From St Blaize's Trail, Mosselbaai towards Dana Bay, South Africa
It was on St Blaize's feastday, February 3, in 1488 that Bartholomeu Dias made landfall with his two caravels at Mosselbaai, a safe harbor on the craggy coasts of southern Africa. The two vessels of wood (the Sâo Pantaleâo and the Sâo Cristovâo), each less than 24 metres in length and 6 at their broadest, had withstood six months of towering seas from Europe. Appropriately the day was St Blaize's not only the patron saint of wood carvers, but also the healer of throat aches (indeed we remember the blessing when we were kids). Hence Dias named his watering place Aguada de Sâo Blas.
Often the voyages of discovery are seen as one of the heralds of Modern Times, and there is much to be said for that. But today I was struck by the very Medieval nature of the venture in practicalities: after a few days the sailors of discovery and the natives of the land grew tired of each other. For some reason the natives began to pelt the seafarers with stones, whereupon one of the latter took to hand his CROSSBOW, shooting and killing a native. No muskets yet...
It's an amazing coast: wild and craggy and beautiful, and it's a delight to hike the St Blaize's Trail, which leads about 14 kms onward to Dana Bay.
More pictures from South Africa are forthcoming once I get to a better internet connection. Meanwhile, Happy Christmas...
From St Blaize's Trail, Mosselbaai towards Dana Bay, South Africa
It was on St Blaize's feastday, February 3, in 1488 that Bartholomeu Dias made landfall with his two caravels at Mosselbaai, a safe harbor on the craggy coasts of southern Africa. The two vessels of wood (the Sâo Pantaleâo and the Sâo Cristovâo), each less than 24 metres in length and 6 at their broadest, had withstood six months of towering seas from Europe. Appropriately the day was St Blaize's not only the patron saint of wood carvers, but also the healer of throat aches (indeed we remember the blessing when we were kids). Hence Dias named his watering place Aguada de Sâo Blas.
Often the voyages of discovery are seen as one of the heralds of Modern Times, and there is much to be said for that. But today I was struck by the very Medieval nature of the venture in practicalities: after a few days the sailors of discovery and the natives of the land grew tired of each other. For some reason the natives began to pelt the seafarers with stones, whereupon one of the latter took to hand his CROSSBOW, shooting and killing a native. No muskets yet...
It's an amazing coast: wild and craggy and beautiful, and it's a delight to hike the St Blaize's Trail, which leads about 14 kms onward to Dana Bay.
More pictures from South Africa are forthcoming once I get to a better internet connection. Meanwhile, Happy Christmas...