Life in these strange times: a jarful of hope

Where you find hope, grab it. In these days of uncertainty and lockdown, it seems as if hope flits and flees every time you think that you've caught it. When you catch it, if you can, put it in a jar and feed it, and it will grow.

For me, telling this travel tale is almost like nurturing a jarful of hope. In reality, I can't stray very far from home, certainly no farther than my feet will carry me. But my imagination! That will take me everywhere. So I hope that you can find something that will take you far away. Maybe you are traveling around the world in your imagination. I hope that you've picked some fun places to visit.

The place that I am visiting today in my imaginary journey is a large forest that straddles the border of India and Bangladesh. It's called the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest. It is a huge forest and is a UNESCO Heritage site. It also includes 54 tiny islands. On the islands, we can see the tributaries of the river Ganga. Mangroves are short trees or shrubs, and they grow mostly in subtropical or tropical climates. Their roots are tolerant of salt water, and they tend to grow in saline swamps. 

This is a tour that I will take with a tour group and a guide. It's not something to do alone because there are many tigers. The effect of climate change on the islands in the Mangrove has been devastating, and it has resulted in much habitat loss for the Bengal tigers.  We will visit the tiger reserve and see these magnificent animals, but we will do it safely.

Climate change is a threat to the entire earth. Even on an imaginary journey, I see that there are dangers that face us humans unless we choose to act in ways that nurture our precious planet.

Tomorrow's journey takes me through Bangladesh and back into India. You are welcome to join my adventure. Please keep visiting and watch hope grow in a jar.