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Back in Bogota
This past week, I returned to Bogotá, a city I lived in from 2004 to 2006. In the following entry, I reflect on my first visit to Bogotá, ten years ago. Ten years ago, at the age of 22, I … Continue...
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The New Bogotá
I landed at El Dorado Airport in Bogotá at 5:30 in the morning, bleary-eyed and exhausted, but full of anticipation. I had heard many accounts of the great changes Bogotá had undergone since I left...
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View from the 13th Floor
Perched on the thirteenth floor of the Gran Manzana apartment building in Bogotá, I can see and feel the life of this city. Tall brick buildings hover over and stare at me through rows of flashing...
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Leaving for Turkey
In 2011, I visited Turkey for the first time. It was love at first sight. From the idyllic beaches and Roman ruins of the southern Mediterranean coast to the ancient cave churches and dwellings of...
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Hasankeyf, Turkey
I was not prepared for the allure of Hasankeyf. My guidebook had called it a “heartbreaker” and I had seen the photos of its famed minaret and stone bridge. Yet, I had not expected much from this...
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Meeting Kurdish women in their homes
While walking along the streets of Southeast Turkey, Jorge and I encountered men everywhere. They were our waiters, our hotel clerks and our taxi drivers. They were the denizens of the teahouses,...
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Into the Puna
Exactly one year ago, I traveled to the Puna, a desert in northern Argentina, with my husband, Jorge. In January, when I returned to San Francisco, I took a travel writing class at Book Passage in...
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Cartagena, Colombia
Ten years ago, I traveled to Cartagena for the first time, ready to be dazzled. My friends in Bogotá, where I had been living for the previous year, raved about the colonial charms and glamorous...
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Iran: Police State?
I never thought that Iran would be dangerous in the way others assume it to be. That is, I knew that, unlike other countries in the Middle East, it is plagued neither by civil war, sectarian violence...
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The Amazing Hospitality of the Iranian People
I had heard Iranians would be hospitable. Every account I read online by travelers who had been to Iran raved about their warmth and humility. My guidebook spoke glowingly of their generosity and...
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