Alpha by the River

Alpha by the River

The Dragon sleeps forever ... The Legend of Umoljani

The Village of Umoljani ... saved from the dragon because the whole village prayed. Umoljani - means 'of the prayers' and the legend of the powerful hodza (muslim priest) who defeated the dangerous dragon lives on today - but couldnt save it from the last war. The entire village was destroyed except for the mosque - it was spared because the commander remembered that his son was healed through the prayers of the hodza in that mosque. It is the only mosque of its kind that survived the war.   So we stared at this massif until we could make out the dragon's sinewy tail and spiny back...and mused over the myths that kept children awake at night in the generations gone by.  

The dragon - frozen in eternity...

Winter - or summer - I have found that the magic of this amazing area doesn't change because snow has covered the rocks and put the plants to sleep.

The valley where the dragon was frozen in stone by the local hodza may be a myth, but the aura of the dragon in this forgotten gorge, that sleeps like Glochamorra, follows us as we walked along its river last summer.

But it really is winter now and we are tiptoeing as best we can - on snowshoe - leaving the dragon, and the small village behind us.

This is a typical hut in Gradina - the summer highland village for the shepherds. You can see Gradina from Umoljani, which is where the shepherds live in the winter.

Gradina in the summer looks desolate.... but the highlands are not easy places to live - and in Lukomir, where the climate is even more harsh, the villagers remain all year round..








We are facing east on this rise and slightly to the north hidden from our view is Lukomir village...the last of the traditional highlanders.

Remember Andrew from camp Fazana? - he picked up some energy and is definitely showing good form now! just 5 months later. In fact, this was first snow trip ever, but - youth aside - he outshone the snow experts big time.

an extraordinary day... but still very exhausting.... as time goes on, each step seems to carry more snow.

All just a little too cheezy and tidy if you ask me... but fun anyway. If you click to enlarge this picture, you will see Umoljani below us. Tim Clancey(U.S.), Andrew(Holland), azzi(dutch antilles), me(Canada) and Alex(U.S.)

Grace and India may not have been the first things I would have put together in my mind when thinking of this large country bursting with people, commotion and poverty. But grace is what I found.

In September I travelled through Kerala in the southern tip of India where I found verdent greens ...

large stretches of rice paddies,

wide, expansive rivers..

and plantation 'forests'.

The people - natural,

Two of the skippers on my river cruise. 

My gracious and friendly host on my home-stay at his plantation. 

proud

Near by villagers.

....industrious.

Bathing the elephants

A personal demonstration on how rubber trees are harvested.

I loved watching the graceful way in which people went about their work.

Workers seemed happy at what they did. 

Wise...

My wise doctor at the Aryvedic camp in Northern Kerala. 

and friendly.

Nearby villagers who graciously invited me in for something to eat.  I was assured by my guide that these humble abodes were no measure of wealth.  I concur - but my understanding of 'wealth' has grown. 

It was a wonder to visit Kerala where the literacy rate is higher than most western countries and where employment - also very high - is considered a privilege regardless of the occupation. The noise level was highest in the ayruvedic retreat where nightlife nature screamed during the night and murmured lazily during the day. Otherwise the India I visited was very quiet and contemplative.

The clinic where examinations, consultations and all  massages were done.   (I had two different massages every day)

Each visitor had their own cottage. 

Yes there is noise and commotion on the highways and in the cities, but to counter that, there was an extraordinary insularness in the quiet confidence of the people -

A bird sanctuary..and not another living soul throughout the park.

My guide was an interesting young man who had an uncanny instinct for finding  birds .  He was extemely knowledgeable and even the most experienced bird watcher could find no fault in his intense passion for nature and the birds that live here. 

Can you spot the birds in this foliage? 

A mystical landscape 

The lotus flower rules along with the birds - when the water recedes.

A fitting find for the end of an amazing adventure in the bird scantuary.

One wonders if the land dictates the nature of the people living in it. I cant help but appreciate the grace of the Keralan Indians amidst abundant, pulsing, noisy nature against the intensely disciplined wildness of Balkaners in the harsh uncompromising extremes of their climate and terraine.