Leaving on a Jet Plane

A year ago, Ed and I began entertaining the possibility of traveling to the Galapagos Islands, a place that has been on my bucket list for years, especially since my good friends Matthew and Jerry made that trip ten years ago. We spent months researching tours, boats, schedules, weather, health concerns, altitudes, and, of course, wildlife. We got vaccinations. We watched youtube videos and read several books, from Kurt Vonnegut's Galapagos to Jonathan Weiner's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Beak of the Finch. We've learned a thing or two about shifting tectonic plates, the diversity of beak size in the thirteen species of Darwin's finches, the sad story of Lonesome George (a Pinta Island tortoise who was the last known individual of his species and considered the rarest creature in the world until his death in 2012), the eradication of goats and donkeys on the islands, and the Ecuadorian political chaos that threatens the fragile archipelago.

Our research led us to our choice of tour company, a decision based largely on the number of islands included as well as the opportunity to travel on a small ship of only 40 guests. When we discovered that this tour could also include a visit to Peru and the incredible Machu Picchu, we decided why not? Might as well cross two things off the bucket list. And so, last June, we took a deep breath and booked this dream adventure. And by this time tomorrow, we will be on our way, flying from Miami to Lima. To say we are excited would be an understatement.

Other than a jet plane, our modes of transportation will include five short flights between cities and the islands, six nights on the expedition cruise ship Isabella II, short journeys by panga, kayak, glass-bottom boat, and snorkel fins. We are especially looking forward to our journey to Machu Picchu aboard the Hiram Bingham, considered one of the ten most scenic train rides in the world.

Other than seeing the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu, our time in Peru will allow us to explore the cities of Lima and Cusco, high in the Andean mountains. We'll visit the Maras salt fields, the Ollantaytambo ruins in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and farms that are home to Peruvian Paso horses and alpacas. Our lodging includes a sanctuary lodge and a 16th century monastery. We will be toasting our adventures with pisco cocktails (a uniquely Peruvian brandy) and sampling Cacao Republic chocolates, the best in Latin America.

In the Enchanted Islands that we will visit (San Cristobal, Genovesa, Santiago, Isabella, Fernandina, and Rabida), we'll hope to see not only Darwin's finches, but also frigate birds, storm petrels, flightless cormorants, and all three varieties of boobies: Nazca, red-footed, and blue-footed. I am especially looking forward to sighting the only penguins found north of the equator. And aside from the famous tortoises of the Galapagos, we'll be amazed by the fur seals, marine iguanas, sea stars, sea anemones, and Sally Lightfoot crabs. Yes, Ed's photography skills will likely be responsible for hundreds of pictures, and I will share the best of them with you as soon as I can.

I am well aware how fortunate I am to be able to embark on this journey. I am grateful beyond words. I'll let Mark Twain inspire your own bucket lists:

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Tempeh, Bohemian Rhapsody, and The Beak of the Finch

Provocative title, right? Random happenings, maybe? Or things I'm trying to wrap my head around? Wait for it.

Grocery shopping with my daughter at Trader Joe's when she visited a week and a half ago resulted in unfamiliar things in my cart. Jenna and I are both vegetarians (although I eat fish and she does not), but being a millennial, she is much more up on the trendiest of consumables. Organic Pomegranate Hibiscus Kombucha and organic tempeh were still in my refrigerator after she left, so what am I do do? Throw them out? No, wastefulness is not an attribute of mine. The kombucha is good until July, so no worries. But I thought that the highly-touted tempeh, a rich source of protein, might inspire a healthy meal for me. Google it I did. And I found a recipe for Pad Thai with Tempeh. Now, I really like Pad Thai, so this seemed a good choice. And I had (almost) all the ingredients! I got to work, chopping the veggies, baking the marinated tempeh, cooking the Pad Thai rice noodles, whisking the sauce, crushing the peanuts. I don't own a wok, but a big old frying pan will do, right? Man, this is a lot of work! But the finished product will be worth it, right?

Wrong. It really wasn't very good. Not garbage-worthy, but maybe I can salvage the veggies?

