Robyn's Wanderings

“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.” – Lillian Smith

Bermuda's Halloween with a pumpkin!

There were going to be no carved pumpkins, no candy corns and definitely no costumes. Why?

Because I was in Chile for October 31 and while I might be used to Halloween traditions like trick or treating, South America had a different way of greeting me during my trip around the world: Days of the Dead.

Perhaps holidays are not something you consider when traveling, but it’s amazing how sentimental I could get while on the road. Never one for Halloween (yeah, ok as a kid when candy was the game!), when I arrived in Chile I started pondering how I would spend it.

Well, the first thing to learn is that not everyone celebrates Halloween as Bermudians, American and Canadians traditionally know it. Originating from the ancient Celtic festival of the dead, Samhain, the tradition was/is celebrated as the time when strict boundaries between the worlds of the living and dead became thin. Ghosts of the dead could, therefore return to earth.

When the Romans conquered much of the Celts land in France and England, the Roman day of the dead at the end of October became incorporated. With the spread of Christianity, there was an attempt to subsume this into All Saints Day on November 1 and the festival the night before was Alls-Hallows. Anyone see where this is going?

Well, for the country where these traditions all started, Ireland, parties, bonfires and fireworks spread through the country on October 31; while, Dublin hosts its annual Halloween Festival and parade.

The UK? Well Halloween has taken to the mainstream throughout the UK too. Yep children are asking for candy and adults get lost in outfits and parties. But what is definitely a highlight is the London Zombie Walk where hundreds moan and groan through the capital while visiting twelve pubs.

Head North to the Scandinavian countries of Norway and Sweden and you will find that Halloween is relatively new holiday and there will be a few parties and themed events around the countries.

Let them eat candy for Halloween or.....Julebukk

What they do, do in Norway that is similar to our Bermudian Halloween is run around the neighbourhood between Christmas and New Years to ask for sweets. It’s called Julebukk and it hails back to the Viking era. No dressing-up is really required….well beyond the layers of warm clothes required! I can attest to this having taken part when I visited family friends when I was 13-years-old.

Moving further East to Russia and the rise of Halloween is not welcomed by all. In 2008, in fact, lawmakers here sent a bill to their lower house to consider banning not just Halloween, but also Valentine’s Day. Why? They are worried about protecting their “conservative ways”. So in place of Valentine’s Day, Russians would be able to celebrate the Day of the Family, Love and Fidelity. No word on what Halloween would be called.

While Russia might be turning away from Halloween, other countries have never celebrated Halloween, but have ceremonies that draw from the idea that spirits of their ancestors abound. The Malagasy people of Madagascar have one of the most unique ways to honour their dead. Though Halloween (as we might know it) is little celebrated on this East Coast of African island, they do honour their dead by ‘turning the bones’. This ritual, ancient it is, requires the opening of the tombs of the dead dressing the bones in fresh clothes and passing them around to dance with friends and relatives.

Um….I think I’ll head to Cambodia now, which is my favourite South East Asia country. Here, the whole concept of Halloween does not really exist! Instead the country focuses on the lunar calendar and the tenth month which usually falls in September. During this time the Cambodian Buddhists celebrate the Pak Ben, 14 days during which they wake every morning before dawn to prepare offerings of food and other gifts to monks living in the local pagoda and to their ancestors.

On day 15, Cambodians visit the Pagoda with sweet sticky rice (the best food in the world) and bean treats wrapped in banana leaves and other special foods to mark the P’chum Ben or festival of the dead. P’chum Ben also marks the close of Pak ben.

Do you see how it all comes around? Sweet rice or candy corn? Ok it’s a stretch, but this is why I love traveling: different countries have draw on the same ideas, but it translates for cultural understanding.

Let’s stay in Asia and head to Japan! If we go now, however, we would have completely missed their equivalent to Halloween, the Obon Festival. That’s because Japan does not celebrate Halloween, but they do have this mid-August Festival to honour the deceased and often ends with candle lit paper lanterns floating down a river which symbolize the departure of their ancestors.

Heading further East (from Japan of course) to Mexico and you’re also celebrating the Day of the Dead on November 1 and 2nd. Well, that is now. When it was celebrated during the Aztec years, the festival would last two months! With the introduction of Catholicism, however, the celebrations were whittled down to two days! During these days, it is believed here that lost ones return to the earth to celebrate with their families and friends. Visits to grave sites ensue where offerings of food, photographs and drinks are offered to the dead.

