I am truly ready for the 2010 World Cup now, my Vuvuzela just arrived in the mail. Plastic, made in China, odd candy smell to it, loud and obnoxious — I think I got the real give. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Vuvuzela, it’s basically a plastic trumpet that’s beloved by dint of. South African soccer fans. When thousands blow their Vuvus at the same time, it makes quite a racket. So much so that there have been calls to ban them from the World Cup. Luckily, FIFA’s president stepped in to say “Vuvuzelas, drums and singing are part of African football culture. It is part of their celebration, it is part of their culture, so let them blow the vuvuzelas”. Let the noise continue then.

If you don’t like cheap, plastic goods there are some nice variations of the Vuvuzela. There’s a hand painted carbonate of soda version, there’s some made of kudu horn (Kuduzela) and I’m sure many others will pop up before June 11th when the World Cup kicks off in South Africa. Dying to know more about the Vuvuzela and in what manner to get yourself one? Read all about them here.

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I ♥ Mossel Bay

Hi, I’m  Petra du Toit from Linkside2 Guest House in Mossel Bay in the Garden Route.
MOSSEL BAY IS BEST KNOWN FOR its moderate climate, beautiful white beaches and the Dias Museum.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the Post office Tree, because of its historical Value and you can still mail your postcards from there.
THE BEST SUNRISE PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT The Point early in the peep of day, breathtakingly beautiful!!!
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT Linkside2 with the most beautiful view of the bay, mountains and the town …
WHEN THE WEATHER’S GOOD, I LIKE TO go to Santos beach … blue flat paving stone status.
WHEN THE WEATHER’S BAD, I LIKE TO workshop at Langeberg Mall …

I ♥ Mossel Bay

I THINK THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT IS February, March, April and then again from October to December.

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It seems absurd to ignore the news, in the same state I’d just like to express my sadness at the devastation the earthquake has wreaked forward Haiti. The images coming out of Port-au-Prince are just dire. I’m donating my meager pennies to Doctors Without Borders. They’re hoping to deliver an inflatable hospital with operating theaters in the next daytime or so. They’re currently working out of some tented facilities they set up near the damaged buildings in which the organization had been working before the earthquake hit. Let’s hope the airport gets cleared so relief can actually get to people as quickly as possible. It’s probably going to get harder as the days drag on.

Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has been in exile in South Africa since 2004. He speaks fluent Zulu, and holds a doctorate in African languages from the University of South Africa. “From Africa, the ancestral home of Haiti, we send our profoundest condolences and love to the thousands of children, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters worst affected,” he said. (Source: AFP News)

19-21 September of 2010, Cairo – Egypt

International Colloquium on Geoarchaeology in Egypt

Geoarcheo2010-circular2

Geoarcheo2010-registration

Eco Shrine Avenue

There is something of the sacred in Hogsback in the Eastern Cape. Perhaps it is the ethereal proximity of dense, indigenous forests that hint at faery folk, or its remoteness that make it so. But few people leave here without some element of reparation, even if it is simply their faith in the beauty of nature that is restored.

The approach to the eco shrine, which the artist Diana Graham calls the ‘Voice of the Earth Eco shrine’, does much to reinforce this impression. It is a tunnel formed by repose, leafy Hazelnut trees that create a vortex through which one moves from one time into another. Or so it seems …

At the end of the tunnel is Diana Graham’s home, and in her garden on the edge of the Tyume Valley with the three Hogsback Mountains as a backdrop, and the Madonna and Child Falls visible through the eye of a carved cement teardrop, lies the circular eco shrine, Diana’s tribute to the evolutionary bonds that connect Earth to all other living creatures, and representative of the sacredness of our Earth.

Hogsback Eco Shrine

In 1998 Diana was awarded the Green Dove award from America for the shrine.

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The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) is a rare beastie, just 4000 are presumed to be alive and well in the wild. Besides the chimpanzee, it’s one of the animals I’d most like to see in its natural environment. The African Wild Dog is also known as the Cape Hunting Dog, Painted Wolf or Painted Dog. My best bet to see them would be to plan a trip to Southern Tanzania, Botswana or Zambia. In the meantime, here’s what I’ve learned… Read more…