Spontaneity or security in travel

Adventure without risk is Disneyland. 
                                           Doug Coupland 

The photo above was taken at 5:30am on a December morning on a trip to the Philippines in 2019. I had just stepped off an overnight bus from Manila to Banaue. I did not have a hotel reservation. I started walking toward what I thought was the center of this small town, backpack on my shoulders.

Luckily, I met a friendly fellow doing early morning street sweeping a couple of blocks further on. He recommended a small hotel just a few doors away. Also luckily, the hotel had a night shift clerk who was awake and got me into a room. Uyami's Green View Lodge became my home for the next few days as I hiked the ancient rice terraces of the area with a local guide recommended by the hotel. (Original post can be found here.)

By contrast, on my most recent travels to Europe, I left little to chance. I had my hotel rooms booked. I spent most of my time on a guided boat/bike trip that provided not just a place to stay, but my meals and short tours as well. One thing I did not plan for was reservations needed for major museums in Amsterdam. So I missed out on what would have been my fifth or sixth time visiting the Van Gogh. 

I am now engaged in planning a return trip to the Philippines and a cycling trip along the Mekong River. The cycling trip is organized. Hotels/hostels are booked pre- and post-trip in Siem Reap and Saigon. Flight reservations (most of them) are made. I have informed my brother and sister-in-law when they can expect me to be at their home in Paponga for a couple days.

But I still have some blank spaces on my travel calendar. The 10 days between the time I leave my brother’s place and need to be in Siem Reap is a time for me to explore - this time the islands to the south of Luzon instead of the rice fields of the north. So I am debating just how much planning I should do for my wandering days. Book a resort now - or just show up and hope for the best?

While I have been lucky at times (staying at the wonderful Izhcayluma Retreat in Vilcabamba, Ecuador), I have been growing increasingly anxious about spontaneous travel. While in my 30s, I could accept sleeping on a beach in Hydra, Greece, but I don’t know how my somewhat older body would respond to sand fleas and drunken revelers now. Will the places I am traveling be booked up like the Van Gogh museum or will they be at 15% capacity like the Galapagos cruise ship last year?

Perhaps I need to face reality: that I will never have the backpacker mentality of those 20-somethings I’ve encountered in small hostels in Frankfurt or Santa Marta or Vientiane - those whose youthful travels are carefree, endless, and, most probably, quite memorable -who can still sleep on a beach or in a bunk bed when necessary.  While I can quite easily stuff what clothes and toiletries I need into a backpack, my anxiety about where I might next find a room does not fit.

I guess I just talked myself into booking a few more reservations…

Best books 2022

It’s been a good year for reading. While I engaged with a number of new authors, about half what I read were actually re-reads - including a few on my “best of” list below. I probably read more non-fiction than usual, including what might be described as self-help books (heaven knows, I need all the self-help I can get). I read quite a bit of sci-fi, but so many of the books were dystopian and I grew tired of the darkness. Happy that Goodreads is a convenient way for me to record and remember the books that I read.

A few of my favorites:

1. Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris. Historical fiction set in Restoration England and the American Colonies about two “regicides” being hunted by an agent of Charles II. Lots of gritty detail about the time period including the Fire of London, the Plague and nasty executions. Harris is one of my favorite historical fiction writers.

2. Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City by Russel Shorto. Re-read this on a visit to Amsterdam, rediscovering what in history makes the Netherlands so different from its European neighbors and how collective goals and interdependence can lead to a positive society.

3. Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon. Another re-read that inspired me to do a better job of paying attention to the small towns through which I drive. Heat-Moon’s lyrical language, vivid descriptions, and historical knowledge make this a genuine classic.

4. By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar. Fascinating re-telling of the Arthurian story, with Arthur as a London gang member. Don’t expect much heroism or other positive characteristics from this cast. 

5. Cougar Claw by Cary J. Griffith. USFW agent Sam Rivers is back on the job in this second Minnesota-set mystery. Clever plot and great characters (plus local interest for me) kept me reading.

6. Lessons from Lucy by Dave Barry. I listened to this one as an audiobook and am glad I did. Barry narrates his semi-comic, semi-profound observations of lessons he has learned about leading a better life. 

7. Man Overboard by Craig L Bowron MD. This book by Mayo clinic physician, does a great job in succinctly describing men’s aging bodies and their most common ailments. Understandable and not sensational and with a lot of dumb Dad jokes to keep it lighthearted.

