TRAVEL 2007
Although I am retired, my travel schedule does not seem to lighten up.
For environmental
reasons I do not take vacations or travel long distances for pleasure.
My chalet
meets my needs for a change of pace and a chance to get away from the
pressures of life. However I still do fly for professional reason or
where I can be of service. I prefer to take the train where that is
practical within Europe, and only use my car for rural destinations
that public transport does not reach.
The French Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD,
formerly ORSTOM) invited me to be the scientific adviser to a new
research project on land-based impacts on coral reefs, part of a new
research programme on Coral Reef Initiative in the South Pacific
(CRISP). I therefore traveled in April to Noumea, New Caledonia, with
other scientists including my old friend and island specialist
(nissologue) Christian Depraetere, for a meeting to plan the research
programme. It was the first time in more than a decade that I had
returned to Noumea where I lived from 1974 to 1985, where I met my wife
and where my children were born. I was able to meet many old friends,
to give some talks for the Baha'i community, and to lecture at the
University of New Caledonia.
The city of Noumea as developed a great deal since we lived there, with
buildings climbing up the hills, high-rise hotels and apartment blocks
which were rare before, and whole new districts that did not exist 20
years ago. Even the road system had so changed that I had difficulty
finding my way around outside of the downtown area.
While the beach at Ansa Vata, where I used to work, is much the same,
the Secretariat of the Pacific Commission (SPC) has a new modern
building complex across from the beach.
The old SPC site now has new high-rise buildings on it. My office used
to be where the building is behind the tree in the photo below on the
left. This is a big change from the single story wooden buildings with
corrugated iron roofs that the U.S. Army had left after World War II.
Only the coconut palms and the base of the old flagpole remain.
The monks of the Benedictine Monastery at Ganagobie, in the south of
France, organize an inter-faith seminar each year. Since this year the
theme was the protection of the creation, the Baha'is of France asked
me to represent them at the seminar, so I traveled to Ganagobie in
June. We lived in the monastery with the monks, ate in silence in the
refectory, and attended early morning mass (for the first time in my
life). The gregorian chanting was beautiful, but the number of monks
has diminished by half since they moved from Hautcombe in Savoie some
20 years ago, and it would seem that this ancient way of life may soon
die out.
old
olive tree
Ganagobie
Monastery garden
The monastery is isolated on a high plateau with slopes that drop
steeply to the river valleys below.
hut on monastery
grounds
The ancient Romanesque church and cloister are at the heart of monastic
life.
The church interior is very simple except for the beautiful ancient
mosaics discovered around the altar.
the monks sit facing each other
ancient mosaic floor
My old friend George Starcher, President of the European Baha'i
Business Forum who lives in Chambery, Savoie, near where we used to
live in St.Pierre d'Albigny, loves trekking in the mountains in all
seasons, and organizes walks with his friends a few times a year. I was
able to join him in June, to climb up towards Lac Noir. While George is
10 years older than I am, he still outdoes everyone. This is where I
feel my age and my creaking articulations. While I managed to lead the
group up, I was the slowest coming down. With my knee and ankle
problems, my doctor has said that I can go up hill but not downhill, so
I descend carefully with the help of two walking sticks.
George Starcher leading the group
A long
way down to the valley
Alpine
landscapes
A carpet of wild azaleas on the mountainside
The trail up to Black Lake
In July, we were able to have a family reunion. My son Alexander wanted
his wife Mahalia, stepson Jeremie and son Benjamin to meet his maternal
grandparents, who are getting along in years (my father-in-law is over
90). We got them tickets to cross the Atlantic from Quebec, and my wife
Martine, daughter Agnes, sister-in-law Catherine (and a grandson) and I
all gathered at the Caillard residence in Plomodiern, Finistere,
overlooking the Bay of Douarnenez in the very west of Brittany.
Caillard residence and its beautiful garden with the Bay of Douarnenez
in the distance
The house is not far from several beautiful beaches facing the Atlantic
Ocean.
When the weather permitted, we went to the beach. Here are Mahalia and
Alexander with Benjamin, and my sister-in-law Catherine with her
grandson Sasha. The children loved to play in the sand.
My
grandson Benjamin Gagnon-Dahl was the centre of attention and the
subject of multiple photographs, here with my son Alexander.
My
step-grandson
Jeremie, Alexander and two friends played football, which is one of
Jeremie's favourite activities. He returned to Quebec with a full
uniform of the French football team.
The children were fascinated by the electric train that we gave my
father-in-law many years ago when we moved to France from New
Caledonia. We also went to Oceanopolis in Brest, where Benjamin had a
chance to discover ice at the penguin exhibit.
Another
excursion was to the nearby city of Quimper, with its historic centre
and gothic cathedral. For Jeremie the Quebecois, it was a chance to
discover France and European culture.
The
living room was the place everyone gathered, and where my mother- and
father-in law, Francine and Claude Caillard, could be with the family.
It was a rare chance for my wife Martine Caillard
Dahl, children
Agnes and Alexander and I to be all together. Agnes' husband Bahador
could unfortunately not come.
Agnes is a doctor in Geneva, Alexander an information systems architect
in Quebec.
We strengthened family relationships and had a chance to dote on our
grandson
Benjamin loves trucks (camion = anything on four wheels), and
especially to ride on one in the garden.
Mahalia in
the garden
The next generation: Benjamin Gagnon-Dahl and Jéremie Gagnon
My
grandchildren 
ST.SERNIN SUR RANCE,
FRANCE
I was invited to give some environmental talks at
the French
Baha'i summer school, held this year in the village of St. Sernin sur
Rance, in the Aveyron in the southwest of France, in the facilities of
an agricultural school. In addition to the classes, I participated in
two afternoon debates with outside experts, one on climate change,
energy and water problems, the other on alternatives to globalization
and the problems of agriculture, particularly for small farmers.
