Its All in the Sky

Common sights, like the Space Needle, are often the subject of lots of photographs taken on any given day. What makes one standout among others can sometimes come down to the sky.  Totally sunny, cloudless days can be mundane, while totaly cloudy days downright distracting (bright spot with no interest). But then there are the "partly cloudy" days, like this past Saturday in Seattle. Blues and wispy clouds of all shapes and hues can add considerable interest to a common sight. And having a friend point out the sky when our focus is so much ground-ward, well, that's even better.

Fortune-Tellers, Travel and Life

I have a weakness for travel narratives. Eighty-plus percent of what I read can be classified in this particular genre, ranging from William Least-Heat Moon to Robyn Davidson to Paul Theroux. And many many more. Most are pretty good, a few more than I'd like to admit are pretty mediocre.  And then there are the exceptional ones - the ones that are fully engaging, that take the reader in new directions (not just geographically), and one's that inspire or nurture the spirit of travel and of life. 

Tizian Terzani's "A Fortune-Teller Told Me" falls into this exceptional category. The author, an Italian journalist based in Southeast Asia, and with journalistic curiosity, visited a fortune-teller in Macao. The prophecy, if you want to call it that, was that something terrible was going to happen to the author in the coming year and he must not fly. A difficult proposition for an Italian journalist in Southeast Asia for sure.  And one, before the start of the year, Tizian decided to follow. 

The narrative following Tizian as he moved about Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Burma and then on to Europe via China, Mongolia and Russia, all the time consulting with other fortune-tellers - some close to the mark, others without a clue. Wanderlust, journalistic fervor, spiritual encounters of all kinds, and an overall sense of fascination fill the book and leave the reader to ponder the world that we see and the world that may be just beyond our vision and experience.

"Think of how many wonderful people we meet without realizing it, of how many  beautiful  things we pass every day on the way home without realizing them. It always requires the right occasion, a particular event, a person who stops you and draws your attention to this or that."

Festival at 15000' and Travel Expectations

Two interesting articles in this weekend's NY Times.  The first is on the Qoyllur Rit’i — the Snow Star Festival, held outside of Cusco, Peru. Elevation 15000.' Part Catholic, part earth-based spirituality. Dancing, commemorations, candle-lighting, arts, crafts, sheer beauty, and fervor. Sounds like my kind of festival, though the elevation gives me considerable pause.  http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/travel/celebrating-the-snow-star-festival-in-the-peruvian-andes.html?nl=travel&emc=edit_tl_20120512 

The second article focuses on a mother-daughter spring break vacation to south Florida. Wrong place to stay, no clear expectations on what to do and when, costly, and anything but connecting one-on-one. Points to doing your own research on lodging, talking with your traveling companion (even if family) before you go re expectations and objectives, and taking recommendations from friends with a grain of salt.  Makes for a good read and food for thought - especially when traveling with teens and 20-somethings!
http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/travel/a-mother-daughter-spring-break-on-fisher-island-florida.html?nl=travel&emc=edit_tl_20120512

Drawn to Out of the Way Places

I've been re-reading "The Road Wet, the Wind Close: Celtic Ireland" by James Roy.  It caught my eye many years ago and led directly to me visiting one of the world's more obscure and isolated locals - Skellig Michael, off the coast of County Kerry, Ireland. In re-reading, I came across this:

We have come to Skellig Michael because of what we've read. [How true!!] We find ourselves drawn to obscurities, or perhaps it's just the urge to go places where no one else sees value. For whatever reason, on this island, I think, is the very essence of Celtic Ireland."  Takes me right back there, to the cold and windswept day in a distant October, where just two of us had the monastic site to ourselves. Obscurity, of value, and Celtic essence.

Books, and not just travel guides, can be a great influence on future journeys.  Whether Skellig Michael, or the Floating Tori Gate at Miyajima Island, Japan, or ...  I've felt called several times to visit the non-Eiffel Towers of this world. And will continue to follow the call.

Authenticity

There are those who feel that we should travel in certain ways - connecting with the locals - seeing certain sights - eating at certain "local" places. While I'm certainly one who wants to explore the cultures of the places I travel to and through, I really don't feel compelled to follow someone's dictates as to what constitutes the right way to travel. 

Gideon Lewis-Kraus book, "A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful,"  relates stories about pilgrimages and the reasons why some of us do them these days. And the question becomes, if not done for the original reason (usually spiritual or religious), "is it still authentic?" And Gideon has a really noteworthy response: 

"My own feeling about authenticity is that we're all best off when we don't worry about it too much and just get on with the business of trying to travel in ways that feel meaningful to us, for whatever reason."

Know why you're traveling and make the journey your own - how more authentic and meaningful an experience can you ask for!

BTW, Gideon is interviewed on his pilgramage experiences on the WorldHum website: http://tinyurl.com/congnzz.