Experiences of a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia (2016-19) and further adventures…
Pertaining to non-work-related activities.
I’m back!
The doctor advised me to stay off my sore foot for 5 to 7 days. Since I had walked into Arras on 1 May, my goal was to walk out of Arras on 8 May. The swelling in my left foot had decreased significantly since last week. Though it was still somewhat red and tender, standing still or walking slowly through museums over the past two days hadn’t caused any pain. I felt ready for a real test.
Continue reading “Via Francigena 2024/2025 Days 11-19: Arras to Reims”Many people who try multi-day trekking for the first time, and enjoy it, develop a curiosity about other similar routes around the world. Quite often, I compared notes about other paths with pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago (Camino Francés) in 2022 (which I blogged about here). It was on that walk that I learned about “the longest ancient pilgrimage route in Europe: the Via Francigena.”
Now that piqued my interest!
Continue reading “Via Francigena 2024/2025 Days 1-10: Canterbury to Arras”In October and November, I spent a couple of weeks with my love visiting historic sites in Massachusetts and hiking the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire amid the Fall colors. It was a marvelous trip to end another great year of travel.
In my journeys around the globe, I often spend time in places of human development that count their age in centuries, but that isn’t the sense one gets in many parts of the US. Particularly not at home in relatively “new” California. Visiting some of the oldest sites in America brought a warm connection with people of the past that I’m not used to feeling in this nation. However, after a few days amongst the city crowds, we were happiest to get out into the countryside.
Here are a few photos and video clips to entice anyone curious about this beautiful corner of the United States.
Read more: New England 2024: Fall FoliageBoston, MA
A favorite tourist spot from a popular TV show, “where everybody knows your name.”
Public Art
The popular colors of Halloween confirm it’s a fall festival. We love the creativity!
Not all the tombstones we saw were for Halloween, however. King’s Chapel Burying Ground, established in 1630
I love the common pattern in the composition of these two photos, but I’ll resist making any other comments about analogues.
Concord, MA
A short drive out of Boston, we stopped at the colonial town of Concord. Many visitors explore its role at the start of our country’s Revolutionary War, but we were more interested in its connection to several of America’s great authors and poets. We visited Authors’ Ridge at Sleep Hollow Cemetery and stretched our legs while strolling around Thoreau‘s Walden Pond.
Thoreau’s cabin site
Vermont
Leaving the cities and towns behind, our first week combined short road trips between quaint B&Bs and pleasurable hikes through the colorful hills of Vermont‘s Green Mountains. I was surprised (and pleased) to learn that Vermont has the second smallest population out of the 50 American states.
There is a good reason they call it Fall!
Mountain bikers get their own roller-coaster boardwalk through this park.
A visit to Vermont isn’t complete without a stop at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory in Waterbury. Yummy!
New Hampshire
On our drive from Vermont to New Hampshire, from the Green Mountains to the White Mountains, we passed by Bretton Woods. On this site, in July 1944, 44 allied nations negotiated the establishment of the 20th-century gold standard for exchange rate stability and created the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. From the hotel’s northern deck, we could see the snow-powdered summit of Mount Washington in the distance. At 6,288 feet (1,917 meters), it is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States. On this day, it looked quite calm, but it is famous for its extreme weather conditions.
The next day, when we planned to climb Mount Washington, the weather conditions at the summit were not conducive, so we opted to drive up the winding road. The views were spectacular on the climb, but the strong winds and fog took those views away at the top.
On our drive back to Boston to fly home, we took the coastal route and popped over the border into Maine to see the picturesque Nubble Lighthouse at Cape Neddick.
After completing the Camino Francès in late 2022, which I blogged about here, I researched more ancient pilgrimage paths in Europe and discovered two with origins older than Christendom.
The first was a fortnight in England from Winchester to Canterbury on The Pilgrims Way in the Spring of 2024. Here is that blog post.
Following that warmup, I walked through France, Switzerland, and northern Italy for most of 3 months on the Via Francigena. My 90-day Schengen Area visa expired shortly after arriving in Fidenza, Italy, completing the first “half” of that trek. I will return to Fidenza in April 2025 to resume my walk to Rome and on to the furthest terminus south, Santa Maria di Leuca.