School
dormitories and sports fields
An
orchestra with traditional instruments provide an opportunity for all
the generations to have a lively evening together.
We were also able to walk into the perched village of St. Sernin sur
Rance for a festival with traditional music, and see a prehistoric
menhir.
The menhir 
At the end of August I went to Bulgaria to teach at their Baha'i summer
school, which was held in Balchik, on the Black Sea coast near the
Romanian border. We stayed a short walk from the beautiful summer
palace and gardens that Queen Marie of Romania, the first monarch to
accept the Baha'i Faith, built in the 1920s and 30s. We were able to
have a special guided tour of the palace and gardens.
BAHA'I SUMMER SCHOOL
Participants in the Bulgarian Baha'i summer school, Lois Hainsworth in
the right foreground
Terry
Madison, long-time pioneer to Sofia, and Auxiliary Board Member Emi
Dahl, my sister-in law
QUEEN MARIE'S
SUMMER PALACE IN BALCHIK
The visit to the royal palace in Balchik was a special occasion for the
large group of Baha'is and their friends. We were guided by Professor
E. Satchev who is a specialist on the palace and who explained how
Queen Marie incorporated many Baha'i ideas and principles into the
design of the buildings and gardens.
Prof. Satchev before a picture of the gardens
Palace entrance
Flower and cactus gardens
Among the visitors were my brother Greg, his Bulgarian wife Emi, and
Gregory, Joyce and Mina
Queen Marie built a separate house for each member of her family in the
traditional style
The gardens slope down to the beachfront, with paths joining the
different thematic gardens
Professor
Satchev explained each of the garden's features, representing different
cultures and religious traditions and demonstrating unity in diversity.
Map of the royal palace gardens
Flowing water is an important feature, with a waterfall and pools, and
channels throughout the gardens
There is both formal and informal landscaping
My nieces and nephew and their friends enjoyed the gardens
There is a formal English rose garden, and a corner dedicated to the
Virgin Mary where Queen Marie often came to pray
A part of the garden is modelled after Roman baths
There were old water mills in the gardens, one of which Queen Marie
preserved. My nephew sat in a carved stone throne where Queen Marie
often sat to enjoy the view.
The gardens and Palace are just above the beach
At the end of long arbor-covered walk paved in millstones, there is a
niche and millstone table where Queen Marie was tragically killed. She
tried to intervene in an argument between her two sons, and was
accidentally shot through the heart by her younger son.
After her death, a chapel was built to house her heart, which she asked
to remain in her beloved Balchik when her body had to be buried next to
her husband the king in Bucharest. When Balchik became part of Bulgaria
during the war, her two sons came secretly by boat and took her heart
back to Bucharest.
The Palace is surrounded by terraced gardens
The Royal Palace combines Christian and Islamic architectural styles,
with a minaret-like tower.
The interior is in simple good taste, and is now furnished with many
pictures of Queen Marie
My nephew Gregory, like the other visitors, enjoyed the Palace, its
views and gardens
ALBENA
Another afternoon we went to a famous Black Sea beach at Albena, where
the children built a sand castle
ZHERAVNA
Since we had to drive across Bulgaria from one end to the other, we
stopped overnight in the traditional Bulgarian village of Zheravna and
stayed in a 300 year old house.
Rooftops of the village of Zheravna
a
village path between the houses
The 300 year old guest house where we stayed
The interiors and porch have been restored in traditional fashion
The doors, pillars and beams have all been decorated with carving in
traditional designs
The arbor in front of the house was loaded with grapes. The garden was
enclosed with a wall and traditional gate, and included a well.
KRUPNIK
I stayed an extra week with my brother Greg and his family at their
house in Krupnik, the village south of Blagoevgrad where his wife Emi
is from. Her parents live next door and take care of the garden and
orchard, ensuring a constant supply of fruits and vegetables, and
canning many things for the winter.
The village of Krupnik and the hills behind, from my brother's balcony.
Emi organized a Baha'i children's class for her children and their
friends, and Greg accompanied their singing.
I returned to Bulgaria in November when my brother Roger was also
visiting my brother Greg and his family. One beautiful autumn day we
went walking in the hills behind the village of Krupnik with Greg's
children Gregory, Joyce and Mina.
Roger and Greg
getting
water at a spring
A wookcutter came by with two horses to carry his wood down the
mountain. He gave the children a short ride on horseback.
Gregory,
Joyce and Mina with the woodcutter
the twins, Joyce and Gregory
The International Environment Forum held its annual conference
in
Ottawa in October, which also gave me an opportunity to visit
my
son Alexander and his family in Quebec. For the IEF conference, see its
own page of photos: http://www.bcca.org/ief/conf11/conf11phot.htm.
After the conference, we went walking in a park
near Ottawa to admire the autumn colours.
My grandson
Benjamin 
Each
year the European Baha'i Business Forum (EBBF) holds its annual
conference at the dePoort conference centre in a forest near Nijmegen.
Since I am a member of the EBBF Governing Board, I usually go every
year. The conference draws over 150 business leaders, students of
business and others with a legitimate interest in business to explore
how ethical values inspired by the Baha'i teaching can make business
more responsible.
EBBF
President George Starcher and panel
Some
of the principle EBBF leaders and speakers are shown here.
Secretary-General Daniel Truran
Wendi Momen
Beppe Robiati
Augusto Lopez
Claros
Dorothy Marcic
One feature of the conference is the presentation by AIESEC, the
international student organization with which EBBF has a close
partnership.
