On the road to Toubab Dialao, Senegal
Showercurtainsnutscellphonesbeadscoconutsbaggedjuicesmonopolyshoessockssocksandmoresocks...coloredfabricshighheeled shoescigarettesballoonsmatchesandpencils. The Walmart of Senegal walks on two legs and meets you at intersections and traffic choke points, hands extended. There is nothing you can t buy from the inside of your car :).
Today, a trip down the coast to Toubab Dialao ... a tiny fishing village south of Dakar. Tomorrow heading North:
Dakar, Senegal
A pre dawn arrival and just a few of us get off the plane here, the rest going on to South Africa. A rush of warm, humid air with the combined scents of grass and diesel... a search for an ATM then ride into the town center in a dusty, old cab manned by an impossibly tall, lean man.
Only cabs and buses are on the roads, with mini buses so packed that door are left open and people spill off the sides and out the back. People in long flowing robes .. hand carts filled with all types of goods are pushed along the side of the road. Children carried in their mothers backs in a piece of cloth.
We make our way from faster moving highways to twisting, tiny back roads filled with pedestrians and potholes. Shacks made from boards with rusted metal tops offer haircuts, cell phone cards, nuts and bagged juices. People are lit up only by the headlights of the passing cars.
We finally make our way to the hotel and I check in just as the power goes out and roosters start to crow. Next off to explore!
A wash of red and white. A swarm over Union Square, down Chestnut Street and through the Mission. Hundreds of Santas appeared out of cars and taxis and from every direction off the streets to join in the fray. The San Francisco Santacon -- a jolly, annual santa-driven pub crawl that is not to be missed!
Urgup, Turkey
Like a honeycomb, cave homes were etched out of the hillsides in Urgup long ago, and as nearby Cappadocia grows some have converted into novel cave hotels. During our visit, we ended up staying at the recently opened Melekler Evi cave hotel.
It's a completely unique experience to stay in one of their rooms... The ceilings and walls are entirely made out of a light, soft stone with tens of thousands of etch marks from the first excavation. Tiny alcoves hold candles that blacken the ceiling above them, and ancient rusted hardware is still driven into the walls. Heavy quilts, wood furniture and and throw rugs help with the fall chill. Just light gauze curtains separate rooms. And there is silence that only thick stone walls can bring.
Dinner in a tiny dining room in front of a warm fireplace .... a bottle of wine from the hotel's cave wine cellar.... perfect little refuge.
Umut
Picture credit Melekler Evi
Before heading off on any travel, be sure to get immunizations updated. The very best place to go is a dedicated travel clinic where they can input your destinations and recommend shots based on the most current travel requirements, time of year and location.
Be sure to get in about 6 weeks in advance as some shots require a series, and some medications like anti-malarials need to be started in advance of travel.
The best place I've found in San Francisco is The Adult Immunization Clinic, voted Best in the Bay for getting a shot in the arm - professional, fast and thorough. On the menu for me this time? Meningitis, HepA/HepB, Typhoid, Malaria, Yellow Fever.
Immunization Cafeteria
And just so we remember why immunizations are important:
On the spur of the moment, and surfing airline sites for good last minute deals, I just picked up a late ticket to Senegal.
About size of South Dakota, and with a population of 12 million (nearly all rural), Senegal seems like the perfect destination for a small adventure. It has lengthy stretches of white sand beaches punctuated by small fishing villages, offers beautiful natural scenery in the dunes of the North and tropical forests of the South, and presents the opportunity to visit The Gambia, an exceptionally linear and small country embedded in Senegal's borders.
First priorities are immunizations and visas. From there I plan not to plan - no preset destinations, hotel room bookings or agendas - and just see where the country takes me.
I continue to be a huge fan of Kiva with a most recent loan going to the Jeg Diam Group from the small west African nation of Senegal. This business approached Kiva to request a loan for purchase of equipment for processing fruits and vegetables and is just one of thousands of businesses Kiva has helped succeed through micro loans. Fantastic idea and fantastic charity.
(Shown below: The Jeg Diam Group)
"Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty and is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to unique entrepreneurs around the globe."
Istanbul, Turkey
The air cools by 5-6 degrees as we walk down the stairwell into the dimly lit underground cistern. Unending rows of thick stone columns, flat, motionless black water and the sound of dripping water - eyes adjusting. The occasional drip falling onto a bare arm or camera.
The underground cistern in Istanbul was one of my very favorite spots in the city.
Urgup, Turkey
Cobblestone streets and roosters running free. A hillside dotted with caves and half collapsed houses. Grape tressles, abandoned donkey carts, cats prowling for dinner and the sound of bells on wandering sheep.
Urgup is built on a base of ancient history and alive with the metabolism of unspoiled small town - and a perfect place to stay while visiting Cappadocia.
-- A few pictures from a beautiful sunset walk below --
Urgup, Turkey
We were out for a sunset walk in the hillside town of Urgup when this little girl came up to me, her hand extended. In it was a light blue hair clip with sparkles - a prized little girl possession - and a gift she insisted on giving, despite protestations, to the visitor wandering her streets.
Tiny emissary -- the most beautiful welcome may come in the smallest of packages.
kız çocuk
A little roadside stand touts the power of the apricot.
