Down the Rabbit Hole

I've always been intrigued by the big black birds which kept catching thermals overhead. They are particularly active (or I just keep noticing them) in the East Bay. But I couldn't photograph them because they were in flight, or they were roosting but I didn't have my camera with me, or I was behind the wheel and I couldn't really take a photo. But one afternoon, Daddy was driving along Railroad Ave and I was ready to take a photo when the traffic light turned red. There were many of these birds hanging out in the eucalyptus trees lining the side of the road. Unfortunately, they were all looking the other way and I couldn't see their faces (and therefore I wouldn't be able to identify them). Then I spotted one bird sitting near the top of a tree, facing us! Finally, a bird I could photograph and use to figure out what they are! All along, I thought that these birds were hawks or eagles (obviously I still can't differentiate between raptor...

January 20, 2019 is marked on my calendar as a big night sky event: I was in the right place at the right time to witness the year's first lunar eclipses . Unfortunately, the sky was cloudy and it was rainy that night so I had to take photos as much as I could until the cloud cover (and the low temperature) made it impossible for me to take photos. Note that I was using my trusty Canon Powershot SX720 HS , handheld (no tripod)... a challenging idea because I really wanted to capture a clear shot of the blood red moon... but this photo is the clearest I got. Once the moon became red, I couldn't take a good photo anymore. And yeah, I bothered Val, Biboy, Man, Ate Maddie, Joycelyn, and Kuya Allan to check out the sky where they were located. And I kept bugging Daddy to join me outside to watch the eclipse. But what made this lunar eclipse special? And what's with the media calling it a "super wolf blood moon"? It's a super moon  because the Moon app...

Lac Nokoué is a prominent feature of the map of Cotonou (at least in my phone when I wanted to know where we were). I wanted to see it but wasn't sure if we had the time to visit. Somehow, Val was able to fit it into our schedule one afternoon (despite my school project and his journal articles). With his cousin's family, we went to the port... it was also the kids' first time to see the lake.  And I've got to say that it is one very  busy port. There were a lot of dugout boats conveying people and produce from Cotonou to the stilt village of Ganvie, a potential UNESCO Heritage Site. Val explained to me that Ganvie is dubbed as the "Venice of Africa", which made me even more curious about the place.  However, on this trip, we were just there to see the flurry of activity on the Cotonou side of the lake. Aside from the passenger boats, there were boats that sold food to the passengers on the boats... very enterprising for the traders, I thought.  ...

When we went to the beach, we passed by a music and games festival along Plage Fidjrossè... Val got curious because it seemed like the perfect place to bring his nephews and niece to. Hence, once the kids were finished with homework, we went there with their parents to see what this event was all about.  It's the MTN XWE Festival de Musique et de Jeux ; as far as I understood, it's sponsored by MTN, a mobile phone services company. RC Cola was another major sponsor, with all the tarps and the soda being given out at the event (drinks were inclusive of the entrance fee). The event had in interesting concept: set up an events venue using container vans; put up inflatable playgrounds for young children and video games for the older kids; and decorate the venue with Christmas-themed motifs. For the adults, there was a spot where they could lounge on pallets converted into chairs and tables. In the evenings, apparently, there were concerts. However, we were there for t...

Last year, I explored Ouidah , a city in modern-day Benin. It was a significant location in the transatlantic slave trade when it was still known as Fortaleza de São João Batista de Ajudá. For my next visit to Benin, Val took me on a car tour of Benin's capital, Porto-Novo, another city whose name suggests a prominent Portuguese history. For me, it is fascinating to find a city with a Portuguese name in a country where people largely spoke French. Upon crossing the bridge from Cotonou, the first thing I saw was a government building that's currently under construction. It sat right by the banks of an inlet of the Gulf of Guinea.  In downtown Porto-Novo, the pace was much slower than in Cotonou. There weren't many multi-story buildings where we drove past. There are fewer vehicles on the roads here... but it could also be because we drove in when people were currently at work. There were not as many tourists as in Cotonou too. What I noticed (again) was the prese...

Val said that people typically spend New Year's with their families at home. But the day after New Year's, people flock to the beach. I thought that people went to swim.  ... and then I saw the people. They were fully dressed. On the beach. And nobody seemed interested to swim in the Bight of Benin.  It seemed like everyone was there to lounge and relax until the sun set. And that sunset is glorious. That harmattan haze made the sunset dramatic, I have to say.  Frankly, I've never seen a crowd this thick on any beach; not even in the Philippines. We were supposed to stop and stay by the beach in this spot in Cotonou but the crowd was too big so we headed further westward to find a less populated spot. We ended up in Vickey Beach, a public but more peaceful beach. It has soft, golden brown sand that stretches for miles. Only locals were there when we arrived so it was the first time I noticed that people were staring at me. I guess I stood out because...