'Twas a Mostly Sunny to Sunny, Sunny Day Blues: Sunday, February 2nd!

Sometimes you can’t see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others. -Ellen DeGeneres, comedian, TV host, actor, and writer (b. 26 Jan 1958) 

 
Hi Summerland Cousins! Trust you are both well. Just wondering if a hike has been scheduled for tomorrow? Have not seen notice of one, as far as I know. Main reason I'm inquiring is that I'm back on the road to Kelowna, domani, to collect Winnipeggers. If hike is on I'd like to join gang but will have a time constraint, inasmuch as I will need to be at home to shower and change and then hit 97 North. 

If hike will be a relatively short one, [over by noon +/-], I think I'll be able to squeeze it in, but probably not java and de-brief afterwards. If hike isn't on or perhaps too, too long, I can always ride although I gather it might be a tad chilly. At any rate, when you have a moment, please let me know what you think and I'll plan accordingly. Thanks and Cheers, Patrizzio!

Dry Gujarat: From Delhi, it was on to another new-to-me Indian state: Gujarat. On Wednesday evening, I flew to Vadodara (population 2.5 million), a city whose existence I was completely unaware of prior to planning this trip.  

On arrival, I was met by my guide, Girish, and driver, Ranjit, who will be accompanying me for the entire time — about a week — in Gujarat. Girish is a friendly, funny and knowledgeable fellow with very good English . . . and an outstanding guide. He also excels at finding clean washrooms while we’re on the road (although it must be said that “clean washroom” is a relative term in India. There is almost never tissue, only occasionally a hand dryer or paper towels, and sometimes but not always soap. Of course, it’s not reasonable to expect tissue, as Indians don’t use it. Rather, every toilet stall has a hand-held spray hose and nozzle, sometimes called a “bum gun,” that is used for cleansing after using the toilet. For this reason, I carry my own tissue when travelling in India. But . . . too much information, perhaps! The driver, Ranjit, is quiet, gentle, dignified, and pleasant. He understands English quite well, which is not always the case with drivers. Ranjit and Girish are more like a team than other guide/driver duos I’ve travelled with. Usually, the guide leads you to the waiting car and briefly introduces the driver, who gives a polite nod and helps with the luggage. But when I emerged from the airport in Vadodara, they were both outside, beaming, and Girish introduced Ranjit as my “chauffeur.” Also unusually, Girish and Ranjit are both around my age, and that’s kind of nice too — puts us a bit more on the same page. 

Gujarat is known, among other things, for being Mahatma Gandhi’s home state, as well as that of the current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. It’s also a dry state, although foreign visitors can obtain licenses to legally purchase liquor during their stay. I’m not going to bother with that. I do like wine, but generally I don’t drink in India, because it’s overpowered by the flavourful, spicy food. A non-alcoholic beverage that I enjoy is Fresh Lime Soda — which, unsurprisingly, is freshly squeezed lime juice mixed with soda. Sugar is added if you choose “sweet” over “salty” as I always do. It doesn’t sound like anything special but it really is delicious.
 

As for exploring Gujarat, the last few days have been very busy, with visits to quite a few monuments, including two stepwells yesterday. I had never seen anything like these extraordinary sandstone constructions, dating from medieval times. They are so massive that I couldn’t capture full images within the limitations of my camera and photographic skills, so the interested are invited to Google Adalaj stepwell and Rani ki Vav stepwell for pictures and information. Among other highlights of Gujarat so far was a visit to the Kalikamata Temple at the summit of Pavagadh Hill, near Vadodara. It’s possible to reach by foot, but it’s very high and steep, and would take the best part of a day, so there’s a well-used cable car option. The temple draws hundreds — perhaps thousands — of pilgrims on a daily basis, so there was quite a long queue.
 

After taking the cable car to the top, we walked through a market area, principally selling offerings for devotees to take to the goddess. Along the way, we met this mother with a child whose hair had just been offered at the temple, which is a common practice. 

