A Potluck of Pastimes

 Wild Boars Would Make Terrible Pets

Why, in God's name, did anyone ever import Wild Boars.  There are so many reasons NOT to import wild boars.  Among many reasons are a few that stand out:  1). They have hideous dispositions and will attack humans; 2). they destroy anything resembling vegetation -- much less a garden; 3) They will attack any boar not within their family; 4) The "lead" male will attack any male member OF the family aged 4 or above and fight to the death for supremacy.  Nice, huh?  Well, despite all this, we decided to go visit a Wild Boar (Sanglier in French) farm to see the repulsive little devils for ourselves.

We found the farm and the little old farmer who was tucked into his store/bunker beneath the barn. He expressed great surprise that we actually wanted to visit the boars rather than just purchase his wild boar products.  He shuffled into a deeper recess and emerged with a bag of stale bread broken into boar sized pieces.  He then stared deeply into our eyes.  His mind seemed to be having this monologue:  "Oh, they are Americans.  They will do something stupid with the boars -- like selfies or hand feeding.  I must educate them".  After a troubling amount of time, he stuck his hand into the bag.  He then looked at me and waggled his finger in the universal "Don't" signal and mimicked handing the boar a piece of bread in my out stretched  hand.  He then, nodding approvingly, mimicked throwing the bread. Far.  Hard.  We got the picture.  He demonstrated shaking the bag to attract the boars.  OK, ready to go.

Shaking the bag at the first pen we were greeted by the blood curdling screeching  and thundering hooves of a large family of boors racing toward the fence.  Playing defense, I threw a large piece as far as I could.  They descended on it biting, screaming and smashing into one another.  There were no rules.  I would try to toss one to a little one and they would just overwhelm it and steal the piece.  Within minutes I knew that I hated these animals in every regard.  From pen to pen we went and always witnessed a tremendous failure of manners.  We returned to the store and bought a can of Wild Boar pate.  I had one bite and refused more.  Reading the label we found out it was the cheeks and head of Wild Boar.  The only food in France that we found inedible.  On to happier times....

These pictures of the sanglier tell the whole story, with some nasty looking tusks on some of these characters.

In contrast to the wild boars, the farmer also raised sheep.

Terrasson Lavilledieu and The Gardens of Imagination

It was time for another garden so off we set for a relatively modern garden in the beautiful town of Terrasson.  We climbed into the Old Town through a very small gate and ascended and ascended until we found a parking spot.  We had reserved at a restaurant perched on the cliff overlooking the countryside and had a very nice lunch.  We then went in search of the Garden. Then we found it.  Then we looked at each other.  Not in our wildest Imaginations were we going to climb up into those gardens of Imagination.  Maybe on Day One of our trip.  Maybe even in Week 2 of our trip.  But certainly not after all we had been through trudging like mine ponies up cliff after cliff.  But there are some nice photos of the town and the entry to the Gardens (I think).

The front entrance to the Church of Saint-Sour (which dates from the 11th century), with topiary leading up to the church.

The side entrance to the church was the way to get in...

to see the altar, and the interesting stained glass windows.

Walking through the village we could see how old some of the buildings were by their construction.

We also encountered this cat ambling along.

We were early for lunch, but we caught the kitchen staff and the chef eating their lunch.

From the overlook where the Church and the restaurant were located, we had terrific views of the river and the town below...

including this footbridge across the river.

The amount of topiary and the quality of the topiary is revealed in this next series of photos.

The peonies here were in full bloom as well.

This was the entrance to the gardens of Imagination. However having had a delicious lunch and viewing how we would have to walk straight uphill to see the gardens, we decided we would skip this garden.

This is the view from across the river at the Church and the terrace of the restaurant where we had lunch.

Here was one of the more interesting WW I memorials we saw on this trip. Neither of us noticed the figure on the flagpole to the far right, nor the figure on the pole on the left in the photo above. We will never know the significance of why these figures were place on the poles.

