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Approaching Papeete.
Crossing the Pacific for Balboa, Panama, in the Southern Cross, 1967.
Papeete was rather a surprise. We passed through the reef in the early morning, and along the waterside (above).
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wikimapia
Wikipedia link:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papeete
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Tags: PS peteshep Copyright photo 1967 Tahiti Papeete Geotagged
© All Rights Reserved
Copyright PS.
Papeete dwelling, Tahiti; 1967.
Away from the tourist town, up the back country to see the reality.
Gaugan! And that's it. The colour! Presumably it started with the many brilliantly hued flowers. All colours but always pure and full strength. Scarlet, purple, chrome-yellow, pure orange. Now there are bright-coloured cloths everywhere; usually with bold patterns but never mixed or weak hues, and even the most squalid houses are brought to life with brilliant red, ochre, blue or green cotton hangings across large openings.
I walked for miles up a back road which went inland. Gradually the housing became poorer and poorer. Some with native thatch-like roofs, and others simply hardboard boxes in the dirt. Everywhere children playing -- there's been a considerable increase in the young population in recent years. Somehow though, the abundance of rich growth, bright hues and warm climate gave an otherwise poor area a certain pleasantness. A vote for colour and against the complications of civilization.
Then past atolls with their polyp-formed coral; eons of evolution, but indicative of stresses, (like sailing past signposts to a future marine graveyard?) And the skim and plop of flying fish as we progressed, past the Galapagos to Panama. A city of extreme contrasts, to Tocumen, and over misty Andes south.
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From old slide.
Tags: PS peteshep Copyright Photo South America 1967 Tahiti Papeete French Polynesia Geotagged coral
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Side street, Quito, capital of Ecuador. 1967.
This fabulous Quito! Mariscal airport in the early morning; what an awe-inspiring arrival; green mountains shrouded in whispy cloud, fresh clean air, and hot sun. Quito is at an altitude of nearly 10,000ft so that although it's almost on the equator, the climate is excellent. In to Quito sitting near the foot of Mt Pichincha. The city is in linear layout with modern suburbs to the north and changing abruptly to the old Spanish-colonial city in the south.
Quito in Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quito
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From old slide.
Tags: PS peteshep Copyright Photo South America 1967 Ecuador Quito
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Quito, below Mt Pichincha. 1967.
".....Up against the slopes of the mountain (behind this view) tumble the clay roofs of the Spanish houses -- mud brick or whitewashed walls, single-pitched roofs, steep cobbled streets -- a visual richness bettered only I thought by the inhabitants. Nearly half the population (1967) of Quito is Indian and many of them live in traditional manner in traditional clothing. Each group has its own clothing pattern -- brightly coloured ponchos and wide-brimmed hats. The tiny women carry enormous loads on their backs as well as one or two niños (complete with hats too) all tied on with a coloured scarf or shawl. The Otavalo Indians are perhaps the most striking -- white baggy trousers, white shirt, long single pigtail, and a bundle of brilliantly-coloured rugs, for sale, over their shoulder. Imagine this against a background of whitewashed and arcaded walls and narrow cobbled streets!
One sees the spread of the city from Panecillo (Bread-loaf hill) punctuated by old Spanish churches and squares. You could sketch for a lifetime in this crowded colonial area.
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Historic old Quito (nearby) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978.
whc.unesco.org/en/list/2
www.ecuador365.com/quito1.html
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Tags: PS peteshep Copyright Photo South America 1967 Quito Ecuador UNESCO World Heritage Site
© All Rights Reserved
Copyright PS.
Floating monopitch kiln roofs at tile-works on slopes below Mt Pichincha, Quito, Ecuador. 1967. Eucalypt trees.
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From old slide.
Tags: PS peteshep Copyright Photo South America 1967 Pichincha Quito Ecuador Kiln Tile-works Vernacular Architecture
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