Monday Moanings - July 23, 2018

And, I'm back!

After three weeks touring Iceland, Norway and the UK, my love and I have returned home. The luggage has been unpacked and stowed away, the laundry is done, and 5K+ camera images have been uploaded to the server ready for editing. I have learned that re-entry to my ordinary world and life is a thing best done gently. So, though the plane landed me back home six days ago, I have taken my time to return to regularly scheduled programming.

Reykjavik Iceland - Solfar (Sun Voyager)

It was an amazing adventure, but over the last few days, a sense of despair has been growing. Tourism is ruining too many places. It is indeed a fine and wonderful thing that so many can travel so far, so fast. But the impact of this on too many of the beautiful places on this earth is humongous. What may be an economic boost for a community can quickly morph into an infrastructure nightmare. It's worrisome to me that my penchant for travel might contribute to the ruin of the very sites I desire to experience.

Take Geiranger Fjord for instance.

The village has a population of 250, but between May and September 800,000 to 1 million tourists arrive, most by cruise ship. Narrow roads clogged with tour buses, dock area a mass of humanity all jostling for souvenirs and in line to use the toilets.

One of my biggest thrills of the trip was kayaking in Geiranger Fjord. I loved every minute of it then, but now some of that joy has been diminished.

I suppose the good news is that the Norwegian government is taking steps to preserve this UNESCO site and other fjords. Cruise ship restrictions are coming. That will improve the health of the fjord itself, but will it stop the masses of people?

Westminster Abbey in London served up my greatest disappointment.

I carry a memory of its majesty and profound peace from a visit twenty-two years ago. But last Monday afternoon, I was confronted by a mob scene. Had I not purchased tickets beforehand, we'd have been in line in the blazing sun for close to two hours. Once inside, (no photos allowed!), the only option was to move along with the crowd. Gone was any sense of sacred space, any room for awe, its heartbeat drowned out by the noise of too many people. I'm glad that twenty-two years ago, my daughter and I took the time to do brass rubbings in the Abbey.

This was taken in the cloisters, away from the crowds.

I'm not going to stop traveling, but I now think that I will be far more careful in my planning, mindful of the impact of my presence in faraway places. I am but a sojourner in this world. And it is still a privilege to see what I can, when I can, as long as I can.

Molde, Norway

©2018 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - June 21, 2018

Schwartz sits calmly atop my backpack ready to go. His packing is done. Seasoned traveler that he is, he really knows how to pack light! Actually he just really knows how to choose the best sherpas. AND he knows how to have fun!

"He is truly wise who has traveled far and knows the ways of the world."

Meanwhile, I'm in danger of being clobbered by an ever-faster swirling tether ball of things to do before Tuesday's flight to Iceland. With just five (5, FIVE!!) days to go until departure, the accumulation of scribbled post-it notes, scrawled lists and neat entries in the official travel prep booklet does not seem to be diminishing as planned.

This was supposed to be the most organized departure ever. This was supposed to be the least stressful departure ever. Of course, I make these predictions every time we travel.

Each adventure teaches me how to pack less clothing. Coordinating pieces, washable, crushable, rollable are de rigueur.





But with the turn of the age clock to the 65 mark, the "drug bag" expands with every adventure. The trip to China in 2014 taught me a tough lesson: always travel with the over-the-counter medications I know work for me. Prescription meds, of course, are never optional. So the little pharmacy store in a kit bag needs an expansion.

What would truly ease the space problem would be to have pill bottles that were actually more full than empty. We're told it's important to have meds in original bottles with original labels. Well, that's no longer just for customs and border control folks. With so many capsules and pills at hand, it's hard (and maybe dangerous!) for me to remember what's what based solely on size, shape, and colour. So the drug bag has acquired a pup trailer.

All part of growing up?  AND going on adventures!

