Marc's Watson Fellowship
In and around World
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for checking out the travel log. I'll be checking in from place to place as best I can, so please post your comments whenever you get a chance. There's an interactive map apparently (which I haven't learned how to use yet) and pictures are here:
http://community.webshots.com/user/MarcsWatson (Tahiti and New Zealand)
http://community.webshots.com/user/MarcsWatson1 (Australia, Dubai, South Africa, and Namibia)
http://community.webshots.com/user/MarcsWatson3 (Morocco, Spain, Portugal)
http://community.webshots.com/user/MarcsWatson4 (Argentina, Chile)
http://community.webshots.com/user/MarcsWatson5 (Costa Rica, Panama)
I'd love to hear from everyone, and I'm sorry in advance if it takes me a little while to get back to you. Post a comment here or e-mail me at marc.frankel@gmail.com.
Swing by. We'll have lunch or something.
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Marc s Watson Year
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1
The night before
So this is it. It's my last night here at home before I head out, and I guess there's a lot of stuff going through my head. Of course I... Continue reading »
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2
First stop: Tahiti
Hi Everyone,
Bonjour from French Polynesia. I arrived last night around midnight, and even though finding a hotel was a sweaty and frus... Continue reading »
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3
Moorea
Just a few minutes left on this computer, and then I'm off to Moorea. Papeete has kind of been a disappointment-- it's crowded and loud and p... Continue reading »
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4
Arrived in New Zealand
Hey Hey,
What a crazy day or so. Yesterday I walked around Moorea Island for awhile, found a little private reef area and set up camp f... Continue reading »
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5
Leaving Auckland
Hey hey,
Happy birthday to me... kind of weird having a birthday with nobody around who really knows me, but i ran into these guys from Virgi... Continue reading »
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6
Bay of Islands
Well, I made it in the big orange egg all the way up to Paihia. It took some adjusting to be able to drive this monstrosity on the other side... Continue reading »
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7
No Jews in Kerikeri Either
Just got into Kerikeri, about 20 minutes north of Paihia on the Bay of Islands. I've been trying to find Jews all week in the Northland, but... Continue reading »
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8
The Thermal Region
Got into Rotorua after a long drive down from Wellsford yesterday. It's getting pretty cold, and it looks like the next leg of my drive will... Continue reading »
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9
Geysers and Lakes
Just pulled into Turangi... it's on the south side of Lake Taupo, which is pretty phenomenal. Really nice views and whatnot from Taupo itself... Continue reading »
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10
Civilization
Oh man, is it nice to be in Wellington.
First off, I bailed on Turangi yesterday. Pulled into a few different campsites, saw how... Continue reading »
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11
On my way out...
On my way out... had a great few days here. Relaxed, got some good food in me, saw bits and pieces of the city, and pretty much just recharge... Continue reading »
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12
The beginning of the South
Well, it's been a great few days or so. When I ended last time, I was in Wellington, more or less killing time until the ferry to Picton.&nbs... Continue reading »
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13
Shabbos in Christchurch
Well, Shabbos has fallen in Christchurch. I drove by the synagogue just to see where it was today (behind a big, locked, wrought-iron gate, l... Continue reading »
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14
Dunedin
Did the five-hour haul from Christchurch to Dunedin yesterday after Shabbat services... let me tell you, Shabbat in a place called Christchurch is... Continue reading »
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15
Ski-town
Pulled out of Dunedin this morning with the intention of going all the way down to Invercargill at the southern tip of the South Island. It's... Continue reading »
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16
Fourth of July
"Today, we celebrate our Independence Day..." Well... not really.
Happy Fourth of July, everyone. I thought Will Smith save... Continue reading »
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17
Haast and Beyond
There are few places on earth that would make Earlville, New York seem cosmopolitan and chic by comparison. Suburban Sarajevo, maybe, or a Be... Continue reading »
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18
Go here
Go here. Go as fast as your legs can carry you. Quit jobs. Drop out of school. Cash in CDs, bonds, futures, trust funds, do... Continue reading »
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19
Arrived... in the middle of nowhere
Greetings from Motueka... random, I know.
