Our visit to DUBAI

We went to Dubai to visit Kate. Her husband Robin works in Dubai. They live in a large compound just 20 minutes from the coast. The whole place was built in the desert. All amenities and structures like roads, drainage, water system, shops,communal swimming pool, shops, school, mosque and all that is needed for living in a confortable housing estate are available and well functioning. Their house is spacous and has a nice garden next door to the golf course. From there you can reach the sea, the town center and the desert in just half an hour. Of course in dubai there are incredible buildings designed in the most modern and capricious ways.

The Berj Khalifa is the tallest construction in the world reaching at its top 1000 meters. From the top you can have a vision of this spectacular town and its surrounding ; the indian ocean and the desert and the tall modern buildings around look like doll houses.

Diapositiva 1 - Google Viewer

Diapositiva 1 - Google Viewer

Africa 2008

The waterhole on the left is in Etosha National Park in Northern Namibia. We sat in the shade of acacia trees writing our diaries and watching the comings and goings of this incredible spot. Usually it is a continuous stream of animals from the left and right, all waiting their turn with kudus and giraffes being the most nervous! One night after dinner we walked here (2 mins. from our campsite) to see 12 giraffe all in a row on the far side , legs splayed and drinking water. There was a large rhino in the foreground. The whole scene is floodlit (the animals are used to it) and it was a magical surreal scene. The photo of the elephant is at the same place and I wasn't using a zoom!!!

Il Viaggio

Il viaggio inizia nella vostra immaginazione. posso cominciare a riflettere su di esso? Dove sono i cavalli con un unico corno sulla loro fronte? devo andare avanti o seguire il vento ? ? Non c'è un villaggio nel mezzo di un luogo dove mi sono recato più volte prima ma non so dove si trova?. Preparare lo zaino, è freddo? Devo prendere un paio di stivali pesanti o i sandali acquistati la scorsa estate? le fantasie controllano la mia immaginazione : mi trovo disteso su un tappeto di cannucce in attesa della tigre che sta venendo all'abbeveratoio ? o era un leone? Si avvcina e la fotocamera è pronta, vorrei che il sole fosse un poco più a sinistra, ora il naso e gli occhi sono in luce e la fotocamera sembra funzionare autonomamente, e se la bestia pensasse che io potrei essergli pericoloso??
troppo tardi per pensare, la fotocamera scatta furiosa, la bestia sente il click, cosa devo fare? Non bisogna preoccuparsi, Tiger è andata ma ho la foto.
Le pianure che saranno di fronte a me sono enormi. niente colline come orizzonte: foreste con uno scuro contorno, solo luce : Giallo e Bianco con alcune sfumature blu chiaro la dove si confondono col cielo terso. Più vicino sparsi cespugli marrone scuro con qualche fiore secco rimasto.
L'auto è bloccato nel bel mezzo della bianca conca, la strada principale è a nord-est, una solitaria figura procede ed ha un serpente avvolto sulle braccia, . Vuoi del latte?
Siamo alla porta di questo villaggio, la siepe di rovi spinosi alta due metri rafforzata da fronde d'albero, una forte barriera contro il Leone, fa da cintura a sei grandi abitazioni fatte di pagla e fango,. tre uomini e una donna sono al centro, chiaccherano. Li chiamiamo ma loro non sentono o non vogliono rispondere.
,non possiamo entrare nel villaggio

The Journey

The trip starts in your immagination. Can I start thinking about it? Where are the horses with a single horn on their forehead? Should I go there or follow the wind wherever it takes me? There is a village in the middle of somewhere where I went several times before but I don't know where it is. Start preparing the bag, is it cold there? should I take a pair of heavy boots or the light sandals I bought last summer?
The fantasies take hold of my immagination and find me reclining on a carpet of straws waiting for the tiger to come to the water hole.
Or was it a lion ? It comes very near and the camera is ready, I wish the sun were just a bit more to the left, now the nose and the eyes are in the lght and the camera seems to operate by itself, what if he thinks that i'm dangerous? Too late to think, the camera shoots, the beast hears its clicks, what shall I do ? No need to worry, the tiger is gone , but I have the picture.
The plains that will be in front of me are vast. no hills as horison no forest as a dark contour, only light yellow and white with some dots where the bushes grow.
Th car is stuck somewhere in the middle of the white pan, the main road is somewhere to the north east, a solitary figure approches and he has a snake wrapped on hir arms, does he know tjhat I do not need the snake. Do you want some milk? no he drinks only earl gray tea.
We are at the gate of this village, the fence is around six large huts, spiked branches of trees make a strong barrier against the lion's thirst or hunger. Three men and a woman are standing chatting just inside the compound . We yell and call them. They ignore us and we cannot enter the village.
The preparation is frantic now. the booking of the flights take time and money, leaving from Rome on the 24th December, Christmas in Johannesburg, The Birchwood Hotel will give us a warm welcome, so