WPC: The Blue Hue of me

“Blue colour is everlastingly appointed by the Deity to be a source of delight” ~ John Ruskin

The color of ocean and sky, blue is perceived as a constant in our lives. I think if I had to choose just one favourite colour, it would have to be blue. I’ve seen so many beautiful shades of blue, and they never fail to lift my spirits.

There’s the cool refreshing aqua of the ocean.

The celestial blue of the sky on a clear day.

The welcoming  shade of blue umbrellas on the white sandy beach.

The indigo blue of the sky peeping through fluffy clouds.

The gorgeous blues of the ocean seen from above the clouds.

The always sparkling blue of our swimming pool here in Florida,

and not forgetting the beautiful blues of the sea and sky back home in South Africa.

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.”  ~ Eleanora Duse

To see more entries for this challenge, just click here.

A beautiful mid winter’s day at the seaside.

Next week, we leave our seaside home in South Africa, to travel to England for hubby’s mom’s 100th birthday parties next weekend. We will spend about ten days touring around England, and then we are all going on a Rhine cruise to celebrate her centenary once again. From there, we will be going back to our home in Florida for six months.

Today was a beautiful mid winter’s day, so after my early birthday lunch, we decided we needed to take a walk along the promenade to have a last look at the beach and the waves, before getting down to the serious business of packing cases and preparing the house for our seven months absence.

It wasn’t very populated along this stretch,

but a bit further along where the life guards are, there were a lot more people, frolicking in the waves, and sunbathing.

The huge rocks are a very popular place for a bit of climbing around.

A lone fisherman looked to be concentrating very hard, probably wishing for a fish to put on his plate tonight.

These surfers were just chilling, waiting for the right waves.

This family had set up camp here for the day, also hoping for a few fish to bite.

Someone had rescued an interesting piece of driftwood, which looked to me like a weird sea monster.

I’ve never noticed this palm tree in flower before. Isn’t it quite wonderful? I have no idea what it’s called, but maybe you can enlighten me.

I think I’m going to miss this particular piece of paradise quite a lot for the next seven months, but it will still be here when we return in March, and there are lots of adventures to be had in the meantime. 🙂

Ailsa’s Travel Theme: Pathways

Ailsa’s theme is ‘Pathways’, and I had fun seeking out a few photos of paths I have seen on my travels.

Here in the North West Province of South Africa we have ‘The Palace of the Lost City’, where the African theme is carried through every detail of the design and architecture. These life-size elephants line the pathway up to the entrance to the Lost City. Each of the elephants standing on the bridge has a powerful loudspeaker inside, so you can listen to the realistic surround sound of the jungle. Every hour, a special hydraulic system starts to shake the bridge like in an earthquake, and a concealed dry ice system shrouds the bridge with white mist. The sound system then plays a powerful rumbling sound, making you feel like you are in the Indiana Jones movie when the huge boulder started rolling towards him.

Here are pathways leading up to Machu Picchu in the Cusco region of Peru. This 15th century Inca site is almost 8,000 feet above sea level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest.

Here is a pathway up to what looked like a shrine built into the rock, on our travels through Ecuador.

On the road from Cuenca to Quito, we stopped off to visit some mud huts near an active volcano.  Such a pretty little pathway led up to them, but I couldn’t stay inside for very long, as there was an open fire, and the hut was full of smoke.

Here’s a rather interesting pathway in Montana.  This rock formation is called“Devil’s Slide,” and according to the brass plaque there, that red pathway  is where the long-horned sheep have been coming down for centuries to drink at the river. I would have loved to see them come slipping and sliding down that rock face, but there weren’t any thirsty sheep that day.

Here are a couple of pathways on the idyllic island of Koh Phi Phi Leh, in Thailand, the film location for the movie ‘The Beach’.

I seem to remember that this well trodden pathway led to the restrooms. 🙂

In Bali, there are many pathways along the green rice terraces.

Here’s me heading down the path at our resort in Nusa Dua on the south-east coast of Bali, to spend some relaxing time at the pool.

There’s a rather steep path down to the beach at Fontelina on the Isle of Capri. This magical beach rests at the foot of the legendary Faraglioni, and is where the Roman emperors residing on Capri, once came to bathe. The faint-hearted don’t have to take this route, as it can also be reached by shuttle boat from Marina Piccola.

Rather more easily accessible for me, is this pathway onto our beach, just down the driveway, but we have wet weather today, so I’ll take a rain check.

My favourite pathway photo ever, was sent to me by my son when he was on vacation in Bermuda. It made me want to get on the next plane.

I hope you’ve enjoyed dallying with me along the paths from my travels. To see more bloggers’ interpretations of Ailsa’s theme, just click here.

Wordless Wednesday: A Sign of Fitness

Some of you will remember my meeting with the Kosovan ex gymnast at the beach last weekend. He is 46 years old, and not only does handstands to cool off after his morning  run, but also did several of these, and was as steady as a rock. I was in total awe.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Escape

When the going gets tough, the tough escape to the beach; at least that’s what happens here in Umhlanga. Today dawned bright, calm and sunny, after a rather dreary Friday. Of course hubby and I were keen to escape from the house and see what was happening along the beachfront. Imagine our surprise as we rounded the corner, and came upon this guy. He’d been running, and was now just cooling down. I asked if I may take his photo, and he obliged and did a couple more handstands. In the course of our conversation, I learned that he was an ex gymnast from Kosovo, and that during the war in the late 1990’s, he escaped to England. After getting his British passport, he came out to South Africa on holiday and decided that Umhlanga was the best place on earth, so stayed and bought a home near the beach. I have an even more amazing pic of him which I’m saving for this week’s Wordless Wednesday. He was really happy to have his photo taken, and asked me if I would e-mail them to him.

A bit farther along, someone had escaped from home, and was all setup for a day’s fishing.

This couple looked to be dancing in the surf.

You don’t have to be young to escape on a surf board,  just fit.

Riding the waves is a wonderful form of escape.

This also looks like a lot of fun.

Children love to escape to the beach and play sand pies.

Here at the lifeguards station, you can see the pole, which in an emergency, is the quick escape route down to the beach, just like in the fire stations.

For the adventurous, there’s deep-sea fishing and wave jumping on offer,

but if you just want to chill out, you can lay yourself down at the water’s edge, use your shoes as a pillow. and just dream the day away; that is until the tide comes in. 😉

I hope you enjoyed my pics for the Weekly Photo Challenge. To see more contributions, you can click on the link.