My Dinosaur

As the end of our adventure comes into sight, I am reminded of the friends I will be seeing soon. I am also reminded of dinosaurs. Yes, dinosaurs. I gave a small plastic dinosaur to each of my friends and family with instructions for them to take pictures of their dinosaur in various locations (home, work, school, travel, anywhere). I kept one dino for myself, and he has been with me on this whole adventure, either hanging by his tail from a peg in my bunk on the boat, or in a pocket in my backpack. That is, when I wasn't taking pictures of him. Here are some pictures of my dino, on his own EYEotW adventure:

Dino on the plane from L.A. to Tahiti, where I joined the crew.

Dino in a bank on Bora Bora, where Adam, Alan S., and Will got their deposits back right before we left French Polynesia.

Dino, enjoying some peanut butter and toast on the boat.

On our way into American Samoa, Dino dodged explosives! (Not really, but it was marked on the chart plotter!)

After a long night watch, dino gets some sleep.

Dino doing some laundry.

Dino has fun at a Tongan feast.

Dino LOVES blueberry pancakes!

After hiking to the top of Lizard Island, Dino needed some stability help due to the high winds.

Dino says goodbye to Sri Lanka, on our last train ride from Galle to Colombo.

Dino, relaxing on a train in Poland.

To be continued?...

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Prague Zoo!

While in Prague, we made a trip to the Prague Zoo. Even though it was kind of cold and rainy, it was still a fun day. One really cool thing about the Prague Zoo is that visitors are allowed to bring their dogs inside! Human tickets cost 150 koruna, and dog tickets are just 20 koruna! The zoo is full of nice walking paths, and seems like a very nice place to walk your dog and see lots of cool animals. I bet my dog would love all the new smells!! Here are some of my favorite animals from the zoo, and by favorite I mean these are pretty much all the pictures that I took.

Bright pink flamingos, most standing on one foot and sleeping with their head tucked under a wing.

Black Vultures, just hanging out.

This one should be familiar... Bald Eagles!

I had never seen the Steller's Sea Eagle before. They were very vocal, and had really big, bright yellow beaks.

An owl, who must be saving this snack for later so the other owls couldn't get it!

Next came the children's section of the zoo, with a barn and some common farm animals, including these gigantic pigs!

There was also a pen of goats, and visitors could climb in and feed them what looked like corn puff cereal and pet them. This little baby goat had no problem being held, especially because he got first dibs on all the food in my hand.

Cat complex! The tiger on top was just walking around, not even noticing the tiger down below who was in stalk mode and very focused!

I had heard of a Jaguarundi before, but had never seen one. They are small, just slightly bigger than a housecat, and brownish-black in color. This one even had two little kittens!! The mother kept a sharp eye on the Jaguarundi in the next pen; even though they were separated, she hissed when he came too close to the wire in defense of her babies!

Buffalo, one of my favorite animals!

The Prague Zoo made use of natural features, like this rock face, in the mountain goat enclosure.

Zebra, trying to stay out of the rain.

The male gorilla looks very pensive.

This little guy looks just like a giant hamster, and was sprawled out comfortably on a rock.

This ocelot was in the middle of lunch when I walked by.

Nap time for this Bat-Eared Fox.

African Grass Rats looking cute.

African Pygmy Mouse also looking cute.

Finally, polar bears! One taking a quick break from cleaning his feet, the other sleeping with a paw wrapped protectively around a toy.

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The Search for Used Bookstores: Krakow Edition

Once again I was on the hunt for a used bookstore, in Krakow this time. I finally finished the massive seventh (and final) book in my series that I obtained way back in Australia, and was ready to lighten my pack further.

I found a really useful website, called the Bookstore Guide, that lists many used bookstores throughout Europe. In Krakow there was listed a place called 'Massolit Books and Cafe.' I headed over there one day, and found an awesome place with many rooms of books, and a cafe to boot! I was able to sell my book for 12 złote, and my pack has much more room.

I'm down to one book now, and I think that one should last me until I get home!

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Contemporary Art: I Don't Get It.

I enjoyed visiting museums while in Warsaw, not least because they provided a place to warm up after walking around in the cold! Many also had a free entry day, and I was able to plan explorations around those days. And of course, the exhibits, paintings, and artifacts were very interesting to learn about.

