Elf's Adventures in black and white... and colour

Every day I wake up and realise how lucky I am to have lived the life I have. Continuing the theme of being blessed, these are a few of the articles I have that have been published... 

Walking the Camino in Spain...

Previously posted on my blog: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=999579515828153404#editor/target=post;postID=3042124779310839865;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=110;src=postname

A couple of days hanging out on Bazaruto Island...

Previously posted on my blog: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=999579515828153404#editor/target=post;postID=4552161581911188102;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=43;src=postname

A Meander In Memphis

Previously posted on my blog: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=999579515828153404#editor/target=post;postID=6687092960123801326;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=18;src=postname

Wandering around 'The Capitol'... 

Previously posted on my blog: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=999579515828153404#editor/target=post;postID=7468336055441847551;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=14;src=postname 

Previous posted on my blog: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=999579515828153404#editor/target=post;postID=1558472504709916543;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=5;src=postname 

On the Couch with Durban's top sailor Jeremy Kriek

Catching up with top Durban Sailor, Jeremy Kriek who is a member of the Royal Natal Yacht Club’s Orion B2G2 L26 Lipton team. Kriek and his team are busy preparing for the biggest sailing event in South Africa, the Ola Lipton Challenge Cup that is being held offshore of Durban from the 7 – 12 July.

1 I am a sailor because…..?

I love the challenge of outperforming  other sailors by being more skilled, have a better prepared boat, have good understanding of the sailing rules , the technology of the boats rig and being able to constantly adjust to the ever challenging wind and water conditions. Sailing is not only a physical challenge but also an intellectual challenge. One has to constantly plan ahead and anticipate the next manoeuvre to stay ahead.

2 First time you went out sailing… (tell us how it went)

I was probably about 13 years old, it was on Sterkfontein Dam, it was in the winter and it was very cold. I enjoyed it all the same, and sailing is the reason I find myself living in Durban.

3 If I could have a drink with anyone, it would be with…

Old slow hand, Eric Clapton 

4 Role model / who do you admire

Ellen Mac Arthur

5 A moment that stands out for you while sailing?

While participating in the flying fifteen world championships in 2011 at Hayling island in the UK we were reaching to the leeward mark fighting off the then current world champions for 3rd out of 129, previous world champions were just ahead of us and the new world champions were leading the pack, we were good enough to fight it out with the best.

6 If you were invisible for a day, what would you get up to?

I would enjoy driving around in an blue light convoy with the minister of transport and some other high profile government officials and observe their reactions to the calamities they cause and maybe pull some tokalosh tricks.

7 If you were on a speed date, and had a minute to convince someone to take up sailing, what would you say?

Sailing makes you feel alive, even if there is only a light breeze blowing and only one other boat, there will still be a race, and all ones intentions are focused on winning.

8 Funniest or clumsiest moment sailing?

During a race in Spain Patrick and I collided with the president of our world body, seriously damaging his boat.

9 Lipton Challenge Cup, why is the event such a big deal?

The Lipton cup regatta is probably the most prestigious sailing event in South Africa and it draws the best local sailors to compete for the honour of winning the title of Lipton champions.

10 When you wake up in the morning on a weekend, what is your first thought?

I seemed to have earned a reputation of being the boat fixer, so often I lie in bed thinking of solutions to rigging problems or dreaming up new designs to improve our performance on the water. Sailing on the weekend is a way of life fore and does not require a second thought.

11 Durban has the best sailing conditions because….

The warm Mozambique current that flows down our coast keeps Durban warm all year round, the prevailing winds hardly ever relent and the sailing buddies are all great to hang out with.

12 Dinghy or yacht?

Yachts and dinghy but only real boats, not cats.

13 Dam or Ocean?

Ocean of course otherwise I would be living in joburg!

14 Rock or pop?

Rock

15 Bar-One Ice Cream or Rocky Road Ice Cream?

Rocky road

16 Swell or flat waters?

Swells with wind, there's nothing better than surfing down huge swells on a sailing boat.

Victoria's secret is out

Offshore Sailing Academy / Royal Natal Yacht Club Colorpress Vasco da Gama

Victoria Marshall

 

Keeping the Offshore Sailing Academy lads firmly in check, Victoria Marshall makes certain the coaches, Greg Collins; Werner de Kock and Luke Wagner are kept in the correct lines

This English Rose will easily blow you away, not only can she speak four languages, but she plays the piano, flute and enjoys singing. But her talents don’t end there, Westville resident Victoria Marshall is a passionately competitive sailor in Durban.

She was introduced to the superb sport of sailing at a young age, “When I was nine my older sister and I had our very own oppies. We were taught by Trevor Gibb, the stalwart in so many young people’s sailing careers here in Durban.”

