Rolling Again

Bali, Indonesia

A family commutes from their temple, on the highway in Bali, Indonesia
“Family Outing“

…And we’re back! … and we’re gone again!

A New Host: After some weeks, the Photo Tourist has returned from internet limbo. We have transitioned to a new web host, and the site is back up and running. A couple months ago and for several reasons, I became dissatisfied with my old hosting company and resolved to move. The old company, it seems, is in the habit of overselling their inexpensive server space and queuing transactions. Performance suffers unless I pay them for premium, dedicated service. This site was never going to work right (within my budget) under those terms. Apologies to anyone out there in internet land who might find you need to rejoin the site or if your comments have gone missing. If you’re bugged, shoot me a line and I’ll try to make it better.

New Travels: … and then we left town. Before the web site move was even complete, Nancy and I left on a one-month house-sitting odyssey on the small Caribbean island she has dubbed “St. Elsewhere.” When some friends asked if we could care for their property and pets, we jumped at the chance to test drive our “home away” dreams. Here on St. Elsewhere, there are three or four paved roads (ok, really there are more than that in the town, but not outside it), one town, two dive shops, one volcano (dormant), maybe 30 hotel rooms, and six or seven places to eat out. I am pursuing PADI Divemaster certification and Nancy and I are sharing the chores and errands associated with running a leased apartment facility, caring for two wonderful dogs, mowing lawns, and other sundry duties that come with hurricane season in the Lesser Antilles. (Really Nancy is doing the hard work. But I am helping. Sometimes. Honest.)

We love everything here on St. Elsewhere — except for the internet bandwidth. Our power gets interrupted a couple times a week. Our internet here is s-l-o-w. High-quality photo uploads are not a realistic possibility from our abode here on St. Elsewhere. So for a couple more weeks I’ll be trying (possibly failing) to link in photos that are already online somewhere but haven’t yet found a place on the Photo Tourist. Meanwhile, I’ll be guest blogging my divemaster (and maybe other) experiences on Nancy’s travel lifestyle blog, “A Shore Dive Kinda Life.”

Oh yeah — about the photo: Motor scooters are ubiquitous on the Indonesian island of Bali. As it was explained to us, they are frequently the only family transportation. For those without means to own one, they are commonly rented by the day. It is not at all unusual to see entire families of three, four … up to six, all crammed on one scooter, buzzing down the road. Couple this with traditional Balinese dress for temple days, and the photo opportunities abound. While western sensibilities worry about the safety of the situation, the heart is always captured by the sight of a little one in front, clearly loving the wind in her face and the view from between her father’s arms. Sometimes the child is grinning and other times she is trying to be serene and cool. Either way, that pure, simple, innocent joy is contagious.

(Nikon D700 with Nikkor 28-300mm zoom lens at 250mm, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/320 sec.)
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Rolling Again is a post from: the Photo Tourist

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