Northern Light(s)

I’m back in Colorado, back “at home”. And yet, as I was leaving Alaska on Wednesday night, I cried.  Colorado is “home” for me, or as close as “home” can get, I guess. But in Alaska I left a piece of my heart: a big piece of my heart.  As my plane landed in ColoradoContinue reading “Northern Light(s)”

My first three days in Alaska

It’s been rustic. I’ve been staying at cabins with no running water. The bathroom is an outhouse for peeing & pooping. A pot of water heated on the stove and then used to wash oneself in the shower-tent in a corner of the garden is the shower at my friends’ cabin. No shower option atContinue reading “My first three days in Alaska”

South Dakota solo trip — Afterthoughts

I’m back from my solo trip in South Dakota, I got back yesterday late afternoon.  I was on edge for the first two thirds of the trip because after about half an hour of driving a whining/whirring sounds started, the pitch getting higher as I sped up, which indicated that it was something rotating, likeContinue reading “South Dakota solo trip — Afterthoughts”

South Dakota solo trip — Day 3

I will definitely have to sleep in my car tonight. It’s pouring with rain now, positively pouring, and thundering. “Heavy rain and thunderstorms” had been in the forecast today around 2-3pm, so I guess here it is, about an hour earlier than expected. I just hope it gives some reprieve later, so I can cookContinue reading “South Dakota solo trip — Day 3”

South Dakota solo trip — Day 2

I might have to sleep in my car tonight. We’ll see. I got back from my hike just in time, as it was starting to drizzle, before it began to pour. It rained pretty hard for about half an hour, now it has stopped again. The inside of my tent is dry but the grass &Continue reading “South Dakota solo trip — Day 2”

Finding myself again

A quarter of a century ago, the summer after I had finished high school, I met a boy who was nearly three years younger than I and who quickly became one of my closest friends and biggest loves.  We were sailing partners, buddies, lovers, siblings. We’re still in touch to this day — in fact,Continue reading “Finding myself again”

Trust: the most fundamental form of love

We were swinging freely almost twenty meters above the ground. The 9-mm climbing rope went through the two rappel rings at the top, 100 feet up from the ground, a “free-hanging rappel”, i.e. a lowering technique where there are no walls around or adjacent to you: you’re lowering from what is basically a hole inContinue reading “Trust: the most fundamental form of love”

Travel solo to explore or escape?

[Content warnings: loneliness, sorrow, loss, breakups, death of parent.] Traveling has always been part of my life: it was something we did with my family of origin; then, I also started doing it with the families of my best friends and, eventually, just me and my friends.  Technically, the first time I traveled by myselfContinue reading “Travel solo to explore or escape?”

Tu vas me manquer, dude!

[Note: This entry will be very long, and partly flow-of-consciousness. This is probably a piece that will eventually, hopefully, go into my memoir. So please read with sympathy and feel free to comment as long as it’s gentle & constructive feedback.] “Elle parle Français et beaucoup d’autres langues!” my French buddy cried after the pairContinue reading “Tu vas me manquer, dude!”