Lunar Eclipse over Iraq

Last night I got to see a total lunar eclipse. It was fun to watch, in a slow kind of way. When the eclipse was 'total', the moon wasn't completed blotted out as I was expecting. Instead it turned a reddish colour. A little creepy, but the sun rose the next day, so no harm done.

Click on the photos for a larger view.

All taken on a Canon 30D, 300mm f2.8 with a tripod.

Sweden!

 Stockholm

 Old Town

 Strange creepy statue

 218 year old book

 Dammstugan, the cabin we stayed in at Gransfors

 The Gransfors forge

 Very hot axe head

 Lots and lots of axe heads

 A fika (Swedish coffee and sweet stuff)

Testing out the snow banks!

Just spent a fantastic week in Sweden. One of the few direct flights out of Erbil! We spent a day in Stockholm before heading north to Gransfors to see a bit more of the Swedish countryside, including where they hand forge axes.We spent a few days there before heading back to Stockholm for a final day. All in all, it was a fantastic vacation.

Iraqi Kurdistan

I know, I know, long time and nothing written. Since I last posted here I have taken up a new teaching job in Kurdistan. It's been a pretty weird experience so far. I will take today as an example.

It's Friday, the Islamic day of rest, so no school, which means our weekend is Friday - Saturday and our week is thus Sunday to Thursday. A little temporally discombobulating. Nevertheless, we're adapting to it. We got up, had some breakfast and went for a little walk. There's an access road behind our neighbourhood which skirts the fields that lie between us and the airport. As we turned onto the access road we were met by quite a strange site; a flock of sheep (and a few goats) being herded along the mounds of earth that line one side of the road. Three young Kurdish shepherds were tending to the flock and paid less attention to us than the sheep did, who eyed us suspiciously while they chewed whatever greenery they came across.
We continued on our way, only to have a small car filled with soldiers stop behind us. The driver, quite excited it seemed, jumped out without applying the hand brake so, halfway out the car, had to fumble to stop it rolling away. He jogged up to us, smiling broadly, always a good sign. He asked if we spoke Arabic, we indicated that we didn't. That however did not discourage him from blurting out a stream of information, something about the direction we were heading in. A lot of thumbs up and smiles indicated that nothing was (hopefully) amiss. I nodded and tried to repeat whichever words sounded important in an understanding tone. Seemly satisfied with his work, he jumped back into the car and drove off again.
We wondered on a little further. I got distracted by some small bird of prey hovering over a grassy enclosure. Possibly a kite, but I'm not entirely sure what stalks the skies here in Kurdistan. By now the flock had caught up with us, we let them pass then headed home.
I feel the morning today neatly sums up most of my time here so far: lots of lamb and friendly people!

25 Things I Learned in Costa Rica

1) Even though it happens everyday, it's still nice to watch the sun rise.
2) How to milk goats (pinch the top of the teat shut and squeeze harder than you think you should).
3) How to make lemonade (squeeze lemons, add water and sugar).
4) What it takes to clean out a pig pen.
5) The amount of poo a single horse can produce (a lot).
6) That plantains are ready to pick when the flower at the end of their stalk has fallen away.
7) Putting your hand somewhere you can't see isn't a good idea.
8) That cooking for large groups of people isn't as scary as it may seem.
9) The basics of horse riding are pretty simple to pick up.
10) Billy goats pee on their faces to make themselves more attractive to the ladies.
11) Cockerels will crow before sunrise.
12) If water stops coming out of the tap, you gotta be ready to be thirsty for a while.
13) Some lizards can walk on water.
14) What it's like to be bitten by a dog.
15) How to make a hot compost pile.
16) How to sterilise potting soil.
17) That loofahs grow on vines.
18) Cat skin is really tough, enough to bend a syringe needle.
19) Bot fly larvae do not want to be squeezed out of goats.
20) Germans can have a sense of humour.
21) Power tools have not ceased to be fun.
22) You can embarrass a goose by picking it up.
23) Guava wood is really bendy.
24) Baby goats have legs that look about one joint too long.
25) Toucan beaks feel like plastic.

Costa Rica animals!

A long time since I've written anything but long lines for the internet, a slow connection and lots of other things occupying my time has meant that this is the first I've been able to throw online. Hopefully more to follow.

 Scorpion discovered while taking apart the old goat house to build the new one.

 Speedy, the one-eyed pirate kitty. We're not sure how he lost his eye, but we're glad he survived the ordeal.

