Poland

Last night in Poland! I am in Krakow currently and head to Warsaw on the train tomorrow morning, then catch a flight to Athens via Istanbul. Fingers crossed for smooth connections. I wish that I had more time in Poland. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface in my 4-5 days, which is probably reasonable, and there are so many other layers to go. I focused a lot on World War II and learned a lot (visiting Auschwitz, the Polish Resistance Museum in Warsaw, the ghetto in Krakow, the Oskar Schindler factory). However, there is so much with history from the Soviet Union or even earlier Polish history (the Jagellion dynasty) that I barely got to. And while people here are nice (nicer than Croatia for sure), I feel like they also might need some thawing too. I wish that I could explore more. But next time!

Istanbul

It is my last night in Istanbul, and I'm having lots of feelings about saying goodbye to this leg of my trip. For me, Istanbul is a city of contrasts. At times, so crowded (aka the shopping areas of the New District and Taksim Square). At other times, very personal and warm. I find that contrast with people too. The challenging moments have been some of the attention I have gotten as a single, white woman alone (they can't tell that I'm American, so that is less it).

 Inevitably, particularly in the tourist areas, I will be approached endlessly usually with a harmless "hello" escalating into someone who is encouraging me to stop by their store or asking about my travel plans. It gets exhausting sometimes. Today, I just had to ignore many people and their greetings, which isn't really my heart but felt like the only thing I could do.

 My least favorite moment in Istanbul was when I was in Taksim Square and noticed a man following me. I changed direction a few times, but there wasn't a good store to duck in to. Lots of people were around, but it still felt really scary. Finally, I walked into a little bus area in the middle of the square, but my back in the corner and just faced him. Between me shouting "no" and gesturing for him to go away, he did get the hint. I will say, that every time I have said no my wishes have been respected and the men have stopped. That said: I have met a number of warm, caring, terrific people in Turkey and those are the stories I hope to hold in my heart.

Shop owners encouraged me to sit and chat with them, offering me tea. A metal worker pulled out a chair and showed me what he was working on. Yesterday, I went on a cruise up the Bosphorous to a small fishing village. We had too much free time and there wasn't much to explore, so I wound up going to a cafe to drink a coffee and read. When I was leaving, the owner said it was no charge and it was his pleasure to have me. Today, just now, the store owner at the bodega shop across from our hostel today who waved away my money when I was trying to spend my last few lira before I leave and told me that "my shop is your shop, money or not."

Yesterday, I was sitting in the Hippodrome which is a park founded from an old Roman chariot grounds, and at two different points older Turkish women asked if they could share my park bench. I had a ton of Turkish delight, after going to a store and asking for a sample which then meant like 40 pieces, and I offered it to each of them. Some of those moments were just really great and I have a lot to think about in my own life and the warmth that I bring or fail to bring others. Tomorrow I leave for Poland, but I very much hope to be back soon!

A week in the Balkans

I wasn't originally planning on coming to the Balkans. I was thinking Eastern Europe, mainly Greece, and trying to connect Poland in there too. Someone I knew told me I should think about Dubrovnik. I looked at a few pictures online and I was sold. I'm about four days into my Eastern Europe adventure. I flew in to Zagreb on Wednesday, August 23rd. I spent one day at Plitvitse (PLEET-veet-seh) Lakes National Park, this gorgeous forested crater carved by glaciers that now holds lots of lakes. You walk through the gorge on a series of narrow pathways and these log walkways and pass waterfalls. It's gorgeous. It also is a pain because no one knows how to walk and tourists stop in the middle of everything every five seconds to take pictures.

 Also, women of the world, what makes you want to hike through a slippery gorge in wedge sandals? And how do you avoid plummeting to your death, a real fear of mine in normal footwear? I spent a little time in Zagreb, which is a great capital city. Not too big but very lively with lots of great spaces to explore and very cutely arranged. Then I flew to Dubrovnik, aka King's Landing from Game of Thrones, a gorgeous medieval walled city along the Dalmatian coast. I've been up a cable car, on a boat, hiked around the city walls, and dove into the Adriatic Sea. Also, I slept a lot. Jet lag and flying directly after a month long intensive summer camp mean that I was pretty wiped.

 Today I took a bus to Sarajevo. It sounds silly, but I really didn't know how incredibly beautiful Bosnia-Herzegovina was. It's all mountains and valleys and rivers. It was raining today as we came in, and the tops of mountains were obscured by clouds. Beautiful. I only had dinner in the city so far, but it was delicious and cheap (which Dubrovnik has NOT been, so my bank account is happy). Excited to explore more! Happy summer 2014!

