by cristinemp@comcast.net | Mar 20, 2016 | Asia, Musings, Travel
The Great Wall had not been high on my priority list, but I am certainly glad I had the opportunity to visit it, for it was a much more meaningful experience than I thought it would be. Actually, there is no ONE Wall, but rather many segments of walls built at...
by cristinemp@comcast.net | Mar 20, 2016 | Asia, Musings, Travel
Onward to Kashgar Heading west again across the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert wove us in and out of desert land, oases, and villages. I have not yet figured out how to describe villages and their constant hum of life, but suggest you imagine whitened-beige...
by cristinemp@comcast.net | Mar 20, 2016 | Asia, Musings, Travel
Back Tracking a Moment to Where I’ve Been and Setting the Stage for the West Let me take just a moment to give you some sense of where I am and where I have been. Let’s draw a mental map juxtaposing the U.S. and China. China and the U.S. are similar in continental...
by cristinemp@comcast.net | Mar 20, 2016 | Musings, South America, Travel
Invisible By day, they are invisible, scattered about the city like stray dogs on the prowl, digging through yesterday’s trash, begging outside of restaurants, or sleeping in the ragpiles of cardboard and debris. But as creatures of the night, they regroup,...
by cristinemp@comcast.net | Mar 20, 2016 | Musings, South America, Travel
Lying on Lima’s Southern edge, near Pachacamac ruins, a warren of squatter housing evolved into what is today portrayed as an “Oasis of Hope.” Villa el Salvador (VES) was founded in the early 1970’s by an initial wave of 10,000 migrants who either fled from the...
