“Only One Who Wanders Finds New Paths”

NORWEGIAN FOLK

I was a curious child growing up in rural Montana. My playground was the prairies and pined hills of southeastern Montana. With tall rustling prairie grass, sagebrush large enough to hid a small child, and, a view of the vastness from the atop the buttes, I felt like a tiny ant. In every direction the sky met the distant hills. It was a wonderful space to wander and explore! However, being a small, curious child, my thoughtful parents established boundaries. Safety was their priority. So, my siblings and I learned where we could wander, and explore.

As a young girl I often felt constrained by the limitation of these boundaries. Those distant hills called me! Often, I wondered what was beyond them. But what I didn’t understand as a child, were the dangers …the rattlesnakes, crevasses and deep holes that could swallow animal or human. Perhaps it was unwittingly because of these parental exploratory boundaries that I forged new paths within me…internally. Over time, these paths became undaunting persistence, a keen awareness of my environment, and a willingness to listen respectfully to others, nature and myself.

Through the years, as I’ve navigated daily living, managed a classroom, deep dived into writing, or wandered through new cultures I have relied on these well worn paths.

As I indicated on our last visit, my dear friend, Bert & I are on a journey of a life time. We’ve embarked on the 2025-2026 Viking World Cruise aboard the Viking Sky. Friday, December 19th the Sky departed from the Port of Fort Lauderdale. As we’ve cruised on open water in the Caribbean Sea, I think back to my childhood and recognized that so much of what I yearned for as a child is unfolding before me. My hope is to grasp at threads of this journey, weaving together a tapestry of this experience for you…the reader.

To give simple structure for this blog, I’ve decided with each post I’ll share three photographs, present two brief thoughts to ponder, and one historical nugget of interest from the current country we are visiting. I welcome your thoughtful feedback, or questions. Creating an online community is a whole new experience for me, and so I ask for patience, and mutual respect of thoughts, opinions, or philosophical/personal beliefs. Together, we can tend heart, and mend the fabric of our life.

Three Vistas

Leaving the Port of Fort Lauderdale, December 19, 2025

Two Thoughtful Threads

1. Preparing for travel is not for the faint of heart. Consider the logistics of the journey, packing appropriately for unknown adventures, the details of everything from automated bill pay, to medication management, securing home, and all of the “dailyness” left behind. Journeying requires a change of mindset.
2. Cozumel, Mexico ~ an island teeming with the rich heritage and traditions of the Maya Culture. Being immersed in the music, art, games, daily tasks of living, and understanding their interactions with the plants -flora, fauna, and animals gives me a clearer understanding of how the threads of their world are woven into the 21st century.

One Historical Nugget

Did you know that in 1861 President Abraham Lincoln presented to the President of Mexico an offer to purchase the island of Cozumel, Mexico? Lincoln’s intention was to establish a safe environment for freed slaves to live during the Civil War. President Benito Juárez opposed the offer. And the matter was dropped.