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| Map of the close proximity of Madeira, Portugal (“A” on map) to Algeria, where yet another plane was found this morning in Mali. According to news reports causes of the crash are unknown at this point. |
During the day when we’re home and busy online, we may have the TV on to international news. We’re able to receive a few US news stations.
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| The shoreline is always breathtaking. |
In a way, life was less worrisome when we had no TV during most of our travels, as opposed to here in Madeira where there are several English speaking channels. Other than the news and financial information, we don’t watch TV instead, watching movies and shows on my laptop that we’ve downloaded from Graboid.com, a monthly subscription service.
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| Homes in what appears to be a newer area. |
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| Exiting yet another tunnel. |
Perhaps, ignorance is bliss after all. Watching the varying opinions of world affairs is frightening and frustrating. What’s happening in the world? Oh, yes, I could get into a lengthy recitation about our opinions of world affairs but, that dear reader is not the intent of our postings.
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| There’s been little rain and yet the hillside is lush and green. |
We’re all about low-stress living, finding joy in our surroundings coupled with a profound sense of freedom as we wander about the world at our leisure.
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| In a busy beach area, cars were parked inside this frequently used tunnel. |
Last night, I received a worried email from my dear sister Julie about a news story she’d read about a female tourist being fatally shot in the past few days in Mombasa, Kenya.
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| Another cloudy day on the road. |
Ten months ago we were on the island of Mombasa, taking a ferry across the waterway to the mainland which was packed like sardines with a possible 1000 people on board. We spent 90 days in Diani Beach, Kenya where there have been multiple fatal incidences since we left last December 1st.
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| On a few hour outing, we’d go through as many as 20 tunnels. |
Then, I read US news about a killing at a hospital in Pennsylvania and two deaths from tornados in Virginia and we remind ourselves that nowhere on earth is truly safe. “Drive by” incidences occurred frequently only 30 minutes from where we lived in Minnesota.
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| Bathers on a cloudy day in a protected area of which there are many on the island. |
With all the recent planes disappearing from the sky including yesterday’s flight to Algeria and planes being shot down, we can’t help but think for a moment of our upcoming flight from Madeira to Lisbon to Paris six days from today.
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| A “massage salon” at the beach. |
There’s no reason to think that our upcoming flight is particularly high risk. It’s not. However, after days and days of horrifying news, its human nature to let such fearful thoughts waft through our minds a mere six days away from departure.
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| An old building along a craggy rock wall. |
I don’t like flying in any case. The actual flying time to Paris is actually shorter than the layover in Lisbon but, that provides little comfort. The length of a flight appears to have little bearing on its risks.
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| We’ve been amazed by the quality and excellent condition of the roads in Madeira better than we’ve seen anywhere. |
Do I allow my brain into a frenzy of fear? I choose not to. I gave it some thought tinged with a touch of angst deciding to let it go. Worry serves no purpose. Tom, of course, doesn’t join the worry train with me for a moment.
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| As we entered a seaside village this tree reminded us of the flat top trees in the Masai Mara when we were on safari. |
Today, I’m fussing over two horsefly bites from a few days ago. The one on my thumb which is swollen to twice its size, kept me awake half the night last night. The other on my upper arm is slightly less annoying.
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| Ruins of what appeared to be a factory or commercial building. |
In the realm of things, my bites are a trivial matter. Then again, whatever transpires in the world, most of us are caught up in the trivialities of our daily lives, at times to deflect our attention to the deeper more serious matters, over which we have no control. Human nature. It’s rampant.
Photo from one year ago today, July 25, 2013:
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| While in Tuscany, we’d read online that hanging a plastic bag with pennies inside would keep flies away. With no screens, no AC, and the heat of summer it was one long summer when this “home remedy” worked to a degree but not entirely. Luckily, it’s been cool here in Madeira and we’ve kept the windows shot most of the time. Somehow, the flies still make their way indoors looking for me for what must be a tasty bite. For detail from the story that day with a video and photos of a procession through the neighborhood, please click here. |