Although today’s been spent working from home I’ve been making a conscious effort to tear myself away from computer screens and get some exercise. After spending 14 days in self-enforced isolation and not leaving the house I swore to myself that as soon as that was over I’d boost my exercise levels again. On thing I’m never going to develop is corns on my bum – so this week I’ve been out every day, getting the steps in. When you live high up on the side of a valley, exercise really isn’t a problem if you’re using ‘Shank’s Pony’ rather than a vehicle. There’s no chance of me getting more than a few metres from the house without hitting a gradient of one severity or another! I must admit I’m feeling better for it too. Mind you having to carry the full camera kit around again is pretty good exercise too – as I found out on Tuesday! I might not be globe-trotting at the moment, it’s more of a regional amble – but it’s better than nothing!

When I have been staring at screens it been to wade through emails and paperwork to sort out some more writing jobs, Ebay sales as well as continue the trek to get all my old slides scanned. I may not be able to leave the country, but the pictures I’m currently scanning of Island-hopping through Indonesia are certainly taking be places – both in space and time….

This leaves me in a quandry. What shall I choose as the picture of the day, as I’ve got so many suitable candidates. Orang-Utans in the Gunung Leuser national park in Sumatra perhaps? No, I’ve done that before (you’ll be able to see loads in the travel gallery tomorrow anyway). Maybe another gorgeous sunset somewhere? Nah, I don’t want to get too predictable. Oh, I know – something you might not have seen. Here’s a last one from Sumatra before Lynn and I started Island hopping. This was taken in Maninjau Town on Lake Meninjau, West Sumatra on the 17th August 1998. The 17th is Indonesia’s Independence day, and the town arranged a parade. Part of that parade involved local children dressing up in regional costumes, both from Sumatra and the rest of the Indonesian Islands. The country has a rich ethnic and religious mix and this parade celebrated that fact – as you can see from this picture.

If you’re interested in looking through more photos from Sumatra (or the rest of the epic trip), you can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio picture website. I’ll be adding many more shots of other exotic Indonesian Islands over the next few weeks…

Meanwhile, I’ve a favour to ask…
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