About Me and My Travels

Before 9/11, I was a travel agent who sent others flying and roamed the globe myself. Travel was cheaper and safer then.

Yugoslavia was still Yugoslavia when I meandered through there. Dubrovnik boasted squeaky clean cobblestone streets, and one of their churches had eerily stood still for centuries, or, so it seemed. Previous earthquakes did not bring it down. I remember this city with its drawbridge, as oh, so clean, and the Adriatic coast was lush and so scenic.

Israel was guarded well, but Tel-Aviv had not been bombed yet. Having won a trip, I went alone and stayed for a month. The desert flowers were in full bloom. They told me this only happens once a year. Pondering on when Jesus walked on it, I crossed the Sea of Galilee on a ferry boat. I visited Nazareth and was shown where Jesus lived. I stayed in the convent on Mt. Carmel where there's a chapel that was built in a cave where Elijah stayed and prayed.

London lent itself to easy touring on its double-decker buses. Westminster Abbey was closed for remodeling, but the Cathedral was open and active. I sailed the Thames and crossed the Tower Bridge, musing on Big Ben.

Jamaica was lush and laid back and the ocean water so clear, you could watch the tiny silver fish swimming in schools. The locals would not let me leave without braiding my hair in their famous way.

The dungeons in the Bahamas were spell-binding, and their beaches gorgeous. I still wear the hat I higgled there.

Quito, Ecuador became my second home, as I travel back and forth from the U.S. to Mariscal Airport where an Angel always picks me up and delivers me to my apartment no matter what time of day or night I arrive. If he can't make it, his wife, Laura, fills in, welcoming me with a bouquet of fresh, gorgeous roses.

Safety is always my main concern, so when I arrive, I become one of the locals. Many there think I am an Ecuadorian. I speak fluent Spanish because I was born and raised on a farm near a village where the Spanish language ruled. Then I would attend school 20 miles away, riding the traditional black-striped yellow school bus, where English reigned. I guess I had the best of two worlds and still do.

Sometimes I still travel alone, but I'm only "alone" on the plane. I have so many friends in Ecuador who look out for me. That is the beauty I have found to return to again and again, and now I share what I have discovered with you.

When I travel to Ecuador, I usually find a bargain price on the internet if I persist, and so can you. Just stick with names you know.

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