<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[RSS Feed]]></title><description><![CDATA[RSS Feed]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com</link><image><url>http://direct.ecency.com/logo512.png</url><title>RSS Feed</title><link>http://direct.ecency.com</link></image><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:01:01 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="http://direct.ecency.com/@lmar/rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Cape Town is a city made for walking]]></title><description><![CDATA[Cape Town’s scenic beauty is legendary. It is regularly featured among the most beautiful cities in the world, with pictures showing it nestling at the foot of majestic Table Mountain. The southeasterly]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/cape-town-is-a-city-made-for-walking</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/cape-town-is-a-city-made-for-walking</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 04 Oct 2017 07:53:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/3W72119s5BjWPGGUiZ9pqnZoj8JHYxCCp9dtn2QVeh5TojzLa4xNUoentQ3X545nduRSB3cjdx5m266zMspbHDbz7HKFEJ7oikE8v2Sg3FRA2FhqePjGQ6?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[This quirky thing they call *the vote*]]></title><description><![CDATA[I have rarely found myself thinking more deeply about the concept of democratic election and what exactly it is that a vote means. In my own country, South Africa, the trade unions, with support from the]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/politics/@lmar/this-quirky-thing-they-call-the-vote</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/politics/@lmar/this-quirky-thing-they-call-the-vote</guid><category><![CDATA[politics]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 27 Sep 2017 07:56:18 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dancing wildly in the Mafia's old forecourt]]></title><description><![CDATA[There we were, joining young people in a wild dance in the forecourt of the old Mafia villa near Naples. It was weird to know that right there in that same place some people might have had less happy]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/nature/@lmar/dancing-wildly-in-the-mafia-s-old-forecourt</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/nature/@lmar/dancing-wildly-in-the-mafia-s-old-forecourt</guid><category><![CDATA[nature]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 26 Sep 2017 16:00:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/3W72119s5BjWPGGUiZ9pqnZoj8JHYxCCp9dtn2QVdjoXCF1vzaapQQM7vZHNCqmtgwCnnZjZFgvTJ1wcZtMkcdqHjf3TyKyoscytsRe83NkBZELkwN5CJJ?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Snapshots of South Africa’s Natural Beauty]]></title><description><![CDATA[South Africa counts among the world’s most biodiverse countries, after Brazil and Indonesia. Its scenic beauty must surely put it right up there with the best as well. These are just a few randomly selected]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/photography/@lmar/snapshots-of-south-africa-s-natural-beauty</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/photography/@lmar/snapshots-of-south-africa-s-natural-beauty</guid><category><![CDATA[photography]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 14 Sep 2017 19:46:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/3W72119s5BjWPGGUiZ9pqnZoj8JHYxCCp9dtn2QVeuLda9JMbhiCMaYBjtR59djbrtdxK5G2QTeSaxfYj2znncAt27QUAd6YnGLnh4e5tuWZfnRnXsY6b8?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Straddling the Mountain Dragon]]></title><description><![CDATA[The road curving up the Drakensberg is scenic but treacherous. It is why adventure travellers call it The Mother of South African Passes. The 19 kilometre stretch of road is named Sani Pass and takes traffic]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/straddling-the-mountain-dragon</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/straddling-the-mountain-dragon</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 04 Sep 2017 05:55:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/3W72119s5BjWPGGUiZ9pqnZoj8JHYxCCp9dtn2QVg8BywG6XBM1tcbaNojxN7Msz9GgoughoLgnpH3M1V8FeHiW5ZPKxy3Rct6VN1pgjki7XWQw3Ung398?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Garden town rises like a Phoenix from the ashes]]></title><description><![CDATA[Knysna is one of the prettiest towns on South Africa’s Garden Route, which runs along part of the country’s South Coast. But it was a sad picture that met me when I arrived there a while back. I haven’t]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/tourism/@lmar/garden-town-rises-like-a-phoenix-from-the-ashes</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/tourism/@lmar/garden-town-rises-like-a-phoenix-from-the-ashes</guid><category><![CDATA[tourism]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 02 Sep 2017 06:05:03 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/3W72119s5BjWPGGUiZ9pqnZoj8JHYxCCp9dtn2QVegEUfccewyJgy89vaHBQtfx9gFQR1mZsk4vAHppUUXheUSCW1HEWF6zFkfiLvNauR9VdhTeFL2azUn?