Postcards from the Holy Land


From Bethlehem



From the Old City of Jerusalem

A Mix of Religious and Secular 

Doing the station of the cross at Via Dolorosa 


and walking the souk.






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The Banaue Rice Terraces: A Living Cultural Landscape

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My interest in exploring the northern part of the Philippines started from looking at a piece of art at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California.   Among the display of ceramics and pottery engraved with gold and other decorative stuff,  a wooden carving of a male figure squatting on a platform with the lower arms on top of each other, resting upon his knees, caught my eye.  According to the docent, the wooden sculpture was called "Bului" which literally means "granary guardian" in the "Ifugao" tribe dialect. The carved wooden sculpture was set on a platform on top of another platform, a mortar.   Our docent explained the significance of the wooden mortar (which was used with the pestle, to separate the husk from the rice, sort of rice mill) and linked the story to the Rice Terraces in the Cordillera Mountains of the Philippines built 2000 years ago by the “Ifugao” tribe. So two years and three hundred kilometers north of Manila later, we explo...
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Madagascar

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My visit to Madagascar was an unforgettable experience, filled with vibrant scenery, rich culture, and fascinating wildlife. Starting from the east coast, we journeyed across Nosy Be, a lush island known for its beaches and biodiversity. Our destination was Nosy Komba, famously known as the “Island of the Lemurs.” The journey took us past the verdant Lokobe Mountain, a stunning green expanse that added to the island’s natural beauty. Eventually, we arrived at a small village, where I had a glimpse into the daily lives of the locals. Children played joyfully around the village school, and it was clear that tourism — particularly visits to see the lemurs — played a significant role in supporting the community. As we approached the trail leading to the forest and the lemur sanctuary, vendors lined the path, selling colorful pareos and scarves in vibrant colors. Their cheerful displays added a lively charm to the surroundings. Once inside the sanctuary, we encountered numerous lemurs. The ...
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The Amazon, Part 3: The Tree Killer Tree

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"There are 121 ecosystems in the world and 80 of those can be found in the Amazon, and it is in the Peruvian Amazon that you will find the green biome , more than two-thirds of the world's plant species,” said Vics, our naturalist-guide.   Through our small boat excursions, we were able to see the most bio-diverse part of the Amazon, the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, the largest wetlands in the world.  We went through its narrow rivers, tributaries and black waters and lakes to hike the “Amazon Jungle”. Day-3: Jungle Trek Strangler Tree or Tree Killer Tree From the Turmalina, we hopped into a small boat.  The boat hardly moved, we just used it to get offshore.  We walked a tiny bridge and short pathway to get to the lake.  We then crossed the lake using a catamaran to get to the edge of the lake where we found the entrance to the trail.  Within minutes of leaving the larger river, we entered a narrow trail into the canopy of trees, kill...
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