Clancy Tucker's Blog: September 2019

1 October 2019 - PAI CANYON, THAILAND

PAI CANYON,

THAILAND

G'day folks,

This is one part of Thailand that I've not yet seen. It's a bizarre dirt trail that winds a narrow path above the tree line.

With treacherous drops on either side of the path, the elevated trail through Pai Canyon (Kong Lan in Thai) is not a place for a casual stroll, but it will provide visitors with an unparalleled view of the surrounding landscape.

After climbing a short staircase on the Western edge of the canyon hikers will see a narrow ridge of Earth, all that remains of a walking path through the canyon. Erosion on either side of the path has caused the forest level to drop dramatically with only the tips of the plants rising above the level of the path. With drops of up to 30 meters on either side of the strange trail, traversing it can be dangerous.

The walk up to the first view point is easily accessible to anyone even with a moderate level of fitness. However, the paths leading further vary widely in width, steepness and danger. At points the width of the land narrows to little more than foot wide ridges that must be scrambled across. At other points, the paths turns almost vertical and requires some climbing to go further. Despite the slight dangers of the Pai Canyon it is a popular attraction in the region.

Clancy's comment: The views from this trail are spectacular. Might be worth a visit, eh?

I'm ...

30 September 2019 - RATHCROGHAN IN TULSK, IRELAND

RATHCROGHAN IN

TULSK, IRELAND

G'day folks,

This ancient Irish landscape boasts hundreds of legendary ruins.

Rathcroghan, or Cruachan Aí, is an archaeologist’s dream. Found in the center of County Roscommon, it contains about 240 identified archaeological sites packed within an area of about 2.5 square miles.

This landscape confidently bears witness to nearly 5,500 years of continuous settlement. The earliest known monument is a small court tomb from the early Neolithic Period. Bronze and Iron Age burial mounds dot the earth. You’ll also find traces of massive feats of late Iron Age architecture such as the Rathcroghan Mound and the Mucklaghs earthworks as well as early historic settlement sites and religious foundations. The later medieval period sees Rathcroghan divided into a large matrix of field systems, evidence of the pastoral farming practice common to this region from prehistory up to the present day.

This area, perhaps unsurprisingly, is also one of the key theaters of Ireland’s impressive collection of intoxicating mythology and literature. It boasts the mythological gateway into the Irish Otherworld: the cave of Oweynagat. Uaimh na gCat (Gaelic for “Cave of the Cats”) is the origin place of the pre-Christian seasonal celebration of Samhain, the Celtic precursor to modern Halloween.

Rathcroghan is the starting point for a whole series of Iron Age heroic cattle raiding tales, known as na Tána. Indeed, the central tale of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, an Táin Bó Cúailnge, Ireland’s greatest epic, rises out of Rathcroghan, at the behest of the famous Iron Age Warrior Queen Medb (Maeve) of Connacht. Medb is a vital part of this landscape, and of the West more generally, and her capitol and palace are reputed to be located on the Rathcroghan landscape. These stories record the deeds of Ireland’s heroes, such as Cú Chulainn, Fráoch, the Morrigan, Conor Mac Nessa, Ferdia, and Medb herself.

Many of these archaeological sites retain links to these heroic tales through their names, among them Reilig na Rí (the Cemetery of Kings), Caiseal Mhanannán (the stone fort of Manannán mac Lír, god of the sea), Rath na dtarbh (the fort of the bulls), Daithí’s Stone, and more. Hearing these stories, told on this earthen canvas, is the perfect way to understand the previous generations who walked this sacred landscape.

Clancy's comment: I'd love to spend hours in those fields with a metal detector.

I'm ...

29 September 2019 - QUOTES FROM AUTHORS

QUOTES FROM AUTHORS

G'day folks,

Welcome to some quotes from authors who should know how to do it.

Clancy's comment: My contribution is this: Don't copy other authors. Maintain your own voice. It is your unique literary fingerprint, or DNA.

I'm ....

28 September 2019 - SANTA CECILIA NECROPOLIS IN ITALY

SANTA CECILIA

NECROPOLIS

IN ITALY

G'day folks,

Here is a fascinating assortment of cave dwellings, medieval ruins, and sarcophagi that are being devoured by the forest in Italy.

A steep Etruscan Via Cava (excavated road) leads down to the unusual site of Santa Cecilia. Along the way, elaborate cave houses emerge from within the massive peperino boulders that are strewn around the canyon below the village of Bomarzo. One of the more elaborate cave houses displays holes which may have been carved to support an external structure with wooden posts.

The rock houses are but one sign of the area’s long human history. The remains of the 12th-century medieval church of Santa Cecilia are located at the center of the site. You can still identify the apse, the presbytery, the altar stone, and a number of Christian symbols.

All around the site you’ll see eerie human-shaped sarcophagi, with occasional Greek crosses in the reliefs. Some are damaged, others are intact, but they likely belonged to the medieval necropolis that was associated with the local church of Santa Cecilia. Another elaborate cave house in the proximity of the church of Santa Cecilia is shaped like an open-air altar, though its purpose is still unknown.

There are hypotheses that there is a strong continuity in this site throughout the Etruscan and medieval times, and that the original stone structures may have undergone a “Christianisation,” a religious cleansing of their pagan origins. The site, which has been almost completely taken over by the forest, was once a flourishing medieval community.

Clancy's comment: Mm ... This site certainly looks ancient. You can only imagine what life was like at this place in the 12th-century.

I'm ...

27 September 2019 - STUNNING PHOTOGRAPHY

STUNNING

PHOTOGRAPHY

G'day folks,

A picture has the capacity to say so much without having to say anything at all. Just one photo gives you clues as to what is happening, and what it means to the person snapping the photograph. Let's take a look at some incredible photos that truly embody the saying: a picture says more than a thousand words.