Bari, italy

Bari is in southern Italy but it was as cold as northern Alaska, although the flowers were saying it's spring.

 

It got quite sunny later and warmed up a bit but because it's really a port city, that sea breeze kept coming up and freezing us.😡

Anyway I never saw any interesting sight-seeing tours for this area, so we just took a bus into town and window shopped.

Downtown is like most Italian cities, same kind of architecture, narrow cobble-stoned walkways, apartments upstairs behind huge wooden doors and of course, churches.

Behind these huge doors are lobbies to several apartments.

Sight of spring everywhere except in the temperature 

This is a garage in what looks like an apartment!

The streets were fairly crowded despite the weather.

Trying out Italian gelato aka ice cream cone

It's not the type of weather to be outside, so we went back to the ship did some yoga and rested till dinner time.

Michelle is our yoga instructor.

A struggling student

Sonja did yoga too but volunteered to be the photographer 😁, hence she is missing in the pics.

Tamarac Senior Center

This week, Tamarac Senior Center celebrates “Happy Customer Service Week.”

Bully for them, for being an exercise freak, every week I appreciate this organization and all its staff, more.

I do kick boxing, Zumba, jazzercise and yoga there, but my favorite is kick boxing. For not only does one learn basic moves to protect oneself, but also the well planned exercises taught to us by our instructor Mark Wynter, builds muscles. And you know that as you get older you lose muscle mass.

Some jazzersizers.

 My one regret is that kick boxing is only taught once per week and worse only on a Mondays, on which public holidays fall, thus depriving us of this essential exercise on those days.

Zumba time 

Anyway, its good that the Centre appreciates us their customers, for not only do many seniors from  Tamarac really appreciate them and their very pleasant staff, but also, so do many seniors from nearby cities such as Sunrise, Margate and Coral Springs. For they too  attend many of our classes.

Thank you Michelle Sendik and team.

 

Zumba

 

Juneteenth

 I was recently at a Yoga class in Florida when out of the blue, the instructor who is a white lady who appears to be in her early 70’s, stopped mid-sentence in her regular instructions, to apologize.

It was for comments she had made in a class on the previous Monday (which I never attended), she said.

She went on to explain that she did not know what Juneteenth was, so when she had grumbled that the regular Monday holidays were upsetting her schedules, she was being ignorant, not disrespectful. She said it was only when she went home and told her daughter what she said and was berated for not knowing that Juneteenth was a “Black Lives Matter” holiday, that she recognized that her remarks had been insensitive.

Realizing that clearly neither she nor her daughter really understood what Juneteenth is, (it has nothing to do with Black Lives Matter, as that’s only the name of an activist group), I decided to have a word with her after the class. Not to quarrel with her, but to educate her.

For she is just one of the millions of people in the USA who know nothing about the history of slavery/oppression of black people in America.

It was Winston Churchill who said ‘history is written by the victors,’ and that is ever so true.

In America, most of the original historians were white, so carefully avoided reference to white oppression/savagery and the role black people played for almost 250 years, in building America without any compensation.

This impression was reinforced was recently as I watched a discussion on CNN, in which a college-educated young man from Tulsa Oklahoma, said he knew nothing about the Tulsa Massacre until recently seeing a documentary about it on television. He added that nothing about slavery or the struggles and oppression of black people was ever taught in high school when he attended less than a decade ago.

For the benefit of the unlearned, the Tulsa Massacre was the most infamous of the many direct assaults on progressive black people by envious whites, in recent history.

It took place on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been deputized and given weapons by city officials, attacked wealthy black residents, looting/destroying homes and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, then known as Black Wall Street.

About 10,000 black people were left homeless, and property damage amounted to more than $1.5 million in real estate and $750,000 in personal property (equivalent to $34.18 million in 2021).

It is not until recently that information about many other wealthy black areas in the USA that were similarly looted by envious whites, has started to emerge!

In fact, I dare say that it was not until black history month started in 1970, that most Americans, both black and white, heard any history about the role of Afro Americans in the country, apart from them having been brought from Africa as slaves!

It took many more decades too for the history text books to start to record and teach snippets of black history in schools. Even so, older white Americans have held on to the myths about blacks being lazy, hangers on who were saved by the white man, which was taught to them when they were at school.

Those white supremacists are mostly the people who see former president Donald Trump as their hero, as for blacks to remain marginalized, the truth about their history cannot become common knowledge.

