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Our ship left Fortaleza, Brazil on March 12 (Day 57), crossed the Atlantic stopping at Cape Verde islands on March 17 (Day 61), and then cruised south along the shores of West Africa from March 18 to March 25. In West Africa, we visited the ports of Dakar, Senegal (March 18), Banjul, Gambia (March 19),… Continue reading West African Tourist

Seeing is of course very much a matter of verbalization. Unless I call my attention to what passes before my eyes, I simply will not see it. It is, as Ruskin says, “not merely unnoticed, but in the full, clear sense of the word, unseen.” —Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Dillard 1974, p. 33). Sailing ships… Continue reading Slave Trade

While writing this post, I learned about inverted narrative structure. This is when you tell the reader the conclusion at the beginning of the story and then go back to fill in the story that got to that conclusion. I found plenty of information about inverted narrative structure in my Google search. For writing a… Continue reading Pirates

After we left Rio, we cruised up the coast of Brazil from March 5 to March 12 (Day 57). During that time, we had one sea day and visited the ports of Cabo Frio, Salvador de Bahia, Maceio, Recife, Natal and Fortaleza. These ports seemed to run together in my mind, which must mean I… Continue reading Whirlwind of Northern Brazil

The ship docked in Natal Brazil on March 11 (Day 56). The highlight of the stop for myself and most of my fellow travelers was the largest cashew tree in the world (according to the Guinness Book of Records). I was expecting a tall tree, but in fact the tree is horizonal. “The tree’s crown… Continue reading Cashew Tree

Who hasn’t heard of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil? Marilyn and I looked forward to our visit there on March 3 and March 4 (days 48 and 49). We got up early so we could see the ship pull into the port. This approach into Rio from sea was described by our cruise director as one… Continue reading Rio

Often, the decks of the ship provide sun, wind, and beautiful vistas. There can be a connection to nature, to wonder. During our time in Brazil, however, there were some different sights. On March 2 (Day 47) pulling out of the port of Santos Brazil near sunset, an amazing sight greeted us. The pictures don’t… Continue reading Challenges

A short bus ride from Buenos Aires is the town of Tigre, which is the gateway to a vacation site called the Parana Delta. Marilyn and I visited it the afternoon of February 25 (Day 42). It is many rivers that feel like canals as they go around and between many low-lying islands. This place… Continue reading Nostalgia

Argentina is a long skinny country that occupies the southeastern side of South America. From what I can tell, there are some cities in the south of Argentina and lots of pampas grass, cowboys called gauchos, and many cows. I cannot attest to any of this personally, as the only stop we made in Argentina… Continue reading Buenos Aires

We all have parts of ourselves and befriending them can make a big difference in how we interact with the world. At least that is the perspective of Dick Schwartz, who developed a model (Internal Family Systems) that has come to make a lot of sense to me. Among my parts are kid parts. These… Continue reading Marine Animals