When the Lights Go Out -Remembering my Mother

It has been two months since my mother passed away. Two months sounds like a long time, but grief doesn’t follow a calendar. During the day, I am mostly okay. I keep myself busy. I do what needs doing. I write, I remember, I move from one task to the next. But when the day …

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Moorea: The Island That Made Me Addicted

lush mountains beside tranquil blue water Moorea

The German man from Fiji had warned me. “Moorea is beautiful, Andi. But be careful. It can make you addicted.” When he said that on the phone in Germany, I smiled. It sounded nice, of course. A good sentence for a travel brochure. But after my first morning on Moorea, after the salty catamaran crossing …

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Quote of the Day: September 18, 2026

Quote of the Day

“Travel makes you speechless, then it turns you into a storyteller.” ― Ibn Battuta Travel Makes You Speechless — Then Annoying at Dinner Parties This quote of the day is painfully true. Travel has a funny way of first shutting you up completely — and later making it almost impossible for you to stop talking. At …

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Quote of the Day: September 17, 2026

Quote of the Day

“If we were meant to stay in one place, we would have roots instead of feet.” ― Rachel Wolchin Thoughts about the Quote Of The Day That quote feels like it was written for everyone who has ever looked at a map and thought, “Hmm, maybe just one more trip.” It is the perfect justification for …

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Sri Lanka, Where the Sun Still Rises With Hope

Serene beach at sunrise with palm trees in Sri Lanka

This photo was taken only a few months ago, in Tangalle, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka. But for me, it could just as well have been taken more than three decades ago. The wide beach, the long empty shoreline, the soft morning light, the footprints in the sand, and the ocean breathing calmly …

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