Sri Lanka is more beautiful than I imagined

No time to write something clever, but the people have made their demands for more photos. By "the people" I mean one anonymous comment on my last post which I suspect came from my husband, who was there when I took the photos.

Sila bodysurfing at Mirissa.


Mirissa Beach has a lot of hotels and bars.


Ram's Surfing Beach guest house, Midigama:


A green river in Colombo


Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy. The tooth was reportedly recovered from the Buddha's funeral pyre in India and secretly taken to Sri Lanka because the Buddha had said Buddhism would be safe there. The tooth is under that good tooth there. The white/red building on the lake is actually the police station. And the little rectangular island was built by a king to house his harem.

The island in Matara where 4 monks live:

Buddhist +/- Hindu "devale" near the tooth relic

Terraced tea plantations seen from the train, near Nanu Oya. The Hill Country is a giant zen garden. The rows of tea bushes wrap around trees and boulders. The plantations are so ancient and contoured to the landscape that they seem to have always been there.


Train riders wave at me. We were in the last 2nd class car and behind us in the first 3rd class car the Tamil tea pickers were singing and drumming for hours across the Hill Country.

Best breakfast ever: roti and dahl with strong sweet milk tea in Ella.

Garnets and lots of them. It's a granulite-facies world up there. This is the ONLY fresh rock I observed during the entire trip.

Coconut plantations along the coast between Weligama and Midigama


Water buffalo preparing the rice paddies near Peradeniya Junction. The egrets always attend the buffalo.


Patient buffalo calf tied nearby:


Buddhist shrine at the train station in Ella, while Sila watches a dog eat hot curry out of a crumpled piece of newspaper

For some reason, Sila loves billboards in Sinhalese.


Street scene near the airport outside Colombo. Hop a ride anywhere in a tuk-tuk but negotiate your price BEFORE you get in.


Brahman calf checks the surf at Lazy Lefts, Ram's Surfing Beach, Midigama.


A silent monument to 2004 tsunami victims on the south coast



there will be MORE photos.

Sri Lanka is a Holy Paradise

A few snapshots until I have time to do a proper post or a few...

Lazy Lefts at Ram's Surfing Beach, Midigama:

Dancers at the Kandyan Cultural Centre



The temple elephant at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy

Tiered gardens among the tea plantations, Nanu Oya


Couple of cold Lion Lagers.

More on the rock chip bug

Throughout my life as a geologist I have known a lot of folks who are torn between geology and biology... SuperNaturalists? Geobiogists? "Slug-cutters"? That one's from Andy Duncan who has a rivalrous relationship with zoologists who vie for his barstool.

One of these friends ended up sawing the heads off frozen timber wolves and grinding up extinct bird parts and putting them in a geology machine. Another ended up shipwrecked somewhere in the Inside Passage communing with Orcas and "dropped out" to go to vet school, via cattle ranching. Another dropped geology altogether (or so she says) and become a kayak guide and forester (but there are still a disproportionate number of rocks at her house). Anyway we've got one here, not sure what adventures she will get up to in the future but she right away sent me another example of the rock chip bug. He has a name! And it is Pamphagidae!

This little guy was caught in the grey limestones of the Cango Inlier near Outshoorn in the Cape Fold Belt. (Recall that I recently described his long-lost cousin in this post). The astute student also notes that she's seen them in suits matching red weathered dolerite in the Karoo. Looks like it's a pan-south-african bug.

So thank you to the sharp-eyed geobiogist who sent me this photo ( I make it a practice not to post students' identifying details unless they explicitly authorize me to, UCT geologists will know who she is anyway).

A word about ecotones in the Klein Karoo

OK I have never pretended to be a biologist in spite of a growing fixation on succulents, but there are a few concepts from biology that just seem REALLY IMPORTANT and stuck with me somehow.

The first is the "ecotone" - basically the line marking the edge of the area where a species is successfully living (actual definition is more systemic) - so maybe i don't know the right term but I'm trying to say, the edge of the world for a particular species.

For example, anybody ever driven the Extraterrestrial Highway? Otherwise known as NV state route 375? It was laid out to skirt the Joshua tree ecotone - literally - on one side (south) of the highway there is a semi-geometric grid of Joshua Trees as far as the eye can see. On the other side.... none.

Why do I like this idea so much? It's pleasantly mathematical - as in calculus plus binary - somehow asymptotic to one, then zero. It has a pleasing physics sensation like quantum mechanics - can't see the line when you're looking at it? And in a geological sense - to which it is often correlated, any way - it reminds me of the brittle-ductile transition. A hard and distinct theoretical boundary - but more often than not, shifted or curved by strain rate, temperature, moisture, other mysterious factors.... easy to describe in the abstract, hard to pinpoint in the field. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT***.