I have many stories, photos, and video clips to share, but I will wait until the entire journey is over before posting them in this blog. In that way, I hope to document the whole trek at once. Thank you for your patience.
Continue reading “The Via Francigena 2024/2025”Day 8: Oxted to Otford
After completing one week of The Pilgrims Way, I was settling comfortably into my Camino/Via lifestyle. My feet were sore but healing; the daily routine was becoming a ritual; trail conditions and weather were as expected; and my confidence was growing that I could complete this warm-up trek by next week and launch myself into the ultimate goal: the Via Francigena to Rome!
Visit my previous post for the first week of this walk.
Continue reading “The Pilgrims Way 2024 Days 8-14: Oxted to Canterbury”My 2024 trekking started in early April with two weeks of walking The Pilgrims Way in southern England as a warm-up to “the big trek.” My ultimate goal is to walk from Canterbury, England, to Rome, Italy (or at least as far through Europe as possible with my 90-day Schengen Region tourist visa) on the Via Francigena.
Continue reading “The Pilgrims Way 2024 Days 0-7: Winchester to Oxted”My final post about this trip to Indochina starts with another guided trek in the jungle mountains around the ancient Hindu ruins at Mỹ Sơn and ends with a phenomenal, large-scale theatrical performance combining elements of Cirque de Soleil, Olympic Game opening ceremonies, and Super Bowl halftime shows in the old town of Hội An. Together, they provide fascinating glimpses of Vietnam‘s long history and the country’s contemporary vibrancy.
Continue reading “Southeast Asia 2023 – Vietnam: Mỹ Sơn Trek and Hội An”Coming down from the high mountains on the Hà Giang Loop, I spent a few days in the bustling capital city of Hanoi before continuing south to the quieter city of Ninh Bình. I visited the UNESCO World Heritage Sites at Tràng An and Tam Coc to see more karst limestone mountains and caves that can only be reached by guided rowboats. They are very popular with tourists, so it felt crowded initially, but once the boats spread out on the river and we entered the caves, we on our boat felt quite alone. The quietness of nature around us was much appreciated.
Continue reading “Southeast Asia 2023 – Vietnam: Ninh Binh”After several days of peaceful relaxation in the beautiful city of Luang Prabang, it was time to head out on another trek. I found an experienced local guide to take me as a solo traveler off the beaten track to nearby ethnic villages by visiting Luang Prabang‘s ethnology museum. Staff members at the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre referred me to Mr. Khankeo Indavong, nicknamed AK, a spirited young independent tour operator who pulled together an itinerary to meet my request and introduced me to Gone, a Lowland Lao, and the perfect guide.
We visited villages of Lao Loum (Lowland Lao), Khmu, and Hmong tribes by various modes of transport: hiking, riverboat, and 4×4 jeep. The Hmong village, Phouluang Tai, at the summit of the aptly named “Big Mountain,” is particularly fascinating. It is inaccessible by vehicles (even motorbikes!) since part of the road was washed away a few years ago. The authorities insist that its residents move to the “new” village down the mountain, with tempting offers of water, electricity, roads, a school, and a clinic. I learned that it’s not an easy choice for everyone, so even families are now split between the old and new village sites.
Continue reading “Southeast Asia 2023 – Laos: Luang Prabang Trek”My next multiday trek in Thailand started in Chiang Rai with a long-tail boat ride up the Kok River to the village of Ban Ruammit. While still fairly close to “civilization,” the ominously growing cloud cover reminded me of Charles Marlow‘s voyage up the Congo River in Joseph Conrad‘s Heart of Darkness. After buying and packing our food for the trip, we hiked mostly along farm roads and paths, which was a nice contrast to all the bushwhacking of my first trek in the Mae Wang Area. The terrain and variety of weather were familiar to me now but only a bit less challenging: many climbs and descents, both heavy rainfall and dry sunshine, and a wide range of temperatures. My guide and I stayed overnight in the villages of two ethnic tribes that I mentioned in my previous post: Lahu and Akha.
Continue reading “Southeast Asia 2023 – Thailand: Chiang Rai Trek”
