Southwest Coast of Costa Rica
May 3, 2023. I hadn’t planned to wake at the crack of dawn, but knew I had to wake early as it could take much of the day to go […]
Author Archives: Lisa Karpinski
Back to Boquete
April 29 – May 2, 2023, Panama. I had hurt my knee in Bocas del Toro and was worried I wouldn’t be able to continue with the trip. It had […]
On to Boquete
March 30, 2023. My benefactors headed north through terrible roads which required a 4 wheel drive, and for two hours we wound our way down the hill and along the […]
El Valle de Anton
March 25, 2023, Panama. I was in Panama City, standing in line for the bus to El Valle de Anton. A woman in line said her brother had a house […]
Panama City
March 14, 2023. I arrived at my local airport in San Jose, CA with a few hours to kill. I was feeling sad about leaving home, and Shawn was kind […]
My friend Chris
I arrived back home Sept 19 to a whirlwind of activity: trying to find a new housemate by October 1, unpacking, cleaning, major yard work, seeing some old friends, and […]
The Enchanted Caravan
The first Friday in January for many years, I attended Nancy Mellon’s storytelling weekend at the Peck’s. This particular January, she had asked us to write a fairy tale showing […]
My letter on behalf of Ushguli, Georgia
March 17 2016 To whom it may concern: I am writing concerning the Chazhashi village within the Ushguli community, referenced by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/709. […]
My Inner Winter
Last night I was lulled to sleep by the rain. I usually can’t sleep without earplugs. Hearing rain rather than traffic reawakened my childhood desire to live closer to nature. […]
Francis Flowers & Herbs Farm
I have held off writing until I finished my summer European travel log, but am no closer to starting that. So I will instead tell you about Mark, who together […]
Hungary to Slovenia
June 18, 2018. I awoke in the outskirts of Amstetten, Austria, within a stone’s throw of a sign indicating that this was a biologically sensitive area. On my way to […]
Austria
June 12, 2018. I had to repack the tiny Citroen, which took two hours. It’s amazing how much longer it takes when you have a small space. Everything has to […]
Budapest and Bratislava
June 4, 2018. I arrived in Budapest the day of my dental appointment with Dr. Windisch, an implant specialist whom I’d found several years earlier when I was in Greece […]
Six Days in Oahu
Thursday May 13, 2021 – I’d been jonesing to be anywhere but home for over a year. COVID had been particularly hard on me, as I am migratory. I had […]
My Misadventures
I’d been dreading my dental visit to Loveland, Colorado for weeks. Not the dental part, but getting there and back. Being a penny pincher, I planned to drive, but after […]
Reflecting on the Civil Rights Struggle
I haven’t written a proper piece for years. I told myself I had to finish my travel blog from the summer of 2018 when, in the beginning of my travels, […]
Portugal
May 25, 2018. Having driven across the Minho River to Valença, I headed back to Tui, a charming village with narrow cobbled streets only a stone’s throw away across the […]
Basque Country to Galicia
May 18, 2018. I woke to the chill sea air of Donostia-San Sebastián (aka San Sebastián), and broke camp quickly so I wouldn’t be discovered. As I drove into town, […]
Pyrenees
May 14, 2018. I woke on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees in Bielsa after a cold night. I had stayed in a nice place and took my first shower […]
Haute-Garonne
May 3, 2018. It was a crazy day. I was behind in packing, even though I’d started weeks before, and was glad Shawn was giving me a ride. He helped […]
Choice of Charities
The following is a list of charities to whom I hope to contribute at some point: No More DeathsHaiti Action CommitteeKPFANever Ending FoodAristide foundation for democracyHaiti Emergency Relief FundZavala’s Political […]
Baby Egret
So sad. I rode my bike to Shorebird Way for the second time, this time in hopes of seeing baby egrets and herons fledge. What I got was probably what […]
Goodbye, McBlack
I bought my 2008 Mazda 3 new. It was special. My first new car. Its name suggested itself when I went to the dealer to buy Mica Black touch up […]
Baby rat
Full of self recrimination and guilt, I look at your tiny carcass, moved by your small soft ears, paws fragile and clasped as if in prayer, soft gray fur. I […]
Losing Gina
In 1993, I made the acquaintance of a vivacious, bubbly young woman barely 20 years old. Gina had already lived several lives. She had been forced to give up her […]
Lost and Found on Deception Creek
I met George Gooding in 1997 just after starting my new career on the Inside Mac team at Apple. It was a big stretch for me. I’d never worked on […]
The Sawyer
Walking down Pacific Ave in Santa Cruz last Friday, I was lucky enough to stumble someone playing musical saw in front of a bronze sculpture of Tom Jefferson Scribner. During the […]
Ereshkigal
Some weeks ago I confided in my acupuncturist about the deep grief and loneliness I’d been trying not to feel of late. My usual pattern is to stay so […]
La Vie Boheme
Last night I had the opportunity to see the 20th anniversary of the Broadway musical RENT. Tears ran down my cheeks as I watched the character Angel die of AIDS. […]
Writing a Book
I wrote my last post to explain why I haven’t been writing of late. I had hoped upon coming back to the states to begin the arduous project of turning […]
Insult to Injury
When I arrived back from Europe on October 24, I was exhausted and sleep-deprived. But I’m pretty compulsive about cleaning when I first get back from a long trip, and […]
Conflicted
I was asked recently at a grief counseling session whether missing people who have died might be tied to other events in my life. Thinking aloud, I mused that I […]
Back to France
October 14. I took advantage of being in my friends’ warm cozy apartment in Munich. I slept in, had a nice chat with Jennifer, and headed to Schloss Nymphenburg and the […]
Austria
October 10. I awoke at Marek and Zuzana’s flat in Bratislava, feeling grateful for having a place to stay. I took the chance to thank Zuzana for letting me stay […]
Southwest Romania and Hungary
October 6, 2017.??? I awoke in the strange partly built suburb of Szeged, trying to be as quiet as possible. I didn’t want to wake someone’s dog or the ire […]
Spending Time in Zebegeny – 2017
October 3. I didn’t want to leave but had another dental appointment in Budapest the next day, so around 10:30am I bid Paul and Stasia farewell and headed to Babiogorski […]
Visiting Relatives in Wadowice
Sept 28 – I awoke and went to the Kismaros library to use the internet. I’d planned on driving to Poland but wanted to work on my blog for a […]
From Brussels to Budapest – 2017
Sept 25, 2017 – I awoke and headed to Brussels, parking near the central park aptly titled Parc de Brussels. After a brief stroll through the greenery, I headed past […]
Amsterdam, then on to southern Netherlands
September 19. After Harlingen, I headed to Amsterdam. It was dark, and I was shocked at the sheer number of people on the streets. On bikes, on foot, on skateboards. […]
Friesland
September 18. I decided to finish the editing of Roel’s presentation of his months-long pilgrimage from Eibergen to Santiago de Compostella before heading north. I bid my friends goodbye around […]
Lisa Karpinski 