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Riding the Tail of the Dragon]]></title><description><![CDATA[There I was riding the Tail of the Dragon and I had no idea I was doing so. The section of forest road high up the Appalachians where I entered the 2 400-kilometre-long mountain range in North Carolina]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/riding-the-tail-of-the-dragon</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/riding-the-tail-of-the-dragon</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 2017 14:45:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/5CEvyaAfMXebL91AYZNAi92qMLkpVYiUn68RSTvtKe7fFbPdtPWzY6aFGEkYozWMFARKv71jVUeWiRh82?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[There is beauty and sadness in the haunting eyes of a Cheetah]]></title><description><![CDATA[Look into a cheetah’s eyes and somehow the sensation sticks. There is a haunting beauty there, as there is something old and sad. It is an experience not easily forgotten. This is the world’s fastest land]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/there-is-beauty-and-sadness-in-the-haunting-eyes-of-a-cheetah</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/there-is-beauty-and-sadness-in-the-haunting-eyes-of-a-cheetah</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2017 13:54:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/5CEvyaAfMXebL91AYZNAi92qMLkpVYiUn68RSTvtKe7fFbPdtPWzY6ZT8ULyJLFMaTcGfStb1URrCr19Y?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The grand old abbey that stands lonesome watch over the plains of Italy’s Piedmont]]></title><description><![CDATA[Staffarda Abbey stands there all by its lonesome self on the plain of Italy’s Piedmont. It is almost as if the grand old building, now nearly eight centuries old, got left behind by time as it continued]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/the-grand-old-abbey-that-stands-lonesome-watch-over-the-plains-of-italy-s-piedmont</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/the-grand-old-abbey-that-stands-lonesome-watch-over-the-plains-of-italy-s-piedmont</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2017 15:52:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/KWcVEhPeHcGvXUKj8HrRraT6QnCQczz5c1dksPrqXGpPqQnuopPNxFYAHeW6eonBbjuT1awudyxwMmnini?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Yellowstone hisses and puffs like an Earthern beast and blows your mind away]]></title><description><![CDATA[Dusk was falling when we entered Yellowstone National Park. The crescent moon hanging just above the outline of the western mountains added to our expectation. It is very much for reason of Earth’s heaving]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/yellowstone-hisses-and-puffs-like-an-earthern-beast-and-blows-your-mind-away</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/yellowstone-hisses-and-puffs-like-an-earthern-beast-and-blows-your-mind-away</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 05 Jan 2017 08:59:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/hgjbkodzNPcRWemmNryJh4gF5TzsMVtgWrbVBBkxE3LNz6EWBZc6ZQPJjXTK8etJdZy7ZCYDQoJf68yrhy3j23BWVk?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Might the stars tell us what’s going on around the world]]></title><description><![CDATA[Looking back on 2016 and wondering what 2017 had in store, I thought that had I been an astrologer I would have been hard put right now trying to figure out what the stars are up to up there. Radical changes]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/politics/@lmar/might-the-stars-tell-us-what-s-going-on-around-the-world</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/politics/@lmar/might-the-stars-tell-us-what-s-going-on-around-the-world</guid><category><![CDATA[politics]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 30 Dec 2016 09:04:54 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Now for a walk under Dubai’s desert sky.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Walking under the desert sky is fast becoming a favourite activity in Dubai. The trend has come with the appearance of some excellent walkways in various parts of town. This is a sea change for the desert]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/now-for-a-walk-under-dubai-s-desert-sky</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/now-for-a-walk-under-dubai-s-desert-sky</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 19 Dec 2016 11:02:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/5CEvyaAfMXebL91AYZNAi92qMLkpVYiUn68RSTvtKe7fFbPdV3wDBT7iHQLUULJFj963erDEyYcvcTcXG?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The elephant king who stole hearts]]></title><description><![CDATA[The old elephant bull was a sight to behold. So impressive he was that he got crowned king on two counts. Hail to the king. The first was his regal bearing that already in his prime earned him the name]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/the-elephant-king-who-stole-hearts</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/the-elephant-king-who-stole-hearts</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 09:42:03 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/5CEvyaAfMXebL91AYZNAi92qMLkpVYiUn68RSTvtKe7fFbPdV3wDBT6uRAaDeuorheZJtspRawXKc65r6?