The News from Memel

Doing field work on the Highveld in South Africa always has its hang ups. When we are making a field plan we always leave in some flex time in the schedule for flat tires, the medical needs of accident prone colleagues, and the pursuit of serendipitous findings. We don’t, however, count on rain in the dry season. My colleague, Stephen, has been working in Seekovlei for over a decade and hasn’t had a rain day. We heard a rumor of rain from Nic the barman last night. He’s younger than most the folks around here, a sportsman with a rugby career cut short by a back injury. He carries plates with the utmost caution and tension in his neck. As we’re lingering after dinner, delaying the grim cold night at The Vogel’s Nest, Nic tells us of rain in the forecast with the smile we remember from past visits and we’re not sure if he is joking or not. The Nest is one of Charlotte’s many properties. We suspect Charlotte Viviers has outlived everyone else in her family and has inherited several houses which she rents to visitors without changing the contents. The Nest is a small two room concrete block structure and has no heat source. We stayed in her dead mother’s house last year and while The Lagaai Roi is larger, at least the geyser (hot water heater pronounced geezer) at the Nest works. These are the nights when we wish we could drink brown liquor and the mornings we wish we could sleep in. We got out from under the layers of old musty wool blankets to a breakfast of instant coffee and hot chocolate—the later makes the former more tolerable—and oatmeal. This is our standby breakfast when there is only a hot water kettle available. The sky was dripping a bit of rain but we decided to head to the Klip River to do our work without worry that it would blow over in no time. After the 30 minute drive over gravel and dirt roads and another 15 through the fields, opening and closing rusty fences with various and often tricky latching devices, we arrived on site. The drip had increased to a continuous spattering and we decided to sample the trench Konah had dug in the floodplain on the previous day before setting up the expensive GPS surveying equipment in the rain. (We borrowed the equipment from the University of Witswatersrand Geography Department and while it is a bit outdated and we were tempted to set it up and risk a slight dampening of the thing, we didn’t want to be held responsible for any damage. Besides, in cases of equipment failure, outright calamity is much preferred to general misuse because accidents are more acceptable than bad decisions and make much better stories.) After filling the trench and while we were holding the debate about accidents and bad decisions, the rain really picked up, becoming the steady soaking we are used to experiencing every day in Wales. We decided to pack it up and head back to Memel. Fortunately, the Memel Hotel has a pub, the only one in this “Ultimate Tourist Destination,” and the fire is always going in the wood-burning stove in the corner. The people here are friendly, especially in bad weather after they’ve been drinking all day. Martin, the owner is sympathetic to our plight even though he greeted us the night before by saying “Strangers! We will have to kill you.” No one seems to mind us hanging out all day even though we are the only ones not smoking cigarettes and speaking Afrikaans. We’ve already bought a painting by Johan, the Picasso of Memel, and had our laundry done. While I’m enjoying the lekker selection of classic rock, and awaiting the start of the Tri Nations Rugby Test between New Zealand and South Africa so we can root for the Springboks and switch from drinking coffee to beer, the rumor of snow tomorrow makes me want to drink a few glasses of Amarula and curl up with the dog in front of the fire. The place is getting packed and smokier as the national anthems are sung. Time for drinks.

I submitted the following essay/story to Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming but only an excerpt from it was published as a photo caption for one of Konah's photos that was chosen. The book is a joint effort of the Union of Concerned Scientists and Penguin Classics and is available in its entirety online: http://www.ucsusa.org/americanstories/.

Beyond Reason

I grew up near the Buffalo National River which was declared the United States first National River in 1972. My dad taught me how to swim, canoe, and fish on the stretch of river upstream of Pruitt, Arkansas. We hiked the trails looking for the first dogwood blooms in spring. I never saw an elk in my childhood visits to the park. Elk were common in Arkansas until the first wave of European settlement in the mid 1800’s. Unsuccessful attempts were made to reintroduce them until 1981 when predecessors of today’s herd of 500 were brought in from Colorado and Nebraska. I’ve seen the elk several times now, but watching clouds of their breath condense in the cold air of a snowy day at Steel Creek last year was particularly magical.

The Old Timers in Arkansas, say the weather these days sure is weird. It doesn’t snow as much as it used to. The seasons don’t change when they’re supposed to. My grandmother talks about changes in moss on certain sides of trees, colors of caterpillars, behaviors of squirrels, and the shapes of persimmon pits. Whether she believes in “global warming” is another issue. A lot of folks still don’t believe that humans have any influence on the earth’s climate.

In ten years of training becoming a scientist, none of my courses covered how to change people’s beliefs. Scientists are trained in data, results, and reason, certainly not in persuasion. Although beliefs aren’t based in reason, they continue to serve as the knowledge base for social action. We’ve gained a universe of scientific knowledge and technology since the pope allowed printed material on heliocentrism in 1822 but we’re still in the Dark Ages in making connections among the scientific, public, and political communities.

