The Tamarind Seller

Tweet I met this elderly woman along the road from Baucau. For one dollar, you can buy a lot of tamarind. For those who have tried it, it starts out tasting a bit sweet, but then, after a few seconds, tastes sour. The tamarind is in the date family.

Lovely Baucau

Tweet Baucau is Timor-Leste's second largest city. It is cooler and more beautiful that Dili, the capital. The trip to this beach is through a canopy of tropical trees along a narrow road that twists and turns down to the water. Baucau sits on the hill, overlooking the water. This is the warning that awaits you at the foot of the hill -- at the beach.

Machete Shop

Tweet This shop is located about five kilometers west of Baucau. You can also take a rest after a long, hard day of work.

Snake on the Beach

Tweet This cute little guy was on the beach near Dili. He slithered up out of the sea, checked out the dunes, and then slipped back into the water.

The Beach - Oecussi

Tweet Fishing boats like this one are still used all over Timor-Leste. Some have motors attached, most fisherman, however, use oars.

Alegria Restaurant - Oecussi

Tweet This little eating establishment in Oecussi served up fresh vegetables, meat, rice and ice-cold bottled water. The cold water felt good since there was nothing between us and the hot metal roof. We eventually moved to the back garden -- where it was much cooler. We ordered lunch at 3:30 -- it arrived at 5:30.

End of the Day in Oecusse

Tweet Not a soul on this beautiful beach in Oecussi at sunset. Oecussi, one of the 13 districts of Timor-Leste, is separated from the country. It is surrounded by West Timor, Indonesia and the sea. It's a nice place to come and relax. I traveled there with my colleagues to establish a Media House for journalists -- a place where they can access the internet, use computers and take part in trainings. Internet was virtually non-existent in Oecussi until Friday.Rice fields are common in Timor-Leste, but I enjoy photographing them. I spotted this field just 75 yards are so from the beach. It's adjacent to a memorial marking the spot where the Portuguese first landed in 1515 and laid claim to Timor. At the front of the marker are the words: "This is Portugal."

Bloggers Jailed in Azerbaijan

Tweet It's been nearly a month since two Azeri bloggers were having dinner in a Baku restaurant with their friends when thugs showed up and started a fight. When the two victims, pro-democracy activists, managed to get away they reported what happened to the police. They are now in jail. One of them, Adnan, was able to get this note out.



State-controlled media, increasingly almost all of the media in Azerbaijan, have made these two men, Adnan and Emin, out to be criminals.

As I was leaving Azerbaijan late last year, the government was beginning to crack down on hard on the media. It kicked Radio Liberty and BBC off the broadcast airwaves. In February, it pulled the plug on an independent online news agency. The news agency is back -- under new pro-government ownership.

The Azeri government continues to jail journalists and uses the state-controlled media to try to destroy their reputations.

Now, the government fears bloggers.

Landing Point

Tweet Nearly 500 years ago, on an August day in the year 1515, the Portuguese set foot on Oecusse, what is today an enclave of Timor-Leste. Oecussi is separated from the rest of Timor-Leste -- there are three ways to get here -- take the ferry, fly or drive through West Timor, Indonesia. The photo above shows the monument marking the spot where the Portuguese landed. It's a peaceful place with goats roaming around under the trees -- and along the trench in the photo below.
The Portuguese found Oecussi rich in sandalwood. The Portuguese used trenches like this one to float the wood down to the sea where it was loaded onto ships. The trenches filled with water during high tide.

In Memory of "Mama Kat"

Tweet A familiar face at our compound passed away today. Mama Kat was here before I arrived in November. The vet told me she was at least five years old. She gave birth about two months ago to six kittens, just one survived. It's healthy and very playful. Mama Kat's legacy lives on.

Remembering Mongolia

Tweet Hiking is a favorite sport of mine and I did a lot of it in Mongolia during my nearly two years there. Most weekends were spent in the hills around Ulanbataar -- in the summer (a few days in July) walking in the meadows with thousands of wildflowers -- in the fall -- among the yellow-leafed birches and -- in winter -- dressing for temperatures down around minus 20 or 25. This photo was taken on January 9, 2005, in the hills above a Children's Retreat -- a ways outside UB.

