Back into the swing of things

I did not start hiking again on Monday, as my motor gate is on the blink. I needed to wait for Stuart to come and repair it.  The micro processor is damaged.  For the time being I am using a padlock.  What was helpful is that whilst waiting for him, I started to tackle the water grass which is making my lawn look so unkempt.

With the onset of rain, there is not much else that I can do in the garden until it lets up a little. As it is still basically winter, the peas and beans are growing at a rate of knots.  The baby spinach is also doing quite well.  Of course, the radishes are happy - almost ready for harvesting, although I note that insects are already aware of that, caterpillars in particular.  They seem to be quite prolific at this time of year.  There are some tiny tomato plants sprouting, along with an assortment of lettuce.

I resumed hiking today.  We went back up into the Silvermine Reserve.  Today's hike was 8 kms, with an increase in altitude of 350 metres.  We hiked to the Amphitheatre:

A map available in the amphitheatre

Proteas prolifically spread around the mountains

A view across peaks in Silvermine and on into False Bay

The wonderful thing about Silvermine is the astonishing number of routes that one can take through the mountains.  The views along these routes are ever changing as part of False Bay or the Hout Bay wide of the coast become visible through the mountain tops.  

Today was cloudy, but warm, except for the gusting wind which was very chilly.  This made the walk interesting, as when one was exposed to the wind, one kind of had to cling onto rocks to keep one's balance.  When one was protected it was hot and sweaty.

Tuesdays are popular walks.  There must have been over twenty of us.

Afterwards we went for coffee at the Lifestyle Centre in Westlake Business Park.  It was quite fun putting several tables together, and laughing and chatting in the euphoria which follows a completed hike.

I have posted a further photograph of the hike on Project 365.

Time passes quickly when one is having fun

We have arrived at 28th August.  The days having been slipping quickly and silently by.  During the past week, I have got my life back on track.  From next week I will revert to my pre-travel routine.

Progress to date means that my Project 365 is fully up to date.  I have 'cheated' just a little.  Having not been taking photographs during the past week, I have taken some of the travel pictures and posted them for the past week.  I will resume taking my photograph a day today.

I now have 32 Korean posts on A Light Traveller.  I have reached Thursday 11th August.  There is still a way to go. 
Here is some light entertainment to perk up this post a bit:

Dancing on top of a light fitting at the Seoul National Museum of Art

Drowning in Photographs

I cannot believe that I have basically spent one and a half days going through the photographs of my departure trip and my first evening and part of the first day in Seoul.  Except for a short jaunt off to PnP to price things like noodles and seaweed [gasp - R48-odd a packet], a trip to the vet with Pigaloo, and a handful of scrabble turns, I have managed to post nine posts on A Light Traveller and three posts on Project 365.  I am busy sorting the photographs of my first full day in Seoul and I am already exhausted!  I've managed the Trip to Technomart, three on the Olympic Park and one dedicated to the national flower of Korea, being the Rose of Sharon.  I still have our trip to Home Plus and Supper to cover.  If I had published all of the piccies from the Olympic Park, Blogspot would have had to buy an extra server :).  


It probably sounds a bit arb to include shopping trips in a travel blog.  It is just that shopping there was SO different.  The products, the foods, the methods of selling and merchandising are all so different.

I have updated my Project 365, again with the Rose of Sharon.  I simply cannot get over the delicacy of this flower.  How it survives the monsoon rains with the concurrent squally winds I can't imagine.

Just to perk this post up a bit, I am publishing one of the photographs that did not make it onto A Light Traveller in the context of the Olympic Park.  It is one of the flora around the lake in the park:

Korea amazes me.  I wasn't really there during tourist season.  I wasn't there at cherry blossom time.  I wasn't there in autumn when the tree foliage turns into a patina of oranges, reds, yellows, greens and browns.  Yet it remains beautiful.  I suppose every country does.  I also suppose that a fuller impact of this country hit me because everything was new and different, untasted, untested and untried.  As a consequence little was taken for granted.  I suppose that that is why travel is so appealing.  One acquires new senses as one experiences new sights, tastes, smells, noises, textures, cultures and art forms.  Little was taken for granted.  Whatever, I am so glad that I got to experience it.  Thanks, Dani, for making my time there so rich in experiences.

