homemade sushi travels quite well

The rest of our time in New Zealand was so lovely. We hopped around the coast, visiting lighthouses and small hidden cottages. Every kilometer brought us closer to Fritha and Rowan and suddenly we were in Napier, hearing their voices on a payphone!

Fritha treated us like queens and it was nice to be with family once again. It's been quite a trip for that. Rowan was large and in charge, as Gwill had promised, and I treasured those moments with him. He is wise and excitable and musical and thoughtful.

We organized a two day tramp through the ethereal Whirinaki forest. This involved driving several hours to the national park and then having a guy drive us to the start of the trail and bringing our car to meet us at the end. Sort of complicated but well worth it. There was a bit of a late start and much of our tramp to the bunk house was in the dusk and darkness. While moderately frightening, this allowed for a peaceful moonlit time in the woods and the sighting of a rare owl. Arriving at the hut we found a group of hunters having a blokely time. They were alarmed by our homemade sushi dinner and tried to get all of us to eat venison. As I lay on my bunk trying to turn the snores from below into soothing lullabies, Maggie and Stacey (Fritha's sister and her husband) arrived! They had left well after dark and clung to the narrow path walls the whole three hours. We had been sure they wouldn't arrive at all as they had just flown in from Chile and had to make quite a journey to meet us. Incredible to see them again! The next day we all high tailed it to the end of the trail to meet our pick up.



Jessica and I had a day of rest back at gorgeous Tauroa farm in Fritha's precious cottage then headed back to Wellington to catch our flight back to the states. On the way I got a speeding ticket. Bollocks.

It is surreal to be back in America. I am living in Winter Harbor and commuting an hour to Bar Harbor most days. Forgetting what it means to sleep quickly... It's good to be near family but hard to be away from my favourite hemisphere. Counting down the days until November 23rd.

All photos from this trip should be up so until next departure, be well and happy!

I'm Henry the Eighth I Am

After an uncomfortable flight on one of the world's worst airlines, Easyjet, we were greeted by Paul and Kip. They came to Gatwick to pick us up in the middle of the night which was so sweet. Kip fed us homemade ice cream and we stayed up into the early morning. She showed us her impressive collection of ringworm(s?) named Henry I-VIII, a souvenir from South America. She and Paul took very good care of us for a few days, even installing a new washing machine so we could wash away Morocco, and sent us off on a train to meet up with Gwill.

We were both really happy to be in London. The weather was beautiful nearly every day and we had a really great time. We rode the buses around almost exclusively, enjoying the view from the top deck. We visited a few museums and, in a city of extortionately priced entertainment, food, sights and transportation (4GBP to ride the tube ONE TIME?! That's close to $8!), we were pleasantly surprised to find admission was free. We travelled down to Greenwich and Royal Observatory and stood between the hemispheres. We walked down by the Tower Bridge and St. Katharine's dock, where my dad lived for awhile. We spent a small ransom on visas for Russia, China and Vietnam. Also, most importantly, we had a feast of sushi for Jessica's birthday.


As much as we enjoyed ourselves I have to say that London is a drastically frightening place in some respects. The adolescents are terri-fying and increasingly violent. There are a lot of spitting mad people walking the streets, breaking windows and stealing mobile phones like they will soon stop making them. On Saturday we walked past a phone booth and there was guy inside sparking up some heroin. His face illuminated in the otherwise pitch black capsule was eerie. I didn't feel safe walking around the streets at night in a way that was reminiscent of Tangier or Moscow.

Seeing Gwill after three years was very important to me and I feel lucky that London was a convenient stop on our tour. He graciously gave up his room to us so our backpacks could freely explode all over the floor, dresser and nightstand and when you are travelling that is a simple but immense pleasure.

After a chaotic St Patrick's day, which included us getting locked out of the house for the entire night, we packed frantically (as usual), caught a cab to Liverpool, were denied boarding on a bus to Stansted, ran downstairs to catch the train (which was delayed, naturally), got to the airport with barely enough time to check in, waited in a scandalously long security line, got fast tracked, got detained by a nasty security guard who needed to look at every article in my bursting day pack, ran to the train to the terminals (which almost left without us), ran up the stairs to our gate and nearly collapsed into incredibly uncomfortable seats.

Now we are in Tallinn, Estonia waiting for our bus to depart for St Petersburg.

no one knows that it's like
to be a dustbin
in shaftsbury
with hooligans

Gwill and I spent yesterday Christmas shopping all around NH. Well, I basically just nodded or groaned at his selections and was a bit of an assistant. On the drives we listened to Pink Floyd and Radiohead (during a brief radio interlude Gwill even tolerated my Justin Timberlake indulgence with gentlemanly grace) and talked about families, travelling, the morphic field and synchronicity. Even though there are new developments all around the area things here are familiar in a way no other land will be. That's what I like to escape from, I think. But there is something comfortable about knowing the next bend in the road.

we both deserve to be happy, he said turning the cigarette in his fingers

gwill, the heavenly boy that he is, was there to meet me at heathrow airport. through a herculean effort we managed to haul my massive collection of things to his flat in nw london, where he generously let me have his comfy bed all to myself. what a change from my windowless, worn room in bangkok.

i spent almost a week in london, around the museums, landmarks and streets undergoing a hostile takeover by father christmas. i also saw eight movies in the span of three days. it was raining a lot. i did manage to get down to st. katherine's dock, where my dad lived for awhile and where we visited him on one of our trips. ah nostalgia. then i was stopped for directions by a frenchman at the tower, who tried to take me for coffee. when i tried to back out of it, using the useless excuse "i don't drink coffee" he chimed in with "then i'll take you to dinner". it took the better part of an hour to escape.

i left gwill yesterday and headed south. paul and kip picked me up at gatwick. last night we saw lord of the rings (the first one) and waited through the entire end credits hoping for a return of the king trailer. but there wasn't one! harsh.

i have a raging cold/flu-like illness, which needs to leave my body promptly.