The photo below was taken a few days later at what was, at the time, one of the only dairies in Mongolia. It was operated by two New Zealanders and several Mongolian families -- including the family of this little girl. It was relatively warm that day -- about minus 20. The whole family in their Ger -- the frame consists of wooden poles and posts, usually a plank floor, canvas as the protective covering and a small stove. The family used animal dung as fuel.The Steppe. This is the main road from Ulanbataar, the capital, to Khentii, an eastern aimag (province) and the ancestral home of Chinggis Khan. This was snapped in 2004.Khovsgul is located about 900 kilometers west of Ulanbataar and has a huge fresh water lake that freezes over in the winter time. Trucks use it as a short cut during the long winter months, ocassionally a vehicle breaks through the ice. The gentleman in the photo below lives in a Ger in Khovsgul and was about 90 years old. He writes poetry and is also an inventor.

Downtown Maubisse

Tweet This photo was snapped on July 18 after the fog had started to roll in. A few thousand people live here with the Maubisse market being the biggest attraction.
It takes about 2 to 2.5 hours to get here from Dili. These days the road is rough and even if you are not prone to motion-sickness, you may get car sick from the seemingly endless zigs and zags.
I love the juxaposition of the chilis and lemons at one sellers' spot at the Maubisse market.

Cats

Tweet I had viewed cats from afar, until I moved to Timor-Leste. I inherited three cats upon my arrival. A tabby called Maria, a big yellow male named Tony and an older calico, named Mama Kat, that has had a zillion kittens in her day.
Mama Kat had six kittens in May, but four fell through the ceiling and died and one just disappeared. Now, she has one. We're calling the kitten Rosa for now.

Maria is spooked easily, she is always watching -- when Mama Kat comes near -- she growls -- aggressively. Mama Kat just gives her a "look" and moves on -- occasionally, Mama Kat chases her away. Most times, though, it's just growling.
Tony, the big yellow cat, is something of a diplomat. Being a male, he travels in both circles and gets along with both Maria and Mama Kat. He's the healthiest eater of them all -- although, little Rosa comes in a close second. She's no longer nursing and usually eats in the bowl with Tony. Rosa also plays with Tony a lot -- whereas -- Mama Kat just seems really tired.

Maria is now pregnant and will have kittens soon. She has become more friendly and never misses a meal anymore. She used to skip dinner. Now that she's eating for herself and "others" she's a regular on the back porch.
None of the vets here in Timor can spay or neuter -- so there's not much to be done to keep these cats from multiplying.

They're calling me. It's time for dinner!

Mangoes and Wind

Tweet I was watching a movie this evening when suddenly I heard this sustained pounding sound outside the window. I opened the door and caught the tail end of a strong wind. It had knocked a dozen or so mangoes out of the tree at my front porch. The mangoes had bounced onto the tin roof just under the tree that covers the power generator. (As you can see from this photo, there are plenty of mangoes to share!)

As I grabbed half a dozen of the mangoes from the front stairs -- some guys walking along the street pulled themselves up over the fence and grabbed a couple of mangoes -- shouting obrigadu or thank you!

I watched as they crossed the street and ate their mangoes under an awning -- sheltered from the rain. Just as the wind blast, came the heavy rain. It's not supposed to be raining this time of year -- it's the dry season!

I'm off now to eat a couple of those mangoes!

Rooster Cogburn

Tweet One of my staff gave me a gift today -- a rooster. As you can see he's a handsome soul. He's from the enclave of Oecussi. My staffer carried the rooster over on the ferry -- the only way you can get from Timor-Leste to Oecussi without going through Indonesia.

In the hour or so that I have owned my first rooster, he's been crowing up a storm. Maybe he misses Oecussi or maybe he's just happy to be here!

I was told that he's trained to fight, but I have announced his retirement from the cock-fighting ring. Now that will give him something to crow about!