Those blues and greens! It's the same colours as where my parents live (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Belmopan,+Cayo,+Belize&ie=UTF8&ll=17.262138,-88.403549&spn=0.459656,0.892639&t=h&z=11&iwloc=addr), which is near jungle but not rainforest.
Things this entry has reminded me of:
A book called Inez of my Soul by Isabel Allende, which is about the founding of Chile by the conquistadors. The narrator is the lifelong mistress of one of the conquistadors, who was a real historical figure and a founding member of the Chilean nation in her own right. A very strong, feminist, beautiful book, which seemed handle the conflict of cultures very well. Both Inez and Allende are well informed about the indigenous peoples of Chile, with a lot of respect for them - some of my favourite bits of the book are where you get a closer look at those cultures. But she doesn't fall into the trap of glorifying the native people over the evil conquistadors, or vice versa. The native cultures as well as the invading one are all violent and patriarchal, and both have many admirable elements. Beautiful book.
Another book, Where the Earth Ends, A Journey Beyond Patagonia by John Harrison. Travel book about the southern tip of South America, the north tip of Antarctica and the native people in southernmost Argentina and the coastline of the Magellan Strait. Actually the connection here is really tenuous as the landscape is completely different, but it's excellent travel writing and hey, it's the same continent, it's clearly relevant.
The longest wave on earth, which rolls up the Amazon twice a year due to tidal changes in the Atlantic ocean. There's a video here (http://www.oddee.com/item_91568.aspx). It is quite astonishing.
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Things this entry has reminded me of:
A book called Inez of my Soul by Isabel Allende, which is about the founding of Chile by the conquistadors. The narrator is the lifelong mistress of one of the conquistadors, who was a real historical figure and a founding member of the Chilean nation in her own right. A very strong, feminist, beautiful book, which seemed handle the conflict of cultures very well. Both Inez and Allende are well informed about the indigenous peoples of Chile, with a lot of respect for them - some of my favourite bits of the book are where you get a closer look at those cultures. But she doesn't fall into the trap of glorifying the native people over the evil conquistadors, or vice versa. The native cultures as well as the invading one are all violent and patriarchal, and both have many admirable elements. Beautiful book.
Another book, Where the Earth Ends, A Journey Beyond Patagonia by John Harrison. Travel book about the southern tip of South America, the north tip of Antarctica and the native people in southernmost Argentina and the coastline of the Magellan Strait. Actually the connection here is really tenuous as the landscape is completely different, but it's excellent travel writing and hey, it's the same continent, it's clearly relevant.
The longest wave on earth, which rolls up the Amazon twice a year due to tidal changes in the Atlantic ocean. There's a video here (http://www.oddee.com/item_91568.aspx). It is quite astonishing.