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Clothes maketh the traveller]]></title><description><![CDATA[Travel and weather are close associates. Ask anybody about their holiday and the answer will most likely be the weather was fantastic or terrible, or some such. That says whether it was a success or not.]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/clothes-maketh-the-traveller</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/clothes-maketh-the-traveller</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2016 16:15:09 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[See glitzy Dubai for the over-the-top modernistic city it is.]]></title><description><![CDATA[There comes a point on visiting Dubai when one stops staring after every Ferrari, Lamborghini or Maserati roaring past and every Bentley and Rolls Royce gliding regally by. With the Bugatti parked at the]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/see-glitzy-dubai-for-the-over-the-top-modernistic-city-it-is</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/see-glitzy-dubai-for-the-over-the-top-modernistic-city-it-is</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 27 Nov 2016 09:21:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/5CEvyaAfMXebL91AYZNAi92qMLkpVYiUn68RSTvtKe7fFbPdV3wCui6yCHx56itpUVAvtA7aYvnZD1rzS?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Italian castle that whispers of pride, glory, pain and hardship.]]></title><description><![CDATA[If castles could talk, La Castiglia overlooking the picturesque north-western Italian town of Saluzzo would have had remarkable tales to tell. Some would be about pride and glory, others about pain and]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/the-italian-castle-that-whispers-of-pride-glory-pain-and-hardship</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/the-italian-castle-that-whispers-of-pride-glory-pain-and-hardship</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2016 05:25:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/5CEvyaAfMXebL91AYZNAi92qMLkpVYiUn68RSTvtKe7fFbPdV3wCui6wuy3MKgKugf9iTr6mJkkF3tqRY?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Italian village that clings to its rock perch for dear life]]></title><description><![CDATA[The ancient little village seems as if it could at any moment tumble from the high rock on which it is perched in the middle of an enormous gorge. It is indeed what has over the ages happened to many a]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/the-italian-village-that-clings-to-its-rock-perch-for-dear-life</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/the-italian-village-that-clings-to-its-rock-perch-for-dear-life</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 19 Nov 2016 04:57:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/5CEvyaAfMXebL91AYZNAi92qMLkpVYiUn68RSTvtKe7fFbPdV3wCui6AWg3ASPrGBHHBKPjpjkGjQ5G4E?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mamma Mia! The joys and perils of driving in Italy.]]></title><description><![CDATA[My knuckles were white on the steering wheel and my foot pressed down so hard on the accelerator I feared I might crash it through the floorboard of my little rented car. I had till moments before kept]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/mamma-mia-the-joys-and-perils-of-driving-in-italy</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/mamma-mia-the-joys-and-perils-of-driving-in-italy</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 16 Nov 2016 10:54:03 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/5CEvyaAfMXebL91AYZNAi92qMLkpVYiUn68RSTvtKe7fFbPdV3wCui6A9SLU8CxatXE6t55hXzTPX21tJ?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[I saw a good moon rising …]]></title><description><![CDATA[Businesses and media outlets in Dubai suggested a range of places for best sightings of last night’s super moon: From the roofs of hotels, from some of the many tall buildings, from luxury boats out to]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/photography/@lmar/i-saw-a-good-moon-rising</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/photography/@lmar/i-saw-a-good-moon-rising</guid><category><![CDATA[photography]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 15 Nov 2016 10:30:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/KWcVEhPeHcGvXUKj8HrRraT6QnCQczz5c1dksPrqXGpPqQnt2oxFZeMkZNP9NWqK4yeqJctRjzptVfnA9k?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The beauty and the sadness about our rhinos]]></title><description><![CDATA[Rhinos are fabulous creatures to watch, and nowhere more so than in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi. It is in this beautiful reserve in South Africa’s garden province of Kwazulu-Natal that the iconic species got pulled]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/the-beauty-and-the-sadness-about-our-rhinos</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/travel/@lmar/the-beauty-and-the-sadness-about-our-rhinos</guid><category><![CDATA[travel]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[lmar]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 15 Nov 2016 08:52:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/5CEvyaAfMXebL91AYZNAi92qMLkpVYiUn68RSTvtKe7fFbPdV3wCui69xpV7y7WkKyPrQNMegfe3bULSz?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item></channel></rss>