This past weekend, my guy and I were among the last people on the planet to go see Bohemian Rhapsody. We'd been hoping that it would be back in IMAX at the cineplex that we go to, but Shazam! seems to own that now. So we decided we should see Bohemian Rhapsody in standard format before it disappears. Now, I was never a big Queen fan, but this movie was wonderful! We were still high on it when we got back home, and then I remembered that I have the 4-disc DVD set of the 1985 Live Aid concert, the same concert that closed out the movie. So we watched the first two discs until we got to see Queen's performance. Wow! The movie held true to the reality of that set! Amazing! I am still enjoying the buzz from watching both the movie and the concert.

And speaking of buzzes:

One week from today, my guy and I will be off to South America for a couple of weeks. This is a bucket list trip: Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. We booked it last spring, and here it is already! During the several months of waiting for it, we've been reading as much as we can about the places we will visit. Perhaps the most difficult but important book that we've read is The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner. We now have an understanding of what Darwin "discovered" when he sailed on the HMS Beagle from 1831 to 1836, spending historic time in the Galapagos Islands. We are also aware of how much he didn't discover. But he inspired a multitude of scientists to pick up where he left off. In reading The Beak of the Finch, we could not help but be gobsmacked at the fact that there is still an anti-evolution contingent among us. Evolution is occurring before our very eyes!

"The Creation is never over. It had a beginning but it has no ending. Creation is always busy making new scenes, new things, and new Worlds."  ~ Immanuel Kant

So how do I tie these three disparate topics together?

Here's a definition of tempeh: " . . . made by a natural culturing and controlled process that binds soybeans into a cake form."

Here's a possible definition of Freddie Mercury: " . . . made by a natural culturing and acceptance process that binds humans into whatever form nature intended for them."

And maybe a definition of the beak of the finch: " . . . made by a natural culturing and uncontrolled evolutionary process that alters creatures into survival form."

Or maybe they're just random happenings in my evolutionary world.

On the Oranges of Speeches

If you've been hiding under a watermelon lately, you may have missed the Orange Man's latest display of dementia. Yesterday, in discussing the Mueller Report while meeting with Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, our elderberry leader mangled the word "origins," repeatedly saying "oranges." And I quote, "The Mueller Report, I wish, covered the oranges of the investigation." He said it not once, not twice, but at least three times. He did seem to realize that something was wrong, as he offered the word "beginnings" as if to clarify. But no matter how many times he tried to conquer that pesky word "origins," it kept coming out "oranges."

Once I stopped smacking myself on the coconut, I made a fruitful effort to predict the White House take on this covfefe. Will Sarah Huckleberry Sanders be able to spin this into some kind of detente intended to make peace with those "Mexican countries" that have so troubled us at the border? Are they no longer banana republics? Is this a case of "You can squeeze my oranges if I can peel your banana?" (Insert groan here.) I wonder if Tim Apple feels like yesterday's news now? Well, I guess that's neither here nor there. You know, apples and oranges.

I suppose we're getting used to the King Kumquat's gaffes. Late-night comedians don't have to work very hard these days. Earlier this month, while going on a two-hour-plus rant at the CPAC conference, NotMyPresident provided enough juice for a month of comedy sketches. It's so easy. I'm imagining him at Lar-a-Mango, calling out to his wife Melon in the adjoining bedroom: "Darling, darling, is the wind blowing today? I'd like to watch television, darling. Bring me some Hannity. Please, please, with a cherry on top?"

And in yesterday's display of mental derangement, the Confused One misstated his own oranges origins. He claimed, not for the first time, that his father was born in Germany. He wasn't. Fred Trump was born in the Bronx in 1905. Fred Trump's son, the man who stole the office of President of the United States, in part through Birtherism, lies about his own father's place of birth? Isn't it ironic?

But I digress. I do not like making light of dementia. Those of us who have lost a loved one to this disease know the heartbreak of watching that descent into confusion and frustration. But there's a big difference between our loved ones and the Tangerine Tyrant. Notably, our loved ones were not in charge of the nuclear codes.

The USDA database lists the avocado as a vegetable, but according to those who grow them, the avocado is a fruit. Either way, avocado toast is the new PB&J. But here's something to scare the guanabana out of you: if the Clementine-in-Chief shuts down the border with Mexico (as he has threatened to do), we will suffer an avocado shortage within three weeks. Now maybe you don't give a fig about that, but there will be a lot of crab apples threatening to burn their Make America Grape Again hats over this. This could mean war. We'll see how the fruit flies.

And now, orange you glad this post is over?