Author: Joseph
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Cape Cod
I had a late October weekend on Cape Cod with friends. The weather alternated from unseasonably warm to chilly with a strong wind, but the scenery was perfect. We stayed in South Yarmouth, took in a Halloween party at Provincetown and had a lovely walk in the marshes at Sandwich.
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New York City, October 2024
New York City in the fall is always great fun. I spent several days in the City at The Met (Painting in Siena 1300-1350), lots of familiar painters. And a visit to The Morgan Library and then the annual investiture of the Order of St John.
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Penwood State Forest
This has been a good year for fungi in the forest, from the common mushroom to more exotic varieties such as the eerie Indian pipes. Penwood, a few miles from Hartford, became one of my refuges during the pandemic. I continue to hike there three or four times a week, always amazed by the ever-changing…
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Malta, the temples
Tiny, rocky Malta, a place where life has always been a struggle, is generally believed to be home of the oldest structures built by humans. On Gozo we visited temples at Ġgantija and on the main island the Ħaġar Qim temples. Both temple complexes date from approximately 3600 BCE. The stone structures are typically in…
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Gozo and Malta
Gozo is the second of Malta’s three primary islands. All three islands are windswept, largely barren, but have their own peculiar beauty. The sea, of course, provides a great deal of the beauty of the islands. At the heart of Gozo in the main city of Vittoria is a fortress that might have been lifted…
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Malta: Valletta
The city of Valletta was built by the Knights of Saint John after the routing of the Ottoman navy in 1565. The new city provided better protection for the important Grand Harbour and was the home of the Knights until the arrival of Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century. Valletta is a lovely…
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Bolivia, Uyuni Salt Flats
In the southern part of the country are the extraordinary Uyuni Salt Flats and a vast wildlife sanctuary. We were lucky to visit when we did, as the flats were covered with a thin layer of water, creating in effect a vast mirror in which there was no horizon. One has the sensation of walking…
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Bolivia, Potosi
Bolivia was a country of considerable natural beauty. An exception was the city of Potosí, the western hemisphere’s wealthiest city in the 16th and 17th centuries. The city’s wealth came from a conical shaped mountain riddled with tunnels for mining silver. Less than 3% of the silver mined in Potosí stayed in the city, the…
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Bolivia, Sucre
Bolivia has two capitals: La Paz, the legislative center; and Sucre, the judicial capital. Sucre was (in terms of elevation) the lowest altitude of the trip (an oxygen-rich 9,000 feet). The colonial buildings of the city are well-maintained, most in the center whitewashed annually. Among the many churches is the cathedral, home of the sanctuary…
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Bolivia, Andes & Lake Titicaca
Bolivia’s first peoples pre-date the better known Incan civilization, which moved south through present-day Bolivia soon after the collapse around 1000 CE of the Tiwanaku culture. We visited the remarkable ruins at Tiwanaku (less than 10% has been excavated), and climbed over enormous stepped pyramids and walked through ruins of vast temples. Next to our…