The pictures I posted tonight are pictures of the market we went to yesterday and the marina where we had lunch today. I couldn't find a boat to sail but am going to find one as soon as I get to Tabago. Tomorrow is my birthday and it doesn't feel very birthdayee here. The next day is Christmas and the action is supposed to pick up. People will be coming down the street playing steel drums and there are several parties in the neighborhood. The day after Christmas is Boxing day and we are going to the race track (horses). It's the last race of the season and supposed to be a big event. Maybe I'll win some money.

Bob has his say: Outside the main harbor and a bit up the coast there is a harbor full of sailboats, hundreds of them. We spent the afternoon there, just sort of hanging out and eating ice cream. A bunch of Russians were drinking and singing like mad. At the next table teenage girls were having a Christmas party, much squeeling and clapping. And then there was the blue and the boats. A happy mix of sound and silence, the sweet of ice cream, the salt breeze easing in.

This is the house where we are staying. We start our day with breakfast and then go from here. There where little boys playing soccer across the street in the park again today. They are out of school all week.

We went to the swamp yesterday to see birds. It was like our swamps but it had Scarlet Ibis, which is the national bird of Trinidad. Some of my shots turned out to be very much resembling modern art but I thought you might want to see a few.













This is a little store around the corner. Bob just went there to get me a coke and some other stuff. There are a mixture of houses here. Some are new and some are very colonial. Th whole neighborhood is getting ready for Christmas.
I hear music from places at night and the lady who owns this place has been getting ready for her Christmas party for some days now.

Just returned from bird trip

We just returned from a birding outing. I will post pictures when we get back from dinner. It finally stopped raining and there was a little earthquake earlier today. There are some little boys setting off fireworks in the park in front of the house where we are staying. Happy birthday to my mother, she is 94 today. I'll be back and tell you more after we go to eat.
We're going to the race track on Boxing day, which is the 26th of December. It will be the final race of the season and is suppose to be a big deal.

Arrived after much delay

We are finally here in Trinidad. It is December 19 and we arrived late last night at the airport at 11 p.m. It took 45 minutes to get through immigration and another 30 minutes to get to the house where we are staying. Yesterday was a mess, We arrived at 9 for the 10:00 flight to Houston to find that the plane was not flying because of fog. We drove to Houston, encountering a wreck along the way, and got to the international airport in time to board the plane coming here, The boarding was late and we would have missed the plane if it had been on time, Thank you Dee for riding over with us to bring the car back on such short notice. After the plane took off, a little girl had a seizure so we landed in Tampa so the doctors could take the child and her family to a hospital. We finally left Tampa and started on our trip here. We have been resting ever since.
Today we went on a ride to get the lay of the land. The museum and other points of interest are within walking distance. We are setting up a trip to a bird santuary where I hope to take some good bird shots. I just saw three pariot fly into a tree in the little park across the street. I will put picture up tomorrow.
Bob has eaten a fish and found out where the art dealers are located. This is quite a large city with lots of cars. I'll report more later.

Be sure to keep track of new trip!

Home at last!!!!!!

Today we have been home for one week and a day. I feel more rested and Bob seems to be recovering from his ordeal. I am sorting out pictures and will put some final ones for the trip up soon. As you can imagine, I took thousands. My friens Kay is here from Belize and is showing me some photoshop tips. I have my computer and office back in shape and will be at the school intermittantly for the next few weeks. I am looking forward to getting this year off to a good start. I also want to get my images sorted and taking care of for a show this winter.
I'm happy to be back but invite you to keep up with the situation in Kashmir and Northern India. There have been some big events in the last week that appear to be very dangerous for the India people.

We're in the desert now.

The pictures I posted tonight are a blur of where we've been for the last five or six days. Agra and the Taj Mahal were good. The building is wonderful, white, and honestly one of the finest buildings built. I have some great detail shots that I will share with all of you when we get home. When we were driving to Agra from Delhi I saw a huge elephant taking up one whole lane moving slowly toward Agra. It had a bunch of green plants on its head and a rider. I didn't get a picture but will never forget my first glimp of a huge elephant moving along with trucks, cars and buses on its way to a festival or a wedding. The elephant pic posted that Bob and I are so happy to be riding was taken today at the fort toward the bottom of the pictures. That fort is in Jodhpur and is Mehrangarh Fort. The pictures following are of the Taj in Agra and if you look behind the Banners cup you will see the Taj sticking up from the buildings. This picture was taken from our hotel and is as close as I could get the Banners cup. They check all bags at the Taj for anything that could be used as an explosive or igniting tool.

