Big Voyage, Little Mikey

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Baby Its Cold Outside.

New Season. New Chicago. Lets see where this goes... More coming soon.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

South Africa: Cape to Kruger

Hello from AMERICA!!!

I have made it back in one piece.

And now with UNLIMITED, UNRESTRICTED internet I can finish my blog posts!

So lets pretend that I just left the magical land of South Africa and posted these pictures...

First up are the photos from Jackie and my Table Mountain adventure!

We hiked up a rather rough trail, all the way to the top,

for a very breathtaking view of Cape Town, South Africa.

Our reward was a giant burger and beer at the top of the mountain.

A cute little restaurant, Fork, located on Long Street.

Needless to say,

it was a great day in Cape Town, South Africa.

And the next day I flew to Kruger National Park for a three day long safari!

It was one of the better sunsets I have ever witnessed.

Water buffalo, so many water buffalo.

B.A safari guide, hunter extraordinaire, and all around great guy...

he was a hungry lion.

The ULTIMATE Bad Ass, Cliff, our chain smoking, short-short wearing, safari guide.

And our jeep broke down in the middle of the road...

When we returned to Cape Town, we took a train out to Stellenbosch

for a bike and wine tasting tour.

What a cutie

Our day in Stellenbosch was one of my favorite days I have had on my trip.

Spent the entire day biking with people from all over the world and ate Easter lunch with new friends, all from different worlds.

Well, being home is great.

It has only been two days but looking at these pictures makes me miss traveling already.

Being back in the US has been the most culture shock of all.

But it feels so good to be back in Chicago, hanging with my boyfriend and my brother,

and a bunch of great friends.

Really, so happy to be back.

Dr. Suess could not have said it better-

"Don't be sad because it is over, smile because it happened."

-Mikey C

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

"Good Rice, Good Curry, Good Gandhi, Let's Hurry!"

(Thanks to my marvelous brother August with the title help!)

Hello! It has been far too long since my last update, and boy am I sorry!

I tried to sit down and upload photos while we were in Mauritius but since we had so little time there I just could not get myself to do it! The island was gorgeous and I maybe snapped 3 photos while I was there. Most of my time was spent in the water as a mermaid. But here are my India adventure photos!

I really fell in love with this country. The colors, the essence, the vibrance, and the traditions that it breathes left me inspired and awestruck. But it must be said that falling in love with India is a dangerous thing, one moment you will see the most beautiful sites, paintings, colors and people, and the next moment you will witness the most extreme forms of poverty and your heart will ache and break 100+ times over and over again. India has been by far the most touching and memorable experience to date.

Here are a lot, lot, lot, lot of photos.

Please enjoy!

My favorite family on board, the Finns of Colorado. Jenny Finn is a Living Learning Counselor on the ship. What a great pack!

This picture is pretty much what I loved about India.

Here is the start of my trip to the Taj Mahal.

Normally, I travel independently but I took a Semester at Sea sponsored trip to Delhi to see the Taj Mahal and many other amazing sights!

Lots of Semester at Sea flower pedal art...

Everyone was so welcoming and kind to our group.

This is inside the Agra Fort.

I got lost in this place for about 2 hours.

The Taj Mahal!!!

One of the Semester at Sea kids fell into the reflective pool, probably one of the better moments of my Taj experience.

BLUE EYES.

Our visit to the ashram and orphanage of Mother Theresa.

We met some of the sweetest, most engaging children. I will never forget our time there.

My India trip ended with a bang. As soon as I returned from Delhi, I went with some friends and stayed the night on a house boat in the back waters of India!