Shifting Sands - Fiesta of San Juan

The summer solstice party of San Juan- the longest day, the shortest night is when the Spanish celebrate to the early hours of the morning on the beach.
The 3 symbols of this deeply pagan event are herbs, water & fire -all purifying elements that make up San Juan's heady symbolism of fertility, vitality & astral gods.  Certainly was working on all the millions of people of all ages who flocked to the beaches!


San Juan is about changes - shifting sands.  Its about night to day; its about fire to water.  Fire purifies and water recuperates, refreshes & rejuvenates.

Bonfires large and small are lit all along the Andalucian coast for miles to celebrate into the early hours of the morning.  Its common to see people jumping over the fires, which legend has it, cleanse the body and soul.  Certainly people were jumping over the smaller fires - cant image health & safety allowing that in UK!!
Jumping in the sea at midnight is also supposed to wash away evil spirits but not many did that this year.   Certainly some went in for a dip but due to a huge influx of Portugese man of war, not many wanted to wash away evil spirits and possibly get worse spirits as a result.


An amazing night, one to be remembered and certainly put in the diary for next year.

The DJs were playing the Spanish top single all the time aptly called

All Night, All Day, All Night, All Day, fiesta - What the f.....  What the f....'  quite catchy actually!!

 

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Shifting Sands - from Climping West Sussex to Calahonda Andalucia

The sand is always moving.   The best waves move along with the sand.
It is this constant change that creates interest and stimulation

'Walk with me as the sands shift and change and we dodge and weave our way through the waves of emotion.'

A beautiful early morning walk for two hours along the soft sands and warm water before the heat of the day in Marbella.  Divine but so are the beaches at Climping in a totally different way - we're so spoilt!

Añadir leyenda

Shifting Sands-Time Is Running Out-Hourglass Empty

OOH NO - GOING BACK TO SNOW...... whatever!  Sitting here in a costume in the hot sun, it seems unreal that we are going back to freezing cold.  
I am sorry to inform the readers but neither of us want to come back!!!!

We have been so well looked after.

This is the lovely Benedicta who cleans, irons and washes bed linen.
Wish I could take her home in my pocket!!!

Barrys favourite seat to do a suduko, wide open doors either side allows lovely breezes into the lounge and he can hear the surf and smell the sea.




Pams favourite place on the beach watching the surfers.  A walk along the beach, collecting shells and enjoying the warm Indian Ocean lapping at my feet - perfect.

 



Last meal!!   Barry nearly freaked out going through Durban Docks - thank goodness it wasnt at night!   We had been given the name of Buds Wharfside Diner and thought it would be fun to go to as it was only over the hill.   Half an hour later Barry was saying that he wouldnt be eating there as went through queues of waiting trucks on strike.  It was meant to be 5 minutes!   It was great, different and good food.

  

See the Ha De Das bird with its long beak on a branch, known in KZN as the HaHa bird cos of its loud cry like noise.
We have been woken by its lively calls in the morning

Live Inspired   is certainly the right expression for our magical holiday.
It has been very relaxing being able to stay at Ansteys, recharge our batteries etc and then go off again to explore another beautiful part of KZN.   Just hope we can return the gesture to Tash and Rudy and give them a holiday to remember too. We cant thank them enough!

Most Magical Moment - singing the South African National Anthem with 300 Zulu chiefs in Isandlwana.

Most Amazing Place - apart from Ansteys, was Leopard Rock Look Out Chalets & Cape Vidal.

Most Awesome Experience - seeing lions basking in the sun by the river early morning & hyenas joining us for a braai.  Also sitting in a hide for a couple of hours at Leopards Mountain Game Lodge, meditating & just watching animals quietly coming to drink at the pool.

KZN is truly beautiful and offers so much
Come & visit yourself - do it soon!


THE HOURGLASS OF LIFE


The Shifting Sands in the hourglass of life
No matter what you do, you cant turn it around
for God has created man on the ground.

A new season begun, a new life, a new birth
engraving our story here upon earth
The pages turn slowly
Each day will pass
Life is measured by the hourglass

The clock counts each grain of sand.
Think about this and understand
reflections of love and holding hands.
Happiness is a life well spent
of beautiful children that heaven has sent.

