Even though we are relatively experienced travellers, planning our time in Greece was daunting. In most countries or cities there are a few major attractions that you know you ought to see. But the sights of Greece are overwhelming… In a country with this kind of history, what do you want to see in a few days? And how do you get around without speaking the language or being able to decipher the signs?
Friends are often surprised when we tell them that we enjoy cruises. We never travel in groups and pretty much like exploring on our own. But cruises are versatile. Yes, you can go with friends and be social. But you can also enjoy everything a ship has to offer on your own and take full advantage of seeing many different ports. And often cruises a great way to reach places without having to drive long stretches.
Our home for the next few nights is a row of large tents, Kati Kati Camp. Our tent is like a cabin, with a wooden floor, camp beds, and a tiny bathroom. On the ‘porch’ outside is a canvas wash basin. One of the servers, who showed us our tent, says “If you want to come for dinner, just wave your flashlight and we will come get you.” I am surprised. It is a a mere 30 meters or so to the dining tent.
“We can find it by ourselves,” I tell him.
“No, ma’am,” is the answer, “there are lions around. Call us!” I wake at 4 AM to the grumbles of a lion and the call of hyena. At 5:15 we get up and head out to watch the savannah come to live with the first rays of sun. I asked, in camp, if they’ve had any animals nearby. “Yeah, last week a cheetah killed a wildebeest by tent #5,” was the response.
It’s a long way from Vancouver to Kuala Lumpur, but our flights were worse than normal. First we flew to San Francisco. There we waited for the flight to Hong Kong. It boarded on time but then the pilot announced that strong headwinds made it impossible to cross the Pacific Ocean straight for Hong Kong. Instead, we had to follow land: Canada, Alaska, Siberia and China… But it was all worth it.
Peace is achieved when people make cross-culture friends, when people in different parts of the world understand and respect one another. My dream is to help my grandsons make friends around the world. I can’t wait for that to happen, with real kids rather than cardboard. But for now, the Flat Stanley books are a great teaching tool and inspired two cardboard boys to take along on our journeys….
Back in 1999, hardly anyone had heard of this 1,000 year old pilgrim’s path which runs from the border of France and Spain to the city of Santiago de Compostela in north western Spain, a distance of over 700 km, or about 450 miles. Kees and his brother started training and never stopped hiking again. In fact, Rob ended up hoisting his pack onto his back, closed his front door in Amsterdam and walked to Santiago - over 2000 kms in 16 weeks. Years later, Kees hiked the Camino for a second time. I joined him for the last portion. Now, more books have been written about this trail then, probably, about any other. This is his account of walking that now very popular trail.
Egypt - fabled land of sphinx and pyramids, of the river Nile and Cleopatra. I didn’t think I’d ever visit here. But - thanks to my books My Librarian is a Camel, the story of libraries around the world, and thanks to Stepping Stones, the story of a refugee family - I received an invitation from an international school in Cairo to come and do author presentations for the students. Of course, that was also an opportunity to plan some travel in Egypt. But where do you start and what is possible?
Laos - a relatively small, landlocked country in Asia with some 7.5 million people. For hundreds of years it was a kingdom before coming under French rule. Now its communist leader rules the, mostly Buddhist, population as a socialistic republic although during the past few years things are getting more relaxed. We flew into Vientiane, Laos where the international school that had invited me as a visiting author.
Twenty years after hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain for the first time, we still like to hike. And Kees especially loves to conquer long distance trails. This time we decided on the Via Francigena: the Italian part of an 1,100 year old pilgrims’ trail leading from Canterbury, England all the way to Rome: 2,000 km.
Before author visits to schools across Europe we planned on doing a portion of this trail. But first we wanted to acclimatize, after flying in from Canada, and warm up our hiking muscles with a visit to Cinque Terre.
One of our favourite ways to get around, is to have a detailed map, get in the car and find tiny little backroads to get from A to Z. Preferably without even knowing where Z is, exactly. In Europe, everything is, relatively, close by. It’s fun to avoid the main highways, often clogged with traffic, and find your way along back roads. We followed the actual paper map’s tiny white backroads through Belgium, sleeping in a medieval castle and soaking in… the original Spa.
That very first day we visit the Charles Darwin Station on Santa Cruz Island. This is where the breeding program for the Galapagos Giant Tortoises takes place. Eggs from all over the islands are hatched here and the little Giant Tortoises (a ‘little giant’ tortoise sound like a contradiction in terms), are raised here until the age of 5 when they are released in hopes of survival on their own. We see several huge, ancient tortoises as well as amazing prickly pear cacti that grow into huge trees, some over 400 years old.
What would Jesus do if he still lived in Israel’s Galilee region? Well, he would likely roam the hills and, as the brochure of the Jesus Trail states, “Jesus didn’t take the bus.” So we do the same – we walk the Galilee, a region of Israel, while we are here.
We are not religious but we do savour this area steeped in history with so many familiar place names. We booked the 4 day hike through Jesus Trail™, which means we still hike just with the two of us, but they arranged our overnight accommodations along the trail, the meals AND they transport our luggage. A perfect arrangement to hike from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee.
On the way back to the Book Bus compound, Kelly said, “You will want to see Victoria Falls while you are here. And, you know what? I have some funds left over in our budget. Let’s take some of the kids!” So a few days later we pick up 25 children at the community centre, in the Book Bus and take them on a field trip of their lifetime. These children live 10 KM from Victoria Falls but they have never seen it.
Having just arrived in Myanmar we had no local money yet. The banks here will give less than half of what you get on the black market. So we asked the driver about exchanging money. No problem. He drove deep into a labyrinth of downtown alleyways. Half an hour later he stopped in front of an apartment building and he said ‘give me the money and you stay in the car’. We did feel just a tad worried after he left us parked in an old downtown neighborhood and disappeared…..
Every time I travel to a new place, I am amazed at the things I learn. For instance, did you know that Ethiopia has its very own calendar? And even its own time that is totally different from the rest of the world? I will also show you how coffee is made in Ethiopia - the country where coffee was ‘invented’.
