Leading the Way

Pilot boats have the tricky job of showing larger vessels a safe route to port. Here in Aruba, pilot boats are used to guide tankers to the terminals in San Nicolaas. I made this short video from the front window of my little house here in Savaneta, Aruba, DWI.

As you can see, the ship towers over the pilot boat. The captain of the smaller vessels has to be careful not to be run over by the larger. That happened here in Aruba a couple of years ago, in the harbor at Oranjestaad. One of the biggest problems is that the ship can’t stop on a dime or even a quarter. Usually there are a few tugs helping to guide the ship through the channel and to the dock. I hope to post a video of them working soon.

If you read my novel, An Island Away, this is the type of work that Captain Beck was doing while here in Aruba.

Bon dia from Aruba.

Published in: on January 8, 2009 at 11:35 am  Leave a Comment  
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Rembrandt at the Prado

The Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain is currently hosting an exhibition of Rembrandt’s work. Of course, he has to be one of the most famous Dutchmen the world has ever known. And he deserves it. His paintings are nothing short of spectacular. I remember studying them while in film school. Much can be learned about story telling from his work. Here is a video showing some of the paintings on display. (Spanish speakers will enjoy the commentary.)

Sadly, the exhibition ends on 6 January 2009. The good news is that you can find a few Rembrandt’s in most great museums. If not, there are excellent books which render the images true to the originals. Every respectable home library should have a book like this on the shelf.

Who is your favorite painter?

Published in: on January 3, 2009 at 2:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Cat in Flight

I love cats and I love to fly but I wouldn’t expect my cat to go flying. Not in a small plane anyway. Well, check out this video:

That’s Iris the Bengal Cat on the dashboard while this fellow lands his Cessna 172. Beautiful landing and Iris provided her compliments to the pilot.

Gotta love those cats but I think the better part of safety would be to strap them in. Just saying.

Published in: on December 31, 2008 at 6:52 pm  Comments (1)  
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Spain Webcams

Spain has a fair number of webcams available to the public. Regular readers of this blog know that Spain is among my favorite places, (probably number one on the list). There is a great message board called Madridman.com. On it you’ll find very good information from people who live, travel to, and know the details about Spain. This includes travel information, favorite places, great restaurants, cultural info, and so forth. As I said, much of it is first hand information, the best kind there is.

What I like most, however, is taking a peek at the webcam shots every now and then, especially when I’m between visits. Here is a direct link to Madridman’s page that has a list of webcams from all over Spain: http://www.madridman.com/spaincams.html. Some of my favorites are the Segovia Aqueduct, the Plaza Santa Ana, and the different cathedrals.

There are many ways to travel in this modern world. Sometimes you have to put one foot in front of the other; other times you can do it from your computer. Sure, it’s not the real thing. But in a pinch, it’ll suffice. It may even help you work out your itinerary or enable you to communicate with people you might otherwise never meet. Try it. It doesn’t hurt a bit.

Published in: on December 27, 2008 at 1:21 pm  Leave a Comment  
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