautiful beaches. What sticks out is the hospitality of the people. It is simply astounding and almost overwhelming (in a good way). Many of you know that Val and I have an "open door" policy. We are rank amateurs compared to the Kiwis we have met. One couple, the Listers from Auckland, we met in Fiji at one of our hotels. The morning after having dinner with them they invited us to stay with them in Auckland AND use their beach cottage for as long a we wanted. We were in e-mail contact before we left Fiji and they met us at the airport in Auckland, we stayed with them, and the next day we were on our way down to their beachside cottage, by ourselves. The same day, in a cafe, the owner offered us the use of his behind-the-counter computer for some Internet searching. After that he then offered us the use of his cell phone--all unsolicited; it just came up in conversation and the offers extended. (As an aside, all those worry-warts who told us we NEEDED a cell phone---you are all crazy! This piece of hardware is useless, even though it will work anywhere in the world). The third instance is the warm welcome accorded by the Janes and their friends. Remember we have never met the Janes--he is a "friend of a friend". Not only did they open their house to us, their friends ensured we were royally treated at dinner time. (Many of them were teachers and Val probably could have landed a job in Wairoa if she had wanted to).

The second major comment about NZ is about the driving conditions. The drivers are fine and seem safe and logical (unlike in Fiji). However, the roads are a different story. They are mostly "sealed" (paved). Some of them go through gorges--gorgeous gorges, very narrow and winding and hence slower. They also only seem to have white broken "passing" lines down the centre. In other words, go ahead and pass if you dare--the decision is yours without guidance from the Ministry of Transportation. Fortunately, there are not a lot of cars on these roads. Of course, driving on the "wrong" side of the road took some adjustments (Val is still walking around to the driver's side thinking it is the passenger's side of the car) and requires much more attention on my part. All this adds up to staying on the N.I. and spending less time driving in the car and more time in Wellington, Rotorua and Auckland. The revised schedule will also allow us to be in Wellington and Auckland on Fridays and Saturdays and experience shul in both cities.

In addition to meeting all these hospitable and friendly Kiwis and seeing some interesting scenery, we have also had some different experiences. One outstanding event was to go to the "hot water beach", dig a hole in the sand at low tide and sit in the hot thermal water while it was raining slightly. Bear in mind, this was not only us, but about another 40 to 50 other crazy people--most of them local islanders.
One other memorable event was watching the sunrise. This time (5:30AM) the sun was rising from the Pacific Ocean (1st time for me to see that) into a cloudless sky AND there was not ring of brown (air pollution) on the horizon. Think about that a minute. By the way, if one sails east from here the next piece of land is.....Chile. Finally, the picture of the person running on the beach is NOT me!

Back in Nadi, Fiji

Sunday, November 5, 2006

Arieh here. The colours here are SO boring--every shade of green you can imagine and no brown at all! If I see any brown it is a roadway cut through a hill and that's almost or about to be overgrown with vegetation--green, of course. All sorts of hardwood trees--many of which I have no idea what they are called. We did see a freshly-cut Mahogany tree. It was being used for building a shed. (In North America Mahogany is only used for furniture, interior work or on sailing vessels--it is very expensive wood.) On the largest island of Viti Levu we saw Coconut and Date Palm trees. Other than looking at the top, can also see the difference in the bark. Interestingly, we have not seen Date Palm trees on the other two large island of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. The Palm trees do sway in the wind just like in the movies. In California, drier upper branches of the Giant Redwoods sometimes fall straight down at a high velocity. The loggers called them "widow makers". In Fiji, one just needs to watch for falling coconuts and Palm fronds (branches). We have yet to hear of any fatalities.
Yesterday, on the way from Suva back to Nadi, we stopped at Sigatoka to see the Sigatoka Sand Dunes park. These are on the south coast (Coral Coast) of Viti Levu. This area is recepient of strong S.E. Trade winds blowing from....the South East. The beach here is black sand, so called because it is created from iron. Not chunks of iron, but rather earth with iron in it that is swept out to sea by rainwater wearing down the nearby hills. These deposits are then further worn down by the sea and eventually get thrown back to land as "black" sand (White sand beaches are from Sandstone). The thing with black sand beaches is that they get really, really hot to sit or walk on (because of the iron heating up), So.... there is a nice trail around the Sigatoka Sand Dunes and part of it goes up a sand dune, a relatively short, but steep sand dune. (picture) We did start on the walk together. However, it was about 2PM and hot. Val decided to go back through the Mahogany forest grove (planted in the 1960s to stabilize the sand dunes (picture). I was going on for another 30 minute walk. She made the right choice a the base of this sand dune. I looked at it and decided that walking up in my Mephisto sandals (Ron White, take note) was not going to cut it. I removed them (chalutzti na'alieem) and preceded to run up. Unfortunately I got only 1/2 way up and the heat on my feet was too much. Down I ran to the path with grass and sandals back on. I then stood there for a little while trying to come up with an intelligent solution. The view was great and the dune was "shorter than it looked" (according to the trail guide). Perhaps put water on my feet and try running again? No. Perhaps go back? No. Perhaps run on the sparse vegetation on the side? Prickly looking. Solution, Taurus that I am?? I ran again! Made it up and quickly put my sandals back on--was that hot or what? The remainder of the 30-minute walk was beautiful and fairly "uneventful". 1/2 of it was spent trudging on compacted, but still hot sand and 1/2 in the forest grove. Yes, I would do it again--perhaps with closed shoes.

