Saint Christopher

St. Christopher

Mexico City

Mobile Pic c. 2010

My family was very religious while I was growing up, however, I wasn’t born into Catholicism. I do know it’s a huge part of my cultural history on both sides of my bloodline; Mexican & Salvadorian. I also know that my maternal grandmother’s family were devoted Catholics and she was the first of her 6 siblings to convert to another protestant faith.

I wasn’t taught the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism in depth. Grandma just emphasized that Catholics are borderline idolaters and they have extra books in their Bible. As time passed and began to question my family’s religion, I came to disagree with many of the aspects of my grandmother’s religious choice of sect. Althuogh, I did like the idea of eliminating the "middle man" and focus on a personal relationship with God as opposed to the Catholic route.  

It took a long time for me to become interested in Catholicism for my own cultural curiosity. My knowledge of the people that have obtained sainthood is still terribly limited. I attended mass for the first time at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome when I was 21. I didn’t bother to see the shroud of the Virgen de Guadalupe in Mexico City until I was 28.

Just before my first trip to Mexico City, one of my friends brought up the subject of St. Christopher and explained that she wears her St. Christopher pendant whenever she goes on a big trip. I recalled the story of St. Christopher but I had to research it again to refresh my memory.

 I felt ignorant for not knowing something that is so “101” among Catholics. Setting all embarrassment aside, I really liked this story. I don’t want to get into a discussion whether there is any historical record of Christopher’s existence. I’m not an atheist, but I’m also not comfortable praying to a saint when I can just ask the boss himself. But that’s beside the point. I was quite charmed with this story and I really love the idea of a protective representative of travelers.

Having been a nervous passenger on over 40 planes, thoughts like “why didn’t anyone ever tell me” ran through my head. The important thing is that now I know. I wasn’t able to find a St. Christopher pendant during my stay in Mexico City, but I think I’ll buy one here in the States, which is home base anyway. I don’t intend to wear the pendant as a good luck charm. I do feel as if I’ve been watched over through many situations in my travels. But as I get older and the feeling of youthful invincibility fades, I can find comfort in a story about the kindness of strangers no matter where your journey takes you.

The World's Most Dangerous Countries

The World's Most Dangerous Countries - Slideshows - Travel + Leisure

I read an article today that lists the world's most dangerous places for travel right now. I was saddened to read that 3 countries I want to visit made it onto to the list; Lebanon, Syria, and Uzbekistan.

You may be thinking,"seriously?"
Yes, seriously.

Beirut, Lebanon and Damascus, Syria are part of my Middle Eastern dream overland trip from Istanbul to Cairo. As for Uzbekistan, that's a late addition to my bucket list. Last year, I was playing the NatGeo challenge on my phone and a picture appeared. I had to guess what country this picture was taken. I guessed Morocco and guessed wrong. The answer was Samarkand, Uzbekistan. I was so smitten by one photograph that I instantly looked up some information on this country. Shortly after, I read an article about the Silk Road and ever since then, this "stan" country made it to my own list.

Does this "dangerous" list alter any of my plans? No, because visiting the mentioned "dream" destinations isn't in my horizon any time soon. However, I couldn't help but notice this is a list compiled by "Travel+Leisure" magazine, a publication that isn't known for trekking off of the well paved road. But for the most part, I agree with the countries listed. Although I am shocked that Mexico didn't make the dangerous list.
 

Films that made me start a travel bucket list

Last week, I came across a compiled a list of movies that made you fall in love with Europe. I haven’t seen all of the movies on the list and of the ones I have seen, I can agree with three; Sound of Music, L'Auberge Espanole & Before Sunrise. For the complete list, visit this link: Movies that made me fall in love with Europe. It’s a great topic and I’ll expand on it by sharing my own worldly picks that made me start a travel bucket list.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) – Everywhere!

"I - I - I want a BIG one!"

The story of a man who couldn’t wait to get out and see the world but life kept getting in the way. There’s a reason this movie has remained loved by so many. I suspect the theme of life not turning out the way we expect has something to do with it. I wanted to be a member of the National Geographic Society like young George Bailey. I also swore I was going to " shake the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world... " Even though I'm hanging onto that mentality, I don't need to wish I had never been born to appreciate my life and my circle of support. 

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) – Petra, Jordan

"You were named after the DOG??"

This film was and still is my favorite of the trilogy (No, I do not count the 4^th installment as a legitimate film of the series.) “The Last Crusade” was released when I was only 7 years old and my mom thought I was too young to see this film. Recently, I had the privilege to watch this childhood favorite on the big screen at Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Not only was it incredibly fun to watch this film while other fans cheered and laughed, but the scenery in the film was as close to the real thing that I can get for the time being. Even though Petra has already been  “discovered” and it continues to be swarmed by tourists, I can’t wait to ride through the canyons on horseback and see it for myself.

