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michelemoore · 5 years

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Takhuk

May 28, 2019

Michele Moore Veldhoen

Glow Worms, Men in Stone, Boiled Octopus, and More...

Hello, I hope you are well and heading in your intended direction!

As for me, I am enjoying the wonder of the shrubs in the nearby forest releasing their green scent, and watching a great horned owl mother guard her growing owlet.

Meanwhile, Rogerio and I have been scratching our travel itch.

Whenever we talk about where we might go next, we like to recall past adventures. We make it a rigorous mental exercise, beginning with trying to identify the actual departure date. (I’m happy just coming up with the right year.) Then, before consulting Google Earth we try to name each place we visited, how long we stayed, and what we did there. This is the biggest challenge because we are usually gone for a month or more and travel by train, car, bus, and boat to see a country or a chunk of a country.

Of course the pleasure in this re-take on our trips is remembering the details. The things we did, the human activity we observed, and the amazing natural landscapes we witnessed. Such as, on a pitch black night, finding our way through Australia’s stunning Otway Forest to Melba Gully in hopes the glow worms (not actually worms but rather gnat larvae) would be on display. Which they were. Imagine standing in total darkness, on a wooden boardwalk in a cool damp rainforest hollow (likely crawling with poisonous snakes and spiders), under a forest roof made of leaves the size of picnic benches, surrounded by millions of twinkling white lights. Above, below, and beside us, glow worms displayed their bioluminescent magic, creating a sense of floating in space enveloped by stars. A miraculous display of nature’s playfulness.

Another bright image in my mind is sitting at the top of the centre stadium at Rome’s Foro Italico, a sports complex (originally named Foro Mussolini) watching Swiss tennis legend (and my favourite player) Roger Federer perform his ballet like moves in a match against French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. While the unexpected (and dirt cheap) opportunity to see Federer had me giggling on the bus all the way to the Foro, it was the setting of the match that sent me into fits of joy. We were at the very top of the stadium which seemed as steep as the Coliseum, and the sun was just beginning to set. Decorating the perimeter of the stadium were classic Italian marble statues, all of scandalously over-sized muscular male athletes. (Not sure if Mussolini was making a tribute to himself or the Gods). I happen to love love love the marble statues of Italy, so this view of incredible male form in stone lit in all their splendor by the setting sun, along with the living version down on the court, was almost more than I could bear. I giggled so much at the spectacle the hot calzone in my hand that I had grabbed on the street on my way in became stone cold.

There are stories of hilarity too. Like the crazy bus driver (we thought he was drunk) in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, who either did not understand or did not care that in the dark night and pouring rain we could not be sure of our bus stop. Wanting to get as close as possible to our hotel, we requested the help of others on the bus to try to figure out the right corner. This resulted in several false stops, each of which caused an increase in the driver’s voluminous expressions of contempt. His shouting and cursing (I’m sure he was cursing), did not seem to be disturbing the Vietnamese people on the bus, nor even the other English speaking people trying to help us. Meanwhile, I was whispering to Rogerio that it might be better to ‘just get off the bus right now before the driver slams into a cluster of motorcycles’. But Rogerio was not to be dissuaded, the rain was coming down in sheets and we had no umbrella. (It helps to travel through insane cities like Saigon with someone raised in Rio).

As we squinted out the dirty steamed up windows trying to identify a landmark, the driver seemed to be getting angrier. Suddenly, he hit the brakes and came to a squealing halt, opened the doors, shouted and swung his arm. We looked blankly at the people around us. “He wants you to get off”, someone said. Below us on the road was a pool of water deep and wide as the bus itself. “No no!” we called out, “not here, not here!” But this time the bus driver was not to be dissuaded. With a demented laugh he yelled at us while millions of motorcycles and cars ripped by, lights flashing, and brakes and engines screeching. “Rogerio, we have to get off!” We stepped down into the shin deep lake of rainwater and ran through it and toward the nearest building before the driver could douse us in more water. We looked at each other and laughed. Our hotel was around the corner.

But on the hilarious scale nothing can top the octopus story.

Octopus is a very popular appetizer, or tapas, in Spain. On our trip to the Spanish Canary Islands, we first spent a week in Madrid, where we discovered a tapas dish called pulpo a la gallega, which is boiled octopus served in bite sized pieces each floating in delicious olive oil and sea salt, and topped with something (pimento?) to become this chewy, sweet and salty snack served appealingly on a wooden board. I have never liked octopus but learned in Madrid that when it is truly fresh and properly prepared, it can be delicious.

