Shirin and I had taken a walk that morning, down to the harbour where we ate our sandwiches and then back to the hotel past a dead cat to collect our things. Young men were yelling in the streets and racing on scooters. This one guy in a black VW rabbit kept doing 30 minute circuits of the city, blasting top 40′s house music. I wondered how bored he must be as I counted his 6th time around the city, thumping that bass as if to make his windows shatter. Then I imagined it as some kind of coded signal and my mind began to race. To what mischief were his compatriots up to? As he made his 10th circuit I gave up on his story being interesting and settled on him being a big of a jerk.  Read more... (583 words, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

We left Marsala today. Stood in the driveway with Manuela’s parents and said a heartfelt goodbye to our new Sicilian family. Her parents are so very dear, kissing and hugging us as though we had been friends for years. We snapped some shots of Papa with his tiny orange Fiat, then the 4 of us in the driveway. It was a warm farewell for a very special, sun drenched week in a sleepy Sicilian town.

Manuela drove us to the bus stop down the street from their house. It was marked by a busted air conditioner above a closed store that sold plumbing equipment in the non-August months. More kisses and we boarded the bus.  Read more... (1136 words, estimated 4:33 mins reading time)

Trapani Airport is a converted Military Airport where they used to land DC 10′s and other carrier craft. It’s dark and you have to walk a lot and it’s easy to get lost, or at least think that no one would be watching you if you did. The cabin crew shepharded us towards a lit doorway, the crew being a lady in a shiny vest and the lights turned into a tiny customs hall with two guys leaning on desks. We rushed them like a football team and they ushered us through, taking only cursory glances at our passports. Shirin held us up a little, she being an American and all, but otherwise we were quickly through and out to arrivals.  Read more... (736 words, estimated 2:57 mins reading time)

Seeing Jess was a dream. It had taken us 25 hours plus the London train to get to her house from the beaches of the Maldives and we were both beginning to forget the warmth of the sand and blue of the ocean. But sitting with Jess and reflecting on our marathon and the blissful week before brought it all rushing back. We arrived late in the day and soon sat down to a beautiful pumpkin soup that she’d made from scratch. I spent the first few mouthfuls genuinely impressed by the quality of this soup from a box only to find out Jess had spent the previous hours carving the pumpkin meat herself. Impressed I was, assuredly impressed.  Read more... (1273 words, estimated 5:06 mins reading time)

Airport Odyssey

Breakfast will be included Buffet is extravagent to say the least.

We spend the days lounging at one of the two pools. I do my best to swim the pools entirely holding my breath. Shirin hates me doing this, thinks I’m either going to die every time I do it, or thinks I’m purposely playing dead when I do. We sunbathe, I burn. We climb the steps at the back of our water bungalow and drop into the water that flows under our bedroom. The water is so clear you can see the rocks a hundred feet away and it’s so shallow you can wade out to the end of the jetty and still hold your hands above your head. The temperature is a glorious 88 degrees. Warmer than the jacuzzi that gives us endless grief because it won’t heat over 34 degrees celcius. Nor will the bathtub in the bathroom fill above our belly buttons. Seems like they spent a lot of money building this place but had nothing left for Quality Control.

To get to Iru Fushi resort, you have to take a 45 minute flight by seaplane. It costs 600 return USD for two people. Money we did not expect to pay. boarded small Otter sea planes. Been in service since WWII. So beautiful to fly over Attols at 4000 feet. We could see so much detail and color flying beneath the clouds. First time Shirin has ever been on a plane like that and she was nervous and excited, the happiest I’ve seen her since the day we married.  Read more... (237 words, estimated 57 secs reading time)

Last day in Delhi. The sun rises again from the apex of the Lotus temple. We hit the buffet, book a taxi and make the trek to the airport for our flight. Delhi for sure looks better in the day. The streets, though crowded and filthy, are filled with life. Everyone making the best with what they have under the harshest of conditions. We drive in the shadow of the monorail, each support column rising from the streets and the sewers and the slums. Delhi’s word – Sprawl.  Read more... (1915 words, estimated 7:40 mins reading time)

The slums spread like weeds between bricks. Nowhere is too small or too inhospitable to host a row of shanty blocks and the perimeter walls of the Lotus Temple was no exception. We arrived back in Delhi around 3pm. We had an hour to kill till the Temple grounds reopened at 4pm so we stopped by a local co-op called Deli Haat. This is an all inclusive shopping style, the kind I hate. They greet you at the door, hold you by the elbow while they usher you deeper into their tourist trapping cave, plying you with teas and sweets. I got the heebies the moment we walked inside and stayed on my heels the whole time. We did pause at the pashmina shawls, entertained buying one for a few minutes till the reality of a 6000 rupees souvenir dawned as rediculous.  Read more... (815 words, estimated 3:16 mins reading time)

Shirin shook me awake. "Look out the window". It was early, maybe 6am. The curtains were pulled from the night before and bright orange sunlight was streaming through the windows. I squinted, focusing on the ball of light rising from the top of the Lotus Temple, perfectly centred as if produced from the apex itself. For five minutes, Shirin and I watched the sun climb the sky over Delhi like a ladder. It was magical.  Read more... (1298 words, estimated 5:12 mins reading time)