Because It's Greece "I'd tell you about last night but I'd throw up in my mouth. I woke up feeling funky-fresh. I like the coffee here. It's crunchy. Both the coffee and that raki stuff are like rocket fuel. I drank a little more of that than I would have liked under ordinary circumstances." - Anthony Bourdain (on Crete) When I woke up this morning I was in Venice, Florida. Living a mobile existence can leave you a bit...disoriented. In moments of semi-consciou...

Sanctuary "Make your own nature, not the advice of others, your guide in life." - Delphic prophecy "Delphi," the tour guide's voice blared through the microphone at the front of the bus, "is a place people come for security. For thousands of years, pilgrims from all over the ancient world journeyed to the sanctuary to learn what the future held for them. Peasants and kings alike went to consult the Oracle on matters of crops, war, family, and love." I hadn't b...

The Hill of Trials "Always remember, it's simply not an adventure worth telling if their aren't any dragons." - Sarah Ban Breathnach I think I've done more praying on this journey than I have collectively in my entire life. 'If my friends and family could see me now,' I thought, sitting piggyback on Antonio's incessantly backfiring Honda as he wove in and out of the Athens nightlife, treating the city like his own personal playground. Motorcycles seem to have a...

Dust in the Wind "The best meals in life are eaten barefoot." - Anthony Bourdain I think we block out our most bizarre travel experiences. So far outside our comfort zone are they, and perhaps occurring in the midst of a surreal jet-lag haze, our brain fails to register them fully, and they are the first to fade from memory, the way a dream is erased by the following afternoon. It was 2AM at the airport in Oslo when I sat next to a pair of Norwegians in the on...

Crabs "Anybody remotely interesting is mad in some way or another." - The Doctor Sometimes I think there's something seriously wrong with me. It's looks like I got from Lisa the travel agent, and from the print shop owner yesterday when I handed him a signed release waiver for a six-day pack trip to Machu Picchu with instructions to fax it. "To Canada?" He guessed, glancing at my passport citizenship on the waiver. "No," I said. "To Peru. Here's the number." ...