"Turkish hospitality is impossible to ignore", proclaims the in-flight magazine as I fly to Bodrum. You can't miss it when you set foot in the airport: the welcome visa costs $20. By the exit, the passengers are greeted by a forest of A4 sheets with the names of the people to take to the hotel. It is nice to go to an unknown place, and find somebody waiting for you and calling you by name: in this case, Turkish hospitality will set you back $40. … [Read more...]
The Terracotta Urns of Cuba’s Camaguey
"Camaguey is known as the city of tinajones (huge terracotta or earthenware urns). You will find them everywhere as you walk around town. They are a symbol of our city." Our guide smiled, then continued, "However, wives, beware! Do not let your husband drink from them! There is a legend that if a man takes a drink offered by a woman from a tinajone, he will fall in love with her and remain in Camaguey the rest of his life." In the bygone … [Read more...]
Gracias, Barcelona Policia
I had never stayed in a hostel before, and that was why I committed a cardinal sin when it came to booking a hostel room. Instead of booking a bed for one night and given myself an opportunity to see what the hostel was actually once I got there, I reserved - and paid for - a bed for multiple nights going by what I saw of the hostel on its website. (Please. Don't get out that wet noodle to give me a whipping just yet. There are more reasons … [Read more...]
Gracias, Barcelona Bystanders
The visit to the Pablo Picasso Museum was a mind-ruminating experience. I can't say I comprehended everything I saw, nor can I say I was able to appreciate everything I saw - what was up with that "blue period" and why did shading every drawing/painting in blue inherently give it special significance? Nevertheless, I enjoyed the tour and was reflecting on what I saw when I plopped myself down on a bench in a park across the street from the … [Read more...]
Of Britain and Buses
Sometimes a seemingly simple task, upon first encounter, can turn out perplexing to the unbeknownst traveler like me. It started with the entryway into a bus. It wasn't that I didn't realize the door would be on the 'other side' of the mammoth vehicle; it was more of an initial disoriented hesitation of making my way to the door on the left side of the bus rather than on the right side. Stepping onto the bus's ledge, the professor leading our … [Read more...]
Beli Iskar, Bulgaria
The village of Beli Iskar is approximately an hour from the capital Sofia and located only a short distance from Borovets the oldest ski resort. Its appeal as a holiday destination exceeds not only the obvious winter attraction of snow sports. Although it is this that Bulgaria's mountain resorts are renowned for the activities available during the summer months are equally attractive and diverse. Sofia offers a range of interesting museums and … [Read more...]
Fe y Alegra
"God, Brisa," I sighed, tightening my ponytail as we climbed the steep concrete stairs to the classroom in El Salvador. "I don't want to be here." "I know, me neither," Brisa whispered. "Mondays suck." We shared a withering smile, knowing that the next four hours would leave us emotionally exhausted. I took a deep breath, then stepped into the second grade classroom where we would spend our next hour. The classroom was green, like … [Read more...]
Pollo Campero
We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest. ~ Oscar Romero Pollo Campero Jackie, Trout, Molly, and I were on our way back from spending the week in Honduras and were physically and emotionally exhausted from our trip. We had … [Read more...]
Welcome to Hong Kong
"Welcome to Hong Kong. If you are connecting to another flight, we wish you safe travels. On behalf of my crew, we thank you for flying Cathay Pacific." The soothing -- we are here to serve your needs -- voice of the head flight attendant jolted me back to reality -- I had been staring blankly at the multi-colored seat in front of me. It wasn't her voice that caused the jolt; the official announcement that I had made it to Hong Kong was what … [Read more...]
Monkey in Hotel Room, Varanasi, India
Reluctantly we left Varanasi despite the naked people sitting in the dirty streets, the unbelievable amount of cow poop clogging the narrow streets, the CONSTANT power outages, the smelly garbage everywhere, the people urinating and defecating in open view along some of the ghats, terrible pollution, large bellied obviously malnourished children, incredible poverty, CONSTANT badgering and aggressive pan handling by the touts and "guides" (worst … [Read more...]
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