Notwithstanding the cable car ride, there was still quite a flight of steps to climb before reaching the temple. Below is an image of the steady stream of pilgrims making their way up. Sometimes, one of the devotees would start chanting or singing, and others would join in. Praise songs? Petitions to the goddess? I’m not sure . . . .
 

On the way back down, we shared the cable car with a mother and four unruly but sweet little kids, two of whom were constantly blowing loud, shrill whistles. Occasionally they paused to look down or back up (as in this photo), with rapt attention, at the path of the cable car.

I spent two nights in Gujarat’s largest city, Ahmedabad, where there is much to see that is of great interest, including the Calico Museum, which is considered a contender for if not THE greatest textile museum in the world. The Calico Museum can only be visited on guided tours, which are very tightly controlled . . . you have to apply, with a copy of your passport months ahead of time and there’s a security check and sign-in process when you arrive. A maximum of 21 people are admitted at once, which is apparently necessary to reduce the humidity created by body heat and breath which could damage delicate textiles. The tour lasted over two hours, was led by an eccentric woman who spoke in a monotone, with quite a thick accent. But it was WONDERFUL. At the end, we were offered chai and peanuts. 

Also in Ahmedabad, I visited Gandhi’s ashram, where he lived from 1917-1930, and went on a walking tour of old Ahmedabad, the first Indian city to be inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage City list. During the tour, we spent time at the Swaminaryan temple, where our visit happened to coincide with evening prayers. Below are a couple of photographs. As can be seen in the second one, women and men are separated during devotions. The following picture was taken at the busy vegetable market just outside the temple: 

Jumping ahead now, the next morning, when leaving Ahmedabad, something was going on by the side of the road, which turned out to be a wedding, so we stopped and stayed for half an hour or so. It was quite something to experience — a noisy, colourful, joyful, crowded event. We got there just as the groom was arriving at the bride’s home, on horseback, with a procession. The horse was led onto something like a trampoline (just a foot or so above the ground) and “danced” while onlookers danced and cheered.
After we had watched for a little while, someone in the crowd beckoned and ushered us to the bride’s quarters, where we saw the beautiful bride and were introduced to many members of her family, including her brother and his wife, who had been married just three days earlier. 

(Girish later explained that this was to take advantage of the economies of effort and time in arranging two weddings close together. Among other things, guests travelling from far away don’t have to make two trips).

It was quite wonderful to share this special day with the bride and groom, all the more because we were welcomed very warmly, given chai, and were even invited to stay for lunch. There was real disappointment on the part of our prospective hosts when we declined due to having other places to go and things to do. I would really have liked to stay, actually, but it just wasn’t practical.I’ll end this post with a few pictures of the occasion, which was definitely a highlight of the trip so far.

It was quite wonderful to share this special day with the bride and groom, all the more because we were welcomed very warmly, given chai, and were even invited to stay for lunch. There was real disappointment on the part of our prospective hosts when we declined due to having other places to go and things to do. I would really have liked to stay, actually, but it just wasn’t practical.I’ll end this post with a few pictures of the occasion, which was definitely a highlight of the trip so far.

Hello Portlandia! Trust you are both well. One of the sites I subscribe to used H L Mencken's book to illustrate the word-of-the-day and I immediately thought of Michaelo! Life goes well here. At the moment Lady Dar and Chloë/Rowan James are in Winnipeg. They have been there for a week and I'm back on the road to Kelowna, domani, to collect them.



Looking ahead, we are planning to drive to LA this coming May to attend Pierre's graduation, in Engineering, and am wondering if you will around then. If so, we really need to stay as with our eKona, we need to charge vehicle overnight, [I assume you don't have a Tier 2 charger! With our solar panels we installed one as  part of the overall package.], but can do so by simply plugging in to a regular outlet, for a so-called trickle charge. Will have to plan out trip fairly carefully as furthest we've travelled, to date , is to Vancouver. Fairly easy trip as we stop at Manning Park, roughly halfway, to charge up for an hour or so.