I'm here for a variety of reasons, mostly revolving around the fact that the central and northern S... Continue reading »
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20
All Blacks/Wallabies
Today I went just about as far north as a human being can go on the South Island without a wetsuit and a pretty decent pair of flippers. After a lo... Continue reading » -
21
Ummm... yeah
Where the hell am I? Seriously. I pulled into Nelson and more or less just drove around until I found the iSite here. iSites are... Continue reading »
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22
Hippie Commune
So it didn't take me long to figure out exactly what I was dealing with here at the Palace. Turns out it's more or less a hippie commune.&nbs... Continue reading »
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23
Hippie-free
Amazing what a two-hour drive can do for a mood-swing. I pulled out of that little cannabis den of iniquity around 10 this morning (to the tu... Continue reading »
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24
Goodbyes
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. It was amazing walks, conversation, and dinner with Mishka all over Wellington yester... Continue reading »
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25
Back in Rotorua
Hit the road after a long, rough night in Napier and found myself in Rotorua again. I've had the day or so to think about what's happened her... Continue reading »
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26
Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove
Drove up from Rotorua to Hahei yesterday to see the long-awaited Hot Water Beach. The idea is that you go out to the shore at low tide with a... Continue reading »
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27
Back in Auckland
...and I'm back in Auckland after my 27-day hiatus. Kind of cool to see on that interactive map how I've made a big circle, but I probably sh... Continue reading »
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28
Chilling in Auckland
Been a quick couple of days in Auckland... made a few more fifteen-minute friends (two girls from ireland and some people from france), which has h... Continue reading »
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29
Protests, etc.
Been an exciting day or so... I went to services yesterday at the Auckland Central Synagogue, the same place that had turned me away so abruptly ab... Continue reading »
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30
Back on the road
No, I haven't forgotten about this thing... My mom came to visit for the past week, and we've kind of been bouncing around from activity to activit... Continue reading »
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31
Frum-ball
Wow, what a few days... I guess it started with going to shul for Friday night services and it's continuing with me going to an Australian Rules Fo... Continue reading »
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32
Kings Park
Only have a few moments, then I'm off to Kings Park. It's supposedly a huge and well-known park around these parts, and the weather's great t... Continue reading »
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33
Tragedy
It appears as if one of the Yeshiva boys I'd been hanging out with, Avinoam, has passed away yesterday while they were swimming on a beach about th... Continue reading »
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34
And so on
It looks like the search for Avinoam is being called off. There's not much hope for finding someone in these waters after the first day or so... Continue reading »
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35
A busy weekend
It's been a very busy weekend here in Perth. I got picked up by distant relatives (my father's cousin's in-laws, I think we determined), the... Continue reading »
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36
Marching on
Well, between what happened last week and some residual drama from New Zealand, it's been a rough few days, and with nothing really scheduled, I've... Continue reading »
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37
Homestay
Benji Raymond picked me up yesterday morning and brought me to stay at his house with his folks for a few days. We're in a suburb of Perth ca... Continue reading »
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38
Another Shabbat
The last few days have been a lot of fun... moved in with Blake Delcanho and his parents yesterday... had a great time with the Raymonds, but it's... Continue reading »
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39
Dibujos
Just a quick note to let you know that new pictures are up (the last few from New Zealand, finally, and the first batch of Australian ones). <... Continue reading »
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40
Goodbyes, Part 2
Well, I went ahead and did it again. Such an idiot. Before that, quick update:
Hired a car for about two weeks from a place in Pe... Continue reading »
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41
The Pinnacles
And invariably, life goes on... I hit the road this morning and made my way to Cervantes, about two hours north of Lancelin. The scenery was... Continue reading »
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42
Hutt River Province
Well, quite the interesting day. I spent last night in Geraldton, a town you've never heard of, and for good reason. Luckily, while I w... Continue reading »
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43
A long way from anywhere
Well, it's been awhile, but for good reason... the northwest corner of Australia has literally nothing in it. I would drive sometimes for hou... Continue reading »
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44
And back to Perth...
And so on back to Perth... the last week or so has gone by so quickly, and it was nice and relaxing to spend so much time in Denham. Sure, it... Continue reading »
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45
Just another day in paradise...
Been a quick few days here in Perth, and I'm sorry I haven't written more frequently. Blake and I have had a good time though, and I'll try t... Continue reading »
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46
Footie
Today was an interesting Shabbat, but certainly not the kind I expected to have when I set out on this trip.
Woke up this morning and headed... Continue reading »
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47
Hangin around...