In 1962, a small group of citizens organized to keep the Buffalo River undammed. They believed in the intrinsic value of wilderness and that it could generate revenue back when dams were fashionable and the outdoor industry was in its infancy. They had their eyes on the future. Like the founders of the Ozark Society, I believe we can make a difference in our environment and that it can be profitable. I believe that by carpooling, taking cloth bags to the grocery, using better light bulbs, recycling, and eating low on the food chain I can reduce global carbon emissions and save money. Of course these beliefs are not based in fact or knowledge; there’s simply not enough data to draw any definitive conclusions. I don’t know how big a difference we can make or how long the climate might take to respond to our changes in behavior. I do all of those little things in the hopes that decades from now I can go to Steel Creek on a cold winter day, hear the elks’ hooves crunch in the snow, and delight in romantic dreams of wilderness and great-grandchildren.

Touring southern England & Wales

My parents came for a 2 week visit and we toured around southern England and Wales. I'll leave out the bits about London except to mention that the fruits of imperialism are vast! Upon leaving London, we stopped in Chawton to see Jane Austen's House Museum and stopped at Winchester Cathedral for a tour before heading on to Amesbury. Winchester Cathedral is a veritable exhibit of architecture. The structure is a time capsule, a home there several famous dead as well as a hand illustrated 12th century bible. From Amesbury we visited Stonehenge. In order to visit the inner circle of stones at Stonehenge, it is necessary to book a viewing time outside of the regular visitor hours. The process is straightforward and seeing the stones up close at sunrise is well worth getting up early and the few extra quid. Avesbury is another stone circle site that pre-dates Stonehenge by about 500 years. It is 30 minutes drive north of Stonehenge and has a small museum and displays dedicated to the archaeology of the site which includes the West Kennet Long Barrow and Silbury Hill in addition to the stone circle around the village.
On the way back to Aberystwyth, we stopped in Bath. The town is lovely with the Royal Cresent and the Circus. The shopping and food choices are high quality and varied. Because it is a spa town and has great shopping, I'd love to go back when I can spend a little more time and money!

It was nice to relax in Aberystwyth after 7 days of driving around England. The second week we took day trips in Wales. We spent one day fly fishing in the Cambrian Mountains. It was my first time and I gained an awe of the sport, though I won't be buying all the kit anytime soon! There are several guides and places to fish in Wales and the reputation for fly fishing is great. Our guide turned up on a motorbike with all of his gear (and ours) packed on it. He led us out on some logging roads outside of Ponterwyd. The best part was finding new places to explore outside of Aberystwyth.
Our other day journeys included trips to Devil's Bridge, Strata Florida Abbey, Aberaeron, and a quick jaunt to Machynllyth on market day. Konah and I put a few extra miles on the rental car on the way back from Manchester Airport after sending Mom and Dad back over the Atlantic and went to Conwy Castle. It is a fantastic site and the drive back to Aberystwyth through Snowdonia made me want to extend the trip even longer. We stopped off at Tal-y-llyn Lake and enjoyed the sun setting behind Cadair Idris from Castell y Bere to end our journey.

Unusually Pleasant Days in Wales

We've been having some unusually sunny days in Aberystwyth. These are the few days when the photographers for the Welsh Tourism Board grab their tripods and shoot as much as possible for promotional publications. I was beginning to believe that the scenes advertised in the glossy covers of Welsh holiday brochures only existed in the digitized dreams of Photoshop experts, but have been proven wrong. The near 60 degree (F) temps are enough to get the Welsh & Brits to shed their coats and bare pale pink skin to the sea and sky. Even the Royal Regiment of Wales's goat has been out on parade.

Malham Cove

On our trip back from Glasgow, we stopped off in Malham in the Yorkshire Dales. The weather was threatening snow and when we discovered the tiny roads that lead to Malham, we thought we might be spending longer than just the night. The little roads lined with stone walls and the glacially formed landscape are scenes from times past. Malham is a small village with many trails that lead into the countryside and is on the Pennine Way. We stayed at the River House Hotel run by a really friendly couple and ate at the Lister Arms which has the best food I've had in a pub yet and a good selection of beers. We went out walking from the village the next day but the wind beat us. After a walk to the limestone pavement formed by a glacial outburst flood from a lake upstream at the end of the last glacial maximum. We also went to see the Gordale Scar which is a small limestone canyon containing 2 waterfalls. I wish the weather had been more cooperative, but we had fun anyway. One thing about walking in Great Britain: there is usually a pub with a fire going at the end of the trail. It snowed overnight when we got back to Aberystwyth and the light dusting closed down the country for 3 days. We were glad to be back even though our boiler at the Dairy Cottage failed us again.

