Author Archive
Kathmandu
[Nepal] I had a letter of introduction to a number of senior diplomats at our embassy in Kathmandu. The Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) is the number two person, and is a career diplomat (Vs. the Ambassador who is a political appointee of the current administration). One of my favorite interactions was with the Kathmandu […]
Kathmandu
[Nepal] I’m interested in the generalizations people make about each other, which in the worst cases becomes a kind of profiling or stereotyping. As I traveled around Kathmandu practicing my Nepali with shop owners, I heard continual stories of bad interactions with “Israeli” travelers. I learned that many, many shops have two bottom prices: the […]
On the way home
[Nepal] I would walk four miles every morning through the heart of Kathmandu from the Gauchan’s house to my lessons at Raj’s. I loved every second of this walk. While my nostalgia for many of the experiences and people of my earlier life has lessened, sauntering the streets of Kathmandu brings back incredible memories. Adventure […]
Raj & Champa in Kathmandu
[Nepal] I arranged to spend three months in Kathmandu studying Nepali. Raj Shresha was my language teacher and I’ve stayed in touch with Raj and his family for years. In 1994 I brought him to Seattle for six months and arranged for him to stay rent free at my old friend Betty Jane Narver’s. I […]
The Gauchans
[Nepal] I did a “home stay” at the Gauchan family. Once a year, there was the “tika” ceremony, in which daughters and wives bless sons and husbands. They had a big family gathering. I went with Manish, the son, to buy the goat. I helped the father and son do the entire butchering process, including […]
Vending machine message
[Japan] What draws us to places so different? Is it the fascination with oulandish juxtaposition? Anyone can feel clever as they experience the coarse aesthetic of cultures interacting. It’s too easy. A lot of times it’s just cheap profundity, although mightily entertaining. Another example: Vending machine message found in the Rapongi District of Tokyo, an […]
Into a Canyon
[Lake Powell, USA] There came a week of the sublime. The main body of water – Lake Powell – has 96 slot canyons to explore, all the result of the Glen Canyon Dam built in the early 60s. 700 feet down is/was the original Colorado river. An ecological abomination to many, but strangely, artificially beautiful. […]
Women selling
[Bolivia] I’m sitting with women who come down each day to La Paz from El Alto, which is the fast-growing town 1500 feet up at the top of the canyon above La Paz. I talk to one and I understand her question: “Why would rich people want to come to Bolivia and take pictures of […]
We connect to Art
[Italy] We went to the Lucien Freud show at the main museum in San Marco Square. Lucian Freud’s grotesque nudes, the realism of the faces, the bodies, the pointillist perfection of the clothes worn in some of his paintings -each contributed to the four of us being temporarily mesmerized. “I can’t look at that,” Jack […]
Venice
[Italy] Jack brought his ball, and for every mile we walked, he bounced and walked. “What a fun place, this is,” we exclaimed. Even with all the tourists, the absurd prices, the Disney sense of it all, we were excited. Getting lost walking the non-tourist outskirts of the city through a labyrinth of narrowness, dilapidation, […]
Lima Far Outskirts
[Peru] After about two hours in the bus towards Huaraz, we finally made it to this last human habitation in the Lima outskirts before the land became empty.
Lima Near Outskirts
[Peru] There are a couple million people are living in these conditions surrounding Lima. There are hundreds of square miles of desert hills (It almost never rains) filled with shanty towns crawling up the slopes. I took a taxi on an all day drive with the goal of finding the most out-there place I could.
Receding Glaciers
[Peru] Underneath 5,900 meter Taulliraju is one of the locations in the world where scientists are measuring receding glaciers and climate warming. This particular glacier was down at the water’s edge 20 years ago.
Black and White
[Peru] [2004] I arrived in Lima in an odd frame of mind, not having decided where I was going to go. I gave myself a day to think about it. I was divided. The Colca Canyons and Ariquipa? Cuzco, the Inca Trail, Machu Pichu? Or Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca? Morning number two found me […]
Through a Canyon
[Lake Powell USA] I don’t know how to climb back into a kayak if I capsized it, and this water is freezing because is early in the season. Vertical walls mean I am continually noting the last place I have been where I could theoretically swim the overturned kayak, climb out of the water onto […]
Meteora
[Greece] Old monasteries sit perched high on dramatic rock formations in the foothills of the Pindos Mountains of central Greece. Sophie and I hiked around. This 12 year old of mine was a very different kind of traveler than the nine and ten year old who went with me to Guatemala and Alaska. Here I […]
Lady Bird Johnson, Redwood Grove, Eureka, California
[West Coast USA] Lady Bird Johnson, Redwood Grove, Eureka, California June, 2003: I took a couple weeks and drove to Northern California. By the time I got to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove, I realized that for the first time in my life I was bored with natural beauty. I just whipped through that Grove, […]
Biking the White Rim Trail, Canyonlands, Utah
[Southwest USA] One of the classic mountain bike trips is the White Rim trail in Canyonlands. I went with a Denver outfitter and had no idea how challenging it would be. The first day was the most extreme physical demand I’ve ever put on myself. It was only 29 miles, but took ten hours, and […]
Wilderness Quest, Utah
[Southwest USA] I saw a tiny ad in a Buddhist magazine describing a “wilderness quest.” I got more information, and found myself two months later sitting on a rock looking out over a broad expanse of Utah landscape. For four days I was cut off from every daily habit. No music, no writing, no media, […]
Hermit’s Trail, Grand Canyon
[Southwest USA] I was on the “Tonto Platforms” – the mid-level mesas sitting 3,000 feet down. I walked in a state of marvel for 50 miles. It was so continually and deeply quiet that I was disconcerted by the ringing in my ears coming from the minor ear damage I got from playing music too […]
Hermit’s Trail, Grand Canyon, looking down on the Colorado
[Southwest USA] I went alone into the Grand Canyon for a week. While the south Canyon rim is nice in a monochromatic, postcard sort of way, being in the Canyon is profound and dramatic. The enormous scale must be experienced by going into it.
Angel’s Landing, Zion, Utah
[Southwest USA] I’ve hiked almost every trail in Zion, and it’s one of my favorite places in the world. Some love to be at the top of mountains or canyons. Not me. Up at the top, a lot of texture and drama is washed out. Best is halfway up. I want to look way down. […]
Kenai Peninsula on the second father/daughter trip
[Alaska] Sophie (11) and I went to hike in Alaska. The Kenai Peninsula is an astoundingly beautiful place. From Seward, we went on a mid-sized tour boat to the Kenai Fjords. Sophie was seasick the entire six hours. I was mad at myself – I should have remembered this about her. And to add insult […]
Cuenca and the health clinic
[Ecuador] I did a site visit to CARE Ecuador projects. We were in a health clinic and I heard about a great need for a refrigerator to store vaccines and antibiotics. The CARE budget couldn’t cover it, so I said “I’ll do it.” Later I sent $850 and got back pictures and receipts. My sisters, […]