Boldly Go Solo

Kauai for solo travelers - helicopters, taro farming and the mini Grand Canyon

My lunch companions wore plumeria flowers behind their ears, necklaces strung with black pearls and Ni'ihau shells, and clothing with floral patterns. All signs that they live and work in Hawaii. In this case, Kauai.  

[Quiz of the day. Can you name the eight major Hawaiian islands? Answer at the end.]

We on the East Coast often choose the Caribbean or Mexico over Hawaii because those places are closer. But obviously, they can't offer the unique culture and language of Hawaii, which is why it's worth a visit to the Aloha state.  

Nowhere else in the world are you greeted at retail establishments with "aloha" and thanked with "mahalo." And, where else can you spend a day swimming with sea turtles, watching hula dancing and attending a luau?

It's a long haul for most people. And it can seem daunting for solo travelers to fly a long way, rent a car and spend beach time alone. 

But there are ways to find people to spend time with. For example, snorkel with others on an adventure tour. So many beautiful creatures live in that part of the Pacific, including the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, Hawaii's state fish. 

1,000 places to see...um...soonish

The second edition of "1,000 Places To See Before You Die" is out and I'm waiting to be assigned to do the "Solo Travel" edition. (Kidding! Sort of...)

Do the math and you realize that even if you travel three times a year, you'll have to live to be 334 years old to actually see all these places before, well, you die. And that's if you start the year you're born.

But, of course, this is beside the point.

"1,000 Places to See Before You Die" is one of those armchair travel books great for reading about where you've been, and for perusing where you might want to go. 

Want a copy of your own? I've got three to give away. Which gives you three chances to "win."

To be eligible* for the first copy, all you've got to do is "like" boldlygosolo on Facebook. I'll choose a winner for that one on May 15.

Ways to win one of the other copies coming up.

As for the book, I already "like" it. When I first flipped through, it just happened to open to places in Israel. Where I'd just visited in January. The two entries on facing pages were Caesarea and The Galilee.

Petra, the Pink City

I knew as soon as I booked a trip to Israel that I wanted to find a way to get to Petra, Jordan, too.

Years ago, I'd seen the city, carved into rocks, in a photo in a magazine. It immediately went on the travel to-do list. Since visiting, I think a fair amount about Petra, the "Pink City."

It feels mysterious and unknowable. But it was astounding, nevertheless, to walk down the main "street," in the place that was home to the nomadic Nabataeans, who began settling in the Petra Valley  in the 4th century, B.C.E. 

What remains for visitors now are tombs and mausoleums, remains of a colonnaded street and ruins of temples, altars and rocks and more rocks, variegated in color with reds, oranges, and browns striated with black. 

I like how the Jordan Tourism Board puts it: "The giant red mountains and vast mausoleums of a departed race have nothing in common with modern civilization, and ask nothing of it except to be appreciated at their true value - as one of the greatest wonders ever wrought by Nature and Man."

Having never heard of the Nabataeans until shortly before my visit, I did just that: appreciated a great wonder for what it was. Beautiful, unique, special. Not simple to get to but worth it.

Wandering solo in Richmond, Virginia, discovering black history

Green and white awnings and a small sign are all that distinguish the Richmond home of Maggie L. Walker from neighboring duplexes that have been carefully restored to their appearance circa 1925.

What distinguished Walker in her day was her skill at overcoming all the obstacles society could place before a black woman living under Jim Crow segregation laws.

But wait. Maggie who?

The answer to that is in the story I wrote on Walker for today's Washington Post travel section. I won't repeat a lot of what is in it, since you can read it for yourself. 

It was cool taking the walking tour in Richmond and learning some of the black history of the Southern city. Including about Bill "Bojangles" Robinson who was born in Richmond.