Some Favorite Places I've Been

Borobudur - Angkor Wat - the coast of East Timor where the fish swing from trees - the park in Hanoi - Banff National Park - the vegetable market in Otavalo - Lalibela - Frida Kahlo's house - The Louvre - following wild lemurs in Madagascar - the Ecuadorian Amazon - the Taj Mahal - Ghost Ranch, Abiqu, New Mexico - the Tour de France - the chimp refuge in Lake Victoria - a boat ride in the snow on Lake Titicaca between Peru and Bolivia - bears in Denali National Park - the stonecarvers in Agra - driving the Alaska highway - safari at Amboseli - the Zebra Grill in Addis - climbing the Pacaya volcano in Guatemala - the Ubud monkey forest - Tikal - the Chiang Mai night market - camping north of the Arctic Circle - the Oventic camp in Chiapas - my favorite beach Montañita - Buddhist temples in Bangkok - Machu Pichu - crossing Lake Atitlan - watching eagles dive for fish near Skagway - Redwood National Park - Chicken, Alaska - swimming off Vieques - pupuserias anywhere - dancing basket makers near Machakos - Bali - touring a mine near Potosi - Ha Long Bay - riding on top of the bus...and the train - the Guachala Hacienda - a Wichi community in northern Argentina - the British Museum - the beach in El Salvador - Vietnamese water puppet theater - flying over the Nazca lines - Mitad del Mundo - and I'm sure I'll think of more...

Musuo Women

There was the most amazing story on Frontline last night about Mosuo women (ethnic minority women in rural southwest China). Rarely do we see matriarchal societies, and the women in this one were strikingly happy, fit and strong--laughing, working, and dancing.

Particularly memorable was Cha Cuo, this beautiful, remarkable woman in her late 20s. Her job seemed to be rowing tourists across a lake. (It was a bit like an Alaskan bush pilot.) She was, as the Frontline web site says, "self-assured, physically strong, [and] emotionally direct..." (Yep, she's the woman we all want to be.) She has a partner, but says there are 2 things she will not do for him. One is marry him. The other is move to the city with him.

I also quite like this quote from 16-year-old La Mu, "I enjoy being a girl. Girls can do anything. Isn't that great?"

Kudos to film maker Xiaoli Zhou for giving us a fresh view of the world.

Lyrics unspooling in my head: I am on a lonely road and I am traveling / Traveling, traveling, traveling / Looking for something, what can it be...

The People Around Me

The bus driver, the one with the delightful Polish accent, just finished reading (and loved) The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

A co-worker studying business ethics asked the question, "Is it ethical to sell to unethical transnational corporations?" A very good question. (Thanks for the stimulating conversation S.)

The guy on the bus with the 2 small boys...was he their father or their grandfather?

The woman at the dog park who looked at Bodie's one blue eye and one brown eye and said, "Just like my brother!" Really...a man with a blue eye and a brown eye.

Finds of the day for recycled art assemblage: Oral Fixation mint tins and piece of wood curved like a bird's wing from a pile of mulch

Cycropia and Art

Totally amazing aerial dance on trapeze...Cycropia (Madison, WI). Would like to take a workshop to experience "an exhilarating sense of wonder, brief moments of weightlessness, and the sensation of floating, spinning and flying through the air."

Contemplating small mixed media art shrines in matchboxes and mint boxes.

I think this blog is invisible...

Travels far from the Tilt-A-Whirl

Reflecting on travel, I've got a pretty respectable life list so far...

Argentina - Austria - Bangladesh - Belguim - Bolivia - Cambodia - Chile - Cuba - East Timor -Ecuador - El Salvador - Ethiopia - France - Germany - Guatemala - Honduras - India - Indonesia - Italy - Kenya - Madagascar - Mexico - Netherlands -Nicaragua - Peru - Philippines - Switzerland - Thailand - Uganda - UK - Vietnam

Actually, it looks pretty short now that I've put it all together.