Moving to the South of this world and we hit Peru, which celebrates more than 3000 festivals a year and also finds time to recognize their Day of the Dead on November 1 and All Saints Day on November 2. These are days for Peruvians to honour their dead with Mass, bringing flowers to the cemetery and sharing food with the dead. It’s a tradition that stems back pre-Hispanic years!

All dressed-up to tackle Patagonia for Halloween!

And finally what did I do in Chile? Well let’s just say I looked like one of the scary masks in the Phoenix as I tried to hike for five days through the Torres del Paines National Park without a shower. However, with the natural beauty of glaciers, bright blue lakes and avalanches, I did not miss Halloween one bit.

Which brings me to one last point: yes, our holidays are fun, but use these holidays with days-off from work (yes, even Cup Match) as a chance to see what other places do. You’d be surprised how little you miss home as you become inspired by a new culture. Ok, enough for this week, ciao ciao!

Bermuda in black and white

this photo taken? It’s Friday and I decided, after a number of weeks being MIA, to restart the photo of the day for Friday.

This week, the photo comes not from Patagonia. Not even the Alps! Nope, this black and white photo is delivered to you from my travels to Horseshoe Beach in Bermuda on a stormy Saturday.

Hurricane Ophelia was passing our shores, so I decided to head to the beach to see what crazy surfers might have taken to the waves or tourists who thought they could take-on the riptide.

While there is seemed perfectly worthwhile to play with my brand-new camera and capture Bermuda’s stunning countryside. The result? Robyn’s Wanderings’ photo of the day!

Want to see the picture in its coloured form? Here you go:

Horseshoe beach in colour!

Get out or online and see the world!

“We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive all men into crime or drugs or psychoanalysis,” Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire.

Itchy feet. I have itchy feet and no, it’s not a medical condition.

It’s a phenomenon of which I am sure most people are accustomed, especially because we live on a 21-square-mile island. Of course we Bermudians call this situation by another name: Rock Fever.

Whatever you call it, the need to travel is something everyone feels from time to time. Some people? Well you know I find it hard to sit still.

What happens, however, when you find other commitments in life? What happens when the economy takes a nose dive and your income is eaten by electricity bills, grocery bills, etc…? And what happens when your vacation days are a pitiful 10 thanks to the minimum required by law?

Well, as Edward Abbey said in Desert Solitaire (read the quote!): “We need the possibility of escape,…” Sure it would be better to actually escape, but sometimes that’s just not possible.

So what are you supposed to do? Well this brings me to my Rock Fever Column today and ten websites that will help you to find your escape and inspiration for your future travels. Bonus? These websites are free so save your money and trees by leaving magazines on the counter and log-on to:

Robyn's Wandering....or skipping through the Valley of the Kings, Egypt

1. Of course the first one has to be my own: www.robynswanderings.com! There’s nothing quite like self-promotion. My blog offers photos and stories from my year traveling around the world, my travels through Europe last year and many more. It also offers weekly offerings from fellow Bermudian, Emily Ross, who is traveling through South East Asia. Need I say more? There is even a page (Bermuda’s Postcards) dedicated to stories from fellow residents’ travels. This page is no guidebook, which can offer very pristine views on travel; instead, Bermuda’s Postcards offers real stories from Bermudian residents about real travels. Want to submit your stories? Email me at skinnerrobyn@gmail.com.

2. www.wherethehellismatt.com because we all need to dance in the rain in Stone Town, Zanzibar. You think I’m crazy to become a travel journalist? This guy found sponsors to send him around the world “dancing” (you will understand the quotations when you watch) and filming himself. I even used Matt’s clips while I was on the road. When I didn’t think I could continue in Malaysia my travel buddy introduced me to this website. I continued for another three months. These four-minute flicks should be your feel-good films of the year!

3. http://joobili.com/ because it’s great to travel, but it’s even better if you can plan your trip around a festival or other events. This site is easy to use and will allow you to pick a range of days in any month and then showcase concerts, festivals, etc… in multiple different countries. Only downfall? It’s mostly Europe. There’s another travel business idea…….joobili for North America…….

Research your travel in Europe on www.joobili.com!

4. www.reallywildchallenges.com: Want to mix travel with charity? Well we have our own Bermudian organization, Bermuda Overseas Missions, but what if you miss their trip this summer? Then Really Wild Challenges offers a traveler the chance to raise money for a charity and in doing so hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro, bike through India and many other “wild!” travels. How does it work? You can either pay your way (no charity involved) or ask a charity if you can raise money for them. The charity will ask you to raise a certain amount of money and if the individual does, then the charity will pay the minor challenge costs for the individual. Does travel get any better?

