MALTA, DAY 3: DAPHNE GALIZIA MEMORIAL AND VALLETTA'S CO-CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN

 March 20, 2024

On our last day in Malta, our first stop was at a makeshift tribute to Daphne Galizia. Before the trip I had read the book A Death in Malta by her son Paul Galizia, so I was excited to see the monument. 

Daphne Galizia was an outspoken investigative journalist and activist who spoke out about financial and political corruption in the Maltese government and other places. She was also known for her investigative reporting on the Panama Papers, which exposed international financial graft, fraud, and tax evasion involving many prominent figures worldwide, including many Maltese officials.

Galizia was extremely popular and respected. Her blog attracted over 400,000 views, more than the combined circulation of all the country's newspapers. Tragically, her popularity got her killed. In October 2017, Galizia was killed by a car bomb just a few meters from her home. She was 53 years old.

This memorial to her is placed around the base of the Great Siege of 1565 Monument, a bronze created in 1927 by Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino to honor the successful resistance of the Maltese Knights when the island was invaded by the Ottoman Empire. The three figures represent the virtues of Faith, Civilization, and Valor--appropriate virtues to relate to Daphne Galizia.

One corner of the memorial included photos of Alexei Navalny, a Russian who similarly fought corruption in his own government and who died while in a Russian prison, presumably at the hands of his captors.

INDONESIA: OFF TO BORNEO VIA JAKARTA AND SOME THOUGHTS ON SUMATRA

 July 4, 2023

Our second night in Bukit Lawang was much quieter than the first as all the partiers appeared to have left, but it was still unbearably hot. We woke up at about 5:00 AM, and at 7:00 Bob got up to walk the grounds to look for birds and other animals. It was a beautiful morning.

I took a shower, then tried to get my hair to dry on its own. I eventually unplugged everything in the room and used my hair dryer on its lowest setting. The power stayed on and eventually I was able to dry my hair. It was my first day in Indonesia I didn't start the day with a wet ponytail.

Bob didn't see much on the property. When he got back, we went down for breakfast at about 8:00. Bob, worried about how much he had been sweating and possible dehydration, ordered a large bottle (~ 64 oz.) of water, a Coke Zero, and some juice. He drank at least 80 oz. of liquid, hoping to restore the equilibrium in his body. 

By the way, check out the cool lighting in the main dining area--dozens of woven baskets with lightbulbs inside.

We both ordered the crepe I'd had the day before, but this time with bananas in the batter in addition to the chocolate sauce. We also had passion fruit/tamarind juice that was beautiful to look at but not anything special to drink. 

INDONESIA - SUMATRA: BUKIT LAWANG AND GUNUNG LEUSER

July 2-3, 2023

We left Tangkahan at about 2:30, this time in a 4x4 with no AC, and it took us 2.5 hours to get to the EcoLodge at Bukit Lawang. The roads were bad but there were some paved stretches in groves of palm oil trees. Palm oil has replaced rubber, tobacco, and cacao as the area's #1 export. The palm oil acreage is mind-boggling.

We made one stop to get a drink and use a bathroom. It was a pretty spot for a drink, but not a very pretty squat toilet.

We made another stop because a truck had jack-knifed on the road, and another truck was trying to pull it out of the way.

We arrived at the Ecolodge Bukit Lawang ("Gate Hill") at about 5:00. We had a beautiful, light, modern room with a view of the Bohorok River. However, like our previous room at Tangkahan, there was no AC. I took the first photo below from our balcony and the second from ground level. The river looks pretty small, but in 2003, this river experienced a large-scale flash food that killed 242 people.

COLOMBIA: THESE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

 March 14-23, 2023

After many of our trips, starting with some of the trips we took with our kids, we have made a list of all of our favorite experiences and things we want to remember. We decided to do that for this trip. So, in no particular order other than this is the order we came up with them, here are our favorite experiences, places, people, and things from our trip to Colombia.

- Fruit EVERYWHERE! Mangosteen was our favorite, but we also enjoyed granadilla, dragonfruit, lulo, and guanábana.

- Fruit juice of all kinds, but especially the kind mixed with milk (probably sweetened condensed milk).

- And speaking of juice, the raspberry grape juice with dinner in Bogotá was Judy's favorite.

- Cartagena--everything about it. It was our favorite city, and Carolina was our favorite guide.

COLOMBIA: TINAMU DAY 2

 March 19, 2023

I was up and out by 6:30 AM to see the morning birds with Bob. It was definitely not as impressive as I expected, and the birds we saw were similar to the day before. However, it was nice to be out in the cool morning air appreciating the glorious scenery.

The reserve folks had sprinkled some bird seed along the driveway that attracted dozens of small birds.

Saffron finch

COLOMBIA: BOGOTA PART II (SHOPPING, PLAZA DE BOLIVAR, CITY STREETS, AND A SERENDIPITOUS MEET-UP)

 March 17, 2023

From the Botero Museum, we walked to an area where souvenir items are for sale on tables lining the street. This is the "Old Town," known in Bogotá as the Candelaria District, and it includes the foundation buildings of the city. Candelaria is Spanish for "Candlemas," a Christian holiday that commemorates the presentation of the baby Jesus at the temple.

On our way there, we passed this awesome three-wheeler that was selling, among other things, arroz con leche, or rice pudding.

The Nobel prize-winning novelist Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014) is extremely popular in his home country of Colombia, as well he should be. There are many sites named for him, such as the cultural center in Bogotá that we walked by.

We also saw many artworks depicting "Gabo," as he is affectionately known in Colombia. He looks like someone I would want to know, at least in this painting!

There was a lot of art for sale, often copies of well-known works, such as Botero's Mona Lisa in the bottom right corner.

COLOMBIA: CARTAGENA, PART I

 March 15, 2023

Bob had arranged in advance for a private city tour in Cartagena, and after we dropped off our luggage at our hotel, we were joined by what turned out to be our best guide of the trip, a young woman named Carolina. She was excellent in perceiving our likes and dislikes and adjusting the tour accordingly.

Cartagena, founded by Spain in 1533 and located on the Caribbean coast of northern Colombia, is a city of almost a million people. It is a major port (one of the largest in South America) and historically part of world exploration and trade. 

Our hotel was kitty-corner from the Castle San Felipe de Barajas, a fortress built in 1536 by African slave labor under Spanish rule. It is an imposing presence and defended the city from attacks many times in the past. Along with the historic city center, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. These days it is used for social and cultural events. 

Our first destination was the Convent of Santa Cruz de la Popa, a convent built by the Spaniards atop Mount la Popa, the highest hill in Cartagena (about 500 feet high). From that spot we pretty much had a 360° view of the city. 

We could see the downtown/business district skyscrapers, which are almost all white. The contrast to the poverty-stricken areas full of cardboard shacks on our way up the mountain was pretty stark.