Of Neuroses and Body Dysmorphia

When you come to a dive resort, one of the first things you must do is check in with the dive center. There, they go over your certification and then cover things like the structure of dives etc. Finally they ask how much weight you want to carry. To explain, when you dive you want […]

Pandemic Travel Is Still A Challenge

It’s January 9, 2021. The fires of COVID are burning out of control through the country and across the globe and a terrorist insurrection in Washington has left many of us feeling nauseated and fearful. It is on this background that I packed my bags and headed to the airport early this morning. Yes, my […]

The World Is Waiting

I’m flying home after another remarkable week in Turkey, my plane somewhere high in the sky above Ontario as I start to write this. This year, 2020, has been difficult for many of us, and some of our essential stress-relievers have been taken away. For me, one of those pop-off valves is travel, my periodic […]

Sometimes You Go For The Wish List

Earlier this year, during the Covid-19 lockdown, I considered a question: “When the pandemic is done and I am able to travel again, where do I want to go and what do I want do?” I came up with a trip around the Mediterranean: Marrakech for olives and dried figs, Rome for spaghetti alle vongole, […]

When You Know A Place

A place has a certain feeling about it, a resonance that interacts with your senses and tells you you’re there. Some parts of a locale hit you immediately, but others take time. I am intimately familiar with some of my spaces. My homes. My cities. Those are the easiest ones – I can tell you […]

Thank You Mario! But Our Princess Is In Another Castle!

Today was fun. And the fact that I worried about that possibility made the joy infinitely more pure. When I woke my left knee was aching. This started sometime on Tuesday’s 17 mile hike, going downhill. If you haven’t hiked before, I should explain that the downhill sections are much harder on our knees. And […]