The Samaria gorge, located in west Crete in the White Mountains, is the second most visited tourist attraction on Crete (following the Minoan palace of Knossos) and it’s definitely the most popular hike. The locals call it the “Farangas” or “Great Gorge,” in admiration of its beauty and to differentiate it from the other smaller […]
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When I was growing up and we traveled as a family, my father always got up early in the morning while we were all still sleeping. He’d go for an early morning walk alone before whatever town we were in truly woke up. He particularly lived boats and harbors, the funkier and more run down
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Walking tour of Chania on the island of Crete… Lighthouse Ancient mosque A ride around the harbor? Greek flag flying proudly Ruins An excavation in the middle of town This is what they think this ancient Minoan village looked like And this was on the same corner…talk about a juxtaposition of old and new! Wooden
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This morning, as homework, I asked my students to write an ode to our home for the past four days, Milia Mountain Retreat. This is the ode that Jean West from Port Orange, Florida wrote: Even though I arrived when you were busy, quick hands extended fragrant coffee and toothsome cookies, making me feel as
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I love the rhythm of our life here in Millia. I love being in one place for four full days, waking up to yoga and writing class every morning and then sharing lunches and dinners together, sitting at the broad wide wooden table with different seatmates at each meal, getting to know each other while
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National Geographic has called Milia Mountain Resort, our first home in Crete, one of the world’s best Ecolodges. In the 1980s, when many Greeks left their villages to ride the wave of tourism development along the coast, two local friends took to the mountains of Crete instead. Their vision was to restore an abandoned medieval
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On my Write, Travel, Transform trips, I always begin by talking about some core attitudes that make traveling (and traveling in a group) more successful. One of these attitudes is flexibility and letting go of irritations and a second is respect for peoples’ differences. I also ask people to take a risk every day. It
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I didn’t write and post as much as I thought I would from Cambodia. Our days were long. I was savoring my final days with the group and with my family. But I wanted to at least share some photos from our final day’s outing: exploring village life in Cambodia. And I also wanted to
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I’ve spent the last 30 years dealing with trauma and thinking about trauma, so while I was in Siem Reap, I felt a visceral need to do more than marvel at the ancient temples this area is so famous for. I wanted to do that yes, and I loved walking around Angkor Tom, Angkor Wat
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One last P.S. from Laos. On my very last visit to the night market to buy some gifts, I came across this woman selling jewelry, key chains and bottle openers made from the aluminum that came from U.S. bombs. Talk about transformation! They money is helping their village in many ways. The sign explaining the
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Last night, after my wonderful interlude at Big Brother Mouse with Eliza, we returned to the hotel and headed out with our group for a farewell dinner and Baci ceremony at the home of a local family. Tui had arranged it for us and I knew it would be a wonderful evening. Judy and Surya
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Several times since we’ve arrived in Luang Prabang, I’ve passed a storefront that says “Big Brother Mouse” and I’ve always wondered what it was. The other day on my way home from the night market, I passed a cart out in front filled with children’s books written in Lao, including a Lao translation of The
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The last time I rode on the back of an animal, it was a horse and I was in Costa Rica with my then 13-year-old daughter. We were on a mother-daughter vacation and she really wanted to go on a horseback riding expedition. I had already sworn off horseback riding years earlier after a disastrous and
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We went on another walking tour this morning, this time looking at the architecture in Luang Prabang. We learned some interesting facts from Judy, Surya and Tui: for instance, that nails are forbidden in this town because of its UNESCO world heritage status; only tongue and groove construction is permitted. There are also strict laws
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