Margilan Day Trip: Silk, Worms, and Dresses

Khushnud and I were chatting at the pottery wheel, as always.  For two people from different cultures, different generations, different religions, and opposite sexes, we found no shortage of things to talk about. At first, all we shared was a common language, Russian, and a love of pottery. Within a […]

The Student Becomes the Teacher

But by the third day, I had settled into the rhythm of life in the studio. We ate breakfast of bread, cheese, and tea and then Khushnud and I spent the morning at the pottery wheels, throwing new pieces, decorating, and trimming whatever had dried enough to handle. Before long, it […]

Detained at the Uzbek-Kyrgyz Border

While Julia was busy taking pottery classes, I got my ass in trouble. Funny story. When we arrived in Rishton, it was already dark outside, and we barely saw the surroundings.  But as we settled for the night at the pottery studio, I looked at Google Maps on my phone […]

Pottery for Pets

I woke up the next morning with my heart fluttering. It was the first day of my pottery retreat. I threw on older clothes I didn’t mind getting dirty with clay and hurried outside. I hadn’t really seen the courtyard the night before. We arrived after dark, when little was […]

First Lesson. Rishton.

It was late evening, and we had just arrived at the pottery studio of one of the most famous ceramic artists in Uzbekistan. We were exhausted and sweaty and weren’t sure if our long day of travel was over or if we would now need to look for alternative accommodation. […]

An Honest Conversation in Havana

By Julia / January 12, 2023

There is a conversation that happens in every country we visit.  The locals earnestly ask, we honestly answer, the locals are thrilled, and by the end of it, everyone is happy.  But this one time, it went off script. “How do you like Cuba?” the taxi driver asked, flashing us […]

Our Own Museum of Travel

By Victor / December 15, 2022

Our condo is a museum of our never-ending globetrotting.  African masks, religious statues, souvenirs, and mementos from all over the world constantly fight for shelf space with the cats.  The more we travel, the more things we bring home.  Our minimalist way of life directly conflicts with the constant desire […]

Unexpected Food Capital of South America

By Victor / December 8, 2022

How come Peru has two restaurants in the top 10 restaurants in the world list, while the U.S. has none? This was the question we puzzled over while boarding our flight to Lima.  The answer was found shortly thereafter, during our nine-day crisscrossing of the land of the Incas, alpacas, […]

Peninsulas of Ireland Part II: The Luck of the Irish

By Julia / December 1, 2022

Start here with Part I: The Undiscovered Peninsulas of Ireland. Day 4. Ring of Kerry on Iveragh Peninsula. We spent a long time discussing the Ring of Kerry during the planning of the trip, and it all came down to this not-very-common itinerary question: clockwise or counterclockwise?  I can’t recall […]

The Undiscovered Peninsulas of Ireland

By Julia / November 17, 2022

“It looks like a claw,” Victor said. We zoomed in to the bottom left corner of the island of Ireland on Google maps, and I clearly saw a claw with five crooked digits protruding into the ocean, the five southwestern peninsulas.  The peninsulas, Mizen, Sheep’s Head, Beara, Iveragh, and Dingle, […]

On the Edge of the Crater: Volcano Hiking in El Salvador

By Julia / November 10, 2022

My recent post about hiking (and running) through Dunloe Gap reminded me of the most spectacular hike we did at the end of last year.  El Salvador and that entire region, including Guatemala and Costa Rica, are chock full of volcanoes, and yet another volcano hike didn’t sound like anything […]

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