What's for Breakfast

I should begin this post with a few notes about my own breakfast preferences. My usual morning fare is coffee and plain quick oatmeal cooked, or yogurt and some kind of bran cereal, and berries or bananas. When I’m in a hurry, I fold a slice of wheat bread around spoonful of peanut butter and a banana. On the weekends, I make migas, omelets, quiches, breakfast burritos, etc. I love eggs and don’t restrict them to morning meals. I never skip breakfast, especially the coffee.

Traditional “cooked breakfast” is hugely popular in Britain, and they’ve exported it to most of the colonies. In most cases, you will be offered tea and coffee, a variety of cold cereals, yogurt, and fruit and then the cooked breakfast: eggs, bacon (more like US ham, nice and thick, but not smoked), British sausages (under-spiced pork link sausages), sautéed small button mushrooms, half a tomato set on a griddle until it is soggy, bland baked beans straight from the starch laden can, and brown or white toast slathered in margarine. In northern England and Scotland you can expect blood sausage to show up as well. Often you can opt for porridge. While many accommodations boast breakfast awards, I’ve found little variation in content and quality in my travel in the UK, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. This breakfast is available at B & B’s throughout the UK for an additional cost charged to your room of about £7-10. If it is a larger hotel, you might also find yogurt, cold cereal, and fruit. Breakfast is like most food in Britain, bland. It’s as if the predisposition to apathy has taken over the taste buds.

In a recent trip back home to the States, I found quite different fare. I stayed in a Courtyard by Marriot, in a relatively small town, at a cost of about $90 per night. A buffet breakfast was an optional charge of $8. A buffet is when food is all laid out and you take just whatever portion suits you. In this breakfast were scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage (slices of ground spiced meat—not links), bacon (streaky bacon to the Brits), American biscuits and gravy (American biscuits are essentially the same as English buttermilk scones. Brit's "biscuits" are America’s "cookies"), pancakes, waffles you can make on the spot, fruit, yogurt, cold cereal, oatmeal (porridge to the Brits), toast, bagels, and so on. A lot of options, and potentially a lot of waste: it’s the American way. In these situations, I usually have breakfast and pack a bagel with cream cheese and a few pieces of fruit so I don’t have to buy lunch. If you are staying at a lesser hotel the way I usually do, they will serve “free continental breakfast.” This is usually instant coffee (Nescafe to some of you) along with packaged pastries and Tang (instant orange juice). If you are lucky, you might get a banana and toast.

A real continental breakfast, meaning in continental Europe, is different. I’ve travelled only in Germany, Austria, Italy, and France, so these observations are limited. Nonetheless, breakfast in all of those places is generally the same. There are espresso types of coffee, tea, and a selection of juices. Cold cereal, yogurt, fruit, toast, a selection of cold cuts and cheeses, boiled eggs, and a selection of pastries—of course croissants!

In Chile, there is only instant coffee—Nescafe. In a grocery store, I saw coffee from Haiti, but decided to pass. I’ve only travelled north of Santiago, mostly in the Atacama. Breakfast there was usually something like thin cold cut slices of chopped and formed ham, bland white cheese, toast and jam. The best bet is to head to the open market and buy avocados, fresh goat cheese, and bread (photo below). I’ll have to do some more legwork in South America to find out if this is consistent with other locales.

My favorite breakfast is the rooster bullet at the Gilbert General Store after a long weekend of canoeing and camping on the Buffalo River in Arkansas. The best homemade buttermilk biscuits split open and topped with breakfast sausage or bacon, eggs over easy, and then smothered in sausage gravy. Followed by coffee and a spell in a rocking chair on the porch, it can't be beat.

Glasgow

In Glasgow, Konah and I stayed near the Kelvingrove Park in the West End. It is a nice area near Glasgow University with lots of restaurants and cafes. We stayed at The Kelvingrove located just around the corner from the Kelvingrove Museum. They offer ensuite rooms and standard British cooked breakfast for about 70 GBP. The location is ideal for visiting the museums and university, and downtown shopping is a short 20 minute walk away. After some research online, we decided to go to Two Fat Ladies at 88 Dumbarton. Two Fats (named for the Bingo call, not the cooking show) has several locations in Glasgow. The Dumbarton dining room is small and cozy and the food is fantastic. We had a few of their fish specialties. The scallops with pancetta and in a buttery cream sauce were fantastic! The highlight of our short Glasgow trip was a tour of the Glasgow School of Art designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Reservations for the tour are recommended, especially on the weekends, and are easily arranged with a phone call or email to the school. We finished off our Mackintosh tour of Glasgow with a trip to the Willow Tea Room for lunch before heading back south.