I’ve often said that travel in not just about checking off bucket lists. Yes, I loved seeing the Pyramids, Himalayan Mountains, Machu Picchu, and the Galapagos Islands. What I remember most, though, are the people I engage with, and I try to stay in touch with at least one person in each of the countries… Read more »
Our Palestinian/Jordanian guide on the right who carried a key tohis home in Israel around his neck The Greek word, diaspora, means a scattering and is used to describe the movement of a population from its original homeland. Today, the word implies an added layer of meaning of a people being expelled or forced out… Read more »
WRITERS’ HOMES MAKE INTERESTING DESTINATIONS Inside Ernest Hemingway’s Home in Havana, Cuba American writers Ernest Hemingway and Eudora Welty never met although they were contemporaries. Hemingway was only ten years older and lived a dashing and frantic life for 62 years with homes and wives around the world. Until her death at 92 years,… Read more »
In Parque Central of downtown Havana, a young man of African descent carried a large blue ceramic jar decorated with shells and other treasures of the sea. Our guide pointed him out explaining the jar would hold the spirits of the Santeria religion, referred to by practitioners as Regla de Ocha or owner of heaven. … Read more »
This translate as Homeland or Death but had a more popular meaning of “We Shall Overcome” Today, official communism remains in only five of the 46 original countries – China, Vietnam, Laos, North Korea and Cuba. Communism still dominates Cuba but capitalism is gradually cracking open the door to greater economic and political freedom and… Read more »
1950’s Chevrolet convertible in front of Hotel Nacional, Havana, Cuba Let’s start with Havana. All have seen beautiful photos of the 1950’s cars, preserved when Fidel Castro’s revolution stopped time in 1959. Havana’s close association with the United States meant almost all then existing cars were American brands. Because of the U.S. embargo, import of… Read more »
Jose’ Marti Airport in Cuba As travelers, Americans have traditionally been well treated by other countries. Most allow us to enter with a tourist visa obtained at the entry point – whether by land, air or sea. Occasionally, a visa must be requested prior to arriving by sending passports to embassies for processing. Because of… Read more »
Mary with statue of John Lennon in Havana, Cuba park
Mary riding camel in Jordan desert
Mary Surrounded by Hmong women selling their wares in Sapa, Vietnam
Mary on glacier in southern New Zealand