Octopus and all seafood also happens to be one of Rogerio’s favourite things to eat. So when he discovered on Gran Canaria Island that fresh octopus is as plentiful and cheap as bananas, he went overboard. Meaning he decided he wanted to make and eat his own pulpo a la gallega – everyday.

When we arrived at our little apartment tucked away in the far southwestern reach of Gran Canaria, we went grocery shopping. While I went about selecting the basics, coffee, bread, milk, and so on, Rogerio beelined it to the seafood department. “I’m just going to see what they have”, he said. We agreed to meet at the checkout and I tried to caution him not to buy anything complicated for dinner that night.

Twenty minutes later my basket was filled and I was in the queue waiting for Rogerio. When it was almost my turn and he still had not appeared I abandoned my position and went to the seafood department.

There he was, with the kind of childlike Christmas morning grin on his face he only gets when he has discovered something that I know I am not going to be excited about.

“Michele, look at this octopus, did you get olive oil? I’m going to make it the same way they did in Madrid!”

I looked at the case of ice on top of which lay a display of freshly caught squid and sardines and, in the middle, stars of the display, were at least a half a dozen huge creamy pink octopuses, laid out to showcase their key body part, the tentacles.

“Oh no, not tonight, please Rogerio, it’s too complicated. Let’s have something simple or just go out.”

“Don’t worry, you can relax, I’ll do all the work.”

“How much did you buy?”

“It’s so cheap I bought a whole one!”

He pointed to a man in a white apron hunched over a cutting table, working a big knife around the limp body of an octopus.

“That’s Alberto*, he’s chopping it for me, isn’t that great!”

“But you don’t know anything about how to prepare it properly.”

“Alberto gave me a lesson, no problem, you just boil it!”

I stood by, dreaming of a simple dinner of chorizo, cheese, bread, and wine, while Rogerio shouted to Alberto in Spanish something or other, and Alberto laughed and nodded as he handed over a large white plastic bag so heavy he kept one hand under the bag to pass it over the seafood case.

“My God Rogerio how many pounds is that?”

“I think maybe 6 or 7, it’s a lot I know, but it was so cheap Michele!”

“Rogerio, I am not going to eat octopus every day. I want you to know that right now.”

“That’s okay, don’t worry, I’ll eat it.”

Then he dropped the bag in my basket and said, “I’ll meet you at the checkout.”

He had gone to find plastic containers for the 6 or 7 pounds of chopped octopus we were taking home.

Unfortunately, Alberto’s advice to just ‘boil it’, was not the entire story of how to properly prepare pulpo a la gallega. However, Rogerio came up with his own twist and was immensely satisfied with his results. I stuck to the cheese and bread, and stayed out of the kitchen.

Two weeks later, when we took a three day trip to another island, Rogerio packed the two remaining containers of his now frozen because he could not eat it all himself concoction and took them with us. “But Rogerio”, I said, “we will be there only three days let’s just eat out, it will take too much time to shop and cook.”

“What, you want me to throw it out?”

And so, by car and ferry, we travelled between islands with our light luggage and Rogerio’s frozen containers of boiled octopus.

In the end, he did have to throw out some of his octopus but this did not prevent him from wanting to buy another one when we were back on Gran Canaria for another two weeks.

“If you buy another octopus I’m going out to eat every single night, with or without you.”

Fortunately, in our new location in the mountains, there were no octopuses for sale. Up in those delightful mountain villages, one must be satisfied with chicken or pork with one’s gofio and papas arrugadas and mojo picón. All of which was beyond delicious!

We have all known for decades that tourism brings economic benefits to both developed and developing countries and increases collaboration and co-operation (and therefore peace) in the world. But we also know that there have been devastating environmental outcomes from tourism. I have thought a lot about this in the past couple of years, as I watch the world struggle more and more with huge environmental challenges. The good news is that travelers are aware of this and choosing to visit countries that are addressing these problems. It seems tourism has become a key driver of environmental remediation and protection. Certainly this is the case in famous examples such as Uruguay and Costa Rica. In Africa, game parks that cover vast areas anchor that continent’s hope for a burgeoning commitment to sustainability. And then there’s home. Canada attracts millions of visitors because of our sustained commitment to preservation through our national park system. In fact, there are more and more countries seeking recognition as sustainable destinations. For more information take a look at the website for a non-profit that has been tracking these issues for years: Ethical Traveler.

