35 Isabella Bird Quotes for You to Enjoy

Isabella Bird

English Explorer

Born: Oct 15, 1831

Died: Oct 7, 1904

First Great Life People Seen Which

Related authors: George Vancouver Henry Hudson Hudson Stuck Humphrey Gilbert Isabelle Eberhardt Richard Francis Burton Walter Raleigh William Adams

The traveller who aspires to reach the highlands of Tibet from Kashmir cannot be borne along in a carriage or hill-cart. For much of the way, he is limited to a foot pace, and if he has regard to his horse, he walks down all rugged and steep descents, which are many, and dismounts at most bridges. Isabella Bird

Rugged Walks Down Way Carriage Borne Horse Steep Foot He Tibet Along Reach Most Limited His Regard Pace Cannot Which Much Kashmir Who Many Bridges Traveller

There are eight or nine leading varieties of rice grown in Japan, all of which, except an upland species, require mud, water, and much puddling and nasty work. Rice is the staple food and the wealth of Japan. Its revenues were estimated in rice. Rice is grown almost wherever irrigation is possible. Isabella Bird

Work Food Water Wealth Nine Possible Except Almost Leading Revenues Nasty Were Eight Irrigation Wherever Estimated Which Japan Rice Much Mud Require Staple Grown Species

Other lands may have their charms, and the sunny skies of other climes may be regretted, but it is with pride and gladness that the wanderer sets foot again on British soil, thanking God for the religion and the liberty which have made this weather-beaten island in a northern sea to be the light and glory of the world. Isabella Bird

God Religion World Liberty Pride Light Soil Made Sets Other Sunny Charms Gladness Foot Glory Island Thanking Northern May Wanderer Which Again Skies Regretted Lands Sea British

Only the long melancholy call to prayer, or the wail of women over the dead, or the barking of dogs, breaks the silence which at sunset falls as a pall over Baghdad. Isabella Bird

Silence Prayer Sunset Women Long Melancholy Only Baghdad Over Dead Call Dogs Wail Falls Which Breaks Barking

To a person sitting quietly at home, Rocky Mountain traveling, like Rocky Mountain scenery, must seem very monotonous; but not so to me, to whom the pure, dry mountain air is the elixir of life. Isabella Bird

Life Home Me Pure Monotonous Air Must Seem Scenery Like Dry Rocky Very Mountain Person Quietly Sitting Whom Traveling

The Rocky Mountains realize - nay, exceed - the dream of my childhood. It is magnificent, and the air is life-giving. Isabella Bird

Mountains Air Dream Exceed Magnificent Rocky Rocky Mountains Childhood Realize Nay

Four hours after leaving Kornah, we passed the reputed tomb of Ezra the prophet. At a distance and in the moonlight it looked handsome. There is a buttressed river wall, and above it some long flat-roofed buildings, the centre one surmounted by a tiled dome. Isabella Bird

Long Distance Moonlight Some Above Prophet River Hours Looked Buildings Passed Leaving Dome Wall Handsome After Centre Tomb Four

If one's memories of Baghdad women were only of those to be seen in the streets, they would be of leathery, wrinkled faces, prematurely old, figures which have lost all shape, and henna-stained hands crinkled and deformed by toil. Isabella Bird

The situation of Leh is a grand one, the great Kailas range, with its glaciers and snowfields, rising just behind it to the north, its passes alone reaching an altitude of nearly 18,000 feet; while to the south, across a gravelly descent and the Indus Valley, rise great red ranges dominated by snow-peaks exceeding 21,000 feet in altitude. Isabella Bird

Alone Great Situation Valley Range Rise Rising Exceeding Glaciers Red Feet Reaching Altitude Passes South Dominated North Behind Just Grand While Across Descent Nearly

The cocoa-nut palm grows best near salt water, no matter how loose and sandy the soil is, and in these congenial circumstances needs neither manure nor care of any kind. It bends lovingly toward the sea and drops its ripe fruit into it. Isabella Bird

Best Needs Fruit Water Matter Care Soil Salt Bends Circumstances Kind Neither Ripe Drops Toward Loose How Nor Any Lovingly Sandy Congenial Sea Manure Near Grows Palm

My first experiences of Colorado travel have been rather severe. At Greeley, I got a small upstairs room at first, but gave it up to a married couple with a child, and then had one downstairs no bigger than a cabin, with only a canvas partition. It was very hot, and every place was thick with black flies. Isabella Bird