The hourglass of life has told us no lie
Enjoy each moment, dont turn around and then cry.


Sadly the grains of sand have run out of the hourglass and we are returning to snowy UK in the morning.


This is the last blog of 'Shifting Sands' hope you have enjoyed it.

Shifting Sands-Its Friday Man-Get Down To Surf n Sands

Shifting Sands - Its Friday Man, get down to surf n sands!

A hot day on the Bluff,  great surfing conditions. Many came down Friday afternoon, created great atmosphere for start of weekend.

Our Last Game Drive - got up very early!  No hyenas around.  Barry & I were woken in the night by a big knock on our deck but couldnt see anything! Otherwise, we slept well & really enjoyed the experience. It has given us the desire to do more camping and be more adventurous!!

 A pride of lions just basking in the early morning sun on the riverbed.  How amazing is that!.  The proud male looked majestic & behind him was 6 lionesses and a baby sleeping.   Fortunately Paul's camera has a good zoom so he promises to send me a copy.

Said our goodbyes to Pet & Paul.  They are heading North & we, South.  Stopped at some delightful bays on the way down to Ansteys.  Down the whole coast of KZN are beautiful expanses of golden sands

Zinkwazi Lagoon Lodge looked a great place to stay set in tropical gardens, overlooking the lagoon and Indian Ocean.

Back at Ansteys in time for our usual banana milkshake at the Green Dragon on the beach!

Every Day Has Been a Magical Day!

Shifting Sands-Hyenas Grab Bones From Hands!

Shifting Sands -Hyenas Grab Bones From Our Hands!!

Not exactly - bit of poetic licence here (rhymes with 'sands'!!) BUT they came extremely close and took bones off the braai!!  Looked very healthy, furry and fat - not like other hyenas we've seen in Zambia & Namibia which are mangey and thin.  Must be the braai's....

You can see the braai to the right of the photo below. We were just above them on the deck of the tent and they werent bothered a bit!.  Obviously their main food supply

Just before dusk Barry had lit the braai & had put pork chops & chicken legs on the fire, came back and had a drink.  Sitting quietly as it got dark, listening to those wonderful sounds of Africa, Barry said 'wow there is something very large out there'

They didnt leave us that evening but we did get to eat the meat, not them, they had the bones!

Having left St Lucia Wetlands that morning, we all decided we just had to go to Hluhluwe (Sshlawee) and try real camping... with en suite tho!   Hluhluwe is the oldest game park in Africa and covers
96,000 hectares of stunning scenery.  Boasts the Big 5, lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and water buffalo.
After banning poaching, the park had to be restocked and now has a wonderful selection of wild animals.

The picture to the left is the kitchen tent, fridge cooker etc. Quite a good idea to keep it separate from the accommodation. The deck had captains chairs and a bench - very comfy.  The braai was below

 Self catering so we called into local Spa - an experience in itself!

The main roads had 'elephants crossing' signs so really gets you in the mood!

Look who was coming down the road!

Highlight of the safari that evening. Two beautiful lionesses basking together in the sun.











AM A ZING  secenery

ABSOLUTELY,  AMAZINGLY,  AWESOME AFRICA

Shifting Sands-Heaven Meets Earth- Cape Vidal, St Lucia Wetlands

Where Heaven meets Earth.
The real Shifting Sands
The vast expanses of Cape Vidal, St Lucia Wetlands.

How about this? A log cabin £25pppn - away from everything by the sand dunes?
Next time!!




Whales?  Well, we had a whale of a time!
Talk about surfing....  I was knocked over and surfed & tumbled up the beach a few times.  Pet didnt - she said it was my buoyancy aides!  See the wave behind us!

Cheeky monkeys up in the trees kept us amused.  They were as quick as lightening down a tree, grab something out of an open hamper, and back up the tree again.

The surf caught us out but at least the Indian Ocean is warm.

Had a leisurely drive back through the wetlands and saw a huge rhino, water buffalo, zebra, kudu and warthogs.

The downloads here are so slow that I'm not putting the photos of animals on the blog!

Was it the surf and the sea

OR Barry's x 3 g & ts??








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