Nature Friday - The Hill - by Lady

There is a very steep hill about 1 km (.62 miles) from our house that we use to walk up. Now we don't as it is too far and too steep for my old dogs, so this summer I have been using it as a training walk on my solo walks.  The hill itself is about .4km/.25mi. After a few months I finally made it to the top!

Thanks to Rosy and Sunny for hosting this hop!

We are taking a short break from the blog as I go on a solo adventure. We will be back soon!

Getting Old - by Lady

After my angels Loki departed at age 8, and Gemini at age 6, my goal in life had been to have a dog who lived until at least 10. I remember joking that I may have to adopted a senior dog to make this happen, as I didn't have much luck previously. 

Now I am living with 2 senior dogs. I know I am watching our last moments together as I see them both slowing down. As I write this, I should clarify I don't see any immediate threat to their health, however, at the same time, nothing would surprise me. 

I am looking at this stage of my dogs life as a gift. I am blessed that overall they are both happy and comfortable in their golden days. Phod needs his arthritis shot, has decreased stamina -there is no fetch and our walks get shorter. He avoids extra stairs and sleeps almost all day, and sleeps much deeper (he fails as a guard dog now, usually in our closet. He still has his moments of play and being silly, but they are shorter too. His vision seems pretty good, but his hearing is not what it was. 

I have taken your seat

Hailey has never fully recovered from her neurological event. She is still tippy. She doesn't run and jump like she used to. She is dragging her back paw more noticeably. Her stamina is much less and is clear she doesn't see as well. She has become a picky eater, who would have imagined that. The upshot is, she hasn't destroyed anything and I am not as worried she will. Also, while she may make a little dash to the neighbours or into the bush, we can trust her off leash way more because we know she isn't going far. 

Annoyed I am taking her picture

What I miss most besides the cuddles on the couch neither want to get on, and my full time work supervisor in Phod, is the long walks. Some times I admit, I resented those long walks when they needed to happen. However now I know physically and mentally I was healthier when I was doing them. I admit, I love these 2 with all my hearts and they will spend the remainder of their days in my care, I do think about getting a third, younger dog, for a walking companion. Man, plus knowing Lee and Phod wouldn't appreciate this, prevent me from doing it. I need to stop being lazy and just take myself for a long walk, I hear it is possible.

In spite of the changes, I am so grateful to have this chapter with them. I would not change it for the world. I have even less understanding and compassion for people who dump a dog just because they are old. It may be true that old dogs are the best. I am just going to cherish the moments we have. 

Travel Tuesday - Saint Lucia - by Lady

While this was the poorest island we visited (it is the 5th poorest in the Caribbean with a gross national income of $9 520 US - compared to $64, 310US in the US and $52 390US for Canada), this was my favourite island. I fell in love with the mountains, not a surprise as I have crafted a life to live in them.

 

After switching between English and French control 14 times, Saint Lucia is currently a member of the British Commonwealth. Just over 180 000 people call the island home. Like the others, tourism is essential to the economy.

We took a bus tour across the island. This was like a crazy long rollercoaster, but less safe. The roads were steep, narrow, and everyone drove too fast and tailgated. Somehow we made it from the port to our destination and back in one piece. This was definitely not a trip for those who get motion sickness.

Usie in the bus - just in case we didn't make it back alive:)

               

Looking down at our ship

A cove

  
We stopped to look at the Pitons. The Pitons are what is left of two lava domes (also referred to as volcanic plugs).  Our tour had us stop and look at them but not climb them, as some tours did. (A reason to go back).

Taken at a stop on the way back down as the sun was setting

The main stop on our tour was La Soufriere Drive in volcano. You can drive right up on the crater. It is the youngest and only live volcano on the island. It is expected to erupt again. I know when I think of active volcano, I imagine fire. However, Soufriere's above ground activity, is hot springs and bubbling mud.

Volcanic activity

After the volcano, we made a stop at a small garden. 

Here our guide told us all about the plants on the island and while I retained nothing, I enjoyed this small stop. 