Do hope to see you both as it's been some time. Anyway, let us know what you think and we'll plan accordingly. Must away as sun is shining and I'm off for a ride. Can hardly believe that I've been riding most of January and now into February. Winds are ferocious but streets are nicely dry, although plenty of sand and other grit in bike lanes on busier, major thoroughfares. This being the case, I usually stick to streets in town, hereabouts, that past rains have washed quite clean. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Patrick, Cute baby. Mike will be taking his azalea (one week trip) to CA sometime in late May. I will be here. He was hit in the leg by a racket at the BC doubles tournament last weekend. They stopped play because he was bleeding on the court. Bandaid-ed him up and resumed. He played with Richard. They won their Friday match, but lost Sat am. He drove up and back w. Dennis Kusak and two other guys. Dennis and partner won the over 70's. Dennis's daughter lives in Vancouver. 

Monday Mike's calf swelled up considerably. Two days later we were in urgent care via a wheelchair. He has a huge hematoma and can't put any weight on his left foot. It is wrapped with ace bandage and he's to keep it elevated. He limps around the house a little, but has essentially been in bed or his chair for the past week. This is all just a matter of time, but it's not fun. I even got him a "male urinal" because he can't get to the pot very well. He alternates between crutches and his cane. He's not very adept at the crutches. The leg is a beautiful portrait in reds, yellows, greens and blacks. So yes we are here in May. I am going to a mini college reunion in Washington DC the last week of April. Back May 1. Look forward to seeing you then. Marilyn

Dear Injured Azalea Man! Terrible sorry to hear about your unfortunate squash injury. Only glad that it wasn't worse. From sound of it you are suffering, nonetheless. I trust you will be ambulating normally soon. More malt is the answer, I'm sure! Speaking of which, we had a most enjoyable Robbie Burns dinner, last Sunday, haggis and all! Interesting whisky line-up as well. Just picked up a Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength, 60%, to drown my sorrows while all alone!

Must away as I'm hiking tomorrow and after today's 61 km ride, [It was a simply gorgeous day!], I need to get to bed reasonably early. Take care of yourself, Michaelo, and be nice to your gorgeous nurse! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio! PS: Grand that we will see you both in May! Thanks!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!! Pics: Line-up at Robbie Burns Dinner and my Glenfarclas.
 

Hello Sold Out People! Trust you are both well. Congratulations on the overwhelming response to your library wine offer! Looking ahead, we are planning to drive to LA this coming May and am wondering if you will be around then. In any event, we would stop by to collect wine. Will have to plan out trip fairly carefully as furthest we've travelled, to date, is to Vancouver. Fairly easy trip as we stop at Manning Park, roughly halfway, to charge up for an hour or so. I know we cannot use Telsa charging stations but I'm curious to know if there happened to be any Tier 2 stations near where you might have stopped. I know we can locate such places but just thought I'd ask for any suggestions you might have, given the fact that you've made this trip at least twice, that I know of. Do hope to see you both as it's been some time. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hello Palapa People! Trust you are both well. Life goes swimmingly here. Brisk but dry today so must away as I want to go for another ride. Stay well. Fondestos and Cheers to you, Jackson, and Vittoria, Patrizzio!

My feline charges were most considerate, again, this morning, and allowed me to sleep in until 7:30 am when I was ready to rise without having to be nudged. When I raised the blind sin the living room the day looked pretty frosty. Turned out it was -4º C so I knew I'd have to wait for a few hours, at least, to let the roads dry. Had plenty to do so wasn't fussed in the least. Answered a bucket-laod of messages I felt I owed friends and after I'd finished my large bowl of yogurt and granola, topped with mixed berries, [I thawed a bag that I found in the freezer that I believe Amundsen took to Antarctica in 1911 when he reached the South Pole!], I made a sandwich for added fuel and then suited up. Was ready to leave The Burns Street Bistro just after 12:30 pm.

