The Vltava River (Prague)

One of the most beautiful things you can do in Prague is take a boat cruise along the Vltava River (the longest river in the Czech Republic) at around sunset. There are many companies that offer rides for lunch or dinner, but even our hotel concierge suggested skipping the food and going along just to enjoy the scenery. Indeed, it was magical…

At sunset, which was close to 6:30pm in late March, you begin to visibly see the skies changing colour. The birds & ducks start making those deep quacking sounds, & flying across the river, as Prague Castle lights up from the distance…

Another delight that can be found along the river bank is a small stretch of a pebbled beach ground that many people have come to know as “Swan River”. It’s an area that’s usually filled with a flock of swans that waddle around the Vltava, and visitors can feed them as they’ve grown quite accustomed to human interactions... 

My Dolphin Kiss

I've been dreaming, absolutely dreaming of swimming with dolphins ever since I can remember. And when I found out I could get the chance at Atlantis, I couldn't stop dreaming! So I logged on to atlantisthepalm.com to reserve tickets! And that’s when the heart stopping price of $500 for 30 minutes shattered that chance…

But I was still determined to get to Dolphin Bay, and so I searched for an alternative. And that’s when I came across “Photo Fun”, a chance to touch, dance, and kiss a dolphin at a much lower cost. I immediately signed up!

We were asked to remove all jewelry and accessories we were wearing as not to harm the dolphin when interacting with it. I've touched a dolphin before, several years ago, but when my hand touched that familiar rubbery skin, I felt my entire heart smile. And then I kissed it, the highlight of my trip:

Pigeon's Photoshoot

When I got home from work yesterday afternoon, I found a pigeon perched outside my bedroom windowsill. And though it was close enough to capture using a standard camera, I decided to get in extra close on it with my zoom lens. It was a fun lil’ photo shoot (click on each picture to enlarge :-)

And Then There Were Two…

This afternoon, when I got home from work, I quickly had lunch and flopped on the couch to watch a DVD, Spud (not a recommendation!). Halfway through the film, Mum walked across the room to go outside on the balcony, and suddenly I heard her shriek. I immediately paused the film and went out to see what was wrong. She was pointing at the turtles. One of the turtles, I couldn't recognize which, was sitting in the corner with little worms crawling all over it. I bent down to take a closer look as this horrendous smell began to fill my nostrils. And to my horror, I realized that its entire head was missing! The little worms had eaten it off and were still eating the remains of its inside, as it was as dead as could be…

I’m still disgusted at the sight and smell I saw, but I also can’t help but remember when they were three beautiful turtles:

And what’s sad is that at first, I couldn't recognize who was gone! I had three turtles: Franklin, Angie, and Maggie (and at one time I had four, with baby TJ: Turtle Junior, who left us too soon…) But from what I could make of the two left, I think it’s Angie, my first turtle, that has left us. Dad got her as a gift for me back in 2005. Six Years, RIP. I remember you when you were a wee turt (this is my fav pic of you):

Time To Run

I woke up at 7:30 this morning, excited to run! Diala passed by my house and we walked together to the starting line where we met Ymn and her sisters and Dina. It was a fun run but the sights and sounds of Tripoli are something else. I’ve selected three of the highlights of our run/walk:

A cow, a robot, and a dancing dude at a marathon… who’d have thought? :-P

Here We Go Again...

I’m seriously starting to think of starting a “Pigeon Blog”! Just one week after the pigeon babies flew away, a new pigeon came, built a nest, and laid eggs on our other balcony, this time on the window sill of my parents’ bathroom:

Time To Say Goodbye...

That’s it my dears, that’s the end of the story. The birds have abandoned their nest and flew away… Maybe it’s a good thing; I didn’t want this to turn into the Pigeon Blog! :-P

You Can Fly!

Look where I found them this afternoon... can't go up without flying! (Their mum's teaching them to spread their wings! :-)

They Grow Up So Fast...

Sleeping Beauties

I went out on the balcony to check up on Pidgeoto and the chicks when I got home from work today, and to my surprise, I found that mama bird wasn’t there! I stepped closer to the nest and saw the babies sleeping peacefuly and I couldn’t help but snap a picture of these sleeping beauties (click on picture to enlarge):

THEY HATCHED!

Fly Away...

It’s been… about two weeks since Pidgeoto (that’s right, I named Mama Bird Pidgeoto) laid her eggs. But you know what two weeks entails? Im 3issam! Im 3issam is the femme de ménage who comes to clean our house once every two weeks…

So for the past two weeks since Im 3issam had last been over, Pidgeoto had been peacefully perched upon her nest, used to Mum and I going regularly going outside on the balcony to check up on her. But Im 3issam, being large and in charge, scared the living daylights out of poor Pidgeoto and as soon as she saw her, she hit the skies faster than you can say “Cock-A-Doodle-Do”!

Don’t worry too much though; as soon as Im 3issam left a couple of hours later, Pidgeoto came back and as you read this, she’s perched peacefully upon her eggs still waiting for them to hatch…

Two Pigeon Eggs

You might have been expecting an update about the pigeon egg by now, huh? If you have, I apologize for delay but I was out with a friend for the better part of yesterday and by the time I got home, it was dark outside and I didn’t want to disturb the probably perched pigeon…

So, as soon as I got home from work this afternoon, I grabbed Nonzy and quietly snuck out on the balcony to check up on the “pigeon situation” where I indeed found her peacefully perched on top of her egg:

But, because I’m still trying to figure out how to use my camera without attracting attention (remember what set off the supposed prostitute in my “frightening female” post earlier this week?), the pigeon quickly got up and flew away…

Guess what though? It left with a pleasant surprise: two eggs!

Was I right or was I right? ;-)

A "Killer" Whale

This makes me sad... :-(

A Pigeon Egg

When I got home from work today, I went outside on the balcony to scan the premises. And by scan the premises, I mean check out if there are any good photo opportunities I could take advantage of with Nonzy (my camera)…

But nope. The buildings, the streets, they all looked the same as they did everyday, nothing interesting in sight. And then, I noticed something. In the corner, where one of mum’s twenty or so plant stood, I noticed an unusually accumulated amount of sticks and straws. It looked much like a bird’s nest:

A couple of hours later, I decided to check up on it again and to my surprise, a new addition had already joined the nest: an egg!

For those of you who used to follow me on my old blog (sunkentreasure6, which is no longer accessible), on March 2nd, 2008 (which was just a couple of days short of exactly a year ago), the same thing had happened! A pigeon had built a nest and laid two eggs on that exact same balcony! Unfortunately, the eggs never hatched…

But according to what I’ve heard, it takes about 20 days for pigeon eggs to hatch (this time around, I’m keeping my fingers crossed!) and maybe, just maybe, I’ll find a second egg in the nest tomorrow! :-)