No electricity--Island of Taveuni, Fiji

Monday, October 30, 2006

Arieh here. Here we are in Savusavu, on the island of Vanua Levu, sitting on our balcony overlooking Savusavu Bay (picture). This is Fiji's 2nd largest island and this little town is quite the "yachtie" hangout. Rhonda and Israel (and of course my mother's relatives--maiden name was Yacht) need to put into port here. We arrived here yesterday by a 4-hour car/passenger ferry ride from Taveuni, Fiji's 4th largest island. (picture). In Savusavu we have 24-hour electricity. On Taveuni we had generator-electricity for 3.5 hours/day (until 9:30PM). We could have stayed in a fancier resort where they run the generator 24 hours, but at $300-$400 U.S./day we thought we would let some of you enjoy those resorts. In any case, from the "Honeymoon Suite" at Bibi's Hideaway we had a nice view of his grounds and and surrounding area (picture). Jim Bibi, a "real" Fijian (unlike the Indo-Fijians or Europeans) owns the land, cultivated and landscaped the property and is quite happy to talk your ear off. He is quite proud of the fact that of the 27 resort owners on Taveuni, he is the only Fijian landowner--the other 24 are foreigners and the other 2 are "only" Fijian managers, not owners. His property has coconut trees (be careful as you walk), papaya trees, pineapple bushes, tangerine, lime (they look orangish inside), mango, and wild flowers of many kinds. Everything is used and is there for the picking.

We also had "tea" at Audrey's Place. Audrey is a 60-ish year old Boston born, L.A. lived ex-pat. She runs a little teahouse overlooking the north bay of Taveuni island (picture) and is loads of fun to talk to as she has lived here over 20 years--all by chance after her husband left her. The other big event in Taveuni was our 5 KM (one-way) Lavena coastal walk. Fiji is somewhat like Israel and the Karen Kayemet/JNF. Most of the land is held in trust for native Fijians. However, there are some major differences as to how non-Fijians are treated regarding land. In any case, this coastal walk is the Fijian form of eco-tourism to avoid the cutting of the rain forests. We took a local bus to the end of the unpaved bumpy road and alighted at the "lodge". The whole operation is run by the village. The admission fees for the trail walk go to the village. The guide is local and three of them take turns (based on seniority), the local meals we ordered for after the 3-hour trip are prepared by different households (the $ go directly to them) and so on. At the end of the trail was a beautiful waterfall and natural swimming pool (picture). Val even learned to walk on rocks--step on the top.

The ferry to Savusavu was quite interesting. As it was only a 4-hour trip, we went economy and not First Class. The ship is an old Russian vessel, lots of rust in evidence, and "pleasant". They even have an air-conditioned sitting lounge for economy and there were not many passengers. The maps on the wall were still Russian and of the "Hellenic" islands. To top it off, they were showing a Clint Eastwood movie marathon! We looked at F.C. and will probably book it for the Tuesday overnight trip. Nice clean cabins and berths. Those in F.C. for the short trip were in a different lounge--lower down and no view. Go figure! Our short trip from Taveuni followed the coast to Savusavu, far enough away from the reefs so as not to ruin our day and run aground. A bit overcast, but smooth waters.

