1964-1972, Malawi to Mexico
During college I spent a summer in Malawi, my first trip out of the United States. After graduating, and assured that I could go to Africa and return safely, I spent two years in Tanzania in the Peace Corps.
Afterward, I travelled home slowly and inexpensively through Asia and the South Pacific. I paused in India to volunteer with the Sisters of Charity in their work with lepers. Journals were my refuge when new people and places became overwhelming.
Arriving home amidst the tumult of 1968, I married and continued to travel, this time in Mexico with my husband. We began on bicycles and then swapped them for a twenty-five foot sloop, and later moved onto a sixty-five foot schooner.
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| Roping Calves, Mexican Desert |
Looking back reminds me how things change. Travel was slow and isolated. In this early period, there was no Internet to help plan or communicate, no GPS to know where we were. Bicycle panniers would have stabilized our bikes but we used our hiking backpacks, and wore our hiking clothes.
How easy it all would have been, yet the spirit of adventure was strong. The difficulties were only another part of the journey. The serendipitous encounters are the ones I treasure the most.