Bloody Mary's

It's not a drink....it's a Restaurant and a good one.

The local fishermen bring their "catch" and display it on a bed of ice every evening. You pick your fish, they prepare it to your liking and cook it on the spot.

Just for you.....

This was a luxury as we drove around the island of Bora Bora. It's also a great place for a Burger and a cold beverage.

"Bloody Mary's" was a very casual, shady, and comfortable eatery, and I'm glad we took the time to visit this restaurant. Famous people from all over the world have stopped here for the fresh food and to view the decor.

The tables and chairs are made from local wood...as a matter of fact, they ARE the local wood and the floor is white sand from the beach.

Marilyn had noticed the local women wearing a garment called a pareo. She wasn't sure how to configure it but wanted one very much.

It was our good fortune to find a lady that demonstrated it, and soon afterwards, we purchased a pareo a few miles down the road. I really liked the expression on her face as she learned how to tie it. We normally don't spend a lot of souvenirs. It's a burden to ship most things back home. But in this case....it took up hardly any room.

I'm glad we stopped here...this place was a lot of fun!

Vanilla

Vanilla takes about nine months to reproduce and be harvested in these islands. The plants are polinated by hand when they bloom and its VERY time consuming. But this Vanilla is some of the best in the world and a good reason to create a little "backyard patch" of land devoted to just this crop.


I found this entire area to be a wonderful place to explore.
Life is SO simple here.

I'm sort of geared this way anyway, and I thought it interesting to to travel around
these island with very simple but effective modes.


This is the best way to see the people in Bora Bora.





I've always adhered to the "Keep it Simple" principal.

But if necessary, these "Le Trucks" circle the island about every hour.

They're inexpensive and you just "jump in" and go easily from one stop to the next.

Black Pearls

Speeding around the islands, we decided to stop at a pearl and vanilla farm. It takes a long time to nurture both of these crops, but with a little luck, they can produce some extra cash for the family.



There is a real "skill" involved in producing both of these items and the warm waters and fertile land in this part of the world is ideal for both pearls and vanilla to reproduce and prosper.

Black Pearls are created by introducing a foreign object into the shell and allowing a natural process to develop the pearl. These tools look like a torture device but allow the artisan to introduce a grain of sand into the shell.

After several months.....sometimes even years, they turn out like like these.

Here is a better view of the end results.

Two Exports

A good, fast boat will cover a lot of ground in a day’s time.


While we were looking for good places to snorkel, we visited two very interesting places.

They were “Oyster” and “Vanilla” farms.
Except for these two crops, most things on these islands are imported.

It takes a long time to harvest both of these items,

but they are well worth the effort it takes for success.
They can be a nice “side line” for making ends meet.

And they are some of the BEST in the world.

A nice 11 mm “black pearl” can cost $1000, and although I don’t know the price of vanilla,

I know it’s hard to find the good “pure” stuff.

A Small "GREEN" Tahitian Island

This was one of the more interesting forays we had on the islands.

It was spent speeding along the coast in a “fast” twin hull boat.

We visited a “private island” that was powered by “solar cells”.

The electricity was stored in large "marine batteries".

Everything on the island was ran by DC current.

All the lighting at night was provided by fluorescent DC bulbs.

The rain water was caught and stored in large fiberglass tanks.

If hot water was needed, it was also heated by solar panels.

All cooking was done on an “open fire” and the “fresh fish” they cooked was the best I’ve ever eaten.

This was a very GREEN ecological experience.

I was glad we visited this place.

Sights Along the Country Roads

As I mentioned earlier, life is simple here, and the “important things” are provided by the French Government.
In simple terms: That means ALL the infrastructure!

They provide the roads, the water, and the electrical power. They also provide "free" healthcare and a good education.

But the greatest joy, of these islands, is its simplicity and stress free lifestyle.

It was great to just drive around, see the sights, swim, and take in the skylines.

The other modes of transportation are bike, scooter, le truck, and outrigger canoe.

Here are a few of the things we saw while driving the perimeter of the many islands.