Broken teeth and Flying in Fiji

tm
Thursday, October 26, 2006

Arieh here. We left Nadi (Nan-dee) today by Sun Air. The flight was great, only marred by the fact that they charged us more when we got to the airport than what the "travel agent" indicated on the ticket voucher! We flew in a 19-person very small plane--every seat with a great view. What a view. We flew high enough to clear the mountains, but low enough to see great detail with binoculars. Over the water I saw from afar what looked like small islands. Low white houses, land and trees. As we flew closer to one of these islands, I saw the "white houses" changing shape. With the binoculars I could see that the white houses were breaking waves and these islands were nothing more than coral reefs. Stunning. To top it off, we were then "passed" by another local Sun Air flight (picture) going to a different destination.

Nadi was interesting in that we were able to sample a bit of the medical system. Some of you may recall that 24 years ago we visited a Shanghai hospital to deal with Val's intransigence at not clearing her throat the way the Chinese would and hence, I think, a throat infection ensued. Well, this time two hours before leaving for LAX, Val managed to break a tooth. Being the daughter of a dentist, she had no pain--just a hole. Our stay in Nadi was extended until we found the right dentist, who was quite up-to-date and even used a laser to complete the work. We almost went to the wrong dentist but were saved by the owner of the Beachside Resort we were staying at. (picture).

Fiji

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Bula! Bula Vanaka! Greetings by the Fijians are warm and expected. The trees are filled with mangoes, dates, papaya. The birds are raucous - keeping us awake at night with their sharp cries and chirps. The weather is warm and quite comfortable - but the mosquitoes are ferocious. Tiny insects - itchy bumps. Oh well! We haven't been troubled by mosquitoes until now so we've puchased our mosquito spray and are now better armed for the fight.

Got off airplane at Nandi airport straight into the arms of Western Travel - warm and chatty Junior who steered us to his friens'd hostel - a rather dowdy depressing place - no hot water - Fiji run but lots of "Bulas" and chats. Had room from 8AM to next day and two breakfasts for $45 Fijian which is about $25 Can.

Met interesting backpackers there. First, a Spanish guy -weak English - travellling after working on a construction job in Tonga, then lovely Rens from Holland. Charming, friendly, bright, and curious - we spent our evening with him. He is an 18 year old traveller soon to go into medicine in the Netherlands.
After we had a nap and settled we went into Nandi town to look around. There were wonderful handicrafts - masks, amazing bowls of wood which are wonderfully polished and huge. There are also gorgeous mango-blackened carved clubs used for various unsavory endeavors such as picking out the brains of enemies or bashing in their heads. There are also gorgeous carved/inlaid serving wooden bowls in black and natural colours. The black is apparently achieved by burying them in a mango mush (??) or some such - which blackens the bowl and makes it more valuable- and beautiful.

Saturday night is Duvali - Arieh, Rens, and I are invited into a family compound to join family and friends in celebration. I visited with the women and children and took photos of them - Arieh and Rens drank kava - a special drink - in a Kavu ceremony. We were offered Indian sweets and soft drinks as well. The celebrators were Christian, Hindu and Moslem - so we were assured that the Kava drink was not alcoholic.

We've noticed much animosity between the Fijians and the Indo- Fijians - so very unfortunate! Travel agents, people on the street, taxi drivers complain about the other group with very little encouragement. I sense that some of the Indo-Fijians would love to leave the island and go to America or Australia New Zealand.

We've moved to Beachside resort - it's much more expensive - not close to town - but has a beautiful pool and grounds, great food, and a variety of tourists - from Britain, australia, New Zealand,etsc. We read, chat, swim --good life!

Southern California

Saturday, October 21st

Arieh here. We have arrived in Fiji. Actually, I am writing part of this in San Diego but you get the point. This picture is our last day in N.A. and the last day with our car! Note that this is the only time you will see Val carrying her own blue and bigger pack. It seems that is to be my job, "rightfully so" all of you will say.