Marshall was born in Bristol, England but moved to Durban when she was five and has called Durban home since then. “I went to university in Durban for three years at UKZN where I studied languages, translation and drama. I speak French, Italian and can navigate my way through Spanish and of course I speak English.”

“Last year I worked at the Alliance Française for a couple of months before taking up a job offer to work on a 60ft catamaran in the Mediterranean for 6 months which was an amazing experience! In October I went to university in Italy to do a short language and culture course after which I did a bit of travelling around Europe before returning home to South Africa.”

Victoria Marshall is harnessing a career in her passion, sailing.

Since returning back to Durban, she gravitated towards a career in her main passion, “I have now been working for Offshore Sailing Academy for a few months and I’m really enjoying it. It is heartening to see how sailing gives our students a new lease on life as many come here knowing very little about it and discover a whole new exciting world that they never knew about.”

Beaming, she continues, “I enjoy the fact that each time you get out on the water, sailing is an adventure. I enjoy the sense of freedom it brings and challenges of being in complete control of a boat.”

Marshall is currently preparing to sail in her first ever Colorpress Vasco da Gama that is being hosted by the Royal Natal Yacht Club, “Preparations are going very well! Our entry is in, we have a friend coming over from the UK and one from Jo’burg to join us and we’re all starting to get quite excited.”

Racing in the bay on Majimoto

The Vasco is one of the toughest ocean races in the country and Marshall together with her father, Jon and sister, Charlotte and the visiting crew will be one of 14 yachts competing in this international blue water event that starts in Maputo on Thursday 2 May and finishes in Durban.

“I have many things on my bucket list, I will be ticking off the Vasco soon, my next project is the Lipton Cup Challenge in July, this is the most prestigious regatta in South Africa. I have been asked to sail with the Sail Africa team so I’m over the moon!  Next year I’d also like to take part in the Cape to Rio Race.”

Having sailed to exotic destinations such as Mozambique, Greece, Spain, Malta, Sicily, Turkey this up and coming young lady doesn’t have a favourite boat and is more than capable on any sailing vessel.

Talking about the sport being male dominated, “At times it can be frustrating as girls tend to get overlooked in this sport but if anything it pushes me to improve as I want to be taken seriously as a female sailor.”

Durban’s Victoria Marshall takes some time out of her busy nautical career, enjoying a quiet moment on the moorings at the Durban Marina.

Sturdy words as her list of achievements continues to grow and impress, having won the Inhaca to Richards Bay Race with her family in 2011; winning a few hobie regattas in Durban; placing second in an Intervasity match racing event and being appointed the Commodore of the UKZN Yacht Club for two years.

Concluding she reveals, “I really admire the sailors that I’ve grown up with and have achieved great results. It encourages me as there is nothing stopping me from achieving the same.”

If you would like to learn how to sail go to www.yachtman.co.za or contact Offshore Sailing Academy on 031 307 7944.

The Way

The peace and tranquillity of being outdoors, far away from civilisation is soul cleansing and such is the case as you spend time trekking along the Camino de Santiago or The Way of St James.

The Camino is an ancient Catholic pilgrimage in the north of Spain. The main route is usually from the South of France from the town of San Sebastian, nestled in the French Pyrenees and heads west to the awe-inspiring cathedral in the historic town of Santiago de Compostela, close to the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast of Spain. Nowadays a variety of routes can lead you to the cathedral and some pegrenos opt to continue their voyage and go further, catching a glimpse of the mighty Atlantic Ocean.

Everyone’s Camino starts in a different place and everyone’s reason for walking the Camino is as individual as the characters you stumble upon. I met several people who had left their homes months ago, all with the personal aim of landing up in Santiago de Compostela. A couple had spent months cycling from Sweden using different modes of transport to carry them and their hardy bicycles ever nearer, as did a retired wine grower from the North of Italy and an Austrian I met in Santiago, having left in the midst of winter and pedalled the entire way.

The most common way to tackle the Camino is the century old tried and tested hike, but nowadays you can also cycle it or mount a trusty steed to carry you to Santiago, the frowned upon version of driving it is also an option. You carry all your own gear, so packing intelligently and light are essential but stopping for food is a sociable way to meet people.

We had descended on Leon as this was the vibrant hub of all the main transport stops, staying the night before our travels would begin. Home of the most intricate stained glass cathedral in the world, Leon had an inviting European old town feel to it. Soaking up each dappled ray of light that fell from the magnificent centuries old windows was breath-taking and hours ticked by as we slowly circumnavigated the interior.

Cathedrals were the original albergues that housed pegrenos on their epic trail to Santiago; they used to travel from village to village, spending the nights in a house of God. Now-a-days it is totally different experience with a variety of accommodation options in some villages, although the reasoning for forging onwards still remains the same.