The Ten Commandments  (1959) – Egypt

" It would take more than a man to lead the slaves from bondage. It would take a god. "

My grandmother was very religious and The Ten Commandments was one of the first movies I remember seeing with her. I attended church with her every weekend until I was about 13.  Oh how she pounded the stories of the Old Testament in my little head. I wasn’t allowed to watch cartoons until I had studied my weekly lesson. As a child, she never showed me any pictures of the region aside from some bad illustrations in my lesson book. Any National Geographic magazines we had were more nature orientated.  I do remember sitting through the whole thing. Maybe I thought Moses was sacrilegiously attractive. The film is a classic of the “backdrop” old Hollywood era and I suddenly wanted to visit the pyramids, Red sea, and Mount Sinai. I wanted to see the real thing and 20+ years later, I still do.

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) – Tunisia

C3PO: Is there anything I can do? 

Luke: Not unless you can alter time, speed up the harvest or teleport me off this rock. 

Like many, I was a huge fan of the original Star Wars franchise. The first film, Star Wars: A New Hope always has been my favorite of the three “good” films. A little credit will be given to a little girl crush I had on Luke Skywalker. I just enjoyed it more than the other films. Perhaps it was because a few of the places, like Tatooine, looked real. The scene where C3PO and R2D2 are stranded in the sand dunes with the John Williams score playing is one of the most memorable to me. Now, I don’t expect to see a twin sunset, but when I learned where parts of this was filmed, like Death Valley & Tunisia, I wanted to go. I visited Death Valley last year and loved it. Certain parts do make you feel like you're on another planet. As for Tunisia, I wasn’t interested in Tunisian culture. The fan in me just wanted to see where this was filmed. That mentality changed as I got older. I still want to fulfill the Star Wars fan girl in me, but I also want to learn and breathe in the tastes of Tunisia. Last month, I read a great article in Afar Magazine about a travel writer’s visit to Tunisia. The unfortunate news this past week surrounding the civil unrest of the region is saddening not only to its citizens, but to prospective traveler’s as well. Although Tunisia isn’t high on my bucket list, it is on the list. One simply never knows what could happen from one moment to the next. We’ll see if I’ll be able to cross it off my list one day.

Lawrence of Arabia ((1962) – Jordan

"Nothing is written"

I’m embarrassed to admit I just saw this film for the first time last year. It was one of those films I kept putting off simply because of its length. I finally had the chance to see and they sure don't make 'em like that anymore. Not only did I enjoy this film but I visually fell head over heels in love with it. Some of those shots are breathtaking and I can’t imagine how stunning it must be in person. Maybe I’ve romanticized the image in my head a bit. Either way, upon learning the majority of this was shot in Jordan, it only reinforced my childhood dream of visiting Petra and it sparked a new desire to see the rest of the country.

Beyond the city limits

Since the summer of 2009, I’ve been sharing thoughts and memories about the city of Los Angeles at walkingthroughlosangeles.blogspot.com In addition to that outlet, I have decided to create a space where I can share my non-local thoughts. Trust me, I have plenty of them.

A few things have occurred in the recent weeks that led me to this plan of action. For one, I bought a travel journal. Not an e-journal on an ipad, but a classic journal dedicated to my travels. I have other journals but none of them have any record of my trips. That's something I’ve always regretted, so I finally did something about it in time for the New Year. I bought a $5 black journal at Borders and I immediately began recollecting and writing. My goal is to be caught up before my next big trip. I’m not going to copy my journal onto this site, although I may throw in a memory here and there.

mobile pic

The next spark came from a book that a good friend of mine gave me for Christmas, “100 places every woman should go” by Elizondo Griest. I'll be the first to admit I probably wouldn't have purchased this book on my own. But I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. I devoured this book in about a week. Filled with brief two page summaries of various suggestions serve as a good stepping stone for any countries that may spark a reader's interest. This book cemented countries already on my bucket list, and I was also inspired to think about destinations in regions I hadn’t even given a second thought to. There is a chapter dedicated on visiting one’s motherland. My family didn’t put much emphasis on their cultural roots so it has taken me a Very long time for that curiosity to finally surface. 

So what finally pushed me to click the “add blog” option? I was one of the selected winners to receive “The Travel Book” from Lonely Planet. It’s a thick 400+ page book about every country in the world. The contest was to describe your dream trip. This was my answer.

 My dream trip is to follow the Orient Express route from Paris to Istanbul and then travel overland from Istanbul to Cairo, while capturing images of what I see along the way. It’s the closest I’ll realistically get to having a “Phileas Fogg” experience. After I take that trip, I’ll dream up another one…

I’m not sure if winning a $50 book on1/11/11 is a “sign” of anything, but it's a coincidence of things that don’t happen everyday. I’m definitely open to the idea that it’s a sign of a great year to come.