Six months since I first traveled to Mississippi, and today was the first time I saw the river. And in Louisiana, of all places.
Category: Places
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Mississippi River
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Graceland, the home of Elvis in Memphis, TN, a national historical landmark, and one of the most bizarre locations that I have ever been. How strange to walk through someone’s home and to see it so perfectly frozen in time. Above all, it was not grandness that fascinated, but rather, simplicity. The simplicity of what once was considered grand and the simplicity of what once was. Graceland
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Wherever I am, New England will always be home. This is our new temporary home in Columbus, MS, inspired by Woods Hole Harbor in Falmouth, and one of my favorite quotes;
“A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.”
Home
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Late in the night, I steal away, a plane to Los Estados Unidos waits for me in Managua. Adios & Buenos Noches, La Mariposa. You’ve given me much.Goodbye, La Mariposa
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Downwind of the volcano is Panama, the poorest region of La Concha. The air is so chemically laced that the latches on exposed doors wear away within months. Water is so scarce during dry season that they cannot use toilets, even with donated NGO water tanks. But we are not here to see what they cannot do, but rather, what they can.
Armed with a micro-loan from a social enterprise, a group of local women have opened a small storefront next to a church with a blue door. Here, they recycle newspapers to create bags, magnets, ornaments, baskets. The quality is incredible, given the materials. The drive and the passion are clear.
The women invest the profits that they make back into the village of La Concha. This is business for good.
Panama
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Hiking the Masaya Volcano at dusk. Rock, ash, smoke, sulfur. We peer over the edge; we’re close – the closest we can be to any active volcano in the world.
Up the slope, the steep, slippery slope. The view – there are no words that suffice.
Red smoke, red grass, red sunset. Jupiter glows over the park under the moon. Stars are everywhere. We are small. And feeling small makes me feel very big.
I climbed a volcano!
Volcán Masaya
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exploring & escapades 