There’s Real Money to Be Made In Death

I took my breakfast on the rooftop of the hotel, staring up the Nile. My path doesn’t lead that way, and I often wonder about the other roads. Yesterday afternoon I was dropped off at the hotel and the host really tried to be welcoming but I was too tired for any of it. They […]

The Spiced, Perfumed Air is Hot

In the evening twilight, when the sun has set over the mountains to the west and the sky is still streaked with oranges, reds, and purples, the Nile shines like a silvery serpent as she flows northward from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea. I am in Luxor now, which in ancient times was Thebes, […]

All The Moving Pieces Have to Fit

I walked through Amsterdam Schiphol thinking about the lounge and that perhaps I should just go there and start nursing a cappuccino. Seven hours would be a long wait, but at least I would have a comfortable seat and some food. The airport wasn’t very busy – none of them are right now, and I […]

So, On Monday…What Happens?

The plane hurtled up the runway in Nassau, gathering speed, and I looked out the window, ruminative, thinking about the week I had spent on a boat with strangers (I met Trish in January when I went to Cozumel, but didn’t really know her very well before this trip). As the wheels lifted off and […]

Sailing Toward Home

The captain gave us all the instructions ahead of time: what we were to do in preparation and how we were to behave Really, he just wanted us to stay out of the way of the crew. I’ve personally gotten better at that as the week has progressed. But first, there was time for one […]

I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

We stepped off the dinghy and onto the hot sand of Allen’s Cay, our feet touching dry land for the first time in 4 days. When we arrived, we found a large group of lizards waiting as if expecting us, and more soon began to slink out from the shelter of the gnarled trees. They […]