After Agra we went to Jaipur. That's where the huge viewing building is. The building is only a few feet deep and was built so that the Mugal's wives and other ladies could view parades and street life without being seen. It's all very mysterious.

Today we entered the desert area which is quit different from the other areas where we've been. There are camels everywhere. The one that I'm riding at the end of the pics has a kushy job playing host to the tourists where most are hitched to carts and take their place along with carts, rickshaws, cars, and buses. They are amazing to see-huge-look just like the pictures. I like the desert area. It's hot but not humid. Most of the tourists don't make it here so it feels like we have the place to ourselves. We are only 60 miles from Pakastan and have been reassured that there are no Talaban here, only a few Alkida(?) cells. So there's nothing to worry about. There's lots more India Armed Forces here but nothing like Kashmir or they're not as visible.

Tomorrow we go to Udaipur, another desert place, for two nights then we're on a plane for home. We will see some Jain temples tomorrow before we get to Udaipur.

I'll be happy to see everyone and miss all of you. I want you to tell Chester that I haven't made him an orphan and Jazz too. Hello mom and Carla and Caralie and Dee too. I'll call from New York to set up someone who will meet us. I hope to get another post off before we leave. And will work on updating the calendar and map tonight.

Bob has his say!!!!!

We're on top of the mountain inside the Amber fort. Thousands of steps to climb. Miles of high, red walls. In many ways it's more interisting than the Taj. Carrie discovers a snake charmer in one of the passages and insists on sitting down beside him and playing his flute . The snake rears up out of the basket and eyes her from a distance of about 18 inches. "Oh, don't worry," the guide whispers in my ear. "They've pulled out its fangs.

We leave tomorrow for Agra.

We have spent the last three nights and will leave by car for Agra tomorrow morning at nine a.m. The first picture you see is the lobby of the TAJ which is the hotel where we are staying. It's really first class with even a butler if we need one. I can't imagine a butler steaming Bob's shirt. Can you!!!!!!!
The other pictures are of a site seeing excursion where we when to the Red Fort, which was the last Mogul's huge living place. He was kicked out of it in the 1857 uprising by the British. I'm told we will see more Forts in the future but this one is the one that Darrimple writes about in The Last Mongul. We also went to Humayun's Tomb. I didn't put a wide shot of the actual tomb but I had read that at least 100 moguls were buried in the tomb along with Humayun, so I nosed around and found only one that wasn't locked. That is the single vault in a side chamber which I posted below. It was very simple and had no name that I could find on it.
We also visited the old part of the city, which is right outside the Red Fort, and I got many photos that you will see when I get home. The men riding bikes are at the beginning of the Old City and the women at the bottom are praying at Jami Masjid, the largest mosque in India.

The streets were really narrow and filled with foot traffic, bikes, and rickshaws. I saw some goats tied up in the middle of it all and various smells mingled as we made our way through it all. We founf a Jain temple in the middle of it all that is one thousand years old. It is still in use and we toured it while people were meditating and doing various other ceremonies. They are an interesting religion where they wear masks across their mouths so they won't harm even a bug if it were to fly in their month. They'd go crazy in Louisiana. I couldn't take pictures but their web site has pics at www.indfy.com/delhi/olddelhi/Delhi Picture Gallery .

It seems like a different world here from Kashmir. I know there are lots of soldiers here but not anything like north. If any of you have found the places on the sat map that I've mentioned, you'll know that the land mass is not that large. Within Kashmir and ladakh there are 750,000 India soldiers, several thousand "national guard, and throw in some, what equals our Special Forces, and you can see why I mentioned soldiers so much when I was there. It's so absorbing when you're there and once we got to Delhi, just one hour plane ride, there isn't any news. I know there are still things happening in Jumu because they are the one's who lost out on the Shrine Board deal. Oh, well!!!!!

I want to thank the Shah family for being so nice to Bob and me while we were in Kashmir. Hang in there for the next report.