For us, we started at arguably the best spot, in the village of Astorga. We spent some time at the Catedral de Santa María de Astorga, admiring yet another feat of Spanish architecture. Time marched on encouraging us to hunt for the pilgrims’ friend, the yellow arrow or sign which would immediately point us in the right direction and continue to guide us to Santiago.

On departing, the horizon glistened with snow-capped peaks, but the weather was a contrasting gloriously warm spring day, the Europeans claiming this spring weather to be a heat wave.

When you are marching forward over a smorgasbord of terrain, for long stretches you have only the chirping birds and sound of your pounding feet hitting the gravel as company. Occasionally you would hear a Buen Camino which would jolt you back to reality as a cyclist would whiz past. This was the greeting and well-wishing or honoured code between pilgrims.

The landscape was ever changing, you would determinedly climb Tour De France like hills, or cruise through lavender lined level dusty paths or amble down steep rocky inclines, but all of it offered the most inspiring breath taking scenery. Some sections you would trudge along tar roads or wander along lush vegetation with a gargling stream flowing next to you or saunter beneath these huge viaducts that soared high above you carrying fast paced vehicles to their destinations. Your surroundings constantly changed, keeping the expedition refreshing and interesting.

Each day, as I looked at the horizon, the dominating whiteness on the mountains decreased and in its place a palette of changing colours, an artist’s dream. I would pause, imagining paths obstructed with easels as painters captured the glorious spring colours as they emerged after their hibernation.

Each town or village that you meandered through had its own feel. We passed derelict villages with ancient stone buildings all slowly crumbling to the ground. On one day we passed two villages, the first situated on a steep winding hill, this village had six inhabitants who had set up shop purely to support the passing pilgrims, offering food and liquid refreshments. The second was in a state of disrepair, two chaps were up on a step ladder weaving leaves together creating shade high above us. They had a pole with a number of large towns being pointed to, the little pointers giving you a rough guide to the distance to each of these places,  Paris 1,000km, New York many more. These two chaps were admirably breathing life back into this place, not having any running water and only recently connecting up to electricity. Observing the surrounds, it looked like the house that they were working on was the only habitable place in the village, with tumbled down stone buildings littering the surrounds.

The highlight for me would have to be the Monastery built in the 6^th Century, having spent the night in Hospital, a few days out from Sarria, at this stage I was travelling with Marc from Belgium and Gary from America. Gary insisted we stop in at the Benedictine Monastery of San Xuliam de Samos in the village of Samos and we managed to catch the tail end of the service.

Sitting at the back we followed all the prompts from the small congregation, standing or kneeling. The priest beautifully sang through a list of saints and then concluded the service. This was the biggest Western Monastery in the world according to Gary. What was really quirky about this town was at the entrance to the town, a small single pump petrol station rescued passing vehicles from dehydration. Towering over the petrol station was the enormous walls of the monastery, and as a car pulled into the bay, a monk wandered out to help.

Another memorable moment was the Iron Cross on the summit of Monte Irago, the cross soars high above a cairn of pebbles, each one individually laid by a pilgrim. The mound of pebbles each represent a wish, a dream, a problem, a failure or a secret and it is Camino tradition to pause here tossing your pebble onto the pile, releasing your burden. Regardless of what people tell you, tossing the stone onto this pile representing so much to so many is completely emotional.

The Camino charges your batteries in so many ways, you hopefully find answers to the questions that were being asked at the beginning of the voyage, and you are invigorated by nature – some people having spent six weeks or longer having the honour of being a pegreno. Everyone prefers to be by themselves, after all, for the majority of pegrenos this is a solo trip and have the joy of travelling at their own pace but you meet some truly humble people. The conversations are intense, somehow missing all the flimsy small talk that we all begin with. 

I caught a train to Santiago, having the fortune of staying one night in this dazzling place. I dumped my bags and wandered across in search of the Cathedral. I glided over cobbled small roads and eventually made the discovery. I entered into the square and was struck by the immense overpowering beauty of the cathedral. I sat for ages, gazing up at the magnitude of the church spirals, the windows, the guardians and statues looking down on the square, taking in as much of the details as I could. I then strolled to a nearby outdoor cafe, relishing a Spanish black rice paella and then made my way back to the cathedral to see it in all its beauty showered by lights at night.

The next day, I went back but this time to soak up the atmosphere. I sat observing the pilgrims as they entered the square. Some punched the air in absolute achievement, some collapsed in a heap sobbing, and others successfully embraced their new found friends. The air was charged with a mixture of emotion as a wonderful journey ended and also began.

The Camino, every moment of it is special, every moment of it is treasured. It is an odyssey where you discover so much about yourself, Buen Camino!