Prominent among those determined to hide the truth is Trump’s chief disciple, Ron  DeSantis governor of Florida. He has even taken direct interest in censoring what is being reported in text books at the schools in the state.

His motivation, he said, is that nothing should be taught in schools to make one race feel bad about their history or remind others about past oppression.

People like DeSantis and Trump who wish to hide the truth about how America became great at the expense of black slaves and Native Americans, clearly do not understand the depth of  Jean Racine's prophetic words; “There are no secrets that time do not reveal.”

So yes, it is taking a long time, but the truth is finally being revealed and soon, the real meaning of holidays like Juneteenth and the achievements of black people in America, will have to be acknowledged and appreciated, by the ignorant and even the most racist whites.

In the meantime, each of us has a responsibility to enlighten everyone with whom we come into contact, as I and two other students in the yoga class had to do recently.

Corona jottings

As I sat down to express my thoughts on this mad virus that has the world in a tailspin, I decided to look up the meaning of the word 'corona' for didn't the Japanese company which manufactures Toyota, name one of their models corona some years ago?

That's what drove me to the on-line dictionary. There were several meanings listed but I assume the one the Japanese were thinking of was; "likened to a crown". In giving the origin, it says "mid 16th century (in corona 1 (sense 5)): from Latin, ‘wreath, crown’."

I wonder if anyone still has a Toyota corona and if it is today considered valuable or a piece of junk? Remind me to check this out one day.

Well so much for that civilized Corona product (in addition to the beer) for the Corona we now have is the evil one that has brought the world to a standstill! (How on earth did it earn such a lofty name?)

  

I have been enjoying my retirement and why shouldn't I, for didn't I have to work more than fifty years (many decades of which I had to finance the education of my daughter and grandson almost single-handedly, except for the regular assistance of my big brother Bernie!) to get to this stage? \

So I was determined to spend as much of the rest of my life as possible, doing the things I love most, ... travelling and writing. 

Then corona stepped in. So is it that I should  now just get accustomed to writing only?

For I was  scheduled to arrive in Nairobi, Kenya on the 1st April 2020,  after flying out from Florida on the 31st March. (Maybe I should stop making serious plans for dates that include all fool's day!😇😇😇)

Long story short, the world locked down on me for not only did I see flights being cancelled and airports locked down but then the Kenyan government, like most governments throughout the world, put out an advisory that only their citizens and residents would be let in. But that turned out to be good luck for the next thing I knew, my Canadian hosts were ordered home by their government, so if by chance I did reach Kenya, I would have been homeless.

Hopefully, I will see you later my gracious hosts, the Masai, lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes and all the other fantastic animals found in that wonderful region.

You know, I had forgotten until my brother reminded me, that this was my second attempt to try to visit the land of my dreams, which had been frustrated. For in 2019, a number of us planned to set out for that very destination, but one of the group, got ill and had to undergo an emergency operation.  Thank heavens it was successful but since then, no one else had appeared to be in the mood for the long trek so soon after.

I am positive my third attempt in late 2020 or early 2021 will be successful though. For I can't be so bad lucked can I?

  

So here I am in the USA where things have come to a full stop. 

With the community center where I  do my yoga, zumba and play pickle-ball now locked down tighter than a sardine can, I have had to find some morning activity to I remain healthy so I can take on the world when it opens up.

Well on Monday I went riding on my bicycle but the next day, I rediscovered our fully equipped recreation center for which I have been paying maintenance but not using the facilities. So  I went there to the gym, hot tub then pool. No other human being around so it was quite good.
I therefore shall return daily.

So while corona may be a temporary setback, it certainly is not going going to stop me or keep me cooped up inside. Maybe I will change my routines and travel less for a while, but that's about it.

 😊 And I shall remain fit and healthy and ready to move on when the rest of the world opens up.

(260) Talk Jamaican: di chiney virus - YouTube

Milk River Trek

Milk River Bath as most of you would probably know, is named after the river there which provides important irrigation for the Clarendon  plains where you find mostly cane and livestock farming.

 However, the river itself is infested with crocodiles and on our way we saw some fishermen with a small canoe and when asked what they were fishing for they laughingly said "crocodiles and fish."

 However, the bath does not get its highly radioactive water from the river, but from springs under the property itself.  And radioactive it is and warm too at a consistent 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. It is also said to have high levels of magnesium, calcium, sulphate and natural chloride which is said to help alleviate pains associated with  rheumatism, arthritis, sciatica and nerve complaints. The waters, however are so radioactive that patrons are warned to stay in for no more than ten to twenty minutes at a time, and then for no more than three baths per day.