 A duck.

 A troupe of toucans, eating the papayas. That one got a little too stuck in and soon dropped it.

 A chick, hatched by a duck, that was laying in a toilet.

 The only duckling to survive from a pretty bad duck mum.

 Toulouse, the toucan rescued as a chick who likes to play with anyone in pecking distance.

 A small Tico horse.

A big Tico horse.

 Rhombus, the lovable boxer.

 Three week old Giant Schnauzer puppy.

 Lucy, the very anxious Weimarianar (sp?).

 Minutes old billy kid.

Younger brother to above goat.

On the way back

Here are a few of the sights on the way to Wisconsin from California:

 A palm tree somewhere in Nevada.

 The Hoover Dam. Also somewhere in Nevada.

 Arches National Park, Utah.

 Delicate Arch. It's the arch on Utah license plates.

 Driving through the Rocky Mountains, Colorado. For a while we weren't sure if our little Honda Civic was going to make it.

 Lake Manawa, Iowa, just over from Nebraska. A fantastic little camping site.

 Wild Cat State Park, Illinois. There were only three other people at this camp site. It was great to see our little fires dotted around the camp site. This was our last night on the road and we were a little surprised that it had all ended so soon.

Sausage, egg, rice and beans for breakfast. A great way to start the day.

10 Tips for Roadtrip Bliss

Taking a road trip is a great way to see a country in your own terms. Driving the Historic Route 66 taught me a few things about how to get the most out of the experience:

1) Get a GPS
With a GPS, you can easily navigate the twists and turns of a new city on your own. If travelling with others, it gives you a third party to shout out when you get lost.

Garmin Nuvi 255

2) Use boxes to organize your stuff
Clearly labelled boxes in the boot of your car make sure that everything is where it should be when you need it. We had four boxes. One for food, one for cooking equipment and two for clothing. Plus rooting through a box is often easier than shuffling through a bag.

Fully packed

3) Check the car, but don't obsess over it
The car we were in had a recent check-up and we had the oil changed and the tires rotated just before we left. Along the way we periodically checked the oil, coolant, and tire pressure.

4) Pack a tent
We had a lot of fun camping along the way. While sleeping in roadside motels is a part of the classic road trip, a tent increases our options. Plus looking out at the stars in the middle of the Mojave desert as you drift off to sleep is a priceless experience.

 5) Stay Hydrated
Staying in a climate controlled, air conditioned car, concentrating on driving and singing along to the radio, it's easy to forgot that you need to keep drinking. Always have water handy, plus keep plenty spare if you're driving through dry regions. If your car breaks down, you'll be glad to have the water there.

6) Eat at least one healthy meal a day
It's easy to get lazy and live out of diners and drive-thru restaurants. Make the effort to have at a healthy meal a day. Your energy levels will be better, as will your health. Also try to have healthy snacks in the car. Snacking is a great way to keep your blood sugar levels constant so long as you're not chowing down on chocolate and twinkies (not tried one of these yet). But by all means, if you want the challenge of eating a 72 oz steak in under an hour, by all means, go for it.

7) Take regular breaks
If you're drinking regularly, you'll have to stop. Plus a short break every two hours makes sure you don't make any silly mistakes and keeps the driving interesting. Plus, there's always some roadside attraction that's sure to grab your interest.

8) Bring music
While the radio offers some fantastic listening (thank you Bob FM) there will be points of the journey when all you get is static. Time to plug in your ipod, insert a CD or roll out a cassette. A variety of tunes is a must. Your 1996 classic Now 34 CD will get old pretty quick.

9) Budget
With regular breaks at expensive petrol stations, curio shops and various unforeseen road tolls (I'm looking at you, Oklahoma) it is easy to let your spending get away from you. I find that it helps to write down exactly how much you spend on what. It's pretty easy to see that if things are getting tight, then spending $5 a day on beef jerky might not be such a good idea.

10) Save fuel
Here's a little sub-list of fuel saving tips:

• Don't speed: driving slower speeds can increase fuel efficiency by up to 5%.
• Keep rolling: pulling away from a dead stop uses more fuel, so try to predict when those red lights will turn green.
• Pack light: a little obvious this one, plus keep it in the car. Roof boxes greatly increase your car's drag.
• Coast: on empty hills, slip the car into neutral and let gravity do the work, just remember to put it back into gear at the bottom.

If you have any tips of your own, please share!