This absolutely beautiful, Georgia-OKeefeish, [absolutely cuter than any foram] pink Aloe plant reminded me of the ECOTONE concept. Succulent people - please name it ??? This beauty and her blushing sisters were found on one hill, in one mapping area, facing one way, on one formation. Literally about 50m³ of real estate, bounded by changes in slope, strike or lithology. Beyond that - another subspecies of different colour, size or shape. To a girl from the California Chaparal this explodes my little mind. Even the plants here are on geologic time.... and the geology? on astronomic time I think. Billions instead of millions. I know I left nothing for scale but that aloe is about a meter across.


Two formations down section - we found this little beast. He is in the lower Prince Albert siltstones, which are pink. OK this section is often madly folded and thickened but the stratigraphic thickness is about 10m. Maybe 15m. Above that: Dark brown siltstones and shales. Below: green glaciomarine diamictites. Literally this guy crosses geologic boundaries and his whole life plan for camoflage is over.
I'm desperately sorry I don't have a photo, but THERE IS A DARK BROWN ONE EXACTLY LIKE HIM IN THE NEXT UNIT UPSECTION. again, a perfect match to the chippy opally silty rocks.


*** You know what i got a lot of crap for recently? "ILOVEITILOVEITSOMUCH".
Turns out this is just more evidence that Americans are flakey. but you know what? IDO FRICKIN LOVE IT SO MUCH. It's that great to be here and see these things. No time for post-colonial understatement.

Penguin party

Got away the other day to go down to Boulders Beach and visit my favourite Cape Town attraction: baby penguins. The activities of the colony of African penguins (formerly known as Jackass Penguins thanks to their hilarious goofy honking call) put to rest any concerns about penguin reproductive struggles and hardship you might worry about if you've seen March of the Penguins.

The biggest hardship these penguins seem to suffer is itchy molting.

In fairness, it does look pretty uncomfortable.

It's great when guests give you the excuse to enjoy your town. Thanks Kena and Hwakong!

Alaganik Slough

Alaganik Slough is only a short drive outside Cordova. We drove out one evening just before sunset with our friend Craig to check it out. Fishing just outside the Copper River Delta along the sand bars, you can only see that a vast flat area stretches inland with mountains on all sides. I was really looking forward to seeing the delta from inside.
There are lots of moose on the delta this time of year, and they are big ones!
The willows were flowering and attracting all kinds of pollinators,

...such as these surprisingly huge but herbivorous mosquitoes...


The Canada geese are here in full force:
The hooligan (aka euchalon, aka smelt) are running and got caught all over the banks of the slough at low tide. I don't know much about hooligans but these must be spawned out I suppose... they are known as candlefish because they are so oily that they can be dried and lit like a candle for stinky winter illumination. We watched some eagles taking them out of the river but they looked pretty bored. Obviously they are waiting for the big payday when the salmon run kicks into high gear.


The delta is unbelievably rich in color.

Gittin the Fish - How it works

First you get the net onto the boat. The net is 150 fathoms x 5 fathoms. On top there is a float line and on the bottom there is a lead line. We stacked it on the dock on a tarp and pulled it off with the net reel.
It goes over the bow roller and through the fairleads, which slide back and forth to help wind the net evenly on the reel.

Next you go to the cannery (our relationship is with Copper River Seafoods thus far in the season) or the tender boat and get some chipped ice into the fish hold. The ice lasts quite a while actually. We have a big snow shovel on board for moving the ice around. Note stylish double-funnel day marker.
Then you wait. And you check the Fish & Game website to see whether ADF&G is going to announce an "opener" - usually 12 hours long this early in the season - when you can fish.

Fast forward to putting the net in the water. You tie a big orange buoy to one end and throw it over the bow roller. The bow roller has a hub like a 4wd hub on a pickup. You lock the hub, turn on the bow roller to spin seaward and idle backward for a few minutes while 900' of net rolls off the bow. That's why its "drift net" fishing.
Then you "soak the net" for a while - maybe 15 minutes at first just to check whether you are in the fish. When you're pretty sure you're in the fish, you might leave it an hour or more. You can even drop your end of the net on a second buoy and putter around to the first end to check for fishies.

