St ANDREWS, CANADA

                       St Andrews and its Historic Sites

       Loyalists established the historic fishing village of St. Andrews in 1783. The small seaside village has a present population of about 3000. When the King’s surveyor laid out the town he plotted 60 even square blocks. King Street runs from the wharf up the center of town to the top of the hill. It’s the steepest hill to walk, although not strenuous. By following the waterfront south 4-5 blocks before turning east the hill almost disappears and you can walk tree-lined streets of well kept old homes with manicured yards.   Many of the homes in town came by barge from Castine, Maine years ago when loyalists fled to Canada.  

      The court house and jail date to 1840 and the Greenoch Presbyterian Church to 1824. At the St. Andrews Block House Historic Site, north of the town center, we learned the block house by the bay was a fortification of the war of 1812. Made of square logs, instead of round ones, eliminated air spaces and allowed lesser penetration in case of attack---which never occurred. The blockhouse was close to an island just off shore in the mouth of the St. Croix River and is where in 1605 seventy Frenchmen made the first settlement.

       A strange shaped block of wood we learned were muzzle plugs. Kept in the muzzle mounts when the mounts were not in use, they kept out the cold in the winter.           

      We drove to the point where at low tide one can drive across flat stone to Minister’s Island, settled in 1790 by an Anglican minister from Connecticut. The 500-acre island originally had 22 buildings of which eleven remain. The island was self-sustaining. In 1890 a Mr. Van Horne, founder of the Canadian railroad, bought Minister’s Island.  In 1977 the island with its three-story barn, the largest in Canada, and the 50-room summer cottage became the property of the provincial government. No humans live on the island but 60-70 deer do.

               

       Our first stop walking the darling little city was the Andrew Sheriff House on King Street where we had a delightful visit and a good time talking to the friendly docent.

      The house, built in 1820, is one of the over 100 historic buildings in St. Andrews. Right away I spotted and pointed out to my buddy the Christian door.

       The kitchen, located in the basement, had a brick floor laid over a thick layer of sand to promote quick drainage in case of flooding. The accordion lathe work ceiling positively fascinated me. It had been left unplastered, and was so much prettier than a plastered ceiling. However, it probably was not as insulating. A large table in the kitchen also made into a chair when the top was tilted back---a large chair, one for cuddling children.

       As we returned upstairs the docent said, “Only three families have lived in this house. In 1986 the Bond family bought the house, restored it, and gave it to the province. The home now is a working museum teaching children the art of cooking in a fireplace, making soap and candles (the old fashion way, not with wax) as well as other Colonial endeavors. If one did not make his own candles, it could cost him a third of his pay to buy them, as candles were very expensive items in Colonial days.”

      It took two men six months to cut enough wood to feed the home’s nine fireplaces in winter.

      We had a lot of fun talking to the docent who was a world of information and spent a fair amount of time in this wonderful old house.

All Saints Church,

        The church was built in 1867. Pictures and narrative in the foyer revealed that Diana and Prince Charles visited the church in 1983.

This church replaced one built by Loyalists in 1788. Samuel Andrews, from Connecticut and of Minister’s Island, was the first pastor. He was seven years old when he arrived in St. Andrews. The sheriff had extensive responsibilities as he covered all of Charlotte County, not just the town. If he was unfortunate enough to lose a prisoner, he was fined.

The Anglican Church’s ceiling is built from pews of the old church and resembles a ship’s hull turned upside down.  The lovely stain glass windows were made in England. The pulpit is from the original church. The Royal Coat of Arms of William and Mary is above the arched doorway. It was brought from the Connecticut church by the first pastor and is believed to be one of only six that survived the American Revolution.

The docent here was very friendly and knowledgeable. She too was fun to converse with.

Ross House Museum

      The docent here told us, “An American lawyer by the name of Harris originally built this house in 1822-24, then he and his family of 11 children moved into the home. In later years Harris left the town money to build a library and add a wing to the hospital. After Harris the home was vacant for several years.

      In 1938 Mr. and Mrs. Ross, a childless couple, bought the house, when in their 60s, simply to display art and furniture collected as they traveled around the world.    Mr.Ross, an Episcopal minister from Taunton, Mass., was born in the late 1860s. In the early 1900s he visited a friend in St. Andrews who took him on a buggy ride. Ross fell in love with the area and bought a home at the bottom of the hill he named Rossmont. The couple returned to Rossmont every summer until 1945. Mrs. Ross’s father was president of Dunn & Bradstreet, and upon his death left his daughter a wealthy woman.