We arrived in the Los Angeles area on Wednesday, October 11th after touring the Hearst Castle in San Simeon and driving the rest of the day down the coast. The castle really is something to see. Built in the 1920s and 30s, it took 15 years to build and a few of the concrete walls had to be torn down as the owner "changed his mind" about something or other. Not like moving a piece of drywall, eh? The castle is located on top of a mountain, about a 10 min. drive away from the coast. Huge piece of land, uncountable rooms, VERY large swimming pools and "stuff" from all over the world. Not a shred of coordination between one room to the other. Some of you would be very disappointed. For example, the dining room walls were covered in wood brought from some church in Europe including the little seats/vestibules that the priests used in their work. An adjacent room was covered in tapestries that had nothing to do with a church.

We were royally treated by Val's Aunt Syma and her children. We managed to take in a live Jay Leno show (featuring Sandra Bullock and Michael Caine--didn't you see me with my red hat and red CANADA shirt??) thanks to Edith and Josh followed by dinner in their Succah that night--a fantastic feast for a multitude (my boys will be so jealous of the food they missed). Naomi walked with us in Westwood Village and helped us reconnect to Val's family. We met Josh and Edith's children Hannah and Sammy for the first time and enjoyed seeing Amiad, Matty, (cousin Naomi's children) and Jacob once again. Unfortunately, we did not get to Las Vegas to see Leah and Jeff and children. Next time.

From L.A. we drove to Palm Springs to see my way older sister, Bette (pronounced Betty) Taback and spouse Gerry. What good hosts they are as well, although it was not a surprise. They live in an "Active Retirement Living" complex where one partner must be 55 or older. New homes, nice common community centre with pools, whirltub, tennis courts, bocce courts, etc. and lots of sun. For some reason, when the temperature was in the mid 20s C. (mid 70s F.), we were informed that this was coolish weather. Eitan and Avidan, you should write Aunty Bette and let her know the truth. Can't say I would like to live in Palm Springs year round but a visit to the desert is quite a big change--very quiet, a wide flat valley surrounded by treeless mountains and relatively dark at night (there is a city bylaw that restricts street lighting). On a previous trip we drove up to Joshua Tree National Park. That is very different place with lots of "Joshua Trees" and beautiful landscapes. It also gives you a great mountain top view of the valley below. In PS it is hard to walk around your neighbourhood unlike others cities I have lived in--Vancouver, Jerusalem, Toronto. Outside of my sister's community are wide long roads built for drivers and not walkers. One drives to any location outside of one's own community. There is a lively and walkable downtown in PS.

(Val here) That being said, I had lovely walks on a path around the perimeter of the complex. Saw hummingbirds and a few roadrunners.

After lovely times with Bette and Gerry - talking, eating, talking - we left for San Diego. My sister Joy greeted us. We went with her to some great restaurants and to a wonderful beach in La Jolla which was covered with seals lying in the sun - young seals, old seals, spotted seals, mottled seals. It was quite something to see. Expecially easy to photograph inasmuch as only an expert with excellent equipment can get a good picture of a seal in water or on a rock far away. The pelicans and cormorants continue to fascinate me.

Did some car paper work in San Diego and my sister is now owner of a wonderful new/used car that I think she will enjoy for some time! The mild weather will be so much nicer to our vehicle I give it a good 7 years more life, assuming loving kindness and good luck!

Drove to Los Angeles on Thursday (Oct. 19) spent some time with my cousin Joan and her husband Murray who kindly served us a lovely dinner and took us to Los Angeles airport to fly to Fiji.

We are in the U.S. of A.

Wednesday, October 4th

Arieh here. We are now in Nehalem Bay State Park in Oregon--only two days "behind schedule". Good news--we decided to leave North America. We fly out of LAX on October 9th, for Fiji, stay there for two weeks (not one) and then arrive in New Zealand on November 6th. Tickets ordered and paid for.

Besides that little tidbit, the Olympic peninsula is wonderful. Because we only arrive in Port Angeles around 5:30PM on Monday, we only managed to get a campsite, "pick up" two young Swiss travellers, showed them how to eat Indian food and went to sleep "under the stars" around 10PM--real late for us campers. In case you didn't notice, it is almost two weeks after Rosh HaShanah and that means the moon is waxing and getting brighter each night--no need for a flashlight for those "middle-of-the-night" excursions. When the moon sets, the stars are brilliant.