Sting Rays

I’ve done a lot of "snorkeling" in the ocean.

But I’ve never “Hand Fed” a Sting Ray.

This guy was “comfortable” serving them breakfast.

I was lucky to capture it on film!

Tahiti

I admired the simple uninhibited life of the Tahitian Islands. Many of these islands are sparsely populated and can be enjoyed by renting a car and viewed leisurely in a few hours. On a few gallons of gas we drove completely around several of them.

All the basic infrastructure of French Polynesia is furnished by the government and the people seemed very happy to me. I learned to admire the French speaking people, and literally, found this place as close to paradise as life can get.

There’s not the glitter of skyscrapers, crime, and the social ills that befalls us here in America.

Among the islands, I saw a good example of what is really important in life. When the needs of food, shelter, and clothing are met, the rest of life is what you make it.

It’s a shame life, in the US, has been reduced to a struggle to financially survive medical bills and put food on the table for many families. And a good education can cost a family a small fortune.

Life’s not like that in these islands….

Russian Churches

There were a lot churches in Russia, some more beautiful than others, but still lots of churches. I had always been led to believe that religion was banished in this part of the world but I didn’t find this to be the case.

Still true to my basic outlook about people in all parts of the world, we all have more in common than differences.

Here are a few of the many churches we saw while traveling along the Volga River between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Kizhi Island

Cities are great places but I’ve always enjoyed a walk in the country, above all else….

The Island of Kizhi was one of the most interesting places I’ve visited in a long time. It’s a small island about 3 miles long and only a ½ mile wide. The only way to and from this island is by boat or airfoil in the wintertime.

This wooden Church was built without nails and has 22 timbered onion domes. It was an early Pagan Center and I enjoyed walking from one end of the island to the other.

There is a small group of people living here today but mostly a tourist attraction. They have a heliport landing spot in an emergency and communications with the outside world but it’s very isolated.

The water is clean enough to drink, directly from the lake, and I saw several people carrying buckets from the lake to their homes.

I like the simple life and this church and farmland would be a nice place to spend a few weeks communing with nature.

City Views

Walking is the best way to view a new country, and the slower pace, the better the chances to see people and experience their culture. Here are some of the sights we experienced while wandering around in the “Big Cities”.

I’ll also have some “Country Shots” posted soon.

I like big cities because the “best of culture” is always there but there is nothing like the fresh air and water of the country. Big cities are interesting but I wouldn’t want to live there. Charleston has a population of about 50,000 people and for me, that’s enough people in one place.

Locks on a Bridge

When we were in St. Petersburg I found these “locks” fastened to the ornamental railings of a bridge over one of the canals. When couples are married, they inscribe their names on a “lock” and fasten it to a structure as a symbol of their love towards each other.

A favorite pastime of mine is watching people and trying to understand their customs and way of life. People of all nations always have more in common than differences. This young couple was celebrating their marriage by visiting the highlights of Moscow near a future Olympic site.

Volga River

The Volga River is the largest waterway in Russia and connects its five seas by a network of canals. We sailed through the Rybinsk Reservoir, White Lake, Onega Lake, Ladoga Lake and near the Baltic Sea.

Most of the river reminded me of our local rivers near Charleston where I worked riverboats after getting out of the Navy. Sometimes it was wide as the Ohio River and sometimes as narrow as the Coal River in West Virginia.

Half of Russia’s river cargo is transported on this system. Our ship had a draft of ten feet and some of the narrow channels were no more than fourteen feet deep. Many times we would pass other ships close enough to throw a rock across the deck.

The larger lakes were like sailing on the ocean. You could not see the banks on either side.

Here are just a few of the sights from the deck of the ship.

Catching the Ship

Marilyn was recovering rapidly so we left the hospital early in the afternoon. The mother ship was to berth in the city of Uglich that evening and it’s usually a four hour drive to Ulglich because of the heavy traffic in Moscow. It seemed like all ten million people in Moscow were on the road at the same time and I worried that we would miss the ship.