5. www.hostelworld.com: Ok so this is a little random. Sure we visit these booking sites to find hostels, but the site also offers great photos and suggestions for places to visit in a country. Stuck with where to go? See where hostelworld.com has hostels on offer and what there is to do there! It’s a great source of honest information too. Backpackers can leave reviews of the hostels but also the town, which are honest and helpful!

6. http://www.travelyourself.ca/ Want some more videos to inspire? Well, I couldn’t but help to support a fellow, female traveler. Oh and Cailin’s a great videographer that is not paid by any organization to create pristine videos. The beauty? You can visit a country for “real” and see what it’s like.

Women can travel solo too!

7. www.wanderlustandlipstick.com Ok so this one is mainly for women….but it can’t hurt the men to check it out; it might just give men an idea of some of the concerns women have to deal with on the road. With the adventurous woman in mind it gives tips on how to stay safe in your hotel room, lists tours and even ways to dress in other countries (i.e. in India you really need to be conservative). Inspiring and a relief for women worried about travel.

8. www.gadling.com This site is constantly updating its blog with a variety of contributors (though really you should be coming to mine). I personally enjoy the links at the bottom which offer random travel stories like about an artist building a mountain out of….used clothes. Fun, quirky and informative.

9.www.nomadicmatt.com One guy, a computer and the world = Nomadic Matt. He also provides you with hundreds of links to blogs of all varieties. From traveling with kids to solo female travel blogs his is the source of any tip of information about travel you might need.

10. www.matadortrips.com Off the beaten track and don de road, rond de corner (for the Bermudians out there) this website will take you everywhere with those who know the particular everywhere you are looking for. Best part? You’re not going to visit Amsterdam just to smoke pot. Yes, crazy I know, but there are other options. Matador with help you out with that.

Hopefully these sites (and of course my column) are a few places to start inspiring your travel or, at least, give you an escape from the everyday. Goodness knows Bermuda doesn’t need anymore crime or drugs (see quote if confused. I promise I don’t pull these comments from nowhere). Until next week I say, “Gauw tot ziens.”

Traveling on Thai public buses!

Difference good or difference bad? Frost could you explain? Because right now I am traveling down a path I have a lot of knowledge about in some areas and yet is a hell of a risk in others. So my Friday Photo of the day? Me exhausted on a Thai public bus! Open doors, along dirt roads = tired and dirty traveler!

While I could navigate my way around the world last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, now I’m back home. I kept the travel column in The Royal Gazette newspaper (every Monday so check it out!), but I’m also trying to do something new – establish myself as a freelance and travel writer.

Sometimes I don’t know what I am doing. Sometimes I am trying to do new things. Sometimes I try to approach the idea from different directions.

I like it. I enjoy it. Or, well, I wouldn’t be doing it. But it’s not easy. I have the critics and the cynics sitting on my shoulders: How can you wander Robyn when you are on a 21-square-mile island? How can you be a travel writer when you are not traveling all the time? Don’t you ever want to settle down? Don’t you want to have kids?

And the truth is: I don’t know. Is it weak to admit this today? I don’t know. But the truth is I am trying. I am trying to travel down a path that I have never been on before.

I am trying to do something I have been subconsciously working on all my life. I have wanted to travel and experience the world since I was 11-years-old and begging to go to boarding school. The “wanderlust” has never stopped. I am always curious. I want to see it all.

And now I am trying to translate this energy into what I do. But besides the cynics I have other road blocks and diversions that spring-up.

Surely if I can survive a five-day trek through Patagonia I can tackle anything?

While on the road it might have been rocks falling off the side of the Amalfi coast in Italy that closed the road. It might have been breaking-up with a boyfriend while on the trip. Now it’s tackling health insurance, pay roll tax, pensions and balance in life.

Questions loom over me. Should I spend money on upgrading? Should I go on that trip? How do I figure out how to combine my trip with travel? And how do I have a vacation?

I have confidence in myself or I wouldn’t have chosen to wander through this territory of freelance and travel writing. But that’s not to say I don’t question myself. And that’s not to say I don’t stress about things.

The other thing I am learning? The other path I am traveling? It’s down the path with people who are willing to support me. Willing to take a chance on me. And figuring out who is not.

None of this is easy and, yet, I love what I do. How do I make that work?

Patagonia, Chile

I landed in Santiago, Chile after almost 38 hours on planes and sitting in airports such as Singapore, Tokyo and Dallas. Actually Dallas included an unintended stay-over when I slept through my departure AT the gate. Should that have told me something? Yes. I needed more sleep.

