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Favorite thing: This guy was so sweet. He was really cross eyed. I could not help but take a picture of him. When I saw him climbing along the roof and on the beams overhead I could not help but wunder how he kept his balance? The cats looked pretty well fed. There was a lot of seafood, and with a buffet I assume they get a lot of scraps thrown their way. There was one doberman dog at the hotel. I thought he lived there. However, I saw him at other places along the beach, too, so maybe he had his daily routine. Bum some food here, beg a little there.

Favorite thing: Due to the climate, most of the restaurants were outdoors or at least wide open. This meant there was always a contingent of cats hanging around hoping to get lucky and get a few scraps of tasty tidbits from the surrounding tables and softhearted tourists. The cats and dogs are expert are conning you out of food. Everyone knows they shouldn't, but who can resist their mournful eyes and endearing antics. On the otherhand, the cats due keep the rodent population at bay, and I hate rats, so the more cats the better. Also, in Cyprus where I live, there are lots of street cats. It would be better if they were all spayed, but as they are not, I prefer to keep them fed and healthy just the same. Soft heart and a soft head it seems.

Favorite thing: I am told by one VTer, Justin Jansen, that the yellow little bird is a Village (Spotted-backed) Weaver and was introduced to the island and is not native. I don't know for sure. However, there seemed to be several distinct species of yellow birds. It is not a great interest of mine. I had fun trying to photograph them. Perhaps an expert on birds can give me more information and I will happily update these pages.

Favorite thing: One thing, the small birds were quick. It was hard to get them to pose. You had to basically get your camera lens ready, focus on a spot and then wait for them. They did not sit still for long. Usually just a few secs and then they were off again. I guess this helps them compete for food with the larger birds and keeps them from becoming cat food, too.

Favorite thing: Quite often we think of man and nature as being in competition with one another. However, there are many symbiotic relationships too. We were at a beachside restaurant which mainly served baguettes and sandwiches and such. Big pieces of bread. I am sure the birds nearbyu lived quite comfortably on the crumbs that fell off the tables or were thrown to them. They certainly were not shy in any case. They were more frightened of their own kinds more than anything. There were always a few larger birds who seemed to be the bullies. The smaller birds were faster. Usually they would get to the crumbs first, and the larger birds would then chase them away is they had not succeeded in grabbing a crumb and making off with it first. Fun to watch. A good chance to take photos of them.

Favorite thing: This was one of the wild cattle that we came across. Normally they are docile, but you have to understand cattle a little too. If a wild cow starts chasing you, you must not turn and run. This emboldens them, and we have been chased out of fields by a herd who finally found their balls.

No, you have to stand your ground. Raising your hands, waving you hiking poles or your hands, and whooping is usually enough to cause them to pause and think better of it. They are not naturally agressive.

However, in this particular instance, this bull was blocking our path and we could not circumvent him. No one else wanted to go by and to be honest that can be dangerous, too. You try to slip by, and then he flicks his head, and you can get a horn in the side or in an eye. Not nice when you are a long way from immediate help.

So, I came up from behind, I whooped, I berated him, I gave him a few good smacks on the rump with my hiking pole, and I convinced him to go farther down the trail to where it widened out and there was room for us to pass safely by.

Fondest memory: All's well that ends well, it just takes some horse sense or cow sense as the case may be.

Favorite thing: We were in the town of Hell Bourg and this is the dog that we saw. It is probably not a good picture, but he was standing up on the wall a good 20 feet above the pavement. I am not sure how he got up there? Perhaps he has an easy way from behind the wall which I cannot see? In any case, he was pearched up on this wall to keep an eye on all the people going by on the street. He was a real mixed breed. I could not tell what kind of a dog he was? In any case, on this particular wall, he was top dog.

Favorite thing: There is quite a lot of hilly terrain which limits where man can live. However, it makes pasturing cows a natural part of the rural economy. Here there was a milk cow and her calf tied-up to a tree, munching the fresh grass. As much a lawnmower as source of pasture. I did not see any large scale farming operations, probably due to transportation problems, but lots of domesticated animals like pigs, goats, chickens and cows. Some of the parts of the island are only accessable by foot and/or helicopter, so it would make sense for many rural inhabitants to keep their own livestock.