'nough said :)
Over doors, on rear view mirrors, on the tail of a plane - its image in the design of a pool. Plain or be-tassled the evil eye glass, meant to ward against the evil eye, is a beautiful wash of blue to be found absolutely everywhere in Turkey.
nazar boncuğu
goat jam (n): vehicles jammed together or otherwise unable to move except slowly due to obstruction by a herd of goats
Selimiye, Turkey
The car drives up out of the tiny town and into the hills and dark - winding roads, a hill back down and we're at the edge of the water. Our taxi, a small motorboat ambles in from the dark. We pile in - not too many people on one side please - and go motoring off into the near black, a slight wind.
A small restaurant, only accessible by boat, comes into view - two tiers, perfectly landscaped to fit into the hillside. A moon, delicious food, candles and the quietest of conversations. Light on the water.
As the night continues on just a few of us remain. Another guest picks up a guitar and playing flamenco-style music, singing and bantering into the night. Magic.
ay ve su
Of minarets and turkish coffee, a dance on the Bosphorous and feta cheese, the chant of soccer fans, a 'beware if you're a pedestrian', a boat ride out into a turquoise sea.
To follow, a few images from my 15 days in Turkiye.
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A short video of my brother and I climbing the 'Magical Chrome Plated Semi-Automatic Enema Syringe' route at Lumpy Ridge this past weekend (and isn't that just a great route name?)
Mountain pines, fluttering aspens, marmotspikaschipmunksprariedogs, and weather that moves from sun to the rumble of thunder and back to sun again in the matter of just minutes, the route is just outside beautiful Rocky Mountain Park in Colorado.
A new favorite charity, Smile Train offers operations to children with cleft lips free of cost. A small contribution can have an unbelievable impact on the entire course of a child's life.
If you haven't already seen it, the 'Smile Pinki' documentary paints an inspiring picture of the impact these operations have, following a child from village to hospital and back home again.
A gorgeous rendition of Love Story (Taylor Swift) mashed with Viva la Vida (Coldplay)
Piano / Cello - by Jon Schmidt
One of my great passions is for tools that make common but painful tasks easy.
Recently, it was a great pleasure to work with a team on the release of a new, free performance review tool at SuccessFactors called EasyReviews. EasyReviews a simple, web based review tool that should allow an individual manager to write a professional review in about half the time. It has been tested to ensure users can get up and running immediately and was built with a 'less is more' approach.
I hope people give it a try!
..... little rabbit thing. I want a whole basket of them.
For a chance to channel your inner superhero, check out IFly in Union City for some indoor flying.
A short video clip of my flight at IFLY followed by a clip of the instructor doing some amazing moves!
"It began at 5:48 Eastern time this morning. This year the Canadian government will allow commercial sealers to slaughter 280,000 seals for their fur."
While certainly not the only animal-related industry that should be scrutinized, one that uses the practice of clubbing to kill animals for fur stands out as especially horrendous.
Donations can be given to the Humane Society here. More information on the seal hunt and wins against it are here. I donate every year in the hopes that organizations like the Humane Society can bring enough public pressure against this industry to shut it down.
A gorgeous picture of Saturn from within its own shadow, taken by the spacecraft Cassini. The faint blue dot at 10 o'clock just outside the bright rings is our own Earth. Simply beautiful.
(Credits: Jan, 11 2009 Astronomy Picture of the Day, via NASA and the Cassini Imaging Team. Check out the Cassini Imaging Team site for more spectacular images.)
glowing fish, littleredfrog,
fleet of stingrays, snakethatwasabranch
redyellowturquoisepurplegreen fish
penguincuriosities
butterfly-filled rainforest. world of stars.
On a first visit to the San Francisco Academy of Sciences, a wonderful world of nature's colors, adaptations, ancient holdovers, oddities, and treasures was to be found. I'm looking forward to a return visit, and the upcoming NightLife Events starting February 12th!
(credit: panther chamleon, alexandre ewen)
(source: http://www.marvitours.com/)
In a pile of blankets, waking, fresh snow falling, bare feet slide into boots, for an early morning wander.
The muffled silence of a snow-covered wood, and the crisp scent of winter mingled with pine and woodsmoke.
The smooth white surface of an unplowed road. A long wander, now more snow falling, numb fingertips, wet toes. A forest waking with the sound of a rising wind.
Back to a cozy cabin, pile of blankets, warm fireplace and sleeping.
Crackling fire and warmth-of-candle as seen through a Cabernet.
Tahoe, January 2009
Just had to share this gem circulating via email....
(Here's a letter the teacher received the following day.)
Dear Mrs. Clancy,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer. I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot. From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.
Sincerely,
Mrs.Waters
On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on Vixen.... on Comet...
A collection of reindeer in celebration of the holidays. Next up, we add the antlers.
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Skittle-colored mock stone, catwalks and cubby holes.
A wall-sized view of Golden Gate and the Bay.
Welcome to San Francisco's newest climbing gym. Based in the Presidio, it is placed in one of the most arguably scenic locations in the city. And I can't wait to get feet to wall!
(Pictures from the new Planet Granite climbing gym)