Luckily I got it in a Dallas airport hotel and the next day flew to my intended first-stop in South America – ever – Santiago. Chile. I don’t speak Spanish and I didn’t have a guidebook, but I did have the name of my hostel and a taxi service.

Golden. But where was I going to go? Chile’s long and thin and difficult to navigate by land. Especially when I landed there in their spring (late September).

Eeny, meeny….miny….moe: Patagonia. Best decision I ever made as I witnessed glaciers for the first time in my life and the most spectacular scenery at the end of the world. Well almost.

I couldn’t quite make it to Ushuaia, which names itself the most Southern city in the world, thanks to bus schedules. So I stayed in Punta Arenas and almost made it to the tip of the world. But don’t let that stop you!

Punta Arenas in Patagonia, Chile

Why not combine spa with adventure and a chance to visit tuxed-out non-flying birds? Why not spend New Years’ Eve in the luxury of a high-end cruise that will depart from Ushuaia (in Argentina) deliver you to some glaciers, cross the straight of Magellan and visit Magdela Island where 120,000 penguins await?

If that’s not your cup of tea, Chile by Sportstour, which you can book through CTravel, also offers New Years Eve in Chile’s desert and the highest in the world – the Atacama Desert. With moon-like landscapes that will mystify why not try it? Make the New Years resolution.

New Years Eve may seem miles away as we enter August, but if you’re looking for a deal in December you need to book with Windstar Cruises for their 2-for-1 deals. Take a 15-day cruise to:St. Barts, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Curacao, Aruba
Transit Panama Canal, Isla de Coiba, Quepos, Tortuga Island.

If you book by August 14 (i.e. only nine days away) one person can sail for 15-days for :$3,575 pp. It was originally $7,149 per person. Can’t think of a nicer place to be spending Christmas!

Varanasi/Robyn Skinner

Or maybe you want something sooner? Something for September? Why not travel on the only Riverboat along the Ganges between Kolkata and Varanasi, India?

The next trip for the 56-person Bengal Pandaw river cruise is September 27th. There are only ten cruises a year! Each one is 11 days, but the entire trip includes stays in Kolkata for a night and Varanasi (the holiest city in India) for two.

For more information on the Bengal Pandaw Riverboat contact Carl Paiva, CEO of CTravel at 292-3033 and for the other deals check CTravel’s website or give them a call.

And as always: check the Travel Deals’ Page for more advice.

Ok it's not quac, but it easily could have taken me down!

What the hell am I talking about? Well it is Wednesday so I was struggling with a post when I saw this news item.

Guacamole poses health threat!

As if we need anymore warnings over things to be wary of. And by the way – way to take the fun out of Mexican food. I literally only go to Mexican restaurants for the Guacamole.

The best I’ve found? Dos Caminos in New York. These guys are a chain, but don’t let that fool you. They make spicy guac right next to your table. I can honestly say I have never been sick from it.

Which is about the only thing I haven’t been sick from. But why Robyn are you choosing to write about this today?

Yes I thought you would ask. The reason is I haven’t been feeling well recently. Ended-up spending four hours in the hospital Sunday morning to figure it out. Thought it was the kidneys – it wasn’t. Don’t fret it was nothing life-threatening and I’m fine.

But thank goodness I’m not on the road. So many people have asked how I survived 24 months on the road and I can honestly say: surprisingly well. It wasn’t always easy mind you.

With my rice saviours!

I mean in Egypt a salad attacked my stomach and I paid the price. What is it you ask?

Two days on the floor of my hostel bathroom. Then another two recovering with plain rice from the guys on the left! Scary in Cairo a city of 6.8 million people I can be a regular, but there you have it.

Any other food attacks? Only in Bali, but sadly on my birthday. Dehydration coupled with eating a wheat-infused Mars Bar did me in. Instead of surfing the tide on 30 I was sitting in an over-priced foreigners clinic.

Luckily I had my friend Lee’s house to recover in and lots of mint tea, rice and bananas and some of these yoghurt drink things I bounced back!

I survived the rest of the trip unscathed. Even through Patagonia. But that brings me to my point. Yes I have one.

It’s not easy being green. Ok, no that’s Kermit’s point. It’s not easy being celiac and on the road. I remember my first travel buddy telling me to write wheat down in multiple languages before I left.

Ha! Not going to happen. And good thing I didn’t try. I found a lot of languages don’t really have a translation for wheat. It’s simply flour. Or so I found out in Thailand as I tried with little success to get to the bottom of it all.

That’s all right. Thailand has rice noodles! Enjoy. What is my number one tip for those traveling with food allergies?

