Author: Gary Kirkpatrick

  • Latest news from our time in the Peace Corps

    September, 2019
     
    We were in Peace Corps Panama 2009-10.  We worked with coffee producers.  Some were using organic methods, switching after deeming chemicals too toxic for workers and the environment.  One, Lito Lezcano, developed organic products to fertilize and fumigate the plants, which were shade grown under platanos and other trees.  One of the things we did was search for a better outlet for Lito’s product and anyone else who cared to participate.  Peggy was talking to another volunteer one day, mentioned this effort and he and his wife in fact were planning to import Panamanian coffee into their Vermont store.  In fact they did and we bought some once when we passed by, and we stayed in their house a few nights while they were gone. 

     

    Lately Lito began selling directly to the public.  His product is called Cafe Don Lito, and is some of the finest I have ever had, and that’s going some, as I have lived in Italy, Spain, France and other European countries I consider to have the finest products. 
     
    Photo of their ad shot, my comments on Instagram and their reply in English.  

     

     

     
    Don Lito was interviewed on Panamanian Television

     

    Don Lito interviewed

     

     

     

     

  • In a Hopper Cafe

    In a Hopper Cafe, Acrylics on Arches, 57 x 76 cm, 22.5 x 30”

    “In A Hopper Cafe” is another in the series echoing the work of American artists Edward Hopper, this one inspired by Hopper’s ‘Chop Suey.  Strong lines contrast with fuzziness in the figures, hard lines with soft, outdoors with the indoors, the comparative focus of the indoor scene with the uncertainty of whatever lies beyond with but a slim barrier of safety.

    We are social creatures. Our connections keep us informed. Yet we are also separate. We have to reach across space as well as other barriers, whether the barriers be based in culture, gender or other factors.

  • Dokkum, crawling under bridges

    August 25, 2019 
     
    In 2000 we came to Dokkum, a small town in Friesland, the northeast section of the Nederlands.   It has two thatched roof windmills whose sails are lit at night with a subtle purple light.  

     

     

    Viking in Dokkum, water color, 8 x 8″

     

     

    Viking in Dokkum

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Viking in Dokkum

    File source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joure,_straatzicht_met_kerk_foto4_2011-04-26_17.19.JPG

    File source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dokkum,_straatzicht4_foto1_2009-09-19_13.04.JPG

    On the way to Dokkum we stopped in a tiny town called Wijns (wines).  There are 258 residents as of the last official count.  Many were in the small park next to the restaurant, which was booked for lunch and had no reservation space for dinner, although we got in as it turns out there is a section reserved for those without reservations –  who would have thunk it?  Children frolicked in the canal.  Women changed clothes behind trees and sun bathed topless.  Boats loped past.  Sheep plead for dinner, not to be it. 
     

    Wijns, a small village near Dokkum, pen and ink, Company, 6″ x 8″ 15 x 21 cm

        
    To the southeast there is a route back to Leeuwarden, rather than the route we took to get here.  There are 7 or 8 bridges that are barely high enough to pass under.   We have to come to a complete stop and kneel on the deck as we pass under the bridge.  Many of the bridges are lined with kids who dive or jump into the water on this hot day.   At one bridge two older teens climbed onto our swim platform, talking to us as we proceeded.  It was getting too far for a swim back to the bridge when they saw people coming towards us on a small boat.  They asked for a ride back and were welcomed aboard.  They swam over to the craft.  

     

     

    Southeast of Dokkum, barely three inches/8 cm to spare

     

     

    We came to a mooring that promised shade for the remainder of the day.  We had just this boat with two people and a gaggle of noisy Canadian geese for neighbors.  Wine and cheese on the deck!  

     

    Mooring in the shage

     

     

  • Waves droves us back

    August 15, 2019   
    After a night in Lemmer, on the Ijsselmeer side of the lock, we ventured forth onto the Ijsselmeer with Force 2-3 winds predicted.  It all went well enough in the protected area, with just a slight chop as you would expect from that level of wind.  Once we left the protected area waves began to build and soon we were in 1/2 meter (about 18″) waves.    This is not enough to cause discomfort in our boat.  However after about 30 minutes we were in 1 1/2 meter waves and Force 4 winds.  Our progress slowed dramatically, the bow forced well up to get over the waves, air making the ride very uncomfortable.  We discussed turning around for a few minutes when a bit of flat water appeared so I opened the throttle fully and made the turn as quickly as possible hoping to avoid some severe rocking.  Suddenly it seemed as if the water was flatter and we rode comfortably back to Lemmer. 
     
