The year end provides a good opportunity for me to reflect on what has been an active, fun, and far reaching year. This journal is about travel, and travel to places near and far was a big part of my year.
I counted up something like 36 separate flights taken, and I rested my head in more than 30 places over 110 days on the road. I danced in the Arctic Ocean, swam with sea lions, and overcame a fear of kayaks in Alaska and Baja. I touched gray whales, smelled their breath, and listened to chants echoing in Buddhist temples in Cambodia. I hiked tropical jungles, lava flows and tundra. I pitched tents on desert islands aand on permafrost. I learned to say hello and thank you in some new languages and met nice people eeverywhere I went. I ccelebrated family birthdays, and reconnected with friends from boarding school, college and cub scouts. I felt like I covered a lot of ground, but the funny thing is that I probably saw some teeny fraction of 1 percent of all there is to see in the world. Makes you think.
I counted up something like 36 separate flights taken, and I rested my head in more than 30 places over 110 days on the road. I danced in the Arctic Ocean, swam with sea lions, and overcame a fear of kayaks in Alaska and Baja. I touched gray whales, smelled their breath, and listened to chants echoing in Buddhist temples in Cambodia. I hiked tropical jungles, lava flows and tundra. I pitched tents on desert islands aand on permafrost. I learned to say hello and thank you in some new languages and met nice people eeverywhere I went. I ccelebrated family birthdays, and reconnected with friends from boarding school, college and cub scouts. I felt like I covered a lot of ground, but the funny thing is that I probably saw some teeny fraction of 1 percent of all there is to see in the world. Makes you think.
Oh, and one more thing - I am thankful for the guides who made all of these trips fun, educational, and safe. They are characters one and all - I think it takes a special soul to be a guide. These are pics of some of the guides I traveled with this year:
Cambodia - Chor and Yut / Alaska Kenai - Charlie and Kim / Mono Lake - Michael / Vietnam - Hung
Baja Kayaking - Jorge and Celia / Baja Whale Watching - Armando / Alaska Arctic - Steve and Jeff
Baja Kayaking - Jorge and Celia / Baja Whale Watching - Armando / Alaska Arctic - Steve and Jeff
