Shugee

I spent all of last week camping on the Buffalo River in Northern Arkansas, near Ponca. I hiked in after dark with my trusty flash light and head lamp to light the way. I spotted on an armadillo on the path. Setting up camp was quick and painless, plenty of trees to choose from to tie the hammock up. I camped at the top of 20 ft bluff that overlooked the river. The first day in, I sat on the bank drying off from my morning swim and a very curious copperhead snake came close to take a look at me. Then, closer... then, closer... until she was about a foot away. She and I stared at each other a full thirty minutes and then she swam away. That was not the most interesting encounter of ... read more

This morning - bright and early - we boarded ship and set sail on the Aegean. I wasn't sure what to expect, other than magnificance.... The leader of our little expedition was a man named Peter Nicolaides (professional diver, oceanographer-biologist, off-shore engineer). He runs a school here called The Aegean Diving College and is one of the most intellegent, humble, fascinating individuals I've ever met. Yes, he's worked with Jaques Cousteau. Wow. Anyhoo... after Peter's lecture on the small islands just off the coast of Paros and the wonders beneath the sea (which, by the way, you can see from the boat - the water here is crystal clear... if you dropped a penny of the boat into 10 ft of water or more you could see it from the boat! - I'm getting away from ... read more

Today was my last trip to Florence. I went to this amazing chapel overlooking the city and had my 2nd or maybe 3rd spiritual moment. The first, being in Rome…second in a Baroque chapel. Anyhoo… tomorrow I pack for Rome. I think I will cry. Italy is…. How could one describe? The good news is Greece will be equally awesome. And with this leg of my adventure coming to its close, the intensive travel and touring will be done and I will be able to concentrate more on classes and creating. And you all will be hearing from me more often! ... read more

Today we toured Lucca. Three cathedrals, a museum, and an old cathedral that has been turned into a museum. Lucca is my third favorite (Rome and Venice being numbers one and two). Sienna and Pisa… eh. They’re alright. After the tour, I stayed awhile, did some window shopping, and had some gellato. Barely made it home in time to go to the Pearl Jam concert in Pistoia. There were between 10,000 and 15,000 people at the sold out show. We ended up not getting tickets for political reasons, but I managed (of course) to get into the show with full back stage privileges. I didn’t actually get to meet the band, because they were on stage while I was back stage hanging out in the dressing rooms. I probably could have met them, but I was ... read more