Another quick few days in Perth. I've run some errands with Benji, made arrangements to visit Kalgoorlie in about two weeks or so, and watche... Continue reading »
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48
First Quarterly Report
Marc Frankel
First Quarterly Report
2006-2007 Watson Fellowship
Given the kind of college student I was, I could probably crank o... Continue reading »
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49
A quarter done
Well, everyone said it would go faster than I ever thought possible, and everyone was right. As you can tell from my quarterly update, I real... Continue reading »
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50
Jewish Soccer
Another few solid days here in Perth. A few days ago we played all-Jewish soccer with a bunch of guys from around town, which has proven to b... Continue reading »
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51
Jew Years Eve
I'll be out of touch for the next few days because of Rosh Hashanah, but I'd like to wish anyone reading this a l'shanah tovah und zisn yontiff.&nb... Continue reading »
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52
Tashlich
So a great few days, as usual... a lot of shul, but also a lot of big lunches and dinners, conversation, that sort of thing. I had first nigh... Continue reading »
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53
Upper Deece
So today I woke up and found this in my inbox:
Taylor Llewellyn to me:
"All booked. My flight lands in cape town at 310PM on October 19... Continue reading »
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54
Ailz/Yom Kippur/Leaving Perth
Man, I can't believe how long it's been since I've written. Things just kind of happen around here. It's Shabbos, then it's yo... Continue reading »
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55
The Day From Hell
You know, when I saw my travel itinerary and how I was getting from Perth to Johannesburg via Dubai, I said, "Ehhh... it won't be that bad... Continue reading »
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56
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57
Sukkot/Liftoff
A quick few days here in Jozi. Went to a bunch of shuls (there's about four on every block around here), had some nice meals in various sukka... Continue reading »
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58
National Geographic
Ohhhhhhhhh boy, where to even begin? I'm back in Johannesburg now, but I suppose for the sake of completeness on that little interactive map,... Continue reading »
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59
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60
Jozi living...
A quick few days in Johannesburg. Nothing too new to report--spent the last few days sightseeing Soweto, Constitution Hill, and running erran... Continue reading »
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61
Homophobia, the Sequel
It was about two years ago in Switzerland that I last felt these hauntingly familiar feelings of homophobia. My friend Cary and I had scurrie... Continue reading »
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62
In the shadow of Table Mountain
Another great few days with Taylor. We've more or less run out of things to do here in Cape Town (a feat that took us not much longer than 48... Continue reading »
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63
The most ridiculous night
I just wrote this whole thing out and lost it on this computer, which sucks, so now you're all getting the abbreviated version.
Last night, t... Continue reading »
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64
Garden Route tour
Quick ten days-- what to say besides i had a decent time and made it through what i thought would be a painful group with relatively few moments of... Continue reading »
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65
Catching up
Man, I'm way behind in this thing. That's what happens when you don't have a bed for a week and a half, I guess. Internet travel log up... Continue reading »
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66
One of the best places on Earth
PICS: community.webshots.com/user/marcswatson1
The dunes are unbelievable. Even having seen them, having climbed them, having flo... Continue reading »
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67
Fear
To come from the Dunes, one of the best things I would say I've ever seen, to what happened in Windhoek was a complete shock to my system. I... Continue reading »
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68
Shabbat/Thanksgiving/Manhattan
Been a quick week here in Johannesburg. I've spent a lot of that time just getting my feet back under me... it's been really difficult at tim... Continue reading »
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69
Leaving Town
Well, here we go again, don't we? More goodbyes, more last trips to certain neighborhood hangouts, more "Make sure you see So-And-So before y... Continue reading »
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70
South Africa: Check
Well, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. South Africa is, for all intents and purposes, completed. I think the emotion I'm feeli... Continue reading »
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71
"Qatar, who does that?"
Ahhh, how nice to be in Qatar after all those years of planning, meticulous research, and yearning. What wonders and well-known sights and at... Continue reading »
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72
Stopover
This journal entry is kind of forced... I didn't even get off the plane in Libya (which is probably why I'm still alive and well and able to type t... Continue reading »
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73
Casablanca... sucks
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world..." The movie Casablanca is about young, attractive, influential people in a little... Continue reading »
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74
Shabbat in Rabat
Wasn't that clever? Shabbat in Rabat. I've spent my day thinking of other cities that rhyme with Shabbat that I might visit, and came u... Continue reading »
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75
Rocking the Kasbah...
