Saturday, June 18, 2011

Day One - Arriving in Martinique (Extremely picture heavy)

5.29.11 : 149/365

One of the first shots of our island home for the next 7 days.


It was fun that we got to fly right over where we were going to stay on our way in. See this tip, right in front, on the left? We were there... fantastic! It's called la Pointe du Bout, and it possesses a really nice beach along the Caribbean Sea, with the calmest, clearest water we'd ever seen; la Plage de l'Anse Mitan.

If you don't know anything about Martinique, let me fill you in. (I'll leave it to the experts, though)

Located in the heart of the Caribbean archipelago, Martinique is one of the Windward islands in the Lesser Antilles group. Its eastern coastline borders the Atlantic Ocean while its western coast is flanked by the Caribbean Sea. The island is 4 350 miles away from France, 1 950 miles from New York and 275 miles from the closest South American coastline. The closest neighboring islands are to the north: Dominica, 16 miles away, Guadeloupe, 75 miles away, and to the south: Saint Lucia, 23 miles away. Martinique is equidistant from the coasts of Venezuela and Haiti/Dominican Republic (497 miles). (via)

Martinique has a surface area of 425 square miles. At its greatest length and width it measures 50 miles and 24 miles, respectively. The rugged mountainous landscape to the north is geologically young. Mount PelĂ©e is the island’s highest peak, culminating at 4 500 feet. The north is characterized by dense forests, rivers and waterfalls. In the center, the Lamentin Plain transitions to the south’s gentler and geologically older landscape of rolling hills. The southern coast is dotted with many picturesque bays and coves. In the southernmost part of the island, a savanna of petrified trees is an unusual geological sight. (
via)
Martinique has a fairly mild climate and the heat is never excessive. Thanks to the average temperature of 79°, Martinique is the island of the “never-ending summer.” The trade winds from the east and northeast provide a steady breeze that constantly refreshes the air.

Due to the tropical climate conditions in Martinique, the island is lush with vegetation: lavish tropical forests, groves, savannas, countless species of trees, fruits, plants and flowers, not to mention the mangrove forests. All in all, the island is an extraordinary garden. The wildlife mainly consists of birds, fish and shellfish, as well as small lizards called “mabouyas” and “anolis”, iguanas and trigonocephalus snakes that are only found in Martinique. The “manicou”, a type of opossum, is one of the rare mammals to be found in the Antilles. The mongoose, however, was introduced by humans to control the snake population. (
via)

Martinique has a multiethnic population. This diversity stems from the cultural mixing of the island’s successive inhabitants: Amerindians, Europeans, Africans, Indians, Levantines and Asians. Approximately one quarter of the population resides in the administrative capital, Fort de France. Martinique is truly a land of tradition and culture, with a rich history of crafts and literature by renowned authors and famous poets, music and dance, lifestyle and gastronomy. Numerous religious denominations are present in Martinique. The official language is French, although everyone speaks Creole, a language that is a blend of Old French, English, and African languages, as well as surviving Amerindian terms (
via)
via

One thing that is not as widely known (as this is not a largely commercial island) is that Martinique is not a country, but rather a department of France


We stayed in a rental apartment just big enough for the two of us, and walking distance to the beach in Trois-Ilets. Actually we weren't in the town itself but Pointe du bout is sort of  an 'outskirt' of the town.

About Trois Ilets;
You can get here by car of course, but also on a ferry from Fort-de-France. The Pagerie Museum is in this town, set up on the spot where Empress Josephine was born. A number of musical and cultural events are organized in the Park of the Trois-Ilets close to the island's magnificent golf club. You must not miss the Market or the Sugar Cane Museum. The pottery center, where the objects are handmade by local craft artists, is also worth a visit. (via)

The first day we spent getting in tune with our surroundings (our 'village');

































Accras de Morue

Planteur Punch


So that pretty much gets you up to speed on the location and details our first day more or less. Hope you enjoy the week-long coverage!

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Introduction to the Third Set of Snippets: Traveling in Iran

It’s time for answers to some questions I’ve been asked a lot: "OK so where is Iran? Where did you go exactly? Did you go with a tour?  What about your leaders and your traveling companions? And OK so what was this outfit you had to wear?"

I can take care of the "Was it safe for you to be there?" question quite easily:  Yes, I was very safe indeed. Safer than one might be in some parts of Oakland. Of course, there are places in Iran and in Oakland where I wouldn't walk alone and especially not alone at night. Most of the time we were visiting places as a group, moving pretty much like a herd of turtles, with Reza, our guide, at the front, and Carolyn, our tour leader, at the rear. (More about them below.) Even so I was careful, watched my surroundings, zipped up my purse, and then completely relaxed into the experience.

If you can think of any questions you'd like to raise, please send me comments. I'd love to respond.

