“What percentage of the world’s population do you think gets to see this?” dad asks while standing on deck surrounded by Antarctica and its snow covered peaks and icebergs. “I don’t know dad – a very small percentage I guess.” I reply. After a slight pause – he says ” They should all see it.” […]
In the channels that separate Maui from Lana’i is where you can find them – aku – otherwise known as bonito, a variety of Hawaiian tuna. Is it a coincidence that aku is also close in sound to the word ahi? We use the word ahi when we talk about tuna – but did you […]
We arrive at Polihua beach after a long dirty off-roading drive. We get out of the jeep, slam the creaky door, dust ourselves off, and step out from the scruffy trees that we parked near. Immediately the wind catches me and blows me back catching me off guard and unstable rocking in the sand. Polihua […]
I’m tired of it taunting me – it’s as if Facebook is the wicked witch in Snow White telling me to eat the apple. Just take a bite she says…. Facebook has been presenting the apple of Andrew McCarthy to me yet again in the “Friend Suggestion” column. It always throws me a bit since […]
We arrived at the Dervish Lodge of Karabash-i Veli and I was full of anticipation. Intrepid Travel had arranged for us to see a very local experience of Turkey’s whirling dervish culture. I was busy trying to arrange my scarf over my head in order to be in compliance with the cultural norms for this religious […]
I have this adoration with the window in my Istanbul apartment – a light, sheer curtain, covers it providing a filter to the outside world. I leave the window open fully to let the fresh breeze blow through the upper floor room I’m renting this first week in Istanbul as I catch up on writing […]
Our short, spunky guide named Grit had us all circle around her in the cold dimly lit prison cell and started by asking us a simple question, “What is the first article of your country’s constitution?” The group was international and one by one each person tried their best to remember their country’s political backbone […]
We slowly moved deeper into Mongolia where the foreign landscapes, people, and towns started to become normal to me. We were moving from western Mongolia into Central Mongolia and the Gobi Desert; from Altai to Bayankhongor. The landscapes changed dramatically as we left the Altai mountains and hills behind and had nothing but a perfectly […]
When I was a kid, I used to have this thing called a ‘bubble’; it was made of Styrofoam in the shape of an oval about a foot long. It was used for swimming…actually, it kept me from sinking. The bubble was strapped around my waist and basically kept me afloat in the pool. I […]
Since we had made it into Mongolia – it was time to slow down and enjoy our surroundings. One problem was that Rick had to catch a flight. He hitchhiked a ride with another team to Khovd to try to sort out his flight issues while Dave, Deb, and I took a slow day of […]
