“For two years (thank you, Covid), reservations for a three-night stay in Norway’s second-largest city lingered, awaiting my eventual arrival. At last! The opportunity came and I grabbed it. I’ll just put it out there: I fell in love with Bergen.”
The Walrus Beach
“Walruses! These giant, bushy-‘stached, improbable creatures with those enormous canine tusks erupting from within their fleshy mouths have always intrigued me. They especially captured my attention when Fridtjof Nansen wrote about various walrus encounters in Farthest North around the same time I learned I was joining a small group in the Arctic waters of Svalbard in June 2020.”
Polar Bears!
“After a frustrating stutter-start of two years (thank you, Covid), a group of twelve like-minded souls set off at last on a small ship in the far North. We shared the common goal of searching for polar bears living in their own authentic world on and near the tiny archipelago of Svalbard… It is amazing how such a tiny dot on the map could be so stunning. How easy it would be to get lost in its immensity.”
Longyearbyen, Svalbard
“Known for having more snow machines (snowmobiles) than automobiles, Svalbard’s capital town of Longyearbyen (pop. 2400 in 2019) is at the latitude of 78 degrees North, making it the northernmost community of greater than 1,000 inhabitants in the world…”
Nazaré, Portugal: Wind & Waves
“We went to Nazaré at the suggestion of my longtime friend and master trip organizer, Linda. Our group of six had just completed our main objective and rode the bus two hours north of Lisbon to Nazaré for a couple of days of relaxation before leaving this delightful nation. I was wowed.”
Odeceixe, wha...?!
“You know: Odeceixe. Portugal. No, I’d never heard of it, either, until my friend Linda made me walk there for the final leg of our four days on the Fishermen’s Trail… The cool thing about Odeceixe is the way its unusual name reminds me how much there is I do not know about this world.”
Fishermen's Trail, Portugal
“Our primary goal in Portugal in April was to trek 76km (47miles) along the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean along the famous Fishermen’s Trail… The easy two hour ride south from Lisbon took us to the quiet seaside resort town of Porto Covo, where our walk began.”
The Sweet Surprise of Lisboa
“With my attention on the long walk we had ahead, I entered Lisboa, as the locals call it, a bit haphazardly… My delightful but too-brief introduction to this captivating city will surely draw me back someday. Situated on seven hills (as so many famous cities are), Lisboa is chock full of interesting history, beautiful sights, and welcoming people.”
One Small Step
“I am only one person. What difference can I make?” It’s a phrase that knocks around in my head every time I broach the idea of somehow combating the scourge of plastics. How could I possibly make any difference in the tsunami of plastic waste which is already in the world and increasing every minute?”
Why Travel Matters
“Travel” implies movement, going from one place to another. I am always mindful of my good fortune to have the health and gumption and ability to go. It’s not quite the same as a holiday or vacation trip. To me, travel is about duration and distance, the farther and longer the better.”
Afterward
“…like water, life moves in waves that are mostly akin to normal tides, coming and going the same regular way we move along our everyday baseline routines. Some of our life-waves are gigantic and crash hard… Then there are those that rise like a surfer’s dream, higher and higher to be ridden with joy and pleasure…”
The Contender II
“The contender arrives at the start of the event believing in the possibilities, and more often than not goes home without “winning.” The contender is a lost name, over time. Who ever remembers even those with the silver or bronze medals, much less no prize at all?”
Moonshine
“From low in the eastern sky, the waning crescent moon shone into my window at 3:18 this morning. After an hour, I decided to get up and have a good long visit with this moon. It beckoned me, first through the eastern window from my bed, and, once I yielded, through the south-facing glass slider door by the fishpond.”
Help Your Helpers Help You
“I need you to prepare ahead of time for your worst day. If nothing else, please—today! right now!— go out and assess how easily emergency crews would know that they have arrived at your address. Will people unfamiliar with your place be easily able to see your street number from a distance, night or day, rain or snow?”
Driving on Ice
“Over the years, I have driven ambulances and fire trucks, and hauled lots of fully-packed horse trailers. I can go forward or backward, no problem… Lately, I have realized that driving has been sort of a life coach. That is, the many lessons of the road can and do often inform my approach to various situations that life throws at me. Driving on ice is one of the best teachers.”
Paths in Petoskey
“Weary of the stay-at-home routine of the past almost two years, my traveling shoes recently begged for a little adventure. The clamor for something to do got loud enough that I finally yielded and packed them and a weekender bag. I decided to check out the northern Michigan area near the town of Petoskey. A good book on tape made the 190-mile drive feel brief.”
Letting Go of Mayzie
“It’s been since September 15, more than two months, so it is time at last to write about the heartache of letting go of my beloved Amazing Grace, aka Mayzie… Gosh, that German shepherd could be frustrating! I liked to describe her as my “high functioning autistic ADHD dog,” because truly, that girl was special. Yet even so, how could I not be smitten by her perpetual eagerness, her happy manner, her insistence that it was time for a break when I’d been working too long or intensely?”
Gratitude
“November! Already? Ahhh, November. To me, the arrival of this month is like smelling cookies in the oven—a happy, tantalizing thing. I welcome November because of its urgency, prodding those of us living in the northern realm to finish preparing for winter and come inside out of the chill air… Another reason among many: November hosts my favorite holiday: Thanksgiving. Two of my favorite things, in one word: Thanks. Giving.”
Gauge Catch and Citizen Science
“Every morning, I trudge out the side door of the garage and make my way across to the rain gauge posted at the edge of the nearby field. My rain gauge is more than yard art. It is a tool, because the precipitation it measures goes beyond mere curiosity. I have a job to do: to measure and report to a national database what amount of rain or snowfall has arrived to nourish my little patch of land in the past 24 hours.”
Take A Chance
“The topic of risk has been hot lately. Maybe it is age, maybe it is experience, maybe both, but it seems as if people are more cautious nowadays. This is simply an observation, said without judgement, but it makes me wonder: where has all our courage gone?”