When you're ready to pull the net, you just turn on the net reel and wind it in. This is a red net so the mesh size is about 5 inches, just the size to catch a sockeye (red) salmon around the gills. They can see the net in clear water but they get frustrated and try to swim through it anyway. When a fish comes over the bow roller you stop the real and paw through the net to "pick" the fish out. Sometimes they get pretty wrapped up and tangled.
You ease the fish out of the net. Those blackish lines on its back are from the net. You see those on fish at the market and you know it was caught in a gillnet as opposed to some other method. Some are dead in the net but most come onto the boat alive and the squirm around and slime you while you work. Raingear is key. You can see my black raincoat is covered with silver scales. Then you reach under the gillplate and pop the artery in there to bleed the fish. This helps preserve the meat.
Sometimes you get lucky and another species, like this king (chinook) salmon will get tangled in the net. Obviously he can't get his head through it but sometimes just his teeth or nose will get caught. Often times one person can stand next to the net roller with a big dipnet watching for kings to make sure they don't fall out when the net comes out of the water. This one was just barely caught but he got pulled over the bow roller and flew into the boat! He's about 19 lbs, a little smaller than average. We sold him for $6.70/lb. You can buy him for about $25/lb.

Here they are on ice in the brailer bag. The bag will get picked up by the crane on the tender boat and weighed and we will get a little ticket that says how much fish we delivered and what kind. Straight to a market near you.

Cordova by day... and later in the day.

Sila and I watched a huge sea otter lolling on the dock during the stormy days we arrived in Cordova. A few hours later, the sun came out and the sea otter gave birth. We called the baby Meep because he squeeked like a toy every time his mama turned him over and over to wash and fluff him.

During the storms, Alaska Department of Fish & Game called the first "opener" for Thursday May 15 on the Copper River Flats. Due to the foul conditions, we waited it out. We were glad of that - abet a little sheepish - because the average catch per boat was ~12 fish and we had calculated we needed 13 to pay our round-trip fuel to the Flats. Over the sunny weekend following, professional net menders like Lisa here were really busy on the docks - everyone anticipating the BIG ONE opener on Monday the 19th. Oh yah, and every next opener is gonna be the BIG ONE.

Here's Cordova Harbor as we first saw it when we pulled into town. It's really a tiny harbor compared to some, but it is home to most of the south-central Alaska gillnetting fleet - usually in the 30' range - so they pack a lot of boats in that small real estate. The town is cozily wrapped around the harbor and has an old-towny feel from its turn-of-the-century spruce sided buildings with big carved wooden signs. Like many wet towns in Southeast Alaska, most of Cordova's storefronts have deep awnings and you can walk around town without getting too wet.
Here's a view from K-float where we docked, looking up to town. And that's pretty much it! You can almost make out the little ski hill above town. They have a chair lift! It was recycled from Sun Valley, Idaho.
Bustling "business district" of First Street, Cordova: picture of cuteness.


And with this view of busy Second Street we conclude our tour of the Business District. Do note that every home and business in Cordova has an absolutely a$$-Kicking view.

Here are a couple of cute houses between the harbor and the cannery row . . . Cordova is an Obama Town.


The old Canneries line the waterfront north of the small boat harbor. Whether active or "historical", they all share the extremely tall, precariously old and rotty looking piling complex from which ice is lowered to boats in big plastic totes or by shooting out of a large hose. More on that later. The docks are well above high tide and maybe even above local tsunami potential. The corregated exteriors hide thoroughly modern processing, smoking and freezing facilities as well as kids from all over the world who come to the Alaska canneries to work for the summer.Not all of those piers are seeing action these days... I think that is somebody's vegetable garden half way down this grass-covered dock but I was too scared of the rotty wood to find out.

The USCG Cutter and buoy tender Sycamore was on hand for the opening of the season, launching random safety checks on the fleet. These fishermen are generally pretty conscientious, and NOBODY wants to miss a day of fishing on account of being short a fire extinguisher or other violation. Hilarity prevailed however, because the marine suppliers in town were universally out of at least the following items:

1. day markers (a black marker in the shape of two cones point to point); required to be shown when fishing during daylight hours.
2. hand-held breathalizers (one for every person onboard required to be produced by captain in case of accidents while underway) ; and
3. the REPORT ALL INJURIES placard that must be displayed in every boat.

The auto parts store, fortunately, had a really large supply of black funnels which were readily formed into a day marker with black electrical tape - maybe not typical but probably legal? An internet search turned up the detailed text of the REPORT ALL INJURIES placard and carefully Sharpied substitutes appeared on bulkheads across the harbor. As for the breathalizers - everyone is waiting for reinforcements from Anchorage.

When the sun started setting on the harbor that clear beautiful evening, the snowy mountains around Cordova lit up with alpenglow. The harbor was like a mirror. Here are a few favorites.






Next post: the fishies.