Home again, home again, jiggedy, jog

Home again after two weeks in Korea.  It seems only yesterday that I was gearing to go, and here I am back again.  When I say Korea, it was Seoul - the Soul of Asia, as they say.  Having not been to any other part of Asia, it is difficult for me to comment on this saying.  What I can say is that from what I observed, Korea has a vested interest in a lot of the concepts which we understand to make up the soul and the spirit of mankind, with kind being the operative word.  Koreans, in a lot of ways, have a culture and lifestyle to be envied by many a Westerner.

The primary objective of the trip was to spend time with my daughter, Dani.  Which I did.  We spent almost every moment with each other during the time that I was there.  The memories of this time are things that I will cherish.  I have secreted away several highlights for my treasure chest - the place where I go when I want to savour precious moments - as I drift off to sleep, or as I become aware through 'triggers' in the future which will remind me of the time that we spent together.

Ahead of me is the editing of simply thousands of photographs which I will post on A Light Traveller over the next few days.  This is my first post - the leg between Dubai and Seoul, where my seat was upgraded from Economy to First class.

My second post is of my first evening in Seoul, spent browsing through the Amsa Market
My third post, also from my first evening in Seoul, is some of what we saw In an around Amsa

Whilst I was away some positively wonderful things happened in the garden:

Spinach

Broad Beans

Giant Mustard

Square Foot Garden

I am starting to update my Project 365, for the time being for August 6th and August 7th retrospectively.

Other blogs and projects

I have not updated Lesson in Light since 2nd August.  I have updated Project 365 for Today, and for Tomorrow.

Catch up and look forward

Yesterday was a busy day.  Amongst the myriad of 'to dos' was a most important item.  Somebody is a birthday girl soon.  I posted her parcel:

Address deliberately blurred

I completed another 'special project' item:

Aren't the colours simply gorgeous?

Is that a little pea I see?

The square foot garden is looking very healthy.  The plants are tiny, but there are lots of them.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiking above Suikerbossie

Today's hike was above the Suikerbossie Restaurant.  It was an 8km or so hike, with a climb of about 150 metres.  As always, the beauty of the Cape Peninsula glowed from every vista that the eye rested on.  I have posted piccies at Lesson in Light.  Here is one piccie of fellow hikers in one of the waterfall ravines:

This walk is really very beautiful.  There are spectacular views across the Atlantic Ocean stretching from Llundudno, as well as spectacular views over Noordhoek beach out towards Kommetjie and across to Hout Bay.

We stumbled across a very touching grave - Donovan's grave.  Donovan's owners laid him to rest in a place that had been very special to him.  You can see a picture of his grave on My Project 365.

The rest of the day?  Admin, house tidying, knitting club this evening.

Muizenberg to Kalk Bay Beach Walk

Monday walks are lovely.  Mostly they involved the beach.  This particular walk is one that I can do any time, in any weather.  It is beautiful.  From Muizenberg to St James there is a Cat Walk on the beach side of the railway track.  After St James there is a very short stumbly bit on the beach itself, and then a lovely stretch of sand, before walking through the subway under the railway tracks to a small park-like area between the railway track and the Main Road, where one can stop for tea.  When we got back to Muizenberg, we went to Knead for coffee.  The place buzzes all the time.  The temptation to indulge in one of their superb pastries or interesting breads was overwhelming but I resisted.  I did succumb to one of their wonderful coffees.  Don't you love the way they make patterns in the cream on top?

Here is the start of the walk:

There are more pictures at Lesson in Light.  There is another of graffiti painted onto the walk of Muizenberg station which I thought well worth taking.  One can read it two ways - posted on Lesson in Light.

 I updated My Project 365 for today.

Outside of the walk, today was a fairly busy day - finalising some administration, preparing parcels for postage, taking Pigaloo to the vet, bits in the garden, bits on the knitting.  I achieved a lot, and managed to remove all but four items on my 'to do' list for this week.  The outstanding items need other events to take place before I can finalise them.