Halifax, Nova Scotia

For many reasons, I am fortunate to have the job that I have. In addition to being a 43 week contract, there is usually a week each spring that we can take off if we wish because there are few other commitments. I also have ample vacation time to be able to take it off. This year, I am working over the summer but decided to take that extra week off and do a little traveling before summer work began. After some thought, I settled upon Nova Scotia as my destination. I'd like to visit all of the major Canadian provinces at some point (though so far my list only consists of Montreal), and Halifax is only 12 hours from Amherst. It was a random-road-trip vacation with the benefits of international ties. I didn't do any real research until Saturday, May 18th when I realized that there was way more to do than I would have time for and promptly set off on the following day.

I originally thought that I'd be able to hit Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Maine all in this vacation. Ummm, no. Halifax is a fantastic city. It is small and compact, but still with tons to do. It had a beautiful harbor, two universities, public gardens, historical sites, pubs, local coffee shops...essentially, all of my favorite things! Today, I woke up in my super centrally located hostel with my lone roommate, an older woman who ran the Halifax marathon the day before and would NOT stop talking to me. I had to go to the bathroom at 4:30am, and as I was creeping out of our room she must have woken up too. She called out "good morning!" and then tried to engage me in a conversation about how sore she was upon my return to the room. I tried to politely mumble that I was going back to sleep. This conversation was in addition to one yesterday and one this actual morning (thankfully, closer to 8:30am) about similar topics, both of which times I didn't know how to respond. Nor was it clear that she needed me to respond.

After some coffee, I started out on my walk. Halifax has some burial grounds in the middle of the city. They are right next to a church with a very pointed steeple and across the street from a giant Bell Aliant building. The juxtaposition of old and new are really interesting, and the fact that the city was wrapped up in fog was only cooler still. Then, I went to the Halifax Public Gardens and strolled some of the only Victorian Gardens in Canada. Next to the gardens is the Halifax Citadel, the old fortress to protect Halifax from potential intruders. Turns out, that was thought to mainly be the United States. They hire tons of college students to be guides and actors in the summer, which I think is the coolest idea ever. I am SO JEALOUS that UC Davis had no such arrangement with something. I could have been a gold miner in Old Sacramento or something! Come on! They did a 21 gun salute at the citadel for Victoria Day (apparently a commonwealth holiday?). I was going to watch the whole thing, but after about 3 it was so jarring that I had to leave. What an awful tribute. Genie Day is going to have something WAY more sensible.

 At this point, my misty fog turned into rain, so thankfully it was time to head indoors. To museums: I explored the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which had an exhibit on the Titanic. Did you know that they brought many of the survivors and bodies to Halifax? I had no idea, but I guess it makes sense that the rescue ships didn't go all the way to New York. Next up, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Pier 21 is one of the Canadian equivalents of Ellis Island. As I find with most other foreign countries, I was impressed that our tour guide talked about Canada's reluctance to take Jewish immigrants leading up to World War II in an honest and open way. The United States, of course, did the same; however, I rarely see our history acknowledge past violations in the same way. To a brewery: Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Brewery makes their tour guides pretend it is the early 19th century and dress in period garb. They have to sing and dance, including singing a version of Loch Lomond that brought back a 2005 bus tour I took in Scotland where the guide played that song on repeat. And, of course, samples!

 To a restaurant: I tried the famous peanut butter burger at Darrell's Restaurant. It was delicious. To a boat: I took the $2.25 ferry from Halifax to neighboring Dartmouth and back. It would have been nicer on a sunny day, but it was still a different view of the city and I enjoy any form of water time. Now, finally, to a coffee shop to write and read. Not surprisingly, I am totally wiped out. I thought about spending another day in Halifax, but with so much to see in Nova Scotia it seems to make sense to head out. I feel like I covered good ground today, and another day would be lovely. Still, with the time crunch, Corolla and I must keep going! Now if only hostel-mate has checked out so I can get some extra peace...

A day in Bocas

Today started off a bit uneventful. Even though I was up early and walked to the market on the island to stock up on water and these delightful cans of pre-made rum and coke, it kind of took forever to get teh day started. I decided I wanted a breakfast that was not toast so I went to this cafe at a nearby hostel where it took me TWO HOURS to get breakfast. Since dinner the first night also took that long, I think it is an Isla Carnero thing.