      We wandered through the museum marveling at the lovely furnishings and art.  

       It had been a delightful day. We saw lots and had great fun talking to all the friendly docents.     When all was said and done we returned to our lovely hotel.

COSTA RICAN VOLCANOES

                                                  VOLCANOS

                                                  

         In Costa Rica, we were told that less than 10% of the tourists see Arenal clearly as its cone top is most often shrouded by clouds.  I could not believe how lucky I was on both trips to see it clearly nearly all the time we were in the area. The first time hurried off the van for pictures not knowing how long the clouds would stay at bay—then come to think about it there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Our motel room was directly across from the volcano. I could lie in bed and watch the red glow of the falling lava all night. My photographer son elected to stay up on the patio for his photo ops.

        It remained clear all night, and the volcano just kept belching its smoke and lava steadily all night long

Arenal exploded to life in 1968, after 400 years of inactivity, and has been steaming and spitting ever since. During that massive eruption 80 people were killed. Arenal is  perfect conical volcano, but as years pass the cone will eventually fall in on itself. It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.

        A dam built in 1978 created a 25-mile long lake. The road around it really requires a four-wheel drive vehicle. There are several resorts around the lake as it is a popular recreation area.

         On another trip we stayed in a new 5-star hotel in La Fortuna, a farming community of 5000. We were literally at the foot of the volcano and again after a rainy day before, we had clear weather and wonderful visibility. I was delighted as I was anxious to show my granddaughters Arenal. They were amazed.

     On that visit with the teenagers we also visited Poas Volcano.  At an altitude of 8659 feet it was established as a National Park in 1971.  It has been dormant since 1991. The crater, over a mile across, is the second largest in the world and covers 13,138 acres.   Geysers in the crater occasionally go off, and we were lucky to see one small one. Poas has erupted 20 times since 1834. In 1974 she spewed volcanic ash 30,000 feet into the air. In 1989 volcanic activity closed the park most of the year. Surrounded by cloud forest, it is humid, damp and most often misty. We got whiffs of sulfa fumes.  We walked the half-mile paved path to the volcano to find it totally socked in with a heavy mist. It was a delightful walk with rich growth everywhere.  Rhubarb-type leaves were common and were the largest leaves I’ve ever seen. They were absolutely huge.

       A Cloud Forest is created when warm air from the ocean is forced upward by mountain slopes. As the moist air rises it cools forming clouds. The Poas crater is seen 30% of the time, and the best chance of seeing it is in the morning. We were there early, but still had the heavy mist in the beginning. Cloud Forests are eerie and majestic in early morning light. 

ALL ABOUT PEAT

                                                 PEAT OR TURF

       Peat has always been an important ingredient in Irish life as they used it both for fuel and cooking. When Ireland became a republic, the government gave every Irish family one acre of peat land. It is also often referred to as turf. This acre is inherited by offspring. The acre may or may not be near your home. For decades each family would gather with his neighbors and friends in July after a few dry days to harvest the peat.

      It was a hard and long chore. A special narrow spade is used to cut out a block about a foot long and 6 inches wide and thick. The logs, 90% water, are stacked teepee style to dry. After a few days all the logs need  to be turned. When completely dry they are quite light and are taken to the home and thrown on a pile for burning. I forget what that pile is called.

      Today, large machines with big wheels set wide apart are used to harvest the peat and can accomplish in a half day what took days to do by hand. Everyone helped everyone else in this chore. Burning peat gives off a strange aroma which I liken to incense burning.

      Electricity did not arrive in many areas of Ireland until 1958---and running water not until the 70s. Now many homes use electric heat.

      Seventeen percent of Ireland is bog land. Each foot of peat dug represents 1000 years. Blanket bog runs 10-20 feet deep but raised bog runs up to 30 feet deep. Bog land is very spongy and soft. Often old preserved oak will be found when digging peat. Buried air tight, it is well preserved and I liken it to drift wood. It is often used in decoration. It is not uncommon to find a body and when they do it is well preserved. The hair turns red, but the skin remains soft. It is possible to know what the person ate for their last meal as the contents will still be in the stomach! Sometimes the bodies are very old.