Had decided, given the fact that the wind wasn't raging as fiercely as it was yesterday, out of the S at 17 km/k, gusting to 20 km/h, I'd make for OK Falls. Government bike lane was still a mini-gravel pit but there was not all that much traffic so I could safely ride on the edge of the bike lane without any trouble. Left South Main at Dauphin and dipsy-doodled my way to Skaha Lake Park so that by the time I left the marina parking lot there I had already clocked 11 km.
While I had to push against the head wind on Eastside Road going wasn't really all that bad and I was soon at Devon Drive, just opposite McLean Creek Road, and I did a loop there for a couple of km worth of extra distance.

When I started up McLean Creek Road I had not decided if I'd ride it all the way to OK Falls but when I spied seven white-tailed deer, grazing in an enclosed pasture, just off Eastside, I took this as a good omen and decided it was Stag's Hollow or bust! Climb up McLean wasn't quite as arduous as I thought it might be, given that most of my recent rides have been "flatlanders". Nevertheless, my legs held m ein good stead even if I was huffing and puffing by the time I'd reached the top.

I always enjoy the ride through this small valley as it is usually very quiet. I think I was only passe dby two or three cars before I started the descent, whizzing down into OK Falls. Hit Oliver Ranch Road and received warm greetings from two different pedestrians as I climbed up the first couple of small rises. I think everyone out was in a good mood such was the nature of the day, bright sun and a blue sky with but a few puffy clouds. Anyway, was soon toiling up last two uphill grades and then was swooshing down Oliver Ranch Road to take the Sun Valley Road loop which would return me to ORR after passing both Stag's Hollow and Wild Goose. Neither looked open. Too, too bad as I could quite easily have quaffed a large glass of Suavignon Blanc, from former, or a Riesling, from latter, Dear Reader!

Nevertheless, high on endorphins, I hit 53.8 km/h on the drop back down into OK Falls so was more than chuffed as I made my way back to Eastside. Even the climb, where the raod narrows considerably, due to the rock face, high above Kipper Cove, way, way below, seemed a piece of cake and I was soon swooshing down the last real descent, just before the intersection of MCR, topping 53 km/h yet again. Hip Hip Hooray! With the wind at my back, [It had been there ever since I started back.], the ride along Skaha was a treat and before i knew it I was at Skaha Lake Park. Knew I'd require a little extra distance, to make goal I'd set for the outing, so a  few dipsy doodles on the streets thereabouts, and when I added needed distance I hied myself back up South Main and then caught Dawson to Government. 

Bike lane on this side of the street is far cleaner so I zipped along, catching all the lights and was soon at Eckhard. Light here was red but I did a quick dipsy -doodle onto Haven Hill Road to loop back to Government and by the time I'd accomplished this the light was now in my favour and I hurtled towards our back lane and was back home by a few minutes after 4:00 pm. Really pleased with glorious outing although I seem stuck below an AVG of 18 km/h. Need more hill work and gentler breezes! Cheers! Map and Stats for ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/4508062383#.XjdmeH6bs3s.email 

Hi Patrick, Here I go again leaving books on your doorstep! Thank you for lending me your much loved books. I enjoyed them. I will not be able to make our book club meeting. I’ll be in Kelowna with my sister-in-law. She has been diagnosed with colon cancer and has several appointments that she wants me to be with her. I’m sure I’ll be apprised of our next selection and have numerous photos to enjoy. Take care. Lou Hi Lou! I thought he book fairy had been around! You are always more than welcome to borrow whatever you'd like. Terribly sorry to hear about your sister-in-law's diagnosis. Pretty tough hand to have been dealt. We'll certainly miss you at book club. Must away as I'm hiking tomorrow and after today's 61 km ride to OK Falls and back, along Eastside/McClean Creek Road and Oliver Ranch Road, [It was a simply gorgeous day!], I need to get to bed reasonably early. Stay well. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!