Wordless Wednesday: Clouds Over Okinawa

How Aloe Juice Led to the Edible Woman

Not Making This Up

Since my body got roasted by the sun over the weekend, I've been using plenty of aloe.

It grows like wildfire, in this part of the world and, I've been hacking stems off the plants.

Stick them in the fridge for awhile, slice them open and, use them for treating skin problems.

The past few days, I look like a dog with the mange; skin peeling off my hide in chunks.

Walking the back streets, where I'm not so visible, I spotted this aloe drink.

Maybe, I need some aloe internally as well as, externally, was what I got thinking.

The machine was on a shady side of the street so, I bought one and, rested for awhile.

The mercury has been rising to the top of the thermometer before 9 AM, this week.

It feels more like August, than July so, I take it slow, heading to the office.

There was shade and a slight breeze at that location. A five minute rest, couldn't hurt.

Instead of drinking the juice, I used the can to massage my face and sunburned arms.

By the time I got to the office, the can was warm so, I placed it in the refrigerator.

A few hours later, it was ice cold again and, I figured it was time to experiment.

When I popped the top on the can, I did it with caution.

Drinks from a Japanese vending machine sometimes, are carbonated. This one wasn't.

It sort of surprised me, when I went to gulp the cold juice down.  Very little came out.

When I went to take another swig, I figured it out.  There's chunks of aloe in the drink.

It's pretty sweet and, I'm not crazy about sweets so, I won't do a Mad Mike's Review.

Research on Sangaria

Wikipedia gives some information and, links to the company's English/Japanese websites.

But, this particular drink, I couldn't locate, to give more details for those interested.

Using Google USA and Japan and Yahoo Japan Search, I discovered a few things.

Over at Rocket News they discuss, mixing sake with fruits for those into "fruity drinks."

After finding Edible Woman and, her Patio Drinks, I decided my homework was done !

Island Image: Start of the 2017 Sailing Sabani Race

Furuzamami Beach

Last Sunday was my 5th time traveling to Zamami Island for these races, as a photographer.

It's sort of a working vacation, for me and I stay fairly busy but, always have fun.

The folks who paddle and sail these old wooden boats, are a great bunch of people.

Before any sailing event, they hold a beach cleanup. Everyone participates even, children.

They have great respect for nature and, the ocean. 

This race is one of the biggest affairs of the year. Look at the sea and skies. They were awesome.

For a minute, I thought this was going to be a fantastic day for sailing the 37km race to Naha.

Normally, sabani boats cross the finish line in about 4 hours. That's when the wind is right.

From what I heard at the finish this year, only 3 boats finished in the 6 hour time limit.

About 10 hours, I was bouncing around on an escort boat, taking photos.

A typhoon, headed towards the mainland, pulled some tricks on the sabani boats this year.

The wind and waves, were pushing the ocean from east to west.

Our objective was to race from west to east. So, it took a lot longer, to get there.

Everyone survived and, we made sure plenty of liquid refreshments were consumed.

No sense in getting all dehydrated, when they have huge quantities of beverages available.

Those of us, who didn't have to work Monday, just spent the night in Naha.

We kept nourishing our dry throats, until the wee hours of the morning.

It was Monday, at home when I first noticed, my body was as red as a lobster.

All of a sudden, today big chunks of my hide, flap in the breeze and, are falling of  me.

Nobody wants to see a picture of that. Do you ?

For now, I'll just give the photography specs used in this travel image.

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 15-30 at 15 MM

Exposure: f/11   1/1000   ISO 400

Location: Furuzamami Beach Zamami-jima Okinawa Japan

Date and Time:  JUL 2 2017  8:42 AM

July 2017 Thunder Moon Images

This photo was taken using the Pentax K1 and a Sigma 50-500 MM lens.

A 1.4 converter gave a focal length of 700 MM.

The image above was taken with the same camera and a Pentax 300 MM.

With the 1.4 converter a focal length of 420 MM was gained.

According to Farmer's Almanac, July is the month of the Full Buck Moon.

At Space Dot Com, the moon is also called  the Thunder Moon.

Watch this video for more full moon information:

3 Peeks at July 2017 Full Moon

Images Taken with a Pentax K1 at 700 MM Focal Distance

A Gitzo tripod and the camera timer were used to take these photos.

The moon is 99.6% full this evening so, I decided it would be best, to get it done, now.

The Lunar Calendar at Time and Date, says the moon will be full July 9th at 13:06.

Well, I don't think we'll be able to see the moon, at that time of day, on this island.

With 700 MM of lens, the moon, doesn't appear this large, through the viewfinder.

During processing, I make different crops, which make the moon become larger.

In my Photo Tip #8 you can learn some basics about cropping images.

Now, I have to hurry downtown, to make sure no lunatics, got loose at the watering holes.