...and we're back. I spent yesterday morning at the Kasbah des Ouidaia (no clue how to pronounce that...), which was pretty cool. Lot o... Continue reading »
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76
Quasi-homoerotic massage...
Well, the streak is over. It had been 22 years, five months, and like 20 days, but it has finally come to an end.
I'm speaking, of cour... Continue reading »
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77
Freezing...
Man, who knew that Morocco could be so cold?
I'm in Chefchaouen (spelling debatable... pronounced Shif-Shao-in) right now, a small mountain t... Continue reading »
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78
Chilling in the Rif
Nothing really "new" to report, but i took some nice pictures of the streets of Chefchaouen, so i figured i'd throw them on here.
hung out wi... Continue reading »
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79
Second Quarterly Update
Second Quarterly Update
December 15, 2006
So it has been six months. I'm exactly halfway through this "trip," which can no longer ade... Continue reading »
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80
Djellaba-hunting
When you've been in the same tiny Moroccan mountain town for six days and every English-speaking traveler around you does little except smoke... Continue reading »
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81
just a picture
Nothing new to report... at all. We (the little cabal of backpackers that have sort of banded together in our local cafe for tea every day) h... Continue reading »
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82
Autonomous Shabbat
Just got into Ceuta after a long, annoying, harrowing trip from Chefchaouen this morning. Man, what a pain in the ass. Woke up early an... Continue reading »
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83
Pictures from Morocco
Arrived in Marbella just now... kind of weird to go from Chefchaouen to a hotel on the Mediterranean coast with a dress code, but I'm trying to "st... Continue reading »
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84
New Years Bullfight
The week with the family went quickly... started out here in Marbella at a great hotel on the beach, spent a few days playing Blokus (one of the al... Continue reading »
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85
On the road again...
Today was one of those days where everything kind of went wrong. I mean, it's traveling, it's bound to happen, but still... not fun when it d... Continue reading »
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86
America (sort of)
Well, I went home yesterday... sort of. I had a sampler platter dinner of tex-mex quesadillas, chili con carne, and a piece of chocolate cake... Continue reading »
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87
Bizarre Shabbat
Annnnndddd.... the plot thickens.
Well, let's see: I had my plans all sorted out. Off to Portugal, roam that country lookin... Continue reading »
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88
Quick few days
Wow... well, what can I say? If there was any doubt that I had learned the value of friendship in the last seven months, it's gone now. ... Continue reading »
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89
Hanging with Odette
What an interesting few days it has been.
I spent two nights in Lisboa back at the Oasis there... what a great hostel. They cook for yo... Continue reading »
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90
Capela dos Ossos - Chapel of Bones
"Nos ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos."
"Our bones that are here are waiting for yours."
--Inscription above the... Continue reading »
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91
The Rising Cock (hostel)
Life, apparently, had been a bit too normal for awhile. I mean, sure, that bone chapel was pretty bizarre, and spending a few days with a for... Continue reading »
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92
The Hidden Jews of Belmonte
I was bored in the hotel in Guarda, so here's what I came up with:
About four kilometers on a rural road in rural eastern Portugal, there lie... Continue reading »
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93
Colgate-Another Brutal Travel Day
And here we go again...
Spent the last few days here in Sevilla, hanging out with Joe and his friends. Went to some great local places,... Continue reading »
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94
Enamorado...
I don't know if it's possible to fall in love with a place. I really don't. To get off a plane, go straight to sleep, wake up, and be c... Continue reading »
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95
Patagonian Lentil Soup
Buenos Aires is hard to define. Like I said last time, it's a city of contradictions. Sam Braverman and I have been wandering the stree... Continue reading »
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96
Packing it in again...
Been a quick few days in Buenos Aires... did a lot of walking, a lot of eating, some drinks with Sam and her friends. The city's still great,... Continue reading »
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97
The Last of the Jewish Cowboys
Every now and then, I have one of those days that seems like it's uniquely mine. I'm talking about an experience that nobody else gets to hav... Continue reading »
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98
Gran Salinas
And so on to Salta and the fabled Gran Salina salt flats. I had been told that the remote northwest of Argentina was something to see... the... Continue reading »
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99
Decisions...