- Obviously depending on the severity (I mean shellfish you should be carrying an epi pen) pack snacks. In Europe I could find gluten-free stuff almost everywhere. In the middle East not so easy. I would go to the markets and get nuts, dried fruit and any other easy-to-carry snack.

It will save you when you need it the most.

- Eat simple. Street food was the best for me. I could see what they put in it and tell them what I didn’t (shaking head works best). You can use the word for egg if that is a problem (it is for me). I found every country understood. Though it’s incredibly difficult to say in Thai just FYI.

Eating street food - sticky rice!

- Drink plenty of water. No matter what happened (i.e. the Egyptian toilet bowl experience) water was the saving grace. Often I would feel worse when traveling because I had forgotten to drink water.

Which brings me back to Bermuda. DRINK WATER.

I think I was feeling rough last week because I went for a run. It’s too hot out there to be frivolous with your H2O intake.

- which brings me to my final point. If you are traveling to Bermuda and are celiac enjoy. Buzz Cafe, which has six locations, has gluten-free bread!!! I can’t even tell you how happy that makes me. Imagine toasted brie and sun-dried tomatoes on bread you can eat?!?! (only a celiac will understand).

And…..apparently and…I haven’t tested this out, but Hickory Stick (another sandwich place well-visited by the locals on the hunt for a good lunch) will make a sandwich with your gluten-free bread if you bring it!

This is my quick guide for Wednesday on food allergies. I promise. I promise I will sit down and write a column on it… but I need your help.

Have you got food allergies? How did you cope traveling? email me at skinnerrobyn@gmail.com or join my group on Facebook.

Laptop takes on Patagonia

You’ve come far too quickly. Why is it as soon as the weather warms the weekends sweep-by?

And now I’m back in the office. Yes I said office. I am temping for an office manager who is away for two weeks. That’s another type of traveling! I haven’t been in an office, office in a long time…..but that’s another blog.

Today it’s Monday so that means…..drum roll…..Rock Fever strikes again. Perhaps this is more poignant today as I sit freezing in air-conditioning feeling more like I look in the pic in Patagonia above.

What was it today: Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Can you see me? Staying in touch while trying to travel around the world.

For me the best way to do that and the cheapest was to Skype. The problem? My mom and dad took 11 months to sign-up for it! Oh well they got around to it and I got to see them, my grandmother and our dogs…..just when I needed the most support – on the way home!

Read more about it here.

What else has been keeping me busy? Well trying-out new things. You know I always blab about this. Well I am trying.

Know what I did last week? I went to see a play. Yep! I wasn’t so sure about going and sometimes it’s hard to extricate yourself from the day-to-day grind. But I have a confession…a friend was in it.

What was it? Fahrenheit 451 and it’s currently playing at the Daylesford Theatre and presented by BMDS. Check out my review!

Freaky? Yes. Why? Not because of the acting. Nope I thought everyone was very good. More to the point…..”Forget the story, give me the pow.”

It is based on a book written in the 1950s and yet it scarily sets-out life now! People who want to read are hunted and their books incinerated. Others are scared silly by them. They want TV and reality shows where they are featured.

Which means the audience features in this play…..as the characters stare into the theatre hoping to disseminate some truth.

Too heavy for Monday? Ok well then check out the light and airy contribution to Style Bermuda last week!

Five ways to visiting Bermuda!!! Did I miss something? Should I have included something? And stay tuned for tomorrow….traveling in the business world. It’s scarier than Fahrenheit 451!

Backpacking in Patagonia

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

It’s back to the travel gig and here’s the latest column from The Royal Gazette.

Travelling solo – that wasn’t really my plan when I started travelling around the world last year. Yes, I started with a boyfriend (I called him a travel buddy) but that ended.

Patagonia

So it’s Friday. Congrats to everyone who has made it through another week. Glancing at your screen? Picturing your next trip?

Each week I want to feature pics from trips around the world to help inspire and entertain for the last day of the week. Here’s a start to your weekend and conversations (I hope) about your next trip.

This picture is Patagonia. I had just landed in Punta Arenas (the gateway to Chile’s Patagonian wilderness) and decided to hike 11 km to see some little penguins.

We walked past miles of this grassland along a Patagonian beach with wind desperately trying to knock us down. The best part? We had to take-off our shoes and socks to wade through “streams” (rivers) of near-freezing water.

Was it worth it? Click on the Photo of the Day to see more of my photos from Chile and the penguins. And send me your pics! The best one will be featured next week with a short blurb about what it is.