8. The Mapmaker’s Wife by Robert Whitaker. After personally spending a few nights in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest, I could relate to this history of explorations of South America by early 18th century French scientists trying to determine the circumference of the globe. Toward the end of the book, the wife of one of the explorers sets out on a harrowing cross-continent trek to locate her husband. Good jungle tale. 

9. Sex in the Sea by Marah J. Hardt. A fascinating nonfiction series of tales about the reproductive life of marine creatures. Hardt takes what could be a tedious subject and injects it with life and humor. Good reading while snorkeling off the Galapagos.

10. Wild Prey by Brian Klingborg. I love mystery stories in which the detective is moral but operating in a corrupt society. Set in modern day Communist China, Lui Fei tracks down a missing woman, the authorities really don’t want found.

What, Blue Skunk readers, have been your favorite reads of the year?

Thanks to Miguel Guhlin and Scott McLeod for sharing their lists of favorite books and my friends on Goodreads for posting the titles and reviews of their current reads.

Gifts that keep on giving - still

I watched the Muppet version Dicken's A Christmas Carol this week. I suspect it is probably the 100th time I have seen some version of this fable of Scrooge and Tiny Tim and how even old curmudgeons like myself can be redeemed.

My personal version of this tale is a blog post I wrote back in 2010. It contains more hopes and wishes, perhaps, than advice. The sentiments hold true for me now a dozen years years later. The children at whom the advice was directed have somehow become adults with lives of their own, long past listening to anything Grandpa might suggest (if they ever did). 

Perhaps I revisit this short piece more for my own sake. But here it is anyway

Gifts that keep on giving

Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.

Christmas morning. The house is quiet. Something that smells of cinnamon is in the oven. The tree is lit. The snow outside is very white and very deep. The children and grandchildren will be invading next week for a few happy days.

I will admit that I can't wrap a package to save my soul, so hours were spent yesterday getting the robots and bicycles and LEGOs and underwear and books and computer games and noisy baby toys ready to be un - wrapped in seconds. You really have to be a grandparent before the old saw, "it's better to give than to receive," genuinely rings true. I don't believe my grandsons are any more or less greedy than other children, but they do love presents - and their excitement is a gift to this grandpa returned many times over.

Material gifts for these boys are easy. A list from their mom, one's cash card, and the local Target store is all that's needed. I have no illusions that 90% of what the boys receive will be lost, broken, or forgotten within weeks. A few things might stick - a book that becomes cherished, a computer game that will engage, a special toy that will become "alive" and so escape the garage sales. But as I sweep the lost StarWars figure up from under the couch next week, I'll have to remember that material gifts are just this grandpa's shallow means of making his affection visible.

Were I able, I'd wrap these gifts up for each of my grandsons with these cards attached...

• Health. While about 95% of your health is due to genetics, for good or bad, the other 5% that you can control is important. Strike a balance between risk paranoia and complete disregard for your bod. Eat a candy bar now and then, but have the good sense to walk it off.  I hope you like the color and the size of this gift. To a large degree, the shape will be up to you.

• Passion. The luckiest people are those who find something that really interests and motivates them. What that something is makes little difference  - computers or hockey or inorganic chemistry or etymology or entomology or library science or whatever.  Wear this every day.

• Compassion. OK, this one is a little odd, but it's important, boys. The capacity to feel for others will give your life meaning and purpose. People who are best at handling the occasional blues do so by finding others to help. This one is polar fleece for the soul.

• Adventure. Here is the courage to take a risk now and then. Eat a new food. Travel to a different country. Accept a challenge to your physical strength and stamina and comfort. Read something by someone you don't agree with. Do at least one thing every year that none of your friends has ever done. Take pictures. The people with the best stories, not the most money, are life's winners. Wear this hat even when it seems a little scary.

• Appreciation. Never forget how truly lucky you are to be born to loving parents who can afford to feed you, clothe you, and take you to the doctor. Remember that you live in a country that has negligible political violence and gives you both freedom and protection. Be thankful that you can get an education that will let you become just about anything you want to be. Even when things may not seem to be going your way, wear these glasses and you will recognize that you are still more fortunate than 99% of the rest of the world.

• Problems. Yes, I am giving you lots of problems as a gift. You may be an old man like me before you come to appreciate this package, but it may be the most valuable one you receive. Problems engage our minds. Problems make us creative. Problems (and finding solutions to them) give you self-worth. Problems keep life from getting boring. Problems can make life fun - really! When you put these in your pocket, they may feel like a burden, but they are boosters.

My writing these advice-filled “wishes” I suspect will be ignored by my grandchildren and any great grandchildren who may one day stumble upon them. But I am confident they will come to understand the importance of these gifts all by themselves.