Back to the Olympic Peninsula. We drove up to Hurricane Ridge the next day--sea level to 1700 metres in a very short distance. I am sure people who do the Grouse Grind in Vancouver would have hiked to the ridge--we drove. At the top is a fantastic view of many of the tall peaks of the Olympic mountains--some of them glaciers and some just with snow. It was a beautifullly clear and crisp day and we ate a picnic breakast and walked around the ridges at the top for a couple of hours. In addition to little chipmunks and birds that ate out of our hand (Richard Cooper--see the picture), we also saw several black-tailed deer up close and personal. Back down to sea level and

west to the Pacific Ocean. Lunch beside a a beautiful lake and then made it to Holt Rain Forest. The trees there (and elsewhere on the North West of the O.P.) are huge Spruce, Cedar and Douglas Fir. The H.R.F. is a national park and there we walked and saw vegetation that was almost tropical--ferns, (picture) swamps, huge thick trees. I hurt my neck looking up at the top these giant trees. We also managed to visit the BIGGEST Western Red Cedar in the world (picture).


The campsite for that night was in Kalaloch (Clay-lock) State Park and it was perched on the very edge of the Pacific Ocean. The only thing between us and Hawaii was the water. Crashing and thunderous waves, huge driftwood logs and miles and miles of clean, "black" and wide sandy beaches. If the waves weren' t soothing, they would have kept us awake. As it is, our trusty Previa keeps out more noise than a tent.

Driving around the O.P. (and down the coast) there is ample evidence of clear-cut logging. In Washington they post signs when it was done, when it was replanted and withen the next harvest will take place--usually 60 years after replanting. In Oregon we discovered they just leave a thicket of trees about 25 metres wide on either side of the road so you cannot see the clear-cutting.


Val here:

Oct. 3
Drove up to Hurricane Ridge - beautiful vistas! Took some pictures of the deer. Then to Ho Rain Forest (after a delicious picnic lunch provided by Jodi and John). The trees of the forest were clothed in dry thick moss. Wonderful huge conifers were adorned with hanging green stuff! Lovely!
Camped at Kalalock near the Pacific - heard the roaring waves all night.

Oct. 4
Followed 101 south along the coast highway but first had breakfast at Kalalock Lodge in sight of gorgeous driftwood strewn beach. Then went down and walked along the beach. Lunch at Cape Disappointment State Park - but we were not disappointed - it was lovely. Gorgeous sunset at Nahalem Bay.

Oct. 5
Nehalem to Coos Bay Oregon. Lovely sights of beaches - cliffs with huge waves, enormous sand dunes.
Discovered three things:
1. the take-out window espresso kiosks that dot every little town throughout Oregon have wonderful lattes and cappucinos.
2. Oregon has the most remarkable coast ever!
3. Oregon campsites have what they call "Yurts". They are tent-like structures, named after the huts Mongolians live in - and they have heat and light. They are also very inexpensive and remarkably comfortable. What a find!





Oct. 6
Driving ,driving....
gorgeous sea vistas. The weather is warming up as we arrive in California. Saw spouting whales at Coos Bay - fins or tails appeared from time to time. We are at the redwoods forests and they are as exciting as anyone has ever told you! Our campsite is spectacular! The majesty of the redwoods diminishes our tiny van and other campers RVs. Had a fabulous dinner at Myers Flats (population 200) - only restaurant for miles - best pizza I've ever eaten! (Brie and asparagus with grapes drizzled with white truffle oil - hungry??) The cheesecake with raspberry drizzle was wonderful. Off to sleep beneath the redwoods.

Oct. 7
Woke up to look through the back window of the van as I lay on the comfortable inflated mattress - saw huge redwoods - must be a thousand years old. Went to the Visitors Centre opposite Burlington campground where we slept. Learned lots about the redwoods. Took a gorgeous walk through the trees - huge, awesome - and to the Eel River - almost a stream now but in the 60's twice destoryed the towns in the area when it flooded.



Oct. 8.
Stayed in Santa Rosa in preparation for a half day in wine country. Went to a restaurant that specialized in turkey (??!) for supper.
Found a wine tasting venue that was recommended by the visitors centre. Us and about 200 French tourists. Left there and discovered a Cline winery - a museum with miniatures of the missions behind the building, cages of colourful quails, doves and ornamental chickens near the deck, a comfortable amount of tasters - and --good red wine! It was a treat.

