Aarde Villa

Sääritsa

Lake Peipsi

Estonia

August 21, 2014

“How did you find this place?”  Thomas asks me.   “With great difficulty,” I respond.

Since this is my very first day driving with a GPS device, I am having some trouble learning the subtleties.   Plus that sweet lady up in the satellite hasn’t a clue when, unexpectedly, a main road is closed on the route to my destination.  Even my maps have no indication of this small town that lies somewhere between Mustvee and Kallaste.  So I read my guidebook, follow my nose, and ask directions of a couple of teenage boys who speak good English.  Eventually, I find my way down a narrow country lane to the Villa.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant.  How did you know about this place?” asks Thomas, an astonished Estonian. 

Tallinn

Estonia

August 17, 2014

My fellow phographers,

My friend and professional phographer and guide, Ralph Velasco offered this advice, "Find the human touch."

So after indulging my own proclivity for architecture and landscape, I follow Ralph's suggestion.

As per my typical routine, I find a quiet spot and try (unobtrusively) to shoot the natives.

If I am “busted” I give them a peek at the screen. 

Luckily, here in Estonia, the natives are mostly cheerful, and anxious to strike a glamorous pose. 

Tallinn

Estonia

August 17, 2014

So where do all these tourists come from? 

Lijiang

Yunnan Province

People’s Republic of China

Elevation 2400m 7900 ft.

June 2, 2014

Dear Friends and Fellow Travelers,

I can never resist a market.  Can you?  Always lively, colorful and surprising, the market is a core element of daily life.  What is more essential than food, clothing and household goods?   And what is more fun? 

So after our early morning stroll through the Old Town of Lijiang that included an invitation to a tea ceremony, my guide Illian and I head over to the main market.  I took about “a thousand” photos, and finally stocked up on a half kilo of fresh, sweet green plums for the ride ahead.

Shaxi

Yunnan Province

China

June 6, 2014

Dear Friends,

During my brief visit to the livestock market in Shaxi, I recalled the ditty “Mules” that I learned at Boy Scout Camp.   As I trod the grounds among horses, cows, bulls and other assorted browsers, I paid strict attention to the lyric.*

Shaxi is an historic town along the Ancient Tea Horse Road that connects China to Burma to Tibet to India.  But Shaxi is unlike Lijiang, another caravan stop to the north.  Lijiang boasts an airport that dismounts herds of visitors.  Shaxi retains an “ancient” atmosphere.