scarlettina | Scheme, scheme, fantasize, perspective

So I have this writer friend up in Vancouver, lovely woman, terrific writer, scary-good photographer. She and I have done a couple of writing things together but for several years now, we've talked about taking some photography classes together, maybe doing an expedition or two with instructors. Well, last night I sent her links to some prospective ideas, and she came back to me with an e-mail basically saying, "I like these but you pick."

::growl:: (in a good way)

So tonight I sent her e-mail back with my choices. A couple of the things I'm looking at are local workshops and very reasonably priced. One, however, is a fantasy with a capital "F": Easter Island and Maachu Pichu. Pricey as hell, between the travel itself and the instructor/guide fees but...it could be amazing. See? This is what happens once you've traveled to somewhere wonderful: You never want to stop. I don't know that I'm going to do another big trip a year after Kenya, but suddenly...it's a possibility, and I'm fingering my passport thoughtfully.

My first real travel adventure was my trip to Mexico, almost 20 years ago. Doesn't sound adventurish, does it? And when I describe the trip in its barest bones--a week at Club Med in Cancun--it sounds positively pedestrian. But I took the side trips that the club offered, so I got to see Chichen Itza, Tulum and Xelha, chock full of ancient ruins and monuments--and I was hooked. The next trip was Egypt and Israel: Pyramids! Temples! Ancient cities! (Sensing a theme?) Kenya was the exception for me: a trip about wildlife and culture rather than ancient history, but just as satisfying and exciting.

So here I am again, considering another adventure. I don't know that it's going to happen this year, but I find myself thinking more and more about Maachu Pichu and Rapa Nui, and all those hours with issues of National Geographic. At this rate, of course, France and Italy and Spain and Greece may never happen, what with Angkor Wat, Bali, Denali National Park, the Grand Canyon and, oh yeah, the rest of the African continent calling. Is life long enough to get to all these places? I dunno. Still wanna try, though.

And speaking of Kenya (I was, way up above), I received a text message from O, one of the guides I got to know while I was in Tsavo, the other day. He texted me to let me know that he and his family are okay in the midst of the riots and craziness there. I've really been worried about him and the other expedition leaders. I knew I was walking in a different world when I was in Africa, but I'm connected to it now in this little way, and it changes one's perspective. It feels much more real than merely another news story on NPR or in the New York Times. I worry about my friends there. And I fret about the reality of living with that sort of instability on a daily basis. So this is the tough side of adventuring: your perspective changes, the world gets a little smaller, and the scariness and strife all seems that much closer. Ultimately, I think this is a goodness, but it is challenging.

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That sounds totally cool. If we weren't already paid up for an Africa trip of our own (using a voucher we bought in a charity auction at last year's Oscars party (http://steve98052.livejournal.com/34072.html)), Easter Island and Macchu Pichu would be quite high on our list of cool places to visit. Or rather they are on the list, but behind the wildlife park in Africa.

The other day, I saw an interesting travel article in Smithsonian magazine: "The Smithsonian Life List (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/lifelist.html)". It's only 28 places, which makes it a list one could reasonably get all the way through, and also a list of really cool stuff. I've seen a few of them:
The Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the aurora borealis, the Louvre, Fallingwater, Venice, and I saw Mount Kilimanjaro out an airplane window.

Some friends of mine went on a short cruise from Iceland recently to see the northern lights. And did! Said it was well worth it (although we do occasionally experience them in the UK).

I remember seeing the Northern Lights for the first time (while living in Iceland as a military brat)... I understood then the fascination that the Vikings (or anyone for that matter) must have held. There were several evenings during an intense solar flare period that the entire sky was one big moving, glowing yellow and green blanket. Awe!

>My first real travel adventure was my trip to Mexico, almost 20 years ago. Doesn't sound adventurish, does it?

It does if you live in England! I know you're closer, but even so. I've never been to Central/South America - would love to give it a try. Africa has never really appealed for some reason (I think one is either an Asia or an Africa person, in my experience, but I may be quite wrong).

It does if you live in England!