Off to visit Lara in Berkely. Went by public transport (the BART) to San Francisco and saw the air show they timed for our visit. Took the ferry back to Berkely - great views of the city and the harbour - then drove up the mountain to get fabulous view of San Francisco from above UC Berkely. Wow!

Oct. 9
Arieh and I walked around Berkely campus. Two great discoveries: the Doe Library - a mixture of light literature, archival books, travel books (Lonely Planet mostly - but some for birdwatchers!), and a huge globe created in 1889. This university Library room was dead silent - partly because of all the students curled up on couches sleeping.
We also discovered a wonderful Botanical garden! They had plants from all over the world and each of them was labelled. We spent about two hours wandering there.
Had a lovely dinner prepared by Lara and shared with her housemates and children - lovely times with wine and chocolate covered pretzels.

Remarkable people we've met along the way

Val here.
There are highlights as we've travelled across Canada. The scenery is spectacular. Nothing is comparable with north of Lake Superior in September. The sun shines on silent lakes in empty campgrounds. Provincial parks are almost deserted except for diehard campers more often in campers than in tents. The prairies - no longer covered with huge Canadian Shield flat rocks, now resplendent with yellow fields, huge skies, little surprises in charming gift/gallery stores and lone coyotes travelling at the road. Wonderful eggs and pies cooked with friendship. And then the mountains appear with their vertigo-inducing canyons.

But the real beauty of travelling across Canada is the people you meet. We encounter two friendly women from Marathon, each with a small child in tow and a friendly, black sand covered dog. They greet us warmly, telling us that they spend their summers and September weekends at White Lake Provincial Park until it gets too cold. They've parked a shared trailer and laugh and sing and babysit into each evening.

We picked up our only hitchiker just north of Superior in a beautiful area! He looked totally benign, a tall, clean-cut windblown fellow in his thirties, holding a kayak paddle. We drove him to his car so that he could return to pick up his three buddies who had been kayaking with him for the last five days. Lake Superior, he informed us, is known to be as good as the oceans for kayaking. He is a lawyer from Chicago who recommends that we stay at a resort down the way and take time from our trip to take kayak lessons. We are sorely tempted, but leave him with his map and paddle and drive on.

We stop to stare at another gorgeous lake and meet an elderly couple from Nova Scotia. They are driving to visit their daughter in Edmonton, explaining that most years they go all the way to the Arctic for a month or two. Her husband loves driving, she explains. They happily invite us into their camper van and extoll the virtues of the toilet and showernf facilities. They point out the little shelves they have constructed to make their camper lives more comfortable. Shirley, (she introduces herself), is delighted with her special email retriever, that captures or displays and sends emails from a public telephone for free.

We were having a quick lunch in the back of our van in the parking lot of the Lake Louise Hotel, when a German woman, a tiny dog shivering in her vest, comes to chat. She and her husband are moving from Fort St. John to Duncan, B.C. to continue farming. I go with her to inspect her other three miniature Domermans in their pick-up truck. Her husband joins her and they get in the truck to continue the adventure that is their life.

The hosts at Bed and breakfast stays greet you like they'd never had guests before. They are warm and welcoming. A young couple in Indian Head, Sasktchewan took time from their busy life to tell us a bit about themselves. The husband is a banker for RBC - but his first love is definitely golf. Hence the name of the B and B - The Golf View. His wife had just been appointed principal of a K to Grade 12 school of 63 students. Needless to say, they were having difficulty finding a Science specialist to work a part of a day to teach the senior students. We were greeted by husband and wife in Golden, B.C. The husband was off with his son to paint new houses in Inverness. In Sorrento, B. C., an older couple own an extraordinary house with a gorgeous view overlooking Shushwap Lake. They do missionary work in Africa each year. "join us for tea and telebision this evening, if you wish", they intone. We join them and are delighted with their open, accepting view of the world. In the morning we eat breakfast in a gorgeous atrium with a yellow canary freely flying around the Italian wrought iron tables and chairs while we look out the window at chickadees at the feeder.

At one of the B and B's we met a couple from a tiny university town in Wales who had travelled extensively and worked as Librarians in Baltimore. They told us of their travels in Europe.