 These baths were  opened in 1794 as according to legend, a slave, owned by one Jonathan Ludford  was brutally whipped and locked away in a dungeon. Imprisoned and severely wounded, and vowing never to be a slave again, he broke out of his chains and escaped. Days later, the man returned to the estate in full health, healed of the wounds he had received only a few days before. In an effort to convince others to run away with him, he told a tale of a remarkable salty spring in which he had bathed. Everyone who saw him was amazed at his recovery, and soon, word reached the owner of the estate who had ordered him punished. Ludford himself was astounded at the recovery, and promised to grant the slave freedom if he revealed the location of the spring. The slave led a party to the location, and Ludford promptly acquired the spring and the lands around it, and started the Milk River Baths.

 Upon his death, Ludford bequeathed all the property and land to the government and people of Jamaica to benefit all who needed them.

 I have not visited those baths for around ten years as the last time I went there it was in really terrible condition with junjo growing around the edge of the baths and the rails rusty.

In September 2015, Dr. Wyckham McNeil, Minister of Tourism  announced plans to carry out a $50-million rehabilitation project to include:

* demolition and alterations;

* upgrading of the electrical and plumbing systems, ceiling and floor;

* painting and decorating; and

* replacement of leaking and damaged roof

On this trip in November 2015, I returned with my Fun and Thrills familyWhile the real athletes rode from Kingston, a bunch of us drove to Osborne Store then headed south down to Gravel Hill primary school, parked and whiked  the 8 km to the bath.  At least, most of us walked while Ruth and Lisa the young turks jogged. My yoga teacher, Dada from Ananda Marga came to hike with us. While we waitied at the school for mthe others to arrive, a young rastaman rode up[ on his bicycle and mwelcomed us, then he and Dada got into a philosophical conversation. Before we left, Dada declared  "You know I agree with a  lot of the rastafari philosophy but I dont approve of the smoking of the herb" To which his fellow debater laughingly replied "Mi a smoke fram mi barn and mi healtier dan yu".

On the easy scenic walk, we passed a nicely decorated (private I guess) area called "Milk River Park" with some interesting paintings and signs, the most interesting being the ones calling for the legalization of Obeah and the one purporting to be a drawing of our ancestors!

Despite the governments announcement in September, not much work seems to have been done yet as the only noticeable improvement I saw that the the baths were refurbished (but the rusty rails remain)  some roofing work has been done and some areas re-tiled. Hopefully the next time I return, we will really see  $50 million improvement.!~

The bath was really refreshing and invigorating and the food was great, although about 70 persons took the trip while some 20 did not indicate they were coming and arrangements had only been made for some 50 the week before. This of course created some problems for the staff but they managed.

It was really an enjoyable day all round and of course Maurice and his ride back posse did declare they were riding back. I don't know if they did but the rest of us returned to Kingston in  comfortable vehicles with some of us even rejecting the new highway to drive through Old Harbour to get some delicious jerked pork.

Photos by David Jo and Jackie.

Reggae Falls and Barren Monuments

No matter how many times we ride to Reggae Falls,  I can never be tired or disappointed with the outing, for it just get better each time.

This Easter Sunday was my fifth trip to those scenic cascading  falls and the ride seemed so easy this time I had to wonder if  had really come off my bicycle and pushed over the first hill outside of Seaforth town, the first couple of times we rode there.

Despite the obvious drought as reflected in the  brown hills  towering over Hillside Valley, in the valley itself, it was quite lush and I guess because I was not over stressed on this ride, I noticed the huge Serge Island Milk factory just above the falls, for the first time.

What made this ride especially pleasant was the fact that it drizzled  during the entire journey from we passed the turn off to Stony Gut, so we had no blaring sun to deal with at all.

However, once we got tot he falls the sun kept appearing intermittently, allowing us to frolic in the cool water without any discomfort.

Shawn and I entered the Johnson river from a different path this time for when we went to the usual entrance we saw that some kind of sand mining must have been taking place as sand was piled u all over the place. So we followed the dirt path which headed west and entered the river much higher up. That's definitely a better entrance anyway as you have far less river to wade through.

