by Sherrie Bakshi As a child, it never dawned on me that one day I would tell people I grew up in Japan. I moved to Okinawa, Japan, when I was eleven years old, longing to return to the normalcy of my life in the United States. But that soon changed. Today, when someone asks…
by Janet Bein I didn’t really find what I was looking for in Peru until we reached the Andes. By that time, my husband and I had been in Peru for over a week. We were traveling with a small (eleven participants) eco-tour group, led by GAP Adventures. Our first stops had been Lima, Pisco,…
by Marnie Binder It is a precipitous task to define a perfect Madrid afternoon, but any Madrileño would undoubtedly agree that the following route through Spain’s capital comes as close as possible. Call this a perfect Madrid afternoon—because as with any big city, there is an abundance of entertainment in Spain’s capital. To start the…
by Kristina L. Mayer The alarm rings; it is very dark and quiet. We rustle our gear into daypacks and gulp down instant espresso before quietly making our way past the night watchman sleeping on a cot covered with a mosquito net. The rustling of our gear and the soft sound of our steps wake…
by Shauna Billings Mykonos is called The White Island because of its whitewashed houses and churches that dust the low, rolling hilltops like powdered sugar. It could also be named The Blue Island, for to experience Mykonos is to finally see the color blue, in all its intricacies, for the very first time. The doorways…
by Susan Mary McReynolds I confess. Up until just a few years ago, I was still a virgin tippler. But I took a deep breath and plunged right into the fragrant well of Scottish single malt whisky. Serendipity made me do it. My good friend Sheila, a Glasgow native, had two tickets to Whiskies of…
by Jennifer Anthony I proved that I would never be a rocket scientist when I was thirteen years old. My English class had just finished reading Orwell’s barely futuristic masterpiece and the test question was meant to be a giveaway, really. What year does this book take place? it read. I scribbled in the current…