Nothing But A Fisherman's Dog

There is one topic in South Africa that is hard to avoid.

The fishermen, the fishermen's fish and their dogs

No, he is not hurt, just dirty

The fishermen and their dogs are a secret society

And usually there is more than one of them

There is a very fine thin cord woven between the fisherman and his dog

And it extends further out to the sea

So, the fish is hooked to the fisherman ( even if it i still swimming happily in the ocean) 

and the fisherman is hooked to the dog

so the dog is also hooked to the fish

The fish feels the fisherman and a little bit the dog,

the dog feels the fisherman and the fish,

the fisherman feels all three of  them !

Symbolically spoken

Don't know if you understand

This is a complicated matter

not easy to explain

But go and see for yourself

Old Lorenco Marques - The City Of Acacias

Then Called Polana Beach, Maputo, Mozambique

Something new and a little bit of old every day of your life. Seems like a good philosophy to me.

In this picture a view of Polana Beach in Maputo in the 1950's, also known as Lourenco Marques, capital of Mozambique.

Maputo is known as the City of Acacias in reference to the many acacia trees commonly found along its avenues. Another name given to it is the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its municipal building.

In this picture we see a partial view of Lourenco Marques commercial zone in the 1950's

Old Lourenco Marques - because it does really not look as sleepy as this anymore. Today it is a port city on the Indian ocean with its economy centered around the harbour and an estimated 9 % annual growth rate. 

Close to 1 800.000 million people live in Maputo. It is estimated that 80% of the city's population lives in slums without running water or electricity but the city has little money to invest in infrastructure.

Inequality in Maputo has grown considerably.

The OK Beauty Salon

A visit is gonna make you feel really OK.

Swakopmund - Fishing From The Old Jetty

These old color prints show us what Swakopmund looked like in the 1950's before Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt made this town famous by awaiting the birth to their child there in a seaside resort close by. Swakopmund was just a sleepy, very misty little village situated at the rough Atlantic coast of Namibia, then still called SWA - South West Africa. The old jetty was the place to be for fishing, and probably still is. At the time the wooden boards had holes and at a later stage it was even difficult to get to the end of the jetty.

A bird's eye view of the town with the vast Namib desert in the background. Then and now one of the most fascinating places in the world.

Today the town has changed completely. It has grown enormously and has become a tourist haven. I have spent many holidays there but I found it difficult to recognise the old streets.

Butterfly Leaf

Powder

Stranded

A white painted deck was beached at Nahoon after the heavy rains in July.
One of many.

All shattered and ship-wrecked, beautiful in its ravaged appearance.

I immediately saw that this would make a perfect setting for a fashion photo shoot. It does not come better.

But guess what?  

South Africa being a country where nothing is left unused and everything is recycled the one way or another, the next day when I came back with a model it was basically stripped down and only some planks and the tires were left.

Pity ! My loss !
But somebody's gain.
May be, these planks help now keeping a ceiling up.

The Transition Of A Crab Or The Effects Of Climate Change

In July 2011 severe rain fell on East London and on the Eastern Cape. Many villages and cities were flooded. Whole ground levels of shopping centers like Vincent Park and Hemingways and other shops experienced excessive water damage amounting to hundreds thousands of  Rands.

The beach was swamped with Bamboo, driftwood, tree trunks, broken boats, parts of decks and many other things that the sea had brought to shore. There was so much wood and debris that beach walkers had to make their way around piles of objects.

Sea creatures and other forms of sea life that I had not consciously perceived before found themselves stranded amongst the bamboo and driftwood. Big squid of a size that I had seen so far only exhibited as calamari steak in the fish shops were lying dead and entangled in seaweed.

This purple black crab sat, his fire red arms outstretched, on the beach.

I was still busy taking pictures from every angle when foam came out of it's mouth and it died.

When I walked on I found many more of them already dead.

But he thing is that this type of rainfall has been repeating itself during the last months.

South Africa is hosting Cop 17 in Durban, an international conference on climate change and global warming at this moment. The protocol of Kyoto is still a hectic discussion topic. But judging very subjectively from what I see happens around me in my life climate change is here to stay with us. 

Akono

AKONO - from Ghana, worked at the Bar Kouame in Nara, North of Mali.
Was often home-sick to the bone.
But never made enough money to pay for the trip to go back.

Every night, for seven years, he kept a cold beer for me in the back of his parafin fridge!

Death Is A Silent Hunter

Death is a silent hunter

with no shame at all

and who was to witness him when he came in the brightest of light
just the oldest one of trees 

And where there was great beauty once

there is now absolutely none !

And all their mighty 

strong and sharp claws

could not help them at all

escape their grim fate

when this creature's father came along.

Solitude

Him, his soul, his thoughts - nothing else.

Good !

Portrait Of A Little Sunbird

The Cleaners

Ants are making a common effort to carry a maggot up my pink wall, which they have found under the trash bin.

A Very Angry Look In My Direction

I received a very angry and fierce look from this huge crab who had made himself a home under the wood pile.

After the heavy rain these crabs are to be found all over the garden.

Obviously completely dis-pleased with my decision to make a barbecue.

He held onto his log with all his might.