Perfect carefree days by the pond: swimming, sailing the pontoon with family and friends, writing poems, sunbathing on the dock, picking blueberries from the secret bushes and enjoying a variety of good music at the Ossipee Valley Bluegrass festival. Especially notbale was the all-female Shel band.
Staying at two Maine private campgrounds, Lobster Buoy and MountainView, I had my first American camping experiences, got acquainted with this wondrous Atlantic coast, and its significant tides, and learned from kids about burrowing clams. Also, Lobster Weekend, Owl’s Head lighthouse and the awesome Fort Knox bridge.
My first kitchen party (Ceilidh) was held in complete darkenss in a church hall at Baddeck, a small pleasant touristic town. Fiddling, Gaelic songs, ghost stories, family tales and some dancing animated the evening.
Lobster Cove Lighthouse – life lived on the edge of sea and land, rich in tradition but also in the unexpected. A spirit of generosity and hospitality manifests in a kitchen party thrown by the park authorities. A walk around lighhouse reveals the amazing geology and ecology of the island.
Newfoundland folk music at its best: Jim Paine and Fergus O’Byrne singing of sea, land and love, playing a plethora of instruments. Another serendipitious event on my trip: hearing the soulful sailor song on the radio, I detoured my car to this local show at Woody Point. A highlight of my NL visit!
As an “authentic” Vermont experience, I picked Macintosh apples at Hacket Farm, South Hero, Highly recommended – fresh, fun and inexpensive. Also: Driving to Burlington to take care of my car insurance claim, then rewarding myself with a great Japanese meal at Hana’s.
Clayton Jazz Festival: Kimberly Hawkey, the 10th Mountain Division Jazz band and Studio G from Nashville, all sounded their music over the St Lawrence, as barges were going downstream, then played and sang at night in Clayton’s hangouts. Also brief visit to Lake Onatario and an October Fest in Cape Vincent.
As automn is coming to a close, I kayak over the pond for the last time and take some loon pictures on location, with the row in my hand and the cellphone in the other. We enjoy a great getout with oldies music and beer. Eventually I pack up my wonderful trip, ready (kind of) to resettle in the Middle East…
The Israeli trail can be found in India, complete with the trail’s markers, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, problems, joys. Welcome to India if you want to know Israel!
The home-made Israeli spiritual scene in India ranges from the orthodox Beit Chabad to the innovative Beit Bina with the “Jewish Heart” in between. They all provide a warm home but with some strings attached, and a “protection” from the surrounding overwhelming “spiritual salad”.
My personal spiritual salad is based in some Jewish ideas, with a melange of Eastern, American Indian and other elements, including my childhood books, with an emphasis on physical practices and the connection body-mind. My “core belief”, or perception system, is grounded in the inherent spirituality of Nature and in my scientific understandings.
Sufi Festival, 2019, Ashram Bamidbar, Israel. A wonderful celebration of love, spirituatliy, openess. Great music and dance performances with full audience participation. A variety of enlightening workshops in music, dance, writing, spirit and understanding. Inspirational setup in the deep desert of the Arava.
Amritsar border ceremony is an outlandish event, where two nuclear powers pause to make war look like a cricket match, and where Indian women show off their freedoms to their Pakistani counterparts.
A 15-km Israel Trail group hike at the heart of the Sharon demonstrates country’s variety: Poleg’s riparian nature reserve, kibbutz plantations, and then the splendid renovated Netanya Peromenade complete with views, art, monuments, history, sports.
Oriental Dance Festival Eilat with multiple workshops and performances is an extraordinary international gathering of beauty, art, culture and, yes… extravaganza.
Perfect carefree days by the pond: swimming, sailing the pontoon with family and friends, writing poems, sunbathing on the dock, picking blueberries from the secret bushes and enjoying a variety of good music at the Ossipee Valley Bluegrass festival. Especially notbale was the all-female Shel band.
Staying at two Maine private campgrounds, Lobster Buoy and MountainView, I had my first American camping experiences, got acquainted with this wondrous Atlantic coast, and its significant tides, and learned from kids about burrowing clams. Also, Lobster Weekend, Owl’s Head lighthouse and the awesome Fort Knox bridge.
My first kitchen party (Ceilidh) was held in complete darkenss in a church hall at Baddeck, a small pleasant touristic town. Fiddling, Gaelic songs, ghost stories, family tales and some dancing animated the evening.
Lobster Cove Lighthouse – life lived on the edge of sea and land, rich in tradition but also in the unexpected. A spirit of generosity and hospitality manifests in a kitchen party thrown by the park authorities. A walk around lighhouse reveals the amazing geology and ecology of the island.
Newfoundland folk music at its best: Jim Paine and Fergus O’Byrne singing of sea, land and love, playing a plethora of instruments. Another serendipitious event on my trip: hearing the soulful sailor song on the radio, I detoured my car to this local show at Woody Point. A highlight of my NL visit!
As an “authentic” Vermont experience, I picked Macintosh apples at Hacket Farm, South Hero, Highly recommended – fresh, fun and inexpensive. Also: Driving to Burlington to take care of my car insurance claim, then rewarding myself with a great Japanese meal at Hana’s.
Clayton Jazz Festival: Kimberly Hawkey, the 10th Mountain Division Jazz band and Studio G from Nashville, all sounded their music over the St Lawrence, as barges were going downstream, then played and sang at night in Clayton’s hangouts. Also brief visit to Lake Onatario and an October Fest in Cape Vincent.
As automn is coming to a close, I kayak over the pond for the last time and take some loon pictures on location, with the row in my hand and the cellphone in the other. We enjoy a great getout with oldies music and beer. Eventually I pack up my wonderful trip, ready (kind of) to resettle in the Middle East…
The Israeli trail can be found in India, complete with the trail’s markers, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, problems, joys. Welcome to India if you want to know Israel!
The home-made Israeli spiritual scene in India ranges from the orthodox Beit Chabad to the innovative Beit Bina with the “Jewish Heart” in between. They all provide a warm home but with some strings attached, and a “protection” from the surrounding overwhelming “spiritual salad”.
My personal spiritual salad is based in some Jewish ideas, with a melange of Eastern, American Indian and other elements, including my childhood books, with an emphasis on physical practices and the connection body-mind. My “core belief”, or perception system, is grounded in the inherent spirituality of Nature and in my scientific understandings.
Sufi Festival, 2019, Ashram Bamidbar, Israel. A wonderful celebration of love, spirituatliy, openess. Great music and dance performances with full audience participation. A variety of enlightening workshops in music, dance, writing, spirit and understanding. Inspirational setup in the deep desert of the Arava.
Amritsar border ceremony is an outlandish event, where two nuclear powers pause to make war look like a cricket match, and where Indian women show off their freedoms to their Pakistani counterparts.
A 15-km Israel Trail group hike at the heart of the Sharon demonstrates country’s variety: Poleg’s riparian nature reserve, kibbutz plantations, and then the splendid renovated Netanya Peromenade complete with views, art, monuments, history, sports.
Oriental Dance Festival Eilat with multiple workshops and performances is an extraordinary international gathering of beauty, art, culture and, yes… extravaganza.