A Bit of Asia in the Dordogne

Our host at the gite had told us that there was a Buddhist Religious Center in nearby Moustier so one day we set out to find it.  This was intriguing because we were essentially in the middle of nowhere.  This was not Paris nor Lyon where such an establishment would be less surprising.   This was an area with no public conveyance or road signs or barely GPS.  But we found it and it was impressive.  Apparently there are 66 Buddhist enclaves in France which seems like a lot for such a secular country.  But the buildings, Temple and outdoor Stupas were most impressive.  It was the most impressive Buddhist institution we had seen since Tibet.  The pictures will give you an idea.  We opted out of the guided tour but, in retrospect, we should probably have taken it.  I was relieved that there was no yak butter in sight.

The first buildings give little indication of the nature of this property.

However soon we saw these prayer wheels, just like the ones we encountered in Lhasa, Tibet when we were there.

This is the Kalachakra Syllable. The term kalachara means wheel of time in Sanskrit. It is the name of a meditation method taught by the Buddha. The theme of this teaching is the relationship between the different cycles that govern our existence: the cycle of the planets, of our breathing, of our bodies and of our lives.

This is the Stupa of Enlightenment. A stupa symbolizes the Buddha's mind of wisdom and compassion. Statues represent his body and sacred texts represent his speech. This monument shelters relics of past masters and numerous consecrated substances.

A close up of the Buddha in the stupa.

We also encountered these prayer flags. According to the Tibetan tradition, the wind that ruffles the flags carries the beneficial influence of the prayers, mantras and symbols printed on the fabric across space. It propagates peace, prosperity and harmony in the surrounding area.
The flags are a series of five color symbolizing the five elements: space, wind, fire, water and earth. 
The flags are fabricated in India and Nepal and are replace each year after the Tibetan New Year.

The pavillion of the prayer wheel houses this very large ornate prayer wheel...

whose symbols and inscriptions can be seen here.

This is a back view of the Stupa of Shamar Rinpoche. Mipham Chökyi Lodrö (born in Derge, Tibet) (1952-2014) was the 14th Shamar Rinpoche. He was recognized as the latest incarnation of the Sharma at the age of six and taken to Yang Chen Monastery in Tibet.

In the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, there are eight specific forms of stupas that commemorate the important moments in the life of Buddha Shakyamuni.

The All-Victorious Stupa celebrates victory over death at Vaishali. The Parinirvana Stupa recalls the Buddha's death in Kushinagar.

I have included a close up of the Buddha in some of the stupas to show how each is a slightly different representation of the Buddha.

The Reconciliation Stupa recalls the end of the schism at Rajgir. The Great Miracle Stupa commemorates how the Buddha overcame mistaken philosophical masters in Shravasti. To fully understand the stupas, you should start at the last two stupas and read the explanation for the next stupa above.

The Stupa of Turning the Wheel of Dharma recalls his first teaching following enlightenment in Sarnath's Deer Park. The Stupa of Descent from the Divine Realms, where the Buddha went to give teachings to his mother, celebrates his return among humans.

The Lotus Blossom Stupa celebrates the Buddha's birth in Lumbini Park. The Conquest of Mara or Enlightenment Stupa commemorates his enlightenment in Bodhgaya.

A view of the Eight Stupas from the Stupa of Shamar Rinpoche.

The front view of the Stupa of Shamar Rinpoche. Just as the physical relics of the Buddha were divided and protected within several stupas, a part of those of Shamar Rinpoche are likewise protected here.

This statue shows the likeness of Shamar Rinpoche.

The side exterior view of the Buddhist Institute, with its unique contemporary architecture. The wooden cladding is designed to be a reminder of the Perigord tobacco barns. The waving roof models the shape of the surrounding hills. The building has a beautiful and ecological living roof.

The interior of the Institute has two levels with two meditation and teaching spaces, four translation booths and a sound control station as well as a room housing all library resources and a reading room.

At the front of the main floor of the Institute is the Buddha and an area for meditation. While we were there a buddhist monk was tending to the fresh flowers placed around the Buddha.

These golden poppies on the grounds were stunning.

There is also a meditation garden with this statue of Milarepa (1052-1135 C.E.), who was an accomplished Tibetan hermit.