Great to be writing to you, thanks for reading!

www.thetreeswallow.com

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msbeige · 7 years

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Topic: Rebirth | Track: Anchor, Novo Amor| Photo: Melba Gully

Exactly at this time a month ago I was begging for another chance to live. And I was given it. A week after that caffeine incident, there was news about a man who died a few hours shortly after drinking a cup of latte and a bottle of coke on an empty stomach. I would say it is a miracle that I am still breathing.

The life review I had from that near-death experience still stuck in my mind. As fresh as yesterday. I remember telling myself,

If I get another chance to live, I will live it the best I could.

The best I could.

All I wanted more than anything was just to live. To love myself. To breathe. To wake up on my bed with my yellow plush dog on my side. To drink my favourite soya milk every morning. To hear the birds chirping while I play a piano. To paddle to the middle of the ocean and watch the sunset. To live more than I had lived.

So, thank you. Thank you for giving me another chance to experience all these small blessings in life. Since then, life has surprised me with new revelations. Almost everyday. And I have surprised myself by doing the things I had been wanting to do.

First revelation. I began to see some self-improvements. I finally joined a yoga class. I finished four books within a week for the first time in my life. I open up more to my family and they do the same to me. I am tidier. I start reading business books to help me with my career path. I no longer feel agitated as I try to find that peace within me.

Second revelation. Work-wise, I had been having interviews with the Big G, a consulting firm, and a leading travel e-commerce company. And they all went really, really well. After months of job finding and unsuccessful interviews, my sail finally caught the wind and I can see some directions towards where I am heading.

Third revelation. Lately, me and men have been having many strange encounters. They would appear and approach me in unexpected situations. Like how I accidentally met him, who likes to take photos of parallel lines, runs in races, watches indie films, and has 650 books collection, at Kinokuniya after he called out my name to give me his business card. Like how I accidentally met him keeping cool in his usual man bun look and a Pink Floyd tattoo at a hotel bar while I was working as a blogger assistant, taking photos at the hotel where he was working at as a graphic designer. And while I was in my bikini pretending to read a book, he asked if he could join me afterwards. Like how I accidentally met him - an unbelievably adorable man who was 1.9m tall with puppy eyes and muscular arms, an owner of a coffee company, a photographer, and it can just goes on endlessly - in a coffee shop at the outskirt of the city. After a few minutes of talking, he turned out to be my ex-classmate when I was about nine years old. These men I met, they either got my heart pounding or cheeks blushing. But they would come and leave - usually on my call or after they realise my lack of responses and interest in them. No matter how attractive, seemingly Mr. Right he might be, my self-monitoring machine reminds me, ‘No girl, you are done with men for a while until you can fully love yourself.’

As for now, I am doing pretty well in keeping that promise - to live the best I could.