Then it rained. Then I walked down the island to take a swim in the "beach" on the island, but it was really shallow and I kept getting caught in seaweed. Then I tried to pick up snorkel gear and it took another half an hour for someone to hand me a mask. BUT then, finally, the day started. I decided to snorkel at a place called Hospital Point. I had some tumultous times with past tour companies, so I really wanted to go to a place where I could be in control. I had a water taxi drop me off (which, fun times, they really do just stop near the shore and tell you to get out) and thankfully had the forsight to arrange with him to pick me up again in a couple of hours to go back. I shudder to think if I had forgotten and been stranded on the island attempting to shout down nearby taxis or hitch a ride with other tourists. It was lovely. I saw swordfish swimming near the surface and a variety of colorful fishies on the bottom. Of course, the waves made the water a bit murky at times and the boats themselves did not help. Nonetheless, there was some very cool coral (which I may have banged my knee on) and other things to see.

After my taxi came back and deposited me at the hotel, I changes and headed to Old Bank or Isla Barrimento. Old Bank is the second largest city in Bocas del Toro, and one of the women I met while snorkeling suggested I visit there and go to a place called Up in the Hill in the rainforest. She said it was a cool cafe and shop with products made on sight. Of course, I start thinking a big endeavor that would have lots of local products that I could buy as souveniers. No such luck. In truth, I spent 45 minutes hiking up a hill in the scorching Panama sun to get to someones house that had a patio where you could order an egg sandwich, a coffee, or a brownie and buy coconut lip balm. It was delightfully quirky in its own way, but not necessarily worth the long hike. I ate a brownie and a coffee, bought my two dollar lip balm, and enjoyed the experience. At least I got to see some rainforest.

The woman, coincidentally, was from Scotland. Coree Brown, she thinks that the Scots will waiver when it comes to the final vote on separation out of fear. After the jungle, I took the water taxi to the main town, Bocas del Toro (Panama loves to do that). I wandered a bit. It is mainly restaurants, shops, hostels, tour companies, and a few casinos, but was a fun look around nonetheless. It was nice to find a store that did not primarily sell moth balls and Virgin Mary candles, though I did enjoy that the "gourmet" market sold Biquick and Jiffy. Alas, I realized I had a cash shortage as we were there and needed to conserve. Instead, I opted for a low key dinner and took a water taxi back to my island abode. So now, heavily sunburned but happy, I am off to bed!

Panama

I got to Panamaa yesterday afternoon. It has been a bit of a ride so far, but overall quite fun and quirky. It started with flying into Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. My flight and subsequent taxi to the hostel were relatively uneventful. I was particularly excited to get my first taxi trip out of the way after reading far too many horror stories on Google that taxis in Panama were the only way to get around but that I would likely be kidnapped, robbed, or befall some other awful fate if I ever took one. This one was easy-I just went to the authorized taxis part of the airport and they hooked me up with an expensive but legitimate taxi.

 And off I went. I stayed in a neighborhood called Casco Viejo, which is the 2nd version of Panama. The first, Panama Viejo, was burned down by an evil Captain Morgan (who, ironically, then went on to later get a rum named after him). The city was relocated to Casco Viejo. By all accounts, the neighborhood is supposed to be up and coming. I was informed that it was a little rougher but safe and rapidly becoming gentrified. Now, the truth is that Casco Veijo has a LONG way to go before gentification. Half the area is falling apart. It is interspersed by some really nice buildings, which make the character all the more confusing. No great historically preserved buildings. No cute coffe shops or trendy boutiques. There are a few nice restaurants diluted by a whole lot of nothing. And, most importantly, surrounded by construction everywhere. I imagine in 5 years the place will look much more like Old San Juan. Right now, I rapidly deduced I could not stay there for a week. 

Nonetheless, my hostel was relatively safe and I deduced that I could spent 13 more dollars and have a room to myself. So I ended up upgrading and falling asleep at the ripe time of 8pm to sleep for approximately 11 hours. To be fair, I did wake up at 2am EST to get here. Also, there was not much else to do in the neighborhood that would not require me venturing past some falling down buildings or potentially stepping on a nail, so sleep was a good win. Today, I woke up at 7am and decided to head off for breakfast. It took me a while, but finally I found a somewhat trendy cafe across from a school in Casco Viejo that was willing to sell me a breakfast that was not being served from a bucket in a garage. I ate a greesy omelet and then hailed my first taxi to Panama Viejo!

Panama Viejo is the original Panama city and these really cool ruins that I fell in love with. After sitting through a museum on the history of Panama, most of which made no sense to me because only a third was labeled in English and my reading Spanish is atrocious, I headed out to the ruins. There were many old buildings, but there were a well preserved church and convent that were especially cool. You can ascend the bell tower in the church and get a panorama of Panama. Yay!

