The Liberian oil tanker Socrates enters the Panama Canal, empty of cargo.
The Panama Canal was completed by the United States in 1914. The French worked on the canal for 13 years, but gave up after they incurred 22,000 deaths and the construction firm went bankrupt. Completed by the USA in 10 years, it is considered one of the seven engineering marvels of the world.
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The Lake District is a favorite destination where the avid hikers of England go on holiday. VRBO (Vacation Rental by Owner) properties for us to rent were scarce in this area so we stayed at a B&B. Each morning the hosts would ask where we hiked the prior day and we did not have a good reply. We explored nearby towns and went to a local sheep dog fair (see September 21, 2014 post), but hiking just to hike was not on our agenda. While I was taking the above photo on a chilly morning, several groups of women wearing wet suits waded into Lake Derwentwater and swam across for exercise. While one may not be able to find a more beautiful place for a morning exercise routine, swimming in this cold lake had not even occurred to me…. This swimming also introduced additional waves for my reflection photos.
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Kenmare, Ireland is a small town in southern Ireland that serves as a very good base for exploring the peninsula via the well-traveled 110 mile Ring of Kerry and the smaller peninsula to the south, the Ring of Beara. Wonderful views of the North Atlantic, great stone walls where sheep graze waiting for their next sheering and vast fields of vivid shades of green await the travelers to this area. Miles and miles of thick, solid stone walls are a striking and common sight. No mortar binds these rocks. What backbreaking work it must be to first dig these rocks out of the fields where the sheep graze, then carry them to the wall and sort through them for the right shape to fit with the adjacent rocks. At least they had cool weather and great views during their efforts. Even more picturesque is the adjacent Ring of Beara, which we circumnavigated twice.
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One cold morning I went exploring the area around Crested Butte, Colorado. I turned and went up a hill to see the fog from the warmer lake water meeting the frigid morning air. This is a site we would see on occasion in the winter on Lake Michigan. What I often find intriguing is that sites such as these are everyday for some. One reason this clip was chosen is no cars drove by on their way to work. Also, the guy with the circular saw gave it a rest for a while…..