WE have joined the club of terrorist massacre countries. A fine French-Canadian gentleman has taken upon himself to open fire in Québec City’s Grande Mosquée while some one hundred were performing their evening prayers: 6 dead, 28 wounded, aged 10 to 60 years. Just last week, mayor Labeaume, of Québec, was boasting about how safe his city was, not one murder in 2016. Poor Régis was crying last night while commenting the events.
According to witnesses, the 6 died trying to fight off the shooter. They should be posthumously decorated for their courage. We, Canadians, pride ourselves on our tolerance, openness of mind and hospitality. Diversity, used to say Pierre Elliott Trudeau, is our strenght, and it was repeated last night by everybody. Of course we have our racists and bigots. These days they are comforted by our southern neighbours president and may be emboldened by his rheroric. Let’s hope this will be but the act of a lone wolf and no copycat will emulate him.
Tomorrow, 2016 exits and 2017 enters. Some say a year dies and another one is born. For that to be, time would have to stop. Preposterous, time flows irremediably and though we may use arbitrary ways of measuring it, it never stops, not even for a nanosecond. so, to all who may happen to wander, inadvertently, on this site, happy time continuation, however you measure it.
Five years have gone by since I last wrote here. Lots has gone on but bygones are bygones. Since then we, the wife and I have been on 9 cruises, a tenth one next February. I’ve had a triple bypass and life has been wonderful since then. Fortunaterly our Canadian healthcare system is universal and public otherwise, in the U.S. for instance, I would be either dead or bankrupt. and forget the cruises then.
The caribbean islands,Mediterranean sea and the wonderful Greek islands, the Baltic, the Canaries wonderful experiences and so enriching, next the Bahamas. In between short stays in Mexico and Florida.
Retirement is really exhausting.
Is this a Persian Magic Carpet? No, just the Laurentian forest canopy viewed from 2 000 feet high while flying with my son on this sunny October 8 Thanksgiving Day, here in Canada. Picture taken near Rawdon, in Lanaudière. Despite it’s small size, Rawdon is a multiethnic village with a sizable Russian origin population and some beautifull orthodox chuches and bizantine inspired buildings.
Our Laurent
ian Mountains, or Hills as some would have it, are famous for their Fall foliage. Here are two examples of what it looks like:
These pictures were taken yesterday September 25 2012, from the balcony of our motel room in St-Sauveur-des-monts.
Heads in the clouds you can imagine anything; the Gulf of Mexico becomes the Red Sea, you are inthe eye of a hurricane or the hurricane has blossomed into a rainbow.
This afternoon, I leisurely drank two fingers of Malaga Virgen. At Christmas my son and his little family brough me back a bottle after spending their vacations at their secondary home in Fuengirola. We spent two scorching weeks there in August 2011 and a neighbour had given us a bottle of this divine elixir.
While sipping the nectar I could see the orange tree below our balcony
Then again, walking around the corner and to the street parrallel to ours we could come upon a banana tree complete with ripening bananas
A short walk away you came the bustling activity of la Plaza de Espana, seems every city has one
of course, get around a little and you will see the famous Bull, without the Bull, Fuengirola would not be Fuengirola.
And, visualizing the Bull, brought me to another place, the beaches and I could just smell the ubiquitous sardine smoking and BBQing boats strewn all along the 15 kilometers of beaches.
Is it not amazing what one can see in a wee glass of the proper medecine?
That June 8th, at 1pm sharp, the ship left it’s moorings and headed out of Dubrovnik toward Venice. We said good bye to the Balkans hoping we could get back…some day. However when you are in your early 80s and late 70s hope is just about all you have since the future, uncertain at any age, is just more so as you get on in age.
Next morning early we sailed up the watery Venetian boulevards that we had sailed down a week before. As we progressed, I spotted the MSC Divina following us as we had followed her last Saturday. We had met her in Bari, but not since. We had also a nice surprise: docked alongside the boulevard was this beautiful 3 masters.
A fine “au revoir” from a city that built it’s fortune and Empire on shipping and trading and sent Marco Polo all over, or most of, the then known world.
We disembarked at 8:30, the shuttle bus came at 9:30 instead of 9 as announced, (Mussolini, where are you?). Then we stopped at another pier to pick up Divina passengers, yes the same guys that were on our plane coming in and will be again going out. After winding our way through the morning traffic we had a picture of the airport that we had not seen coming in. Last Saturday, it was off the plane, into the shuttle and on the ship, bingo. Today we got into an overcrowded departure deck and were told we could not check our bagages before 1:30, 3 hours away. so we were directed to the waiting area
outside the building under plexiglass canopies. Although grey, fortunately, it was not raining. We took turns going in to the pizza counter to get something to eat (it was very good) on our luxurious stone bench. At 1:30 pm though we were quickly through the embarkment proces and security. All the room lacking outside was explained by all the room, past security, taken over by duty free shops and very nice ones at that…but no sitting room; finally, after some shopping, we went through the Customs (La Guardia di Finanza) desk and walked down to the boarding area…lo and behold, comfortable seats.
Since our plane was way out on the tarmac, we had to board a shuttle bus to get to it. Photo taken from my seat through the porthole. We left on time and landed in Montreal slightly ahead of schedule. But before we flew over the Alps, Italy gave us another beautifull sight
A very nice bye bye..
Wanderings 