We moved into the States. In a campground near Port Angeles, Washington, evening was approaching as we saw a youg couple standing beside their van looking rather confused. They are a Swiss couple from Zurich - he, a plumber of 23 years old, she a possible student at the cusp of choosing her future. She is 19 years old. They were looking for somewhere to pay their campsite fees. Many campsites at this time of year are on an honour system and have little or no staff - so you leave money in an envelope. Martin and Melanie join us for their first Indian meal in a rathe good restaurant in small Port Angeles. They explain that they are afraid to cook because they had encountered several bears and bear cubs in their campsite the night before near Cowichan on Vancouver Island. He also explained that he was travelling for 6 months. He had already spent 10 weeks in a language school learning English in North Vancouver (his English was remarkably good!). He'd stayed with a homestay family. Melanie was travelling with him for only three weeks and then returning to Zurich from Seattle. Martin had bought the car from his host family and planned to sell it at the end of his time in North America. What a pleasant time we had with them!

There are also those wonderful people who we know and love - they are the friends and family who have nurtured and fed us after nights of camping in our van. They take us touring and hiking in Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria. Give us clean sheets and lovely wine and desserts. We are treated like royalty. We move down to the U. S. and have more wonderful hospitality in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, San Diego. These are the priceless coterie of individuals and families who envelope us in hospitality and warmth! Thank you!

Victoria--Capital of British Columbia

Monday, October 2nd

Arieh here. We are now on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, USA. We enjoyed four great days here with our good friends, Jan Nolan and Brian Yellin, transplants from Toronto. We also saw some other friends and, of course, relatives. Where DON’T we have these two types of people??


If you think Vancouver is nice, forget it! Victoria wins hands down with cleaner air, smaller population, less traffic and wonderful views (picture above)—most of the above changing rapidly. On the other hand, Victoria does seem to “fold up” well before midnight—sort of like all the flowers here. The three home-cooked meals were great—our friends and relatives split the duties. One night was wonderful Portuguese food cooked by my nephew-in-law, John DeMedeiros. The food was from fresh and organic local products from their stores (Ploughshare and Ambrosio in Victoria). The menu was Portuguese salt-cod with eggs, onions and olive oil; roasted potatoes, steak, fruit and home-made wine. Who needed dessert? Neice Jodi took care of the talking and beautiful baby Vianna. The next night pediatric specialist, Dr. Rafi Beck, handmade (from scratch) a very good quiche and bar-b-qued the salmon. Spouse, ESL specialist Dr. Dahlia Beck, engaged us during the afternoon and evening in lively and challenging conversation and up-dating of our 30-year old relationship. (Dahlia was my Hebrew language teacher in Jerusalem in 1973 and we have met over the years in Haifa, Toronto, Calgary, back in Israel and now in Victoria). The third meal was finally done by a woman--Jan Nolan. OK, Brian did some of the work (actually a fair chunk). Fresh halibut, stir-fry, special salad and raisin challah. Don't forget the wine at both second and third meals. The fourth meal was possible because we delayed our departure by one day (to Monday AM) and we were justly punished. Jodi cooked--fresh veggies, free-range chicken and a great Greek salad. I would be remiss if I forget to tell everyone of the two lunches cooked by Chuck and Claire Waldman. Homemade pear pie, omelettes, waffles, salads and garlic bread--yummy! I think I gained 3 KG in Victoria alone. Can't speak for Val.

We finally left Victoria on Monday morning via a ferry to Port Angeles, Washington. We took Brian's sage advice ("don't worry--no need for a reservation") and missed the ferry by two cars. Had a wonderful day walking around downtown Victoria and Beacon Hill Park (see picture of Mile "Zero" of the Trans Canada Highway) and finally left at 4 PM. Goodbye Canada! See you in 11 months.

Vancouver--back "home"

Wednesday, September 27th

Arieh here. We are now in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, after spending 5 beautiful sunny days in Vancouver and another day on northern Vancouver Island. Our hosts, Phil and Corinne Yacht (my maternal cousins), could run a great B & B if they wanted to do so.



All these stories about rain in Vancouver—no evidence this trip (except for the night we arrived). Every day was progressively warmer and more pleasant. Val and I walked the beaches and seawall of Stanley park (pictures above), the different neighbourhoods that have changed so much since we lived there, visited friends and family and checked up on e-mails (although we did not respond to many of them). One of our young transplanted Toronto friends (AM) was sooooo enthusiastic every time she saw the mountain view. Her comments were humorous, but accurate.