Being a Watson fellow, so I've come to learn, is all about making decisions. I decide where to go, where to stay, where to eat, who to talk t... Continue reading »
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100
A hundred entries, a thousand meals...
So because I have a little bit of extra time (the Israeli guys I've been hanging out with are napping... big surprise), because this is my hundredt... Continue reading »
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101
The Hebrew Hammer
Well, it's been awhile... spent three days driving around with Zvika, Shai, and Daniel, three Israeli guys I met at the hostel. It was a blas... Continue reading »
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102
Rabbi Smirnoff
Purim is supposed to be a joyous, happy festival. A day when Jews around the world celebrate the failed annihilation of their people with par... Continue reading »
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103
Trekking through the clouds
It was supposed to be a nice, easy, leisurely hike through the woods and the mountains. It's called the Nahuel Huapi Traverse, and the way th... Continue reading »
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104
Third Quarter Report
Marc Frankel
Watson Fellowship Third Quarterly Report
You know, when I started on this thing (which I´m sick of trying to characteriz... Continue reading »
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105
Volcanos and Wine
Well, it took us about 28 hours on buses to get to Pucon from Bariloche and then back to the "civilized" side of the Chile/Argentina border, but I... Continue reading »
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106
For God's Steak
Well, it finally happened. As has transpired so often in the last nine months and change, I met great people, enjoyed myself immensely in the... Continue reading »
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107
Molasses on a Cold Day
This is going to be, in all likelihood, the least eventful travel update that the good people at RealTravel have ever read on their website. ... Continue reading »
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108
I beat the BBC
Finally! This whole trip (and the Siberia trip too, for that matter), I've been chasing the BBC like a little lapdog. Everywhere I went... Continue reading »
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109
Strawberries
It had been a horrendous day. A long, grueling, migraine-inducing bus ride across the Central Andes on a bus whose abilities to comfort and r... Continue reading »
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110
Mom-chu Picchu
Peru is one of those impoverished, exotic, beautifully culturally rich countries that inspires and awes and makes you really, really glad that you'... Continue reading »
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111
Mesquite-o
Been a quick, uneventful few days here in San Jose. I've been staying at the Hostel Bekuo, which is a few kilometers from the center of town... Continue reading »
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112
Plopping down
Wow, been a long time, huh? I have no one to blame for that but myself, I guess. There's something about the Caribbean coast that just suc... Continue reading » -
113
And more plopping down...
I guess a good way to describe exactly what goes on down here would be to give you a schedule of a typical day: 11:00 AM wakeup 12:00 PM mak... Continue reading » -
114
Honkytonk Hoedown
Man, I've really let this thing go. I guess I was keeping up with it much better when I was actually doingContinue reading » -
115
Honkytonk postgame
The "Honkytonk Hoedown" was, I suppose, a developing-world tropical version of what Woodstock was at one point. A whole lot of tie-dye, agric... Continue reading »
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116
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117
Back in Civilization
After the great and unexpected treat that was Bocas del Toro, I spent a few days in Puerto Viejo again on my way back, just tying up loose ends, sa... Continue reading »
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118
Shavuot
For a self-proclaimed pretty unobservant Jew, Shavuot had never really been one of the holidays that I paid a lot of attention to. On the roa... Continue reading »
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119
Java, Lava, and Wat(er)
It's been a great (and quick) few days with my father here in San Jose. We signed up for a few day tours that left from here at the Marriott,... Continue reading »
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120
Greckles
Ahhhh... what a weekend. Ashley (the girl from New York who I met in Puerto Viejo) and I went up to Tortuguero, a turtle sanctuary and nation... Continue reading »
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121
The Last Adventure
So this was it: the last little side-trip. With four days to go, I've started thinking about the "last" everything... the last Monday, the la... Continue reading »
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122
Top Ten Places You Didn't Know You Wanted to Go
One of the best parts of traveling (besides, of course, playing the “let's compare passport stamps” game) is getting to clu... Continue reading »
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123
The Year in Review
As the hours tick by and the adventure that seemed to have no end finally draws to a close, I thought I should spend a little time at least recappi... Continue reading »
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124
And I'm back...
I've gotten a few messages from people encouraging me to update everyone on my homecoming, and while things have been pretty busy around here (even... Continue reading »
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