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mazdak31 · 7 years

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Shared route From Melba Gully, Great Otway National Park to Torquay via Great Ocean Rd/B100 and Red Johanna Rd. 5 hr 26 min (297 km) 5 hr 29 min in current traffic 1. Head south-west on Melba Gully Rd 2. Turn right to stay on Melba Gully Rd 3. Turn right onto Great Ocean Rd/B100 4. Turn right to stay on Great Ocean Rd/B100 5. Turn right onto Red Johanna Rd 6. Turn right onto Old Coach Rd 7. Arrive at location: Johanna Beach GOW Campsite 8. Head east on Old Coach Rd towards Red Johanna Rd 9. Turn left onto Red Johanna Rd 10. Turn left onto Great Ocean Rd/B100 11. Turn left to stay on Great Ocean Rd/B100 12. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Great Ocean Rd/Morris St/B100 13. Arrive at location: Port Campbell 14. Head west towards Great Ocean Rd/Lord St/B100 15. Exit the roundabout onto Great Ocean Rd/Morris St/B100 16. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Great Ocean Rd/B100 17. Turn right onto Old Coach Rd 18. Arrive at location: Princetown Recreation Reserve & Camping 19. Head north-west on Old Coach Rd towards Great Ocean Rd/B100 20. Turn right onto Great Ocean Rd/B100 21. Continue straight onto Colac-Lavers Hill Rd/C155 22. Continue straight onto Beech Forest-Lavers Hill Rd/C159 23. Turn right onto Phillips Track 24. Turn right to stay on Phillips Track 25. Turn left to stay on Phillips Track 26. Turn right onto Youngs Creek Track 27. Arrive at location: Triplet Falls 28. Head north-east on Youngs Creek Track towards Phillips Track 29. Turn left onto Phillips Track 30. Turn right to stay on Phillips Track 31. Turn right onto Beech Forest-Lavers Hill Rd/C159 32. Turn right onto Forrest-Apollo Bay Rd/C119 33. Turn right onto Great Ocean Rd/B100 34. Turn right onto Great Ocean Rd/Sylvester St/B100 35. Turn right 36. Arrive at location: Apollo Bay Recreation Reserve 37. Head south towards Great Ocean Rd/B100 38. Turn left onto Great Ocean Rd/B100 39. At the roundabout, continue straight onto Great Ocean Rd/Mountjoy Parade/B100 40. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Otway St 41. Turn right to stay on Otway St 42. Turn left onto Clissold St 43. Turn left onto Grand Parade 44. Arrive at location: Lorne 45. Head north on Grand Parade towards Clissold St 46. Turn right onto Clissold St 47. Turn right onto Otway St 48. Turn left to stay on Otway St 49. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Great Ocean Rd/Mountjoy Parade/B100 50. At the roundabout, continue straight onto Great Ocean Rd/Ocean Rd/B100 51. Turn left onto Harvey St 52. Continue straight onto Murray St 53. At the roundabout, continue straight to stay on Murray St 54. At the roundabout, continue straight to stay on Murray St 55. Turn right 56. Arrive at location: Anglesea 57. Head west towards Murray St 58. Turn right onto Murray St 59. At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Noble St 60. Turn left onto Great Ocean Rd/B100 61. At the roundabout, continue straight to stay on Great Ocean Rd/B100 62. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit and stay on Great Ocean Rd/B100 63. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit and stay on Great Ocean Rd/B100 64. Exit the roundabout onto Great Ocean Rd/B100 65. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Geelong Rd/Surf Coast Hwy/B100 66. Exit the roundabout onto Geelong Rd/Surf Coast Hwy/B100 67. Turn right onto Anderson St 68. Arrive at location: Torquay For the best route in current traffic visit

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vaninstalife · 7 years

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#latergram BACK TO THE JUNGLE 🌴🌱🌿🌴 #followｍe in this 3 weeks trip in #australia #Sydney #greatoceanroad #Melbourne #roadtrip 🌏✈️🇦🇺 • • • • • #holidays #travel #travelgram #spring #2016 #oz #nature #outdoor #eastcoast #girlsontheroad #girlsroadtrip #lavershill #melbagully #trees #plants #river #naturephotography #greenery #peace (à Melba Gully)

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monicanudles · 8 years

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Great Ocean Road

3/3 - 3/5 - George had the idea to rent a car to take a road trip and camp along the Great Ocean Road, which was AMAZING and exactly what I imagined Australia to be. I drove the whole time, which was fucking bonkers to get used to. The car wiper blades and turn signals were even on the opposite side, so instead of signaling I pretty much just turned the wipers on a majority of the time, kept going for my seatbelt on the left side and shifter on the right side. We left on Friday after he got out of work and stopped at Castle Cove lookout, even though it was dark, to eat some noms. The sounds of the waves crashing just got me really excited for everything else planned, I’ve always wanted to see clear blue water and REAL waves.

Then we went to see the Melba Gully Glow Worms. They’re the larvae of Fungus Gnats and they have a substance in their body that stores daylight. They live along the rock wall and there’s also a small waterfall (well it’s called Anne’s Cascade so I guess it’s not a waterfall). There’s no light pollution and you could see the Milky Way!! I wish I had a camera that could pick all of that up, because it was incredible and now I get to cross that off my bucket list! I did try using my actual digital camera and the thing died after like 5 pictures, even with freshly charged batteries which are clearly shit. The next morning, we checked out Melba Gully in the daylight and then headed off. There was a “Big Tree” which had obviously fallen over that they had as a sight, but there was an even bigger one so close to it!