Agra-Jaipur-Jodhpur-Udaipur-Delhi-Home

BOB HAS HIS SAY:

Fine hotel. Fresh roses in the bathroom every day. A new toothbrush also. Due to a booking problem we ended up in the security suite next to the presidential suite. They took out the cameras and sound spy gear just for us. You can sit in bed and open and close the curtains by remote. All things provided, and if you happen to feel unloved or unwanted there are at least 1500 neatly groomed and gloved people standing around to make you feel loved and wanted. They turn down the beds each night and scatter orchids. The staff know your name by the second day. After bumping around Kashmir, this does seem a bit more comfortable. He feels much better.-CC

In New Delhi and Old Delhi

Last night in Kashmir-Tomorrow Delhi

We will leave by plane for Delhi tomorrow afternoon and we are both looking forward to a good hotel with air conditioning. The rest of the trip will be very hot so we will be very careful and give you a boring rundown of every sweaty moment. I will get into the calander as soon as I have time so you will have a better idea where we are going and what we will doing on a daily basis. Judy, Carla will be forwarding an e-mail from me, so be on the lookout. I will post more pics when we get to Delhi where we will be for four nights. I hope the hotel has wireless in the room.
The political situation here in Kashmir is quiet but in places near Pakistan there are still problems and probably always will be. If you want to read more about the Kashmir situation go to www.greaterkashmir.com This is the newspaper we get everyday.
Bob is feeling much better and sends greetings to all.

Troubles end here!

The troubles have ended here when it was announced that the land transfer would not go through. All shops are open here and business is going as usual. The problems are now in Jummu where the population came out on the other end of the land deal. I think riots are still going on there.
Actually, all of these cities are very close together if you are flying. The roads are bad and very crowded so it takes a long time and many bumps to get between cities. When you are looking at the sat map look up close to Pakastan. Keep blowing up (bad choice of words) the map and you will be able to see the beautiful lake that is about a block away from us. Look for Srinagar. This afternoon we will go on one of those boats that I put up earlier. Bob has been wearing the bottom of his outfit but haven't gotten him to put the other part on. Perhaps tomorrow. I'll close now and tell you that I'm looking forward to getting to Delhi. We will be staying at the Taj Mon Singh, which is suposed to be one of the best hotels in the country. Bob and I are ready for some easy times. The picture of the soldiers and military trucks was taken when we came from the airport and the curfew was still on. If you notice, there are no other cars on the road and many military.

Here's Bob:
Feeling much improved. It's hot here. All the long stories will have to wait until there is time to tell them

Bob has his say. Yes, he really is alive!!!

They say I turned white and couldn't move. So once again I get carried out. Nothing like a quarter-mile ride in a wheel chair across the runway and under the roaring engine of an Airbus. Once they got me on the plane and the cabin air on, I perked up, and by the time we got back here. I was up and moving. Altitude sickness no fun. Will have to continue my adventure on the horse later. Here are some pictures carry took up on top. Some are from a monastery, some from a market.
Carrie adds: The guys here at the internet cafe already have five films up on You Tube. Look under Shrine Board to view the videos. They got some good stuff. I hope to update the calander and map when I get a faster connection. We'll be staying in a wonderful hotel in Delhi for four nights then on to Agra for two nights then to Rajasthan for five nights in three cities. It's going to be really hot but we can handle it. We'll be careful and I'll take a lot of pictures. Hello to everyone and we'll have a picture viewing party when we get home.

Back in Kashmir

Far from the action until tomorrow!

This is the first time I have had the transport to get to an internet cafe. I didn't bring my computer up here so will post pictures later of Budda land. One thing about it is that it is peaceful here.

We go back to Kashmir tomorrow morning and yes, there are a lot of problems there. They started the day before we left for Leh and have escalated since then. I don't want to put much on the internet but you can be certain that we will take all precautions to remain safe. We go to Delhi July 6 so we will stay in our friends house until then. They have many guards and people that go out for them if anything needs doing. Their house is near the lake and just above it is the shrine that the big land dispute is all about. I don't want to give anymore specific info because we never know who is reading this blog.

As far as our time here in Leh is concerned, We've had a great time and found more steps than anyone should ever have to climb. Bob developed a latent case of altitude sickness and is staying in the room today. He saw a doctor yesterday and is feeling much better today. I am going to take some more pictures of the market then pack for tomorrow's trip. Don't worry about us.

