Travel tips

Weather or not

Weather or not

The Mediterranean World is favored by good weather. Certainly, it has its share of rain and thunder and ice and bluster; these are but temporary guests. Its Princeps civitatis is the sun. Brilliant Helios. Sol. Shemesh. Shems.

Personal security

International travel is riskier than sitting in your pajamas in the living room with the curtains closed. Of course, if you are eating an entire bowl of cheese dip with a spoon while watching Netflix . . . well, never mind. Deep down, you want to go outside and play. Maybe even visit the lands of the Bible. But you are afraid. So let me help. Wipe the dip from your chin and read on.

Footwear

A couple of years ago I went to the top of a snowy peak believed by many to be Mt. Ararat (Ağrı Dağı). It was a four day hike. The leather boots I purchased were a wee bit small, but I thought they would work fine. Boy, was I wrong! I developed blisters on the top on my blisters and before it was over I was gimping badly. I pushed through it, but my dogs were sure barking!

Thinking about luggage

One of the ways to offset the challenges of foreign travel is to pack strategically. If you have the things you need, not more or less, you will be far more comfortable, more mobile, and better able to direct your focus to the world around you. The problem for most of us when traveling to a new place is knowing what is and isn’t needed. The consequence of this “Boy Scout” mentality (“be prepared!”) is that we tend to overpack and bring too much stuff.