My first night off Sicily and onto the Italian mainland I walked a road along the coast searching for a place to sleep. To my right the rocky land shot straight to the sky and to my left the road plummeted to a rough Mediterranean sea. The sun was already below the horizon and the […]
The bowl was streaked with red bolognese sauce and the wine glass only held the dark dregs of the syrah. Both exceeded every expectation I had of Italian cuisine and yet I was unfulfilled. Palermo had it all – the food demanded it be savored, the wine had me heady the moment it touched my […]
Down from the blustery plateau and into the farmland of north Tunisia were rolling hills green with alfalfa. Stone farmhouses dotted the great hills and as the sun approached the horizon a scattered orange light broke through the clouds above them. It was as Savannah and I were walking out of village that I spotted […]
The sergeant of my escort had olive green eyes that matched his uniform and a gray mustache which hung over his upper lip. He was about fifty and radiated an aura of experienced assurance. When he nodded up the road and said “Three kilometers,” he stood with his hands together behind his back. What he […]
Savannah and I stood on the grass in the long park in the middle of the road as though it were an island. From between palm leaves I could see the hotel receptionist watching us from the hotel steps. If I decided to go farther than the park the police would have to accompany me.
On my fourth morning in Algeria I woke to the sound of footsteps crunching dried pine needles. The sound made a wide arc around my tent then stopped at the dirt road. I heard the click of a car door handle then the sound of the door shutting. It was still dark out. Savannah was […]
The police officer came bounding out of his dusty hatchback and across the street. “My friend! Can I see your passport?” “Sure thing. One second.” I veered my cart off the asphalt shoulder and onto the dirt path beside it. The Spanish port-city of Melilla was thirty kilometers ahead. Because of this proximity to the […]
Savannah had a predilection for horses. When she was only a puppy in Texas she darted beneath a barbed wire fence and nearly touched noses with a horse bending low to her. I thought she was going to be crushed, but she merely hurried back with her tail wagging. And her tail was wagging now […]
I swatted my Eagles hat just beside Savannah’s eyes, taking out two dozen gnats swarming there. Then I swung the hat around my head before bending down and using my thumb to brush away the gnats lined on Savannah’s eyelids. “Okay,” I said to Savannah. “That’ll help for about a minute.” I grabbed the cart […]
The sky above Salamanca was a dark blue and turning warmer by the minute. It wasn’t expected to be an especially hot day so there was no real urgency in getting started early, but I hated leaving cities after everyone had woken so I left at seven. Even without needing to maneuver around people, […]