Heh. Fair enough. Growing up in New York, and living in Seattle, Mexico feels like a default vacation destination if you don't have a lot of money but want to go somewhere warm, sunny, and cheap. But I loved doing it the way I did it. When you live in New York, the Caribbean Islands feel the same way.

Interesting, your thought that one is either an Africa person or an Asia person. I haven't done Asia yet, but I do have a couple of places I'd like to go see. More of my destinations are sort of southeast Asia, I suppose (see above re: Angkor Wat and Bali); Japan and China haven't really been on my radar. I would never have guessed I'd develop an affinity for Africa but there it is. The more I go, the more I want to go. (I do want to see the great migration someday.)

So this is the tough side of adventuring: your perspective changes, the world gets a little smaller, and the scariness and strife all seems that much closer. But so too do the wonderful people you can meet, as you said.

I'd say go for it. But then, you knew I'd say that, didn't you? *grin*

Pretty much, yeah. :-)

What's your links to these photographic expeditions?

The classes we're looking at are as follows:

National Geographic Travelers:
http://ngtravelerseminars.com/digital.cfm

Best of the Northwest Photo Workshops:
http://www.nwphotoworkshops.com/index.php

John Shaw Photographic Expeditions:
http://www.photosafaris.com/Tours_2008/EasterIsland/EasterIsland.asp

Apropos of photography and your Kenya trip, thanks so much for the magnet!

The card you sent with it was *gorgeous*. That was a lovely photo you turned into the notecard.

::hugs::

Heh. You're welcome! Glad you liked the card and magnet. I keep finding new things to do with my pictures from Africa. But what I really need to do is have some studio quality prints made to hang up in my house.

The magnet was the result of a spree on Cafe Press; I may yet go back and do more. :-)

So this is the tough side of adventuring: your perspective changes, the world gets a little smaller, and the scariness and strife all seems that much closer.

So very true. I went to Maachu Pichu in 1997. Amazing place. The altitude can be a bear, though.

Re: Altitude: I'm ready for it. One of the things I learned when I was in Colorado a couple of years ago was that hydration is key to dealing with altitude. There are other elements, of course, but the more water I drank, the better I felt. That would mean finding the largest water bottle I could carry. No great hardship, all things considered. :-)

Anyway, this is all still vaporware, but it's fun to think about, isn't it?

Every time I hear about what's happening in Nigeria I think about you and the Nigerian people you met on your trip. I'm *so* glad to hear that they're OK. I'm also glad you took your trip before things got really bad.
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The trips all sound amazing. I can't wait to see the pictures. Color me absolutely green with envy -- I really want to get to a point where I can afford to do all the traveling I want to do. This will probably not happen until after the doctorate, though! So, I shall enjoy your exploits and live vicariously. :-D Ooh...Egypt. ALWAYS wanted to go there. [drool]

My friend

webcowgirl is in Egypt with her husband right now and blogging about it. She's writing up some great stuff and including pictures. You should go over to her journal and poke about.

Ping me if you ever start to seriously look at Bali, ok? That's definitely on my "want" list.

This year I will likely be terribly boring and go to France after a week or so in the UK. I am aware that with a solid month off I could do something more exotic than Europe. . . but

samildanach will only be with me for half of it, which moderates planning considerably.

Go for adventure, I'm always on the side of adventure! But then I get to see the pictures. We went to Chichen Itza and thought it was fabulous. I can't imagine going to Cancun and not taking a trip to see the ruins. That'd be like going to Egypt and passing on the pyramids, at least to me. I suspect I'm in the minority.

Easter Island's one of my fantasy places. It'd have my vote.

Wow. Isn't planning adventures fun?

I just got home from an information session about the Mexico trips sponsored by Portland Community College. For $600 you get two weeks of homestay lodging, most meals, and 4 hrs/day of small-group language instruction at an established language school in Guanajuato. Gonna do it in June while David's at a writer's thing. I've never been to Mexico.

I'm looking forward to next time we see you -- Potlatch, yes? -- want to hear lots about Kenya.

Scheme, scheme, fantasize, perspective

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