10.10.19

One more week, and I’m back to my new version of Reality.

I’ve been in the US for almost 6 weeks (I’m sticking with that theme) and will be returning to Croatia next week via Rome along with a quick side trip to Florence via train. Since I’ve been back I stayed with several friends, caught up, and went from Portland, Oregon to Orange County, CA and finally to San Antonio, Texas. They each have their own vibe, for sure, from the eclectic Portland to the tony Orange County and the cowboy town of San Antonio, which BTW has a horrible homelessness problem based on how many times I was accosted this week. I’ll not post pictures of that…

Many are shocked when I say I have no plans and will probably not return to live here. It’s like a relationship that ends or a career that has passed. That was then, this is now, and we had our Day in the Sun. What’s next?

Sicily, Italy, the first of two island hops, and we will be there for at least a month. It’s a small island so will rent a bike and intend to circumnavigate the island so we can view the entire coastline. THAT I will report with pictures. I try to stay consistent with the six weeks’ time period (and writing a book about The Six Weeks Travel Club!) and after Sicily the plan is Greece. Meanwhile, Sicily is close to two other destinations: the island of Malta, just a 90-minute ferry ride, 80 km away, and that island is rife with history going back 4000 years. It’s only 122 sq. miles and I suspect that very few of the half million inhabitants speak English. But I could be wrong.

And we may do a much longer 10-hour ferry to Tunisia, which checks off the African continent and another country. That would be the first country that actually has me checking on safety and other issues. All seems to be good, especially because we will only be there a few days, stay in the north and close to the beach area. The thing that I find most fascinating about our travels is how close so many different things are. You can cross several country’s borders with just a train ride of a few hours, and you can venture into a whole new mindset in just a few hours flying. Many of our locations are accessible via ferry, which I enjoy. Egypt and Israel are on our radar (and warmer) and since I have never been to the Middle East that will be an adjustment.

Meanwhile, “Traveling the World Six Weeks at a Time, Volume I” is available so enjoy our journey from the beginning.