Travel Black First Every Gave Severe Married Married Couple Rather Only Small Colorado Cabin Had Hot Couple Partition Got Been Up Very Than Child Experiences Bigger Upstairs Place Canvas Room Then Flies Thick Downstairs

I lived among the Japanese, and saw their mode of living, in regions unaffected by European contact. Isabella Bird

Living Saw Unaffected Contact Mode Regions Japanese European Lived Among

If Japanese tea 'stands,' it acquires a coarse bitterness and an unwholesome astringency. Milk and sugar are not used. Isabella Bird

Bitterness Tea Sugar Unwholesome Japanese Used Coarse Stands Milk

The Tigris in parts is wonderfully tortuous, and at one great bend, 'The Devil's Elbow,' a man on foot can walk the distance in less than an hour which takes the steamer four hours to accomplish. Isabella Bird

Great Man Walk Devil Bend Distance Tortuous Foot Takes Hour Hours Parts Accomplish Than Wonderfully Which Elbow Less Four

Poverty brings one blessing in Turkey - the poor man is of necessity a monogamist. Isabella Bird

Man Blessing Poverty Poor Man Turkey Poor Brings Necessity

On the whole, I find that it is best to adopt as far as possible the travelling equipments of the country in which one travels. The muleteers and servants understand them better, and if anything goes wrong or wears out, it can be repaired or replaced. Isabella Bird

The 'Desert' sweeps up to the walls of Baghdad, but it is a misnomer to call the vast level of rich, stoneless, alluvial soil a desert. It is a dead flat of uninhabited earth; orange colocynth balls, a little wormwood, and some alkaline plants which camels eat, being its chief products. After the inundations, reedy grass grows in the hollows. Isabella Bird

Walls Plants Soil Rich Grass Earth Eat Some Vast Baghdad Dead Call Camels Balls Up Chief Orange Being After Flat Which Little Products Desert Grows Level

The Tibetans are dirty. They wash once a year and, except for festivals, seldom change their clothes till they begin to drop off. They are healthy and hardy; even the women can carry weights of sixty pounds over the passes. They attain extreme old age; their voices are harsh and loud, and their laughter is noisy and hearty. Isabella Bird

Change Age Women Old Laughter Drop Healthy Year Clothes Old Age Extreme Once Once A Year Harsh Carry Voices Dirty Except Seldom Attain Pounds Weights Over Noisy Till Passes Off Loud Begin Festivals Hearty Sixty Wash Even Hardy

The rush of a herd of bellowing yaks at a wild gallop, waving their huge tails, is a grand sight. Isabella Bird

Herd Wild Waving Sight Rush Tails Huge Grand Gallop

My first yak was fairly quiet and looked a noble steed with my Mexican saddle and gay blanket among rather than upon his thick black locks. His back seemed as broad as that of an elephant, and with his slow, sure, resolute step, he was like a mountain in motion. Isabella Bird

Gay Black Slow First Back Broad Locks Seemed Rather Blanket He Step Noble Saddle Like Looked Fairly Sure Motion His Mexican Mountain Than Quiet Thick Elephant Among Resolute

The breadfruit is a superb tree, about 60 feet high, with deep green, shining leaves, a foot broad, sharply and symmetrically cut, worthy, from their exceeding beauty of form, to take the place of the acanthus in architectural ornament, and throwing their pale green fruit into delicate contrast. Isabella Bird

Fruit Beauty Tree Broad High Worthy Superb About Architectural Exceeding Delicate Take Throwing Foot Feet Sharply Leaves Shining Contrast Green Form Place Cut Deep Pale Ornament

Mauna Kea from Hilo has a shapely aspect, for its top is broken into peaks, said to be the craters of extinct volcanoes, but my eyes seek the dome-like curve of Mauna Loa with far deeper interest, for it is as yet an unfinished mountain. Isabella Bird

Broken Eyes Unfinished Top Seek Said Mountain Curve Interest Far Aspect Deeper Peaks Extinct

I suppose that few people ever forget the first sight of a palm-tree of any species. I vividly remember seeing one for the first time at Malaga, but the coco-palm groves of the Pacific have a strangeness and witchery of their own. Isabella Bird

Time People Remember First Few Own Sight Seeing Vividly Suppose First Time Forget Few People Any Pacific Strangeness Species Ever

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