Time to move on! Again?

Yes we are still in Colca Canyon but now we are being driven along the dirt roads and the dust.....oh la la!!

 But the scenery is the reward...still mountains everywhere but we can see that agriculture has taken over from the tourist trade. And the long history of the Incas show their understanding of preparing difficult sites along with skillful drainage resulting in success.

Obviously the roads have been simply cut through the mountains and hillsides to provide access. The dust soon settles to reveal greens and browns of the agricultural valleys. We are on the way to Machu Pichu...and not before time. Our legs are demanding some action and we will get it. But before we do move out of the luxury of our car we are held up by much traffic as floods have destroyed the road and mostly the railway access. A tourist sales point meets us and before we know it we are on one of the buses to the top of this ancient mountain range.

So who sees what I see?

OK so Peru is fascinating but does anyone ever stop long enough to notice the growths on the rocks or the patterns these moss or lichens make? I do. I love the colours especially and as I traipsed behind our guide I stopped long enough to stop staring at the mountains. My camera and I couldn't help but take pictures. See what you think.

 Well this is not moss or lichen but it stopped me long enough to admire the colour and its origin. And it left me way behind the stroll our guide had planned for us as the picture shows.

And here are the colours...and patterns. I felt sorry for the ones in front because for all they could see they missed the most beautiful part of nature. Not something Mr. and Mrs, average tourist would look for...agreed?
Fungus it may be but there is beauty in its
negativity. So if Colca Canyon is for you don't forget to look for these beautiful rocks on the path along the mountain top.

One never stops learning!

And reading is the door or one of the doors if left open will lead us in. I hadn't read either of these books before this. And I thought with all the publisher's promotion the book

could only be a dead loss. Alright I'll buy the original 'To Kill a Mocking Bird'. Why not? Perhaps 'Go Set a Watchman' shouldn't be read without the reading of the first book. And in a way I was right. Both books were like peas in a pod. In fact the reference to the first book 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by those whose comments were based on literary experience often irritated me. And the many referrals to incidents in the youth of the main character bored me in the second book. In my mind I had been there and done that. I had, more than I expected, learnt to identify with "Scout" and "Jem" so why did I have to re-visit their childhood? I didn't like "Scout" all grown up. I loved her speaking as a child and much younger than her brother. Perhaps her attempt as a 'Tom Boy' and her resistance to act as a lady rang a bell with me. I too behaved and dressed like a boy in a family of five girls and no father. But then the philosophy behind the issues struck. And I realised what a magnificently intelligent writer Harper Lee was and still is, if the rumour of her third book comes to be true, then let me be the first to buy it. But Harper Lee has been quoted as saying that she would never write or publish another after her first. Let's hope she''ll change her mind! What's more her interests are listed as reading, watching politicians and keeping to herself! She is now in her eighties. And she is pressing my buttons. Her interests are my interests and I haven't even reached the seventies.

But my travelling BLOG must go on...!

Where were we? Oh yes! The top of the mountains to you!! In this case it was the amazing mountain range of South America...the ANDES. But on on and we find ourselves  in the Colca Valley.








And while the Spanish is difficult to decipher we understand what is most important...the black and white birds known for their enormous wingspan.

Family is all important in the morning sun as at all times.
The male birds dressed formally in their strange looking caps.

And is it my imagination or not but does one of these figures dressed as a women have signs of a mustache and beard?
Of course items are for sale for the tourist. Click on the images to enlarge.

And 'seeing' this is supposed to be a travel BLOG!......

It is! Travel to the local optometrist it is. For pure health reasons I decided to have that check-up on my eyes. Yes it was some POSTS ago that I explained how the mysterious white circle appeared in my left eye...never changing in size or in position...it just sits there...and looks!! But after my DEAD SEA experience it worried me. My eyes didn't bleed after two or three days exposure to the salt as the eyes of the retired surgeon's had done but the experience did make me nervous...despite the thorough fresh water flush.
But it is all good news! Although the circle is present there is no sign of permanent damage. The optometrist wasn't even convinced that the damage had been caused by the heavy salt exposure. 'Sometimes these marks can be left after a heavy rubbing of the eye'...oh, oh, that sounds like me, I thought guiltily.
'But why not take a picture of the back of the eye just to make sure everything is fine.'

 IT IS? INTERESTING! But....if you say so...I'll believe you! Nice picies!! Left or/and right...I can't tell. But ON! ON!
Click on to enlarge...maybe you can make sense of them!

Right! This would be or should be the coldest weekend ever in Australia!

But at least we have oxygen. I can only think of our trip to the highest point of the Andes mountain range. It was summer but it was cold...brr..brr... thinking how everyone was clambering for the little bit of sunshine that was available. But...we were warned don't take too long you'll be short of breath even before you finish that 'life-saving' cup of tea.

And looking around us we noticed just how warmly dressed or rugged up the locals were.

Much was for sale...any garment just to warm us up but...it was the hats which caught my eye. When I asked our guide she told me that the shape of each hat showed the region where the individual actually came from. I couldn't resist and bought one in black...this would look good on our hat tree at home I figured.
   Of course I had just enough breath left to buy a few brightly coloured cloths...anything to make a small donation to the local economy. We couldn't fit the Alpacas into the car...a question asked of me by my partner...but instead we bought four on our return to Toodyay WA. And some sheep of course so that the Alpacas would be able to supervise them...keep those great big kangaroos away or just hob-knob over the fence...which they did successfully... unfortunately.












Fancy ancient buildings? No just prepared for what goes in must come out! Yes toilets...long drop or chemical? I'll never know.

If you wear gloves...

Yes that's how I feel in this cold, cold,weather. Hang the idea of losing weight while walking! I did put the book 'walk yourself thin by walking' somewhere i would see it whenever I turned into the kitchen to make myself a snack. But.......reading is better I found. A nice hot chocolate, perhaps the new dark chocolate coated biscuits sold by R......... and a good book. What a way to tackle the 15*C. A few pages and you'll find yourself taken on a journey by the best writer or one of the best Australia has to offer. admittedly he came from Britain as a young man looking to experience the last of the wild in Australia. And he did...as a stockman in the far north but his writing he found more satisfying. And so at the time when the first Australians hope to be included in the revision of our country's history Alex Millar is a great read. At least three to four of his books describe his experience in the Australian outback. But not in a boring way! Try them and see.
For a little bit of history 'Conditions of Faith' lets the reader into 'what women really want' plus the fight for the design of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 'Prochownik's dream' on the other hand is for the reader who is interested in the life of an artist. Yes you've guessed it. I have decided to read my way through my bookshelf and to write about the books and the authors to confirm why I am still hanging on to these gems of literature.
Alex Miller is a fabulous story teller and his efforts have been acknowledged by many competitions. All he needs now is the Nobel prize for Literature. He surely is ready.
 Then there's the blast from the past!


All of a sudden I read about the baby I used to know...Sofia Laguna...who has been an author for some time and all grown up, married and a mother to a small son, who has just won $60,000 for her most recent story published. I just had to read it even if the cover made the book look like it is most suitable to a young reader. It is that also but also a very complex book for the adult. At last someone has had the courage to write about family issues.
And for those who are unusually developed on the autistic spectrum or who feel they know of someone who may have had that experience then this book is for you.
This story had me in tears, I warn you. It leaves the reader to not only identify strongly with the main character but to share empathy with every one of the characters.
So my friends of 40 years ago are seeing their creative genes expressed in the successful writing of their daughter, Sofie. Certainly beats studying Law, Sofie!

For everyone!!