      Small, sure-footed, versatile ponies now known as Kerry Bog Ponies reflect the qualities of their living and working environment. They were used on family holdings in the mountains and valleys of Kerry for centuries. They were known locally as Hobbies. They were used to transport peat when it was dry from the bog to the home. They are cute little fellows and we saw a couple alongside the road one day posed waiting for picture taking.

      We stopped at a bog one day and it was really quite easy to jump up and down and feel the earth move. It was a strange sensation! The ground was very spongy, not quite as spongy as a water bed but definitely spongy. We smelled burning peat several times while riding around the countryside in a van over narrow country roads. I never really knew anything about peat and found it quite fascinating.

HONG KONG

                                          City Information

Hong Kong means frequent harbor. Also called The Gateway to China, Hong Kong is home to 8 million people. The World’s Playground covers only 400 square miles. China’s Jewel is actually a group of 235 islands in the South China Sea. The City of Life has more billionaires and Roll Royces per capita than any other city in the world. No matter what one calls the city he is talking about Hong Kong, which a hundred years ago was a sleepy fishing village.

Hong Kong is made up of three sections, Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. Hong Kong Island covers 31 square miles and has a population of 1.8 million, Kowloon covers 18 square miles with a population of 2.1 million, and the New Territory’s 235 islands cover 374 square miles with a population of 3.4 million people.

Kowloon is a 40-minute drive from the airport. Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong and the word for hello is lay ho and  doe chay means thank you. Hong Kong  has its own currency and on my last visit one US dollar equaled 7.75 Hong Kong dollars. Driving is done English style  on the left side of the road, so be aware and careful crossing the street as  pedestrians do not have the right of way. I noted that traffic moved very fast but it stops immediately, no matter where they are, when a traffic light changes. It was amazing to see this. Obviously brakes are very good as are reflexes! Ice and water in restaurants is ok to drink, but drink bottled water otherwise.

Today the Wall Street of Asia is a hard paced, materialistic society. It is a city of marked contrasts where modern skyscrapers and cell phones mix with Chinese junks and ancient medicine. Although England turned its colony over to China in 1997, a British influence remains. After all, England ruled the colony for nearly 100 years. High tea is still popular in the city.

Because of limited real estate space rents are extremely high and the cost of living is one of the world’s highest. Another contrast, awesome to think about, was the bamboo scaffolding along the sides of the new hi-rises being built. Sensational modern architecture often cling to 45-degree slopes.

Although today Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan city, it continues to be steeped in Chinese traditions, spiritual beliefs, rituals, superstitions and the ancient art of Feng Shui. This combination creates a rich cultural tapestry of life.  Feng Shui is the art of positioning objects in harmony with nature to create good fortune. Even today architects consult Feng Shui masters in regard to construction. In Chinese mythology dragons live in mountains, and Hong Kong is built on mountains. Openings and glass doors are common sights in buildings so that dragons can pass through them from the mountains to the harbor for a drink. Hong Kong is certainly a city of contrasts of old and new, east and west and ancient traditions blended with a gleaming modern city.

Streets were teaming with people---all the time. The city is a shoppers’ paradise. In fact many people visit the city for the express purpose of shopping. A tailor-made suit can be ready in 24 hours at about one-quarter the cost if made in the United States. The city’s tailors are some of the best in the world. Hong Kong has no exports, but they repackage a multitude of products. It is said that one can buy anything in the shops lining the lanes leading off the main streets.

            We arrived in Hong Kong the last day of the week-long Chinese holiday and the streets were one big mob scene. Since all the hotels that used to be on Hong Kong Island have been moved to Kowloon, that is where we stayed. The area is half the size with twice as many people, but there was little we could do about it. Kowloon means nine dragons and is named for the hills behind the city. Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island is locally known as the back of a dragon and provides a magnificent view of the city and harbor.

            City cabs were red with a gray roof and all looked new. They were everywhere, so finding one is no problem. The best views of the city are from the water or from the mountains. One high-rise after another sprawl up the mountainsides.

            There are five tunnels under the harbor. The first one, opened in 1972, is a mile and quarter long and  65 feet below the water level. It can accommodate 110,000 vehicles an hour, but the average is only 79,000. The second tunnel opened in 1979, and the last one, a train tunnel, in 1998. It was good to learn that taxis charge round-trip when using the tunnel, because they have to get back to where they started.