We first stopped at Gibson Steps, which was hands down my favorite place. You walk down 86 steps along the cliff face down to the beach, where swimming is not advised... because the waves are amazing!!! They just got even more amazing as we went along! But the cliff face was also just fucking incredible, I have never seen anything like that in my life. I was just in complete awe of the place. I foolishly forgot to take a picture of the steps! But I’m sure a Google search will show them. There was a lot of beach to walk on, on the far right was an incredible cliff face, gigantic rocks on the sand and limestone formations in the water.

Not too much further up the road was the 12 Apostles, which were 12 limestone formations. Now there are only 6, I believe, due to erosion. I would have loved to have been able to climb on top of one of them, or even just be on a boat next to them. I’m super curious as to what the area looked like a million years ago. A lot more tourists started showing up at this point. It was a perfect day for it. I managed to get sunburn on my shoulders though!

Next was Loch Ard Gorge, which was my 2nd favorite spot. There was a small beach, like the ones you see in pictures hidden away in between the cliffs. There was a cave to the right that we tried to go into but the tide was too high. If there weren’t more sights on the agenda I would have definitely stayed there all day. It was a piece of paradise I could have died happily at.

We stopped in Port Campbell at a cafe for some nourishment and then ventured over to The Arch, another limestone formation. The waves near that thing!! Again, amazinngggg, blue water, white foam.. I can’t get over it. I also saw my first wild Australian animal, an Echinda, which is like a giant hedgehog. It was so cute! It’s also known as a Spiny Anteater.

At London Bridge you’re uptop the cliffs, and there are 3 different viewing platforms. It had actually been 2 bridges at one point, there’s a sign that says it collapsed on January 15, 1990 and two people happened to be on top of it and had to be rescued by helicopter. The sand there was dark and pure. There were no shells, no pebbles, nothing. The way the blue water foamed up on the sand just had me perplexed. It was perfection. You could see also little penguin footprints closer to the cliffs, so freaking adorable.

The Grotto was apparently a short walk, but it was a really long walk on a boardwalk and then down an asston of stairs. There were some rebels who were taking pictures on top of the cliff away from the stairs and also who went past the rock separation from the grotto. Naturally, we did the same. It was kinda tough to get pictures of it from afar, so why not? Also, house goals. I definitely plan on having a house with a grotto, behind it an amazing view of the ocean. The limestone it’s formed in is between 10-20 million years old.

We chilled in the car at Peterborough Coastal Reserve for a bit before finding a place to camp at back in Port Campbell. We found a spot with showersssss... best shower of my life. I wish I knew we were going to find this place, because there were plugs and I definitely would have been able to blow dry my hair. My friend Matt likes to call me a princess, I really never realized how right he was until coming here ha! We also had dinner at 12 Rocks Cafe and Beach Bar. I got the chicken parm, which they call “parmie” and don’t serve with pasta.. but with ham and cheese on top. Nonetheless, it was delishhhh. I hadn’t camped in yearsss, so sleeping was pretty painful. I also definitely heard something scurrying outside of the tent in the middle of the night. George mentioned it in the morning and I just told him I was ignoring it, hoping it would go away!

Sunday’s weather was cloudy and rainy, but we were going to see 2 waterfalls so I think the weather was perfect for it. I also got really good pictures from it. We went back to Castle Cove Lookout to see it in they daylight, there were sooo many people there. We saw a wallaby while driving! But no koalas, which was a bit of a bummer. But they had chlamydia anyway, so whatever.

Then to Carisbrook Water Falls, which was more of a cascade also, since the water didn’t exactly fall. Still beautiful. The we headed to Lorne and saw Erskine Falls which was amazing. The weather really gave me perfect pictures. We stopped at a restaurant called Bottle of Milk for burgers, I got a Hawaiian Burger and chocolate malt milkshake, which was pretty thin, but it was all mmmmm sooo goood. At the green across, there were wild cockatoos!! There had to be at least 10 of them. Apparently, they’re super common but I hadn’t seen any yet.

Then we made the long, sad trip back home.

I can cross a few things off my bucket list; seeing clear blue water, big waves and the milky way. I never thought I’d ever be able to. And if George never suggested the idea I probably wouldn’t have gone to see any of this or thought of renting a car to do so, so thank you George! It was all so stunning and I’m definitely never going to forget it!

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