This is Tuesday June 24

We are back in Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir. We have been in Gulmarg for the last five days. It is a beautiful valley where our hosts have a cabin with a fab view and large maountains all around. There is skiing here in the winter and plenty of tourists in the summer. Most are gone by sundown when the place is left to people who have had places here for a long time. It is very close to the Pakastan border so there are soldiers everywhere. I have included some pictures from there. It was the strangest thing because there were monkeys who also come for the summer. The elevation is 7,000 feet above see level and at the top of the ski lift it is 13,500 feet. I took a lot of pics also of places we visited before we went to Gulmarg. The day before we went we drove up into the mountains toward Leh and took horses to a glacier. We saw lots of tribal people and shepherds who are basically nomads. The day before that we went to a ruin called Avantipur which is an anciet ruin that has Buddhist, Greek, and Hindu influence. Bob will tell you more about the ruins later.

Gulmarg: You don't see it all at once. It's more like a series of unfolding light strips, overlays. First the blue and yellow fields of flowers, then the long green of the valley with horses grazing, then the rising forests of fir and pine, above the tree line gray-greeen cliffs, the glacier fields, the cloud-filled crests, only then the sky.

Kolohoi Glacier: It's the kind of day Carrie loves and I really, really love--narrow, twisting roads, steep dropoffs, no guardrails. The rivers rushing off the glacier, huge, gray-green rapids, the roar that you can hear for miles. We finally get to the end of the road and have to go the rest of the way on horseback. I haven't been on a horse for about a thousand years. More on this adventure later.

All in all it has been a very interesting trip. We leave for Leh tomorrow moring where we'll visit Buddhist stuff. I'm really looking forward to it. I wish I could remember the monastery where the monks who performed for Banners are from. We'd look them up. I have warm clothes packed for the trip. We return to Srinagar on June 30. There wasn't an internet cafe in Gulmarg and I'm not sure about Leh. The power has been on and off here so this is our first time to get to a computer. I miss my mother, so everyone who knows her, will you please give her a kiss for me. Thanks to everyone who is taking good care of all our stuff at home.

Today we climbed a million steps

Today has been a good day. I'll be posting pictures of crowds and lots of people soon. We visited the Shiva Shrine and received the blessing of the Guru there. It was very impressive. We also visit another mosque and received a warm welcome. And, if any of you have read or heard of the book that says Jesus' tomb is here, we saw and photographed it today. I am going to turn this over to Bob because the guards at our house lock everything up and out in thirty minutes. We got our clothes and I'm going on a trek by horseback when we get back from Leh. We will go to the cabin Thursday so I hope to have more time on the computer.

Here's Bob!!!!! Thank you Jessica for walking Chester.
Driving here is a game of inches. Most of the streets are medieval lanes that require surviver skills and profound Patience, an exestential indifference to spending 45 minutes getting one block--because someone decides to park and two cars coming from different directions decide to confront one another and four more pile up behind them and someone else decides to unload his truck, a world of blasting horns, pot holes, piles of garbage, dust, street dogs, ravens, here and there a cow.

Bob has his say!

Transformer blowout and other problems have slowed this down by a day.
I'm told I was on local television yesterday. It was supposed to show how western tourists are coming back to Kashmir. At 6'3" and wearing the first white straw hat seen here in 50 years, I suppose I looked the part. In truth, you don't see western tourists here at all--for all meaningful purposes, none.

We went to the Mogul Gardens. The old guy must have had quite a show. From his tent he could look down a half-mile long vista of carefully crafted gardens, fountains, and water cascades that end in a huge lake. I imgine him in his tent, looking out at it all, listening to music, perhaps saying, "A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou," or maybe whispering some ancient version of "Go, lovely rose."

We've been getting around!!!

The following pictures are of Mogul Gardens, Mosques, busy streets, Shrines, and various other places we visited today. It's Sunday evening here and we're going to Elfie's parent's house for dinner at eight. I tried to post a movie and will try later. The connection is so slow here that I may grow old waiting for it to upload. Tomorrow I will upload the calander with new dates for Leh, Goa, and other places whose plans are in the works as we write. Bob is going to write something and I'll be back tomorrow.

These are pictures from yesterday and today