for as long as i can remember i’
ve had a desire to travel.
when i began to fulfill that desire, for practical (economic) reasons i decided to start with the u.s. i did a green tortoise (an old bus converted to living and sleeping quarters that offered tours for the free spirited traveler of many ages, and nationalities) trip to
mardi gras, and another to
baja.
on the
mardi gras trip i got off in
new orleans to hang out with friends and hitchhike to
florida to visit another friend.
i hitchhiked back west, stopping in
austin to see friends i met in
yosemite.
i ended up partying in
austin for two years, before deciding I wanted to go to college. i wanted to go to college in ca, so i flew back to ca on my 21
st birthday (the drinking age in texas was eighteen. as soon as i met the residency requirement, i enrolled in
cabrillo community college (santa cruz). i love school, for the same reasons i love traveling –i learn so much.
to be able to combine the two is an experience i
couldn’t pass up.
one way i financed some of my travels was to apply for jobs in the places i wanted to go. i worked and lived in yosemite, and the grand canyon. sometimes i didn’t even need a salary, room and board was sufficient. i went to angola, africa for six months with the institute for international cooperation and development (iicd) to do volunteer work in a school for street kids in luanda. not only did i not get paid, but i paid the iicd to be a part of their solidarity worker program. when i got out of library school i had yet to live in new york, one of my dreams, so i applied for a job at the brooklyn public library. i stayed in ny for about five years before coming back to ca. , where I acquired a mortgage, a car and a career. my newly acquired responsibilities didn't curtail my travels, they only changed how i'd travel - no more budget traveling (except one night in Cairns, that brought back memories for harriet - another seasoned travler, and i). sailing the greek isles, snorkling the great barrier reef, and regular excursions south of la frontera, were now financed with frequent flier miles and tax refunds from mortgage interest deductions. thus, when I told my mom about my semester at sea job she hardly batted an eye. mom has never left the country and has probably only visited two or three states in her life. the same can be said about most of my family, but they seem to enjoy my difference.
years ago, when i had announced to my family my plans to move or take some trip, not my first and certainly not my last, my aunt replied with “that chile’s got wings on her feet”. while most people have a family bible with the births and deaths of family members, i keep an atlas, in which i list the addresses of all the places i’ve lived in my adult life.
now that i have a career, roots, graying hair, and a mortgage i travel differently, but i still go when i need to, but this is my first extended trip with the aforementioned life developments. what is different now, is that i now have so much more to miss.
before dropping me off at the airporter shuttle, friends organized a bon voyage lunch for me, four of whom saw me off at the shuttle. it wasn’t long after the shuttle doors closed that i began to miss them, and wondered how i’m going to do this without them. grace, gaye, ricky lucas, jim, julie, renata and baby sona, you, my family, and my sf comrades, are the comforts of home that i can’t get elsewhere – what i wish i could fit in my luggage.
i wrote this posting offline, at lax, while waiting for the first leg of my itinerary to nassau, the bahamas, where i will board the ship on 1/31/07 for orientation. students move in on 2/4/07, the day we leave for our first port of call, puerto rico.
i'm posting this from a stones throw away, a nassau bed and breakfast that is delightfully beautiful in its simplicity - lush gardens; wrap around porch with ocean views; handcrafted wood furniture; rich and earthy colors and fabrics; in room ethernet connections; wireless on the porch; a pool; free tea and coffee all day; a self service (or harriet can help you) bar, all day; free breakfast; and the perfect lunch for a weary traveler arriving off a red eye and two connecting flights - seared grouper with coconut soy sauce and cous cous.
since arriving this morning, i 've only ate, and napped in the sun by the pool - yea winters over. tomorrow i'll explore the neighborhood, which is "a stones throw away" from the airport, but a ways from town, which i'll explore between the time i move aboard the ship on 1/31 and when the voyage begins on 2/4.
peace!