Map and Itinerary

So here is Iran in the center of this map. You’ll find Iraq to the west. Turkey, Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan are up to the Northwest. You’ll find Turkmenistan on the other side of the Caspian Sea. And to the east are Afghanistan and Pakistan. About half the country is covered by mountains and about a quarter of it by deserts. Iran’s population is about 75,000,000. Most live in cities at the base of mountains where natural springs and snow melt can provide water. Tehran, for example, is located at the foot of the Alborz Mountains and is home to nearly 7,000,000 people.

Our itinerary took us to the following cities:
Tehran in the north central part of the country for two nights
Hamadan to the southwest for two nights with side trips to Bisotun and Kermanshah, moving us closer to Iraq
Zanjan heading to the north for one night, stopping at Oljeitu Mausoleum in Soltaniyeh on the way
Tabriz even further north for three nights, stopping at Takht-e Soleiman on the way, with a side trip to Jolfa, close to the border of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Mashhad to the east (240 kilometers from Afghanistan) for two nights with a side trip to Tus
Shiraz in the southwest for three nights with a side trip to Persepolis
Yazd to the northeast of Shiraz on the edge of the desert for two nights, stopping at Pasargadae on the way
Esfahan to the northwest of Yazd for four nights, stopping at Meybod and Na'in on the way

We mostly traveled by bus which allowed us to see the countryside in all its splendid beauty. For the longer distances between Tabriz and Mashhad and between Mashhad and Shiraz, we flew.

Geo Ex, Our Leaders, and My Traveling Companions

Geographic Expeditions (or Geo Ex as it is more often known) is the group that organized and ran our tour called Treasures of Persia, listed as “21 days of Moderate Touring.” Geo Ex has been leading tours to Iran for more than 18 years and is extremely skilled.

















Our trip leader, on the Geo Ex staff, was Carolyn McIntyre who lives in Yemen and has an extremely deep knowledge of the entire region. She was born in Scotland, has a great sense of humor as well as a reassuring presence in the face of sand storms and the like.

















Reza Mirkhalafzadeh was our Iranian guide. He was unbelievably well informed about every aspect of Iran—the history, culture, politics, whatever—and was also articulate, good-humored, and patient. Both brilliant and thoughtful, his erudition astonished me at every turn. He and Carolyn worked beautifully together on all the logistics of our trip. It couldn’t have been better.

Our bus drivers, Reza and Mohammed, were an important part of the success of the tour. Not only were they experienced drivers, they provided our tea and cookie breaks along the road, had hot tea and cold water at hand on the bus whenever we wanted it, and on several occasions made us our lunch, including here at a farm on the way to Yazd.

















There were ten of us on the trip, ranging in age from 66 to 82.The fellow in the middle wearing the hat owns the farm where we had lunch. He grows apricots (2000 trees), peaches, pomegranates, and grapes and drives a John Deere tractor.

Wearing "the outfit"

From the moment we landed in Tehran, before we could leave the plane, all women had to be appropriately garbed. The law says that the only parts of a woman’s body that can be uncovered are her hands and face. From that moment and for the following three weeks, until I was on the plane back to Frankfurt, I wore a head scarf, covering a good part of my hair and neck, a loose long-sleeved jacket that covered my bottom or longer, and long pants or long skirt. I wore sturdy Keen ground grippers---which on this day had walked me through Persepolis. I wore the outfit all the time we were out in public and even in the hotel room if a bellman was delivering a suitcase, for example. I only walked out of my hotel room once without my scarf, took a few steps down the corridor, and quickly turned around before I saw anyone who might be shocked by my gray hair.

Little girls generally have to start wearing some kind of head covering at the age of nine. School girls may have to start wearing them when in school at an earlier age.




Three years ago on my trip to Iran with Fellowship of Reconciliation, we had a fellow traveling with us whose relationship to the group was murky. Our Iranian handler told us that the two of them were friends and that he was traveling with us at his own expense. Whatever. If a scarf slipped too far back on our head, revealing too much hair, he was the one who pulled it up and admonished us to keep covered.

















This time I noticed more leniency on the street in terms of women’s dress. I regularly saw young women wearing three-quarter length sleeves, their jackets more tightly fitted, open-toed shoes, and scarves quite casually draped around their heads. Apparently after the election two summers ago, the government pulled back from so vigorously enforcing the laws and the “morality police” have not been in evidence.

















You can still see women of all ages wearing black chador, the large pieces of black cloth that completely cover your head, shoulders, and body all the way to the ground. It is not required. Older women might be dressed entirely in black underneath the chador. But you can also see younger women wearing chador with jeans and tennis shoes. Within the regulations, there is a fair amount of choice, as you can see from this photo.

Happy Birthday Ash!

5.28.11 : 148/365


You got to see pictures of J's 30th birthday celebrations recently, and now here are some for Ash's twenty-something birthday celebrations at our place...



Yeah, we had Raclette... we're cheese fans, what? :)

Happy birthday (again) Ash! I hope it was everything you hoped for!
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