 I then had to hail a taxi back, which actually took me a bit. My fear of taxis is still quite strong. In addition to fearing kidnapping and robbing, I also fear that I will be in a taxi that stops to pick up a person who then contributes to the aforementioned. I also fear being swindled, which almost happened when a man tried to charge me 15 dollars for a ride that cost me 5 on the way over. Be proud, blog friends---I said no. Anyway, I have learned that most taxis have figured out that if they have a male passenger already it will make you uncomfortable and say no if they try to pick you up. Most, however, think that if they have another female passenger that it is okay to pick you. Which I think is both sexist and ageist to think that an older woman could not contribute to my demise. So, I shooed off the taxis unless they were completely empty, which resulted in me shouting "no!!!" at more than one taxi that likely had a grandmother riding. Whoops. Other taxi secrets. One, I always try to make small talk with taxi drivers in hope that it will deter them from murdering me. "We cannot off that one, she asked about my home!"

Though it is challenging to make small talk without giving off the wrong impression, at which point I like to bring in my mythical group of friends that are also on the trip and anxiously awaiting me at the destination. Conveniently, like Prince Harry and Prince William, we always travel separately in case on party is injured to ensure that an heir to the trip remains. Two, TripAdvisor told me that I should inspect the taxis before I climb in and make sure that the license plate matches the number painted on the car. Not only have I failed to do that, but when I do look at other taxis (a game I like to play around matching, like Memory but paid car version), almost NONE of them match. Which means I have to lower my standards or walk (which could be more hazardous). I consider it hugely successful that I have now ridden four taxis to my destination unscathed. I went to a cafeteria-style lunch place and paid $4 for chicken and pork on rice (I do love some Panama prices), and then headed over to Allbrook airport to take a plane to Bocas del Toro. After the plane ride, a water taxi, and a few short steps, I am now at my hotel for the next few days. Hoping to get some sun, swim, and scenery!

P.S.  I did end up coming around to Casco Viejo---it had a certain kind of charm once you got used to the chaos!

Auckland

First of all, I want to re-emphasize that the enter key does not seem to work in New Zealand, so my posts won't actually format into separate paragraphs. I apologize about the seemingly run-on nature of these posts. Secondly, hi from Auckland! I'm in New Zealand's largest city, housing approximately 1.5 million people and a third of the population. Geographically, it's huge---it's land mass is approximately the size of LA and stretches on and on. Physically, it reminds me a bit of Seattle---a harbor city with ferries and the giant Sky Tower that looks suspiciously like the Space Needle. It's nice to be somewhere with things open past 5pm again, although I will say that there is some briskness that comes with the city that isn't present in other parts of NZ.

 Yesterday, I went up said Sky Tower and took my last snaps before my camera officially died on me (in spite of three different battery purchases, it is now saying my batteries are dead). Today, I went to the colonial settlement of Devonport and the art museum. I also went to a place called Kelly Tarlton's Antartic Encounter and Underwater World, which profiles a few of the earliest Antartic adventures and then has a massive aquarium. I loved it because a.) I do want to go to Antartica; b.) there were penguins!; c.) there was this place called Seahorse Kingdom that was blasting melodramatic music (think of the music from Atonement, but happier). It had three small cases of different seahorses bopping around and was truly magical.

Oh! I also walked around Auckland University, and it was wonderful. Their student union is so practical! They had a food court, a bookstore, a pharmacy, the health center, a travel agency, a post office, and the clubs and organizations office next door. If I don't come back, it's because I coerced someone to hire me and am never leaving. I have one last day tomorrow, which I may spend at a museum and around the harbor, and then have to head to the airport. As my lovely plane leaves at 6am and I am now starting the frugal descent where I try to make the $50 I have left last so I don't have to take any more out of the ATM, I will be sleeping at the Auckland airport. Considering the traveler spirit of this country, I hardly doubt I will be alone. I

t has not hit me that the journey is ending---I had the big goodbye with the end of Habitat for Humanity, but this doesn't have the same bit climactic ending. However, I will say that the people here have truly been some of the most hospitable and friendly that I have encountered. I don't think I've ever had the same genuine willingness to help and share their stories, and that's been so great to see. I've also enjoyed that in some ways New Zealand is a bit less "modern"---that you still see video stores and travel agencies and the internet hasn't replaced PEOPLE everywhere down here. It's a traveler's country for sure, with information centers everywhere and great hostels and a spirit of traveling. I'm glad I came here (and glad I came in winter, definitely avoiding the crowds and getting much more individualized service and access!). :)