This time the adventure addicts (the vintage edition - tee hee) are heading first to Iceland then flying to Bergen, Norway to start a cruise following the midnight sun (Bergen, Geiranger Fjord, Molde, Tromso, Honningsvag, and Lofoten) followed by Scotland (The Shetlands, The Orkneys, and Edinburgh) and ending in London. Oh, the places we're going!

I gotta get back on track with the mighty ToDo list. I'll let you know Monday how I fare.

In the meantime - Happy Summer!

©2018 April Hoeller

A to Z Challenge - X is for X marks the Spot

The adventure addicts (the vintage edition - tee hee) are heading out again!  AND there's not just one X marks the spot, but 11 (including Reykjavik)! Oh, the places we're going!

Viking Ocean Cruises

We're following the midnight sun from Iceland up across the Arctic Circle to the northernmost point of Norway.



I'm busy exploring the official "X's" on the map and thinking about some of the nearby places where I'd like to add an X, or three. It's all very exciting but also time-consuming. Just what can be fit into the time constraints? How far afield dare we wander? What activities are as reasonable for us vintage folk as they are desirable?

There are glaciers, geysers, icebergs, waterfalls, mountains, horses, whales, sea eagles, and seals. And that's just Iceland! Hop across to Norway and it's fjords, fishing villages, fjords, waterfalls, fjords, king crabs, hikes with huskies, and did I mention the fjords? We'll be kayaking for sure!

Geiranger Fjord - image courtesy of Viking Ocean Cruises

Southwest to Scotland for ancient iron age settlements, ponies, puffins, and single malt scotch.

image courtesy of Viking Ocean Cruises

Then old London town for museums, Thames cruises, The Eye, and Westminster Abbey to pay my respects to the late Stephen Hawking. And so much more.

This is going to be great!

©2018 April Hoeller

A to Z Challenge - E is for Explore

It has been my heart's delight to explore all things, all places. It has been my privilege to travel the world, following that passion. Today I offer a "double E" - Explore Europe -  in a photo journey through some of the places I've visited and loved.

Some highly recognizable places, some back corners, some main squares, some food and drink... and some Schwartz, the travel mascot.

Prague

Dresden

Berlin

Barcelona

Granada - The Alhambra

Seville - The Alcazar

Funchal, Madeira

Rome - The Appian Way

Venice

Mykonos

Stockholm

Helsinki

Copenhagen

Amsterdam

Sintra, Portugal

Paris

The Azores

Lucca

Cordoba

Schwartz in Lucca

So many more places and more yet to explore. Cheers!




©2018 April Hoeller

A to Z Challenge - B is for Beach!

Ah, yes the beach - such an evocative, sensual, healing place in my life.  I was first introduced the wonders of the beach by my parents, my mother in particular.

1957 - Breezy Point, NYC

Mom and her girls, 1960

The beach she introduced her three daughters to was on the very southern tip of Long Island - Breezy Point was its name.

When she was a child, it was her 'home away from home' every summer, all summer long. Though we only got to glimpse her joy for about two weeks almost every summer, it was more than enough for my sisters and I to fall in love with the beach.

Mom and I, 1958

Mom and I, 1970

Beaches are my 'go to' spot for rest, deep rest and nothing beats a walk along the beach for just sorting the troublesome things out.

Virgin Gorda, BVI, 2016

Galapagos Islands, 2015 

Is it the salt air? The cry of gulls? The wash of water between my toes? The warm sand? Well, it's not just one thing, it's all of them. In desperate times, just the memories are enough to soothe my aches and pains. When that is not enough, there are the photos which bring with them times and places of tremendous beauty, serenity, and strength.

Come walk with me...

Cuba 2012

Galapagos, 2015

Galapagos 2015

Little Cayman, 2006

Abacos Islands, 2004

Galapagos 2015

Mexico 2018

Curacao 2009

Cuba 2012

ME! Breezy Point 1961

"Come walk with me, take off your shoes, let's walk the beach with only the moon to light the path and waves to hear you tell me you love me. Why does the ocean rock the moon to sleep every night? So the sun will wake and kiss the beach."

J. Henson

©2018 April Hoeller