                Reflections in glass building fronts were seen everywhere. The 5^th tallest building in the world with 88 stories is on Hong Kong Island. Another building known as the Swiss cheese building has 1728 round windows. It is difficult to find a building that is not a high rise, and when you do it is dwarfed by the high buildings around it.

                The city has few historical sites and only a handful of cultural sites. But one of them is Man Mo Temple, Hong Kong’s oldest temple that is now dwarfed by surrounding buildings. Built in 1847, the temple honors the gods of literature, man, and war, Mo. The strong pungent scent of burning incense was noticed immediately upon approaching the temple. Inside the front door hung huge bell shaped incense coils. The air was very smoky and hazy inside. To the left of the entrance sit the ten judges of the underworld. Fabric banners are displayed all over the walls. Buddhist and Taoist statues are inside.

            People come to the temple to ask for guidance as well as to give thanks afterward. Profits from the organization that own/manage eleven temples support schools. The prayer bell was cast in Canton in 1847. Along with a drum it is a call to the gods for their attention that an offering has been made.

            For the shopper the city is a paradise with everything from street hawkers to high-end upscale department stores, with everything in between. You can buy anything here. In Hong Kong they believe that the body is a delicate balance of the forces known as yin, (water, quiet, substance and night) and yang (fire, noise, function and day). It is said that the balance of these forces is what makes Hong Kong unique.

             I’ve been in several cities where there are steps up hills or even short gondolas, but the mid-level escalator on Hong Kong Island was a new feature for me. We were told it cost 30 million dollars and takes twenty minutes to ride the two-mile-long escalator from one end to the other. Elevation goes from street level up to 185 feet. The escalator runs only one way and changes directions to accommodate rush hour traffic. There are 29 exits/entrances; one about every block. The escalator is well utilized and relieves a lot of street traffic and pollution in the city.

            In a post dated 5-25-14  I noted the changes that have taken place at Victoria Peak in the years between my visits to Hong Kong when our hotel was actually on HK Island.

THE GUINNESS EXPERIENCE

                        A Fascinating Museum and a Surprise at the top

       I am a wine drinker and not a beer drinker, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t visited a lot breweries and distilleries in my travels.

      The #1 attraction in Dublin, Ireland is the Guinness Brewery built on 60 acres in 1759. That year Guinness inherited $150 and decided to acquire what was then a small, unused and ill-equipped brewery at St James's Gate. The lease, signed on 31 December 1759, was for 9000 years at an annual rent of £45.

      Arthur Guinness was born in 1725 near Dublin in the town of Celbridge, County Kildare where his father, Richard Guinness, was a Land Steward. Part of Richard's duties included supervising the brewing of beer for the workers on the estate, and it is probable that young Arthur learned the art of brewing from his father. The brewing industry in Dublin at that time was suffering because English beer was taxed less severely than the home-produced product.

       At first Arthur brewed ale, but by the 1770s a new strong black beer called porter was being exported from London.  Arthur took a chance on brewing this new product and the rest as they say is history. Just FYI, Stout contains more hops than either lager or ale. It takes 119 seconds for Guinness to settle. A pint is shy of 200 calories and contains 4.3% alcohol.

       The Guinness Storehouse is a 1904 cast iron and brick warehouse that now serves as a museum. We were able to get in on the senior rate everywhere in Dublin that had an admission. At Guinness the senior rate was 9.50 Euro compared to 14 Euro.

      The museum’s six floors circle an atrium. There were a lot of people, but the museum in the Storehouse is well spread out and with everyone moving at their own pace it worked just fine. The displays included multi-media and lots of old equipment. It was most interesting as we moved slowly up four stories. At that point we could take an elevator up the next couple of floors to the Gravity Bar. But a crowd was waiting for the elevator so we opted to continue walking. The Gravity Bar at the top offers a spectacular view of the city.

       It was a beautiful clear sunny day and the 360 degree view of the city was awesome. After rotating around the room soaking in the scenery we found a couple of empty seats just as people were vacating them. I went to the bar to get my friend her pint and asked for a half pint for myself. I drank about half of it. It was not as strong as I anticipated. Eventually it got pretty warm sitting in front of the sunny window, so we took the elevator back to ground level to continue sightseeing.

      This exhibit is unique in its layout and is very well done. It’s certainly worth one’s time to visit when in Dublin, regardless of one’s preferred drink.