The city of Uglich is about 150 miles upstream on the Volga River and this would be our first sighting of our ship. Our Russian driver sped confidently along the country roads and it was refreshing to view the modest homes where many farmers would sell vegetables and mushrooms in little stands along the highway. Most of these homes are heated by either wood or coal and I often thought of early West Virginia life in the beginning coal mining years.

Our driver had us there in a record three hours and we ate in a local restaurant while waiting on the ship. Near the dock was a large red church with blue domes and we walked for a few minutes anticipating the arrival of the ship and re-uniting with our traveling companions.

Our journey towards St. Petersburg was now actually beginning and our perceptions of Russia would be more meaningful as we watched town after town pass slowly from the deck of the ship.

The Russian Hospital

After a short drive from the hotel, you can imagine the thoughts in our heads as we entered the hospital.

But our fears were relieved when the staff and doctors arranged tests and made arrangements for both of us to say a few days.

They spoke excellent English.

The “private room” was basic but very comfortable. A nice shower, bathroom, and a flat screen television were included among the furniture. They even brought in a light “cot” for me and furnished me with food from the cafeteria. Although different from American cuisine, it was very good and very tasty. That’s unusual for hospital food and it was very comforting for me.

Quite honestly, we received better care here than a hospital in the United States. Several blood tests were performed, liquids were started, antibiotics administered, an electrocardiogram performed and even an ultrasound of the stomach. They were attentive to every detail and very professional.

Marilyn’s illness turned out to be bacterial and not a virus. It was the result of food in the kafe near the hotel.

It happens to tourists all the time and why it bothers some and not others is a mystery.
Four of us ate the same food at the same table.

Our ship had already sailed and our current goal now was to meet it downriver several miles.

It would be a four hour drive on country roads to arrive at the next port.

I was impressed with the medical care in the “American Clinic”.

Moscow

Russia was a different country and it took some time to adjust to this interesting land. On a long trip, there is always the normal “jet lag”, where your body is in one time zone, and your physical presence is in another time zone, but for some reason it was particularly difficult on this trip.

Russia has a harsh climate and we were adjusting from nearly 100 degree days in West Virginia to nearly freezing temperatures in Moscow. It was going to take more time than we thought to adjust our biological clocks. It hit me worst on the second day, but Marilyn caught the brunt of it, on the third day, after eating in the local kafe near the hotel.

After arriving in Moscow, we rode one of the most modern “mass transit systems” in the world. The ride on the subway was fascinating. It was DEEP underground and very fast. I was amazed at the precision and the feel of the cars are they sped underground between the streets. We wandered around the city and then retired to our room where we prepared our luggage for the cruise on the Volga River to St. Petersburg.

And then things turned really bad for Marilyn.

That night she was violently ill and became very weak and very dehydrated. The next morning we rushed to the nearest hospital. We didn’t know if it was a virus or just simply bad food, but one thing for sure, medical care was TOP priority.

It scared the living daylights out of me….

Mt. McKinley

There are NOT a lot of roads in Alaska. Most traveling is done by Air, Water, or Rail.


As we approached the larger cities, it became obvious that the few roads only ran to the edge of town.

There are more licensed pilots in Alaska than any other part of the United States with a comparable population. There are as common as crows in a cornfield in West Virginia.


We were lucky to fly at 12,000 ft. around the peak of Mount McKinley in Denali State Park.



The peak is above 20,000 ft. but the climber’s Base Camp was visible below us. We radioed our observations along to those trying to reach the summit.

We were lucky to see Mount McKinley while we were here. It’s common for the mountain to be covered by clouds and the visibility to be near zero. Many climbers have lost their lives here caught in the weather system actually created by the mountain itself.

While riding the train to Denali, we passed a grocery store in an isolated village where bush pilots landed on the main highway and taxied up to the store for supplies.
After loading the plane, he taxied back on to the highway, looked both directions and carefully launched back into the air while the traffic was sparse.

You can still live off the land in Alaska by hunting and fishing but the short summers don’t allow much time for growing vegetables. Everyone pushes life to the max while the summer sun allows nearly 24 hours of daylight before the equally cold and dark winters arrive.