“In the early 1900s, the railroad leading to the coastal settlement of Luderitz in German South West Africa… was perpetually assaulted by the sands of the Namib Desert. Workers constantly had to shovel sand drifts off the rails. In April, 1908, a Black railroad worker named Zacharias Lewala found a perfectly clear stone… It was the first of the diamonds which would within four short years become millions of carats of harvested there annually.”
“Having a sense of belonging is an embedded human need. Family is the first and, for many, the closest group any of us has. It is certainly where we first learn what it means to belong. Whether a family is spare in numbers, like mine, or ample, like this one, each is unique…”
“We come today to the north shore of Lake Huron, near the eastern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Waves lap in a relaxed fashion onto the cobblestone beach just a few feet away.”
“If you’re a Scotch drinker, what could be better than 10 days in Scotland? Upon arrival in Glasgow in September 2022, a couple of free days on my own led me to a tour and chocolate/whisky tasting at The Clydeside Distillery. What better way to jumpstart my trip, and add to my scant but enthusiastic knowledge about the deliciousness of Scotch whisky (no e!).”
“I have never regarded myself as a “birder” – not in the sense of someone who spends hours, binoculars in hand, gazing high into the trees to discern avian activity… And yet: I do love birds. What I love is the way they are so gloriously free and unfettered. I never tire of their restless activity as they fly, swoop, and soar nearby.”
“…Ever since Friday, February 24, my extended family has had the joy and trepidation normal to all that comes with greeting a newborn into life. Yes, what everyone has told me (and which I never doubted), it is life changing. Along with her parents, her other grandparents, her aunts and uncles and cousins, and her other many admirers across the globe, this little girl has been heartily and happily received.”
“Even though I am far from the firestorms of wrongful, hateful actions so painfully evident in the murder of Tyre Nichols in January, I cannot ignore them. I cannot stop feeling both furious and helpless. I cannot stop hearing Tyre’s voice being the only one of calm and reason. I cannot stop knowing that, if not for the irrefutable evidence of body cams and stree-pole video, Tyre Nichols’s manner of death might not ever have been brought to light…”
“At the end of the road westward out of Sesreim is a stunning and magnificent experience in the area called Sossusvlei... It’s a chance to witness the grandeur of the world’s oldest desert, the Namib, and its dunes, which are among the largest in the world. The sand is red due to abundant levels of iron oxide, and is reportedly five million years old.”
“I arrived in Namibia after dark on a July mid-winter evening. On the flight north from Johannesburg, I sat by the window and had a preview of the light shows I would see in the coming month… The horizon was a straight line dividing earth from the celestial ethers. I could not look away.”
“After a few days in Windhoek… my friend and guide, Ian Brown and I set off again. The first stop: Etosha National Park. Established in 1907, it is Namibia’s second-largest wildlife park. All the super-cool African wild animals are there. I asked if we might see a honey badger, as I’d dearly love that, but sadly, it was not to be.”
“It was a nice mid-winter day in July when my friend Steeve and I set out from Namibia’s capital city of Windhoek with our exceptional guide, Ian Brown. This meant the temperatures were nicely tolerable, instead of the extreme swelter of summer. The week ahead would take us around the southern half of the driest sub-Saharan country in Africa, where most areas get less than 2" of rain per year.”
“I treasure the way Thanksgiving is so unassuming. It is outward-facing. It is simple, and demands nothing in return. It offers space for quiet gratitude for the positive and good things of the world and its people. Thanksgiving is about so much more than gorging on a dressed-up meal and getting out the door to the Black Friday sales.”
“…I have always admired Queen Elizabeth II. Say what you want about the monarchy, the woman herself was truly special. Her reign of seventy-plus years included giving birth to four children while (oh by the way) serving an Empire. Time and world events pressed in constantly, but somehow she maintained steady, reliable composure in the face of innumerable governmental, personal and social conflicts. Impressive.”
“The idea of visiting Norway tantalized me for years. In May 2022, my ticket finally got punched to spend two weeks in Svalbard, and then two weeks hiking with a group of new friends on the Norwegian mainland. What better way to see such a beautiful place than to put your feet on the ground.”
I had never heard of the Lofoten Islands until I read this: “Take in the magnificent archipelago within the Arctic Circle, with its jagged peaks, sheltered bays of bright blue water, white sand beaches, and windswept grasslands.” A visit there was being pitched as “the grand finale” of an itinerary to Norway. Of course, I was immediately intrigued.
“It has been a year of unleashed wanderlust, after the restraints of the Covid era. I thank my good fortune plus the ability to spend my time as I see fit (even though I am not retired!) plus that all-important ingredient: gumption. These are what enable my adventures out into the world.”
“July 14, 2022: Please don’t do it. My fingers fumble on the mini-keyboard of my cell phone, trying to input the required information, but it is not going well. Sandeep is trying to help me. He’s a nice man, but he will have to close the jetway door in five minutes. I urge silently, please don’t do it, Sandeep. Please! Please!”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