As we were about to leave the gardens, we got a tropical shower. It didn't last long and for part of the drive down, we were followed by a rainbow. 

I hope you have enjoyed the beauty of this mountainous island. Please come back next week for the last instalment of our Travel Tuesday when we visit St. Kitts. 

Travel Tuesday - Bonaire - by Lady

Our third port was Bonaire, the B in the ABC islands. Like the others, tourism is essential for the economy and it is one of the most popular diving spots in the Caribbean. All around the island are yellow stones, marking diving spots. I was sure we had a picture of one, but I can't find it. Bonaire is special municipality of the Netherlands, and it uses the US dollar as currency. About 20 000 people live on the island.  It is famous for it's flamingos and while we saw a lot, we didn't get a good picture. 

Our tour, driven by a local guide, started on the north of the island where the first European settlers arrived.  For the first few years, slaves were required to walk the 3 hours one way daily, to the salt fields. 

Our first stop was a church that slaves had carved out of a cave.  After nearly 100 years, it is still in use. 

The church

As there is no spot of stained glass, stories from the Bible are presented around the church like this.

View from the top of the church

Our next stop was a museum.

This traditional house, showed off how the wealthier people lived on the island over the past 130 years. It is also where we tried a cactus alcohol. 

It had very low doors.

Around the museum, as in many parts of the island we saw cactus fences. 

I wish I remembered the name of this plant

On the drive we say many donkeys

We also passed a place where they were land sailing. 

Our last stop was the salt fields. Fun fact, they are currently owned by a Canadian company and all the salt is sent to Canada for further processing.

The ponds are pink because of a microorganism that makes them that colour

As mentioned earlier, when they first arrived, the slaves were required to walk 6 hours per day to and from work. After a few years, slave houses were built across from the salt fields. 

I didn't like posing by them, as I felt it made it an 'attraction' and I wanted to capture how small the house was, so I used me as a marker. 

inside

I took some time standing in a stunningly beautiful spot on the planet to sit with slavery and all of the misuse of humans, historical and present. I didn't want to get lost in the misery that can come from such thoughts. I held it, and resolved to remember and do what I can to make the world a better place. 

The horror and the beauty.
Accepting two things can be true at the same time.

This felt like a heavy post, and as a historian at heart, I think it is important for us to all acknowledge our shared histories - the good, the bad and the ugly. Next week's post, a visit to St. Lucia, will be back to looking at nature. 

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Reminder to click HERE to join our when will the snow be gone contest!

Travel Tuesday - A Hike In Aruba - by Lady

Aruba, the A in the ABC islands, was our first port of call. It is also southern most island in the Caribbean we have visited. This former Dutch island is now an autonomous, self-governing constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This tiny island is home to about 116 000 people. Tourism is the number one industry.

We did an off ship tour for this stop. After dropping a group going kayaking off, the Man and our guide went to Arikok National Park for a hike. Our guide was great and he told us the name of all the plants and birds etc. Most of which I don't remember. However, this doesn't subtract from my appreciation of the beauty of the nature we saw while walking for a couple of hours.

Cactus

This is how I spent most of the hike, well behind, stopping to enjoy and snap pictures.

Not the best place to stop!

This is a Shoco - a burrowing owl only found in Aruba. They are the National Symbol and are currently endangered. 

A former place they smelted gold

In the wild!

A blue lizard

Spot the butterfly

After the hike, we went back to where we had left the kayakers and I joined them for snorkelling , while Man waded in the water. (He had a very bad experience snorkelling and now doesn't go. When I joined this group, I didn't know we were swimming a kilometre out to the reef. I can't remember the last time I swam that far, but I did it and was rewarded by seeing many tropical fish and an octopus. 

Near where I snorkelled

After all this adventure, we went off to lunch before returning to the ship. 

For Rosy and Sunny's Mom

It was a great first port - hot but fun! Next week we will visit the C in the ABC islands!

Me and Man - likely talking about how windy it was!