musings

Reflections on Unexpectedly Seeing the Same Cuban Farmer Twice

captured on memory card

In the summer of 2010, my group had just begun a hike through the gorgeous mogotes and tropical farms of Cuba’s Viñales Valley when we saw a farmer in the distance, tending to his tobacco crop. A little while later, we met him as he walked along the path with two bulls. His mouth was […]

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Follow Your Own Travel Bliss

general travel

A couple weeks ago, a Facebook friend posed a question about whether she should do a multiple day hike to get to Machu Picchu or take the train to save time. Before I expanded the list of comments, I already knew what to expect based on my own experience with making that decision. My thoughts […]

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Thoughts on the Global Fluctuations of Access to the Elemental

general travel

Water is often on my mind when I travel. I’m not talking about beaches and waterfalls and pretty lakes, but about water in the everyday practical sense. Essentially, water is always more of an issue abroad than it is when I am at home in San Francisco. There’s the fact that in so many places […]

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On Doing What You Love Until You Fall Down and Shriek With Laughter

musings

I’ve left Namibia, the second least populated country in the world, and have returned to the second most densely populated city in the United States. I’m back in San Francisco, a little reverse culture shocked and trying to convince my body that it’s 10 hours later than it thinks it is. Something my jetlagged mind […]

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A Break From Regularly Scheduled Travel Blogging to Bring You This Birthday Post

female travel

Earlier this week, I was flipping through the San Francisco Chronicle on my lunch break when an obituary caught my eye. Why am I talking about death in the week when I’m celebrating my birth? Well, hear me out. This woman who’d died exactly a week after her 95th birthday was described as a “lifelong […]

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Musings From a Journey Into the Past

musings

I’ve been neglecting this blog lately. I’ve been preparing for my upcoming trip and I’ve also been out of the city a lot. I’ve been spending time at home-home, waist deep in everything I accumulated from grade school through college, give or take a few years. I’ve been trashing and recycling, giving away and selling, […]

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