A Lesson in Staying Open
When chance encounters waylay your travel plans, staying open to the possibilities may mean that you experience something much more valuable.
Encounters
Special Encounters with Special People an Places
I Got Naked for My Birthday in Istanbul
Eliff led me to the bath chamber where hot water was run into large basins. We could temper the water with a cold tap if we wanted to. But you want to use it as hot as you can stand.
Invasion of the College Students
Imagine my surprise when seven (count ‘em SEVEN) adorable young college men walked into the room. Imagine THEIR surprise!
Robert, the Dog Optometrist
There were only about four cars on this Sunday-morning boat and a man leaned out of a window of one of them to ask if I need a lift. Oh, those friendly Scots!
Quest for Fiber: Serendipity Too Blatant to Ignore
The theme that I picked for my journey before I began was “Expect the Unexpected” because I wanted to keep my heart open to every possibility. Little did I know how profoundly this theme would manifest itself in the coming year.
Camino: Day 20
We started the day at about 3º C—pretty cold—but by the time I reached Cerdeño on the outskirts of Oviedo in the late afternoon, I was hot, sticky, and completely wilted. I stopped in a grocery and bought cold water and cold orange juice and downed them all at once in a nearby park before continuing on into Oviedo.
Camino: Day 19
Soon, I came to the place where the Camino Primitivo splits from the Camino del Norte. It is a weighty decision for me to choose to do the Primitivo. Most pilgrims who start on the coastal path, stay on the del Norte all the way; some choose the Primitivo. The official start of the Primitivo is actually in Oviedo (two more days walking), but this is the place where pilgrims coming from the del Norte must decide.
Quest for Fiber: Sometimes You Just Have to ASK!
As I turned to leave, the woman in the stall across the way held out a ball of yarn and asked “Lana de alpaca?” JACKPOT!!
Nuevos Soles for New Soles*
I have a pair of sandals that I have had about 10 years and I love them! At home, it is just about impossible to find a shoe repair shop, and even when you do, the repairs are sometimes as much as a new pair of shoes.
Quest for Fiber: Quechua Weaving
Each month Michell employs two women from fair-trade organizations in the Cusco area to demonstrate their craft for museum visitors. I sat down beside this beautiful woman and watched her work for a little over an hour.