A view of the garden with the statue of Milarepa to the right...

and close ups of this peach iris...

this maroon and purple iris...

and this beautiful rose.

This was the interior of the Buddhist Temple, with the Buddha in the center, the sacred Buddhist texts to the right, the statues on the left (which are supports for meditation symbolizing past practitioners who have actualized enlightenment), the photos on the right show eminent teachers in the Karma Kagyü tradition and finally the offerings (bowls symbolizing various sense objects: drinking water, ceremonial water, flowers, incense, light, perfume, food and music). These offerings are renewed daily.

Brantome, Sweet Brantome

The French are always yapping about "the most beautiful villages in France".  According to them, virtually every village is superior in charm, ambiance and history.  Well, some are, some aren't.  Brantome is definitely, definitely, definitely the most beautiful village in France that we have seen.  Anchoring the town is a captivating Abbey which sits on the banks of the river Dronne.  The monks, seeking a more defensible site dug a canal the result of which was to create an island directly across from the Abbey.  They then constructed an elbow bridge that connected the two sections (well there are more bridges now) which allowed crossing the river but, by its design, impeded invaders from a rapid ingress to the heart of the religious community.  The entire town is just dazzling.  We had a delicious lunch on the river, took a boat ride up the Dronne and watched kayakers of varying skill levels try to traverse the weir.  If you EVER get the chance, go to Brantome.

Views of the river and Brantome as we arrived.

This dragon statue was on a man made island in the middle of the river.

This unique elbow bridge was designed to be more defensible against invaders.

The weirs on the river extended in several directions.

These weirs were a challenge for these three in the canoe who momentarily got stuck on the weir...

while this pair navigated the weir with ease.

We ate lunch on the terrace of this restaurant overlooking the river...

and I later took this photo as we rode by in our tour boat.

We did not see many murals in France, but this one caught our attention.

The shops here were built into the side of the cliff.

One of the more unique shops had this mannequin of many parts, which encouraged us to check out the shop.

Inside were some very unique items like these two very strange dolls.

This light created a very interesting pattern on the solid stone walls of the store.

This house has an entrance right from the river.

You can see the old water wheel to the right as you look through the bridge.

This was the tour boat we took...

from which I capture this father with his child...

and this ancient structure by the river...

as well as these reflections on the water.

After our boat tour we encountered this dog enjoying himself in the water.

We also saw these really interesting flowers.

One Last Paddle Down the Dordogne

By the time we launched on our paddle down the Dordogne we had already seen most of the forts, Chateaus, Roques and Grottes from land.  But the perspective from the water is completely different.  We were lucky (smart) to be there before "the season" began.  According to our gite host in July and August the Dordogne is like a parking lot of canoes and kayaks all jockeying for position while trying  to navigate.  We were almost alone on the River which was great.  The French are not big on giving detailed instructions and at a couple of bridges we encountered a bit of confusion.  There were big Xs of steel across sections of the bridge and some sketchy intimation that you should not kayak through those sections.  We could not figure out (help us if you can) what these  the large concrete flume like structures behind the steel crosses were or what they did.   Well, distracted by that, we ran aground before the bridge but Michael leapt out and freed us without losing me in the current to drift solo into the bridge.  It was all fine.

These views of Beynac, the castle and the church from a totally different perspective while kayaking on the Dordogne.

A different perspective on Castlenaud as well.

Again more caves along the river were spotted, as well as...

this Great Blue Heron. 

Finally as we were kayaking we got these different views of La Roque Gageac

After we finished kayaking we were ready for lunch. We dined at a restaurant below Castlenaud.

We decided not to hike up to the castle, particularly after we saw how it was looking like a tourist destination designed more for the children to dress up as knights...

and ladies of yore.

On to Madrid

We were about to enter  the last leg of the trip -- Madrid.  We spent three days there before heading back to Mexico.  We'll take you to the Royal Palace (twice -- it will be explained), the Cathedral, the Plaza Mayor, an Egyptian tomb and El Retiro Park.  And then we are home. And then we are off again.  But more on that when we hit the road for The Sentimental Journey.  Take care.