    My concern was only our discomfort but also that the pounding we were getting would stir up dirt in the bottom of the fuel tanks and clog the fuel filter.  Changing filters, especially for the first time for me on this boat, would not have been fun.  I changed the filters about a week later and I am extra glad that I did as it took a few times to get all the air out of the system so the engine would start.  Diesels will not run if there is any air in the fuel as the injectors will not pop the fuel into the cylinders.  It took about 10 minutes of trying to get the motor going, and this was while in a quiet mooring.   In a rough sea with sea sickness a real possibility, it would have been much longer.
     
    We paid another 5 Euros to pass through Lemmer’s narrow canal running through the center then headed for an island near Woudsend.  We met friends at a good free mooring at which to wait out the wind.  After a day or two we went to a mooring on the lake.  We fought the wind to moor and just stayed a night.  There is a better mooring close to Joure, so we moved there the next day.  Joure is the home of Douwe Egbert, founded in Joure in 1753 as a general store by Egbert Douwe and Akke Thijssesa,  later moving into coffee, tea and tobacco.   Their son Douwe and his wife Ymke Jacobs took over.  The company is still in the family.   The aroma of coffee permeates the air in the area of the plant, sitting on the outskirts of town.  The original shop is now part of the museum complex.   
     
    Joure’s central street is lovely, as you can see in the photo.  While we were there one of the bars had live rock and roll music – the lively group played Jail House Rock while we were there –  with a enthusiastic crowd spilling onto the sidewalk in the sun.  

     

     

    Joure’s main street (wiki photo)

     
     
    The next day we moved to Sneek, mooring in front of the Waterpoort, the fabulous gorgeous gate facing the canal. 

     

    Waterpoort, Sneek, Nederlands pen and ink, Company, 6″ x 8″ 15 x 21 cm

    Dating from the 10th century, Sneek (pronounced ‘snake’) was built on a sandy peninsula at a waterway called the Magna Fossa, built when the now extinct Middelzee became silted.   There was a dike at the juncture, reflected in the street layout and names such as “Hemdijk”, “Oude Dijk” and “Oosterdijk”.  While we were there I was also allowed to visit the Gamma, so I could repair the mast clamp which was damaged by the pounding in the Ijsselmeer.  The Gamma is a retailer of bolts, nuts, screws, tools, paint, wood, etc.  I went by bike as its over a mile.  It was a ride made longer by the wind and threats of rain.  
    Sneek seems to be a center of entrepreneurial activity.   A major clother CandA was founded in the city in 1867.  There is quite a bit of industry in the city to this day, including a candy factory, steel, rope and machinery production.  

     

    Old Burger Weeshuis. Kleine Kerkstraat. wiki

     

     

  • Stream in Giethoorn,pen and ink,

    Stream in Giethoorn, pen and ink, Company, 6″ x 8″ 15 x 21 Stream in Giethoorn, pen and ink, 

  • House in the garden at Giethoorn, pen and ink

    August 2019, from our recent visit to this Venice of the North

     

     

    House in the Garden at Giethoorn, pen and ink, Company, 6″ x 8″ 15 x 21 cm

  • Waterpoort, Sneek, Nederlands pen and ink drawing

     

     

    Sneek is a small city in Friesland, the northeast part of the Nederlands.  It has a gorgeous gate and other architectural gems.  It faces the canal.  We were moored just in front of it.

     

     

    Waterpoort, Sneek, Nederlands pen and ink, Company, 6″ x 8″ 15 x 21 cm

  • Three pen and ink drawings from recent travels in the Nederlands

    August 17, 2019

     

    We stayed on an island near Woudseen, from which I drew this scene.  It is  a tranquil spot with room for about 12 boats.  The island has many mice who dig in the sand.  We were there for two nights.  

     

     

     

     
    This mooring is on the outskirts of Lelystad,  also a free mooring with room for 3 or 4 boats.  You can get to Lelystad by bike easily.  It’s a pretty ride through the forest part of the way.   There were several groups of rowers while we were there for a few days.  