In addition to the great walks in the city, Corinne and I went on a real hike at the tip of Grouse Mountain (named after the bird shot there by the “namer” of the mountain).



We skipped the Grouse Grind and took the gondola to the top. The “crazies” do the GG—many run it. Essentially, straight up stairs for one to 1 ½ hours with no view until you reach the top! Go figure Vancouverites. On the other hand, the gondola gets you to the top with not much effort and then we enjoyed our 4-hour return hike to the top of Goat Mountain (also named after an unfortunate victim). At the top of Goat Mountain we had a spectacular view of the other Coast mountains and a nice picnic lunch. (pictures above) The quiet of the hike and lunch was stunning—a Monday morning in late September doesn’t produce a lot of hikers and there is nothing else there but birds and small wildlife. No bears (or scat) on our trip, although there were cautionary postings. At the end of the hike, we had lattes with our feet up overlooking the view one gets from the top of Grouse Mountain. This sort of weather makes you want to move here…until you get to Victoria.

Through the Rockie Mountains and the Fraser Canyon

Thursday, September 21st

Arieh here. We arrived in Vancouver last night amid a steady stream of rain—what else you ask? Fortunately, the weather improved after we left Calgary and only rained as we approached Vancouver. We left Calgary on Monday on a relatively warm (12 C) and sunny day. We stopped in Lake Louise, walked to the end of the lake and back (1 hour and flat—see pictures below) and had a wonderful lunch of Rye Vita crackers, Cheddar cheese, peanut butter, jam and grapefruit juice out of the back of our van. For dessert we had apples.



As vast and unbroken the Prairies are, the Rockies are vast and very “broken”. The drive along the Trans Canada through Kicking Horse pass (elevation ????) is awesome. Every time I see those mountains I am still stuck by how high they are and how beautiful they look with snow on their tops. Most of the day was clear skies, but even with some cloud cover at the top, the mountains still look BIG.

One of the “human” stories of the Rockies is the building of the railroads. There are numerous points of interest along the way to Golden telling this story. One viewing area shows the idea of “spiral” tunnels (borrowed from the Europeans) where the engine of long trains can be seen exiting from the upper tunnel while the end of the train has not yet entered the lower tunnel. The track is literally “spirally” through the inside of the mountain.

Golden has a nice B & B (Country Comfort—877.644.6200) as it was too cold to sleep in the van. Golden is situated in a valley surrounded by towering mountains. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to get a great view. On the other hand, we did see a covered wooden bridge made of local trees (some of them 1,000 years old) built and erected in 24 days (picture below).


The second day out of Calgary was spent driving to Shushwap Lake, just east of Kamloops, and walking around the Rogers Pass area of the Selkirk Mountains. A memorable short walk was along an abandoned railway path that is now interrupted by the lack of train tressles crossing one river two times. The supports made of quarried rock are still there but no wooden bridges. We spent the night at another great B & B (O’Reillys Place—250-675-3145) overlooking Shushwap Lake (picture above). Great food and interesting owners.



Our last day before Vancouver was divided up between walking (See Val and her Tilley hat) in a provincial park (watching the Sockey salmon return to spawn and die) and driving through the Fraser Canyon. Every 4 years the adult salmon travel from the Pacific Ocean up the Fraser River to Adams Lake. There they lay their eggs and die. Millions of these salmon are doing this. Unfortunately, we saw only about 30 of these fish as we were about one week too early. The good news was that we missed the crowds of people. The drive through the Fraser Canyon was planned, cancelled due to rain and clouds and then done as planned. What a treat—a little longer drive than the new highway through the Okanagan region of B.C., but definitely worth it and not to be missed. The weather cleared in Kamloops and just west of the city one is now looking at semi-arid brush land, cattle and hay country (picture above). The Thompson River has cut deeply through the land and winds along the way to its meeting place with the Fraser River. Where they meet, the land then turns into a mountainous canyon area created by the speed of the Fraser as it flows to the Pacific—the same river the salmon have to go up! The two Canadian transcontinental railways used this route to connect Canada back in the 1880s and 90s—one on each side of the river canyon. There ain’t a lot of room there, but it was created by a lot of pickaxes, shovels, dynamite and muscle. The weather was sunny and coolish in the canyon, but I know from experience the area can be like a furnace in the summer.