The Stella Maris posse

This trip was not just the usual crowd from Fun and thrills, but also the Chuck's who along with Charles Simpson provided the delicious meal of curried goat, barbecue chicken and franks with an assortment of salads including delicious breadfruit salad, brought guests from  Stella Maris, mostly the members of their famous steel band Stewart brought along a couple of yoga instructors and Charlene had her group of photographers.

The "washer people" of Reggae Falls 

The scene of the day was a demonstration in effective clothes washing in the river by Charles the 1st, Fatman and Rose.....and the winner was Fatman.

It was  a cool gathering and as the white rum and vodka flowed, the comedy hour began with each contributing their favourite jokes. I agree with Barry that the Logic joke is unbeatable.

Of course there  had to be dominoes and after boy scouting graduate Chuck set up a canvas covering, the table and dominoes came out. Unfortunately, although many of us have folding chairs, we forgot to bring them, so it was stand up and play.

Anyway I got my usual quota of 6 love (just one this time!) and even took on some local fellows who thought we looked like a walkover.

Chuck the scout

Chuck ordered some east indian mangoes and a lady brought 2 dozen, red juicy ones which we grabbed up at $100 each. Fatman dsved into one of the juiciest looking ones immediately and when he reached halfway, he saw two fat worms begging for mercy. He tried another, same picture.

 I took mine home and relaxed to enjoy them, same problem just different worms. I therefore decided to eat the other one after dark!

It was a great day all  round  of fun, antics, liquor and great food but as they say, all good things must come to an end.

Only Mark and Shawn rode back from the river while Chully, Charles and Chuck jumped on their bikes at different sections after clearing the hill leading from Hillside valley.

Each time we head to Reggae falls, I have wondered what the monument to honour Paul Bogle at Stony Gut looks like, as we always see the sign pointing the way. So I convinced Chris (the driver) to detour from following  two cyclists to take a look at it. It is about 5 miles from the main road and the road going there is

The bare monument dedicated to National hero Paul Bogle

extremely well paved and you get a beautiful view of the seashore in the eastern section as you ascend.

 The monument itself is quite attractive, however there are no signs or any type of information  once you arrive there and the place looks bare and desolate. The only sign we saw was a "no trespassing" one and it is covered with weeds, typical of how we treat important monuments in this our fair land.

 Anyway, while I am sure the courageous members of the A team who took on a  two day cross the island ride are nice and sore from riding by now, I am certainly well refreshed after a wonderful day with like minded fun lovers who made the far more pleasant  trek to one of the most beautiful places in the island, Reggae Falls in the Johnson River.

Fasting, Riding and All that.

I have long considered myself a solid, unbreakable carnivore. In fact I have  often wondered if I had been a cannibal in one of my past lives! But yesterday I discovered I could actually last a full day without meat.

I must be getting old.

Anyway I have started back doing  Yoga  and the Dada suggested that it is good to fast for a day now and then to clean out your system. So since yesterday was Good friday and I have long stopped cooking and re no one else do so on that day, I decided to experiment with a fast.

I had coconut water from morning to noon and although I was starving by then, I resisted temptations including that delicious home-made bun ginning at me on the dining table.

By 3 pm I thought I was dying from starvation so figured that since mangoes are fruit that did not count so had three. But by 5pm I coild not stand the sight of the grinning bun so gave it a stab and had some cheese. Boy was it ever good. So now I comfort myself by saying I did an entire day without any meat. Quite an achievement I think.

Maybe the next time I try I will do the entire day without any solids.

And this morning I felt extra good so at 6am did not bother to drive up to meet the others who were taking the kids from the National Children's Home to Rockforth bath to swim after a ride to Bull Bay, so I rode up instead.

Only problem is when I got to the gas station to wait on them, I bought a newspaper, read it off and  still no one turned up after more than fifteen minutes.

 So I decided to do my regular ride up Beverly hills then head home. On the way up I saw Fatman riding down but told him I could not bother  to go with them.  Five missed calls from Charles later I decided to answer the phone and let him convince me to ride with them.

After a total of 2 1/2 hours of riding then swimming. had to ride home again. But it seems the attempted fast was really good for me for I was not at all tired when I returned home just before 12 noon.

F&T Wins Again.

Charles Simpson aka Charles the 1st, made an excellent choice. He had been insisting for almost a year now that we arrange and outing to Mountain River Cave, which is at Cudjoe Hill and which he had read about, but the powers that be had not been accommodating. Anyway, last Tuesday he finally got Charles 2nd, myself and Chuck to go with him to the location to make arrangements . So Sunday 5th March was the big day. And what a lovely day it was.