New Zachland: My Twilight Zone

Christchurch has to be my favorite city so far. There are other days and places that have surpassed it, but as a city it's my most fondly remembered. Getting there was a long drive, but apparently it was to prepare me for my days of endless driving in Australia. We drove up the east coast, through the alps. We stopped for a view of Mt Cook or Aoraki (cloud piercer in Maori). The name of the lake we stopped in front of escapes me, but it was formed by the Tasman glacier and the waters were a milky, icy blue. The is caused by the "rock flour" that is chisseled off of stone as the glacier receeds. I've been seeing water like this all over the south island and it's truly remarkable. This is where I saw two of Zach's many New Zealand twins. When I first arrived in Wellington I counted three people who could have been mistaken for Zach in a line up. Over the past two months those three have become nine! Lake Tekapo was our lunch stop, another glacial lake, watched over by a small church where the driver offered to marry any of the passengers. (I think he meant he would perform the ceremony, but it may have been a proposal.)

What was meant to be two nights in Christchurch ended up as five. I fell in love when we drove up to the Cathedral in the afternoon and I caught a first glimpse of Cathedral Square with it's performers, artisans, food stalls. My hostel was right across from the art centre of Christ's College and next to the Botanical Gardens and Canterbury museum. The tram passed by my window each morning, rumbled on like a reminder of my St. Kilda childhood. I spent a lot of time inside the Cathedral, climbing the 134 steps to the lookout, mesmerized by the stained glass, and just thinking. It was a great place to relax and wind up my time on the south island.

The last day I took a day trip to Akaroa, which was meant to be a French colony, but the British rushed down to plant their flag as the French sailed in, so it became a French settlement instead. Relaxing and charming day trip.

From Christchurch we had a quick drive up the coast to Kaikoura. It's a small town set on a bay with mountains jutting into the sky all the way up to the water. Upon arrival we drove around to one of the largest seal colonies in New Zealand. There were countless seal pups swimming through the seaweed and diving off of rocks. I got up early the next morning to watch the sun rise from the Pacific off the hostel verandah.

The following morning we drove up to Picton, where I caught the ferry back to Wellington. It was so heartbreaking to be leaving the south island. It is truly an amazing place. As we pulled out of the lush Marlborough Sounds there was a glimpse of tiered and towering rocks reaching from the sea and in the distance the Kaikoura peninsula where the Southern Alps rose like the broad shoulders of kings. A beautiful last sight.

I'm in Wellington visiting with Gwill for a few days. He finally bought his ticket to London. Exciting! He'll be leaving in a couple weeks. Tomorrow I'll be heading north to sunny, warm days.

My time in Auckland is winding down. Gwill today mentioned that our relationship never falters, given an extended absence. It was nice to have my thoughts confirmed. It's been wonderful to share this time with him. Yesterday we drove out to Karekare beach with some of his flatmates. The peaceful nature of the beaches here is astounding. Nature walks right up to the doorstep of the ocean. There are no strip malls, no tacky hotels. It's pure and gorgeous. The misty spray of the water lifted from the shore and blanketed the dancing seagrass and looming cliffs. Last night the band Gwill manages, The Midnights, played a gig at a downtown cafe/bar. (NZ is definitely a cafe culture.) They are a reggae roots style band, and though it's not my dish as far as the genre, they were fantastic.

Gwill's graduation was last week. I was grateful to stumble into that occasion. It was a succint, brief ceremony but very poignant. Some of the speeches were given in Maori, the indigenous language, and then translated. Even still each speaker was concise.

Friday Gwill, Robyn (Gwill's mother) and I took a ferry to Waiheke Island. Here's a site where you can find info on Waiheke Island. We hired a car and drove through the dense forest, along the unspoiled beaches and into the seemingly Tuscan vineyards. At the Te Whau vineyard we stopped for lunch in their cafe overlooking the bay. Decadent. It was lovely to see Robyn (it's been six years) and she invited me to stay with her in Napier when I pass by. That will be a welcomed comfort by that point.

I'm off to the South Island late next week. I am thrilled but,

Missing you all.

a couple of stars who fell from the sky live up on the hill

After my first experience driving on the left side of the road, from Wellington to Auckland, I am safely in Mt. Eden with Gwill. He lives in a great, open house with about eleven other painters, musicians, and just lovely people.

Today we took a stunning drive north to Piha beach. The winding roads were covered with ferns and trees and bromiliads and was reminiscent of a back country Floridian road. Having just finished The Orchid Thief, I was filled with a sense of romance about the whole scene.

We hiked halfway up the Lion rock (which looks like a lion, hence the name) and sat looking over the black sand beaches and rolling hills, hiding tiny hillside homes. Upon descent, we walked along the beach peeking under rocks for starfish and crabs and other aquatic plants and animals.

Following the same roads home, but with heavy heads and brown faces I was reminded of my many trips up Mullholland Drive with Dorothy. I have such a heartache to be away from her. I glanced up the tree-canopied driveways and remembered craning my neck to search the Hollywood Hills for a house to envy.

While we were cruising along the twisted asphalt I thought how special it was to be with Gwill again, having not seen him for two years. I was trying to work out what I could say about how glad I was to be spending some of my trip with him. As if reading my mind, at that very instant, he reached over to gently touch my head. With us it is always as if no time has past. I am more assured with this visit that our lives will continue to intertwine, no matter how much time or space has drifted between.