     

     

    On an Island Heeg and Woudsen, near Lelystad, pen and ink, 6″ x 8″ 15 x 21 cm

     
    The Batavialand Museum in Lelystad offers a very interesting visit.   The Batavia replica is a major attraction.  The original dates from circa 1628.  It was the flagship of the Dutch East India Company.  The exploitation of the resources of Indonesia was the major contributor to the country’s Golden Age, from which much of its finest architecture and art dates.  The Company made Holland the world’s largest trading nation at the time.  Even today Holland is a major trading nation, the world’s fifth largest according to a guide.   You can walk almost everywhere on the ship.   

     

     

     

     

    Sketch of the Batavia, Dutch East India Company, 6″ x 8″ 15 x 21 cm

     

    There is a superb tapestry recounting the history of the region created by 27 volunteers, one of whom was inspired to do so after seeing the Bayeaux Tapestry.  It starts around 6000 years ago at the time of the earliest known settlement, moving to the Roman era, the middle ages and Dutch Golden Age with the founding and development of the Dutch East India Cmpany.   It then moves to the creation of the polder in the late 1920’s and up to the present day.  Peg made a video of a large portion of it.    [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_4Utat-Go4[/embedyt]  
     
    There is an exhibit displaying the archaeological findings from the earliest period.   Childen played in a waterworks exhibit, lifting and moving water and boats.  So Dutch!    You walk outside to get to the Batavia, build some 30 years ago and in need of major repairs.  It will be coming out of the water soon and will probably be closed to visitors for several years.   

     

     

     

     

  • Giethoorn to Lemmer

    Giethoorn is a waterland fantasy, a tiny village founded by a flagellant sect from somewhere in the Mediterranean, per the wiki.  I think they were Italians as I have read so somewhere a while back.  Now it is a major tourist destination and often referred to as  the Venice of the North, it is best seen from the punters, traditional flat bottom boats.  it is the combination of thatched roofs, lush gardens, canals and the 150 foot bridges that makes the place so charming.   There is a mere 2700 inhabitants so a walk, bike or boat tour does not take more than an hour and a half.

     

    My paintings and drawings.  Some are still available for sale.

     

     

    Giethoorn, 3 bridges post card A6

     

    Giethoorn, Boat Nears Bridge, watercolor A6

     

    View of Giethoorn (acrylics) A3 16.5 x 11.5″ in a private collection

    Giethoorn Bridge pen and ink. Our boat takes us into the canals

    Giethoorn Two Houses – watercolor on post card stock

    Giethoorn, boat nears bridge, watercolor

    Giethoorn Canal with Bridge pen and ink

    Giethoorn Eyes Us – pen and ink

     

    Peg’s photos:

     

     

  • Pagentry in the campo

    August 9, 2019 
     
    Zwartesluis (Black lock) is a tiny village, so tiny that it’s main feature is the lock through which we passed.  So where were all the cars, bikes and pedestrians passing by the boat going to?  We got the bikes off the bow and followed the flow towards the bridge.  There workers were collecting a paring fee from cars.  I asked one where to go and the pointed over the bridge, telling us to look for the fairway, apparently referring to one of those small carnivals that visit country towns in the summer.  There was always one in Pearl River, where I grew up and learned to dislike most of the rides. 
     
    Down the street about a mile we saw where most were turning left.  We followed them into the crowd, where at yet another bridge over a canal, this a smaller one, there were vendors selling ice cream and fried fish (of course) and a large calliope belting out a polka.  We followed the crowd along the canal to where the canal was lined with those awaiting the parade in front of thatched roof houses with beautiful flower gardens.  I assumed it would be a parade of small motorized craft given the dimensions of the canal.  I was wrong, as I learned as soon as the sun went down. 
     
    First came a floating band followed by someone in a boat making balloons for the kids.  Then around the curve came this: 
    [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfln3RkxNqE[/embedyt]
     
     

     

     

    This all in the midst of a very friendly crowd with their children, dogs and bikes. We asked a man sitting on the grass in front of us about the parade.  He said it was an annual affair.  There are no sponsors indicated on any of the floats.  Muck of the music on the floats was recorded, with some very amateurish dancing and acting to go along with it.  But hey, they have never been to Broadway and this is a tiny tiny town, with more cows than people.  Look at how elaborate these floats are!  Bravo for them!  

     

     

    Here are the videos I took in the nearly dark skies.  Video quality is limited.