We of the A team, had decided to ride out early so we could get as much in before the sun started blazing, so departure from Charles 2nd's house was set for 5am. As usual they were late. I had ridden to Michelle's home at 5.15am so we could get to Dunrobin Avenue by 5.16am and meet the others. Chuck was there at the appointed time but the other members of the A team were missing until 5.30am.

A view of the plains below

It was a lovely ride on the flat Mandella highway and since Chris, the driver was in a fast driving mood, I decided to try and keep up with him to see how much I had improved. My original record was 9 km per hour but on Sunday, as I kept up with him, he said he was clocking 20 km per hour. 

Keep up the good work Joan!

We had a few stops here and there, the main one being by Jose Marti school where Pat brought out some goodies including a delicious piece of potato pudding which I enjoyed with much relish, happy in the thought that I would not put on an ounce, since the ride would consume it all.

All the way to the entrance of Dovecot, the road was flat and the ride easy. After that the gentle grades kept growing all the way to Guanabo Vale. On the way there, we were passed by David driving Howie's vehicle. He was on his way to get Grace who lives just above Dovecot. She joined the ride just outside of Kitson Town.

It was quite challenging up to Guanabo Vale but as it was a cool morning, no one complained. We stopped and hung around just by the Police station and just as we were ready to resume the ride, up rode Maurice RB. (RB means ride back for if were he alone, he would ride back to Kingston after all our fun jaunts!

The cave is grilled to prevent theft/vandalism

We got to Cudjoe Hill just before 9am after most of us conquered what had been aptly described as a "Bitch hill".

The view of the St. Catherine plains as you rode up the steep incline, was breathtaking. As steep as the hill appeared however, everyone but Fatman, Chuck and Charles the 2d, conquered it totally. Grace did get off to rest a little bit but got right on. Of course, she had the benefit of "fresh legs"!

The B team arrived about half an hour later, then we were joined by those who drove down, Desiree, Chris Dalrimple, Lisa, Barry and Karen.

Just as we gathered, a fudge man passed by and I think the tired troopers bought out his entire stock. 

The breakfast that followed was absolutely wonderful. (I had a blow up with the guide, see (Of yoga, Blackness and the Maroons) and the only reason why I did not write a formal complaint to the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, was because she was instrumental in cooking that delicious meal!)

After breakfast we headed down a steep incline to the river. So treacherous was the pathway that the Jamaica Defence Force had installed iron railings to assist hikers.

Taino markings outside the cave

Most of us went up to the cave...about a mile hike along a well fruited area, but the cave itself but it was not at all impressive. What was really wonderful and very impressive was the swimming area by the waterfall. I am now re-assessing my impression that Big Dunn in Portland, is the best river swimming area that I have ever experienced, but that another matter.

Getting to it was not for the fainthearted as we had to climb down large, treacherous rocks to get there and both Michael and Howie demonstrated that gentlemen still exist, as they stayed by the rocks to help the women down .

What was great about the swimming area was the moss in the river bed which was easy on the feet and the fact that it had both deep and shallow areas so one could dive off the rocks and the non-swimmers need not have worried.

Theresa did create some excitement however by trying to drown herself, for after asking if a section was deep and told it was, she jumped in and when she couldn't stand up, started to yell in panic. She was pulled to safety by a young lady (I think it was Sparkes) who was sitting on the rock while Theresa continued to scream and carry on.

The water was also very buoyant which made floating easy, so I was able to just lie quietly and mediate away whatever residual anger had remained after cursing off the guide!

The waterfall had an area behind it where you could actually climb up and get behind the falls. After observing a local gentleman doing it, David succeeded in getting up there. The rocks surrounding the falls seem designed for rock climbing and Chuck tried his skills at it but did not succeed while a local lady did it without any difficulty.

Everybody seemed to have had a ball and when it was time to return, Chuck decided to follow dog which was supposed to know the way back and nearly ended up in LLudias
Vale!

We did not walk back up the steep rocks as those who came down later had discovered that if you had walked a little further down, it was much easier.

When it was time to return, most of the riders decided to join Maurice RB since it was all downhill to St. Johns road. Since I am allergic to riding after eating, I travelled back with David and Grace.

Kudos to Charles the 1st and Charles the 2nd for a wonderful location and excellent coordination.

For more photos, see my  fb post "Mountain River Cave etc"