One museum I visited is called the Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej, or the Center for Contemporary Art. It was nice to walk around, but I must admit that I don't really get contemporary art. It was fun creating my own interpretations, though. Here's some of the things I saw during my visit:

A big room with clips of deer running away projected onto the walls.

This giant wooden fish was suspended from the ceiling, and the blue light reminded me of a light saber.

This green table was my favorite exhibit. It's winter now and most things are covered in snow, so I think I just miss the color green!

Also there's a circle of tiny sheep on it!

This display reminded me of my friend Megan, who likes both bikes and the color yellow.

Stairs going nowhere?

This reminded me of my cats, because it looks like a giant hairball.

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This Language I DO Know

In previous countries it was often obvious that I was a foreigner and therefore probably didn't speak the local language. Here in Poland though, I blend in a little more. So well in fact, that sometimes people will start up a conversation with me in Polish, to which I reply, 'I'm sorry, I only speak English!' However, this morning I went to a place here in Warsaw where I knew the language- a coffee shop.

Filtry Cafe was recommended to me by some locals I met while staying at a hostel. They said that if I wanted good espresso, I should go to Filtry. So I did. I've worked in a couple different coffee shops, and I really enjoy both the environment of cafes and drinking delicious coffee. Walking into a coffee shop is a comfortable experience for me. There's the immediate smell of coffee, the sound of espresso beans being ground, the hiss of a steam wand as the barista makes drinks. It's all very pleasant, and Filtry Cafe was a great place to get some things done this morning! The americano and chocolate-banana muffin didn't hurt, either.

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The Search for Used Bookstores: Warsaw Edition

My third day in Warsaw turned into a search for a used bookstore. But, surprise! I was looking to sell this time, not buy. When you're carrying everything you have on your back, the goal becomes to make it as light as possible. I picked up a series of seven books in Australia, and was only on book four when we left Galle. In my stubborness, I decided to carry the remaining books with me and sell them as I went.

I finished book four and passed that on to Matt. Pack lighter. Book five was really big and a hardback to boot, but I finished it in part thanks to the many hours spent on buses in Turkey. I was able to sell it (for a measly 5 lira) at the Book Bazaar section of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. (Apologies for not writing a post about that experience; the Grand Bazaar is a really cool place, and I only discovered the book bazaar on my second to last day there! Probably a good thing...) Pack lighter still.

On to book six, which was about half the size of book five (but still heavy in the bottom of my pack.) The series is one of my favorites (yes, I have read them before... I like rereading good books!) but the incentive of a lighter pack is also hard to deny. Any spare moment spent on a bus, I read; I also enjoy reading at least a few pages before going to sleep at night. I finished book six in the Ukraine, but couldn't find a place to sell it. So I packed it for the trip to Poland, hoping to find a good used bookstore but telling myself I would take it no further than the city of Warsaw.

So, once settled in a hostel, I began planning where I wanted to visit in Warsaw. It was easy to work in some used bookstores; there are interesting things scattered all around the city and lots of little side streets to walk down. I ended up finding and going into more bookshops than I intended.

The first one I went to didn't exist. Well, maybe it does, but I couldn't find it and people in the area hadn't heard of it. The second one I happened upon purely by accident. It was very cluttered, as only the best bookstores are, but the owner didn't wish to buy any books. Understandable, considering the piles of books she already had. There was even a small English section.

The owner of the second shop wrote down an address for me, but I barely glanced at it. I was still finding my way around and hadn't gotten the layout of the city just yet; if I deviated from my route I might get lost. I would look up the address that night and go to it the next day. Little did I realize that the address was on my route! Streets change names almost every block it seems, and I was on the street with the third bookstore without even knowing it! Sadly, this was a new bookshop only and they didn't buy used books, either. But I was directed right across the street and behind a bus stop, where I was told there was an actual used bookstore!

This seemed promising, but the owner kindly informed me that they only bought antique books. When I inquired about the existence of a used bookshop in the area, he said there was one right around the corner... but he also owned that one and wasn't really interested in my book.

I soon passed another chain bookstore, this one called 'American Bookstore.' I went inside. I can't help it - I love books. This one was stocked entirely with English language books, and although there was a number I would like to read, I'm in no hurry to add more weight to my pack when I've worked so hard to make it lighter.

It was getting darker and colder by the minute, so I decided to head back to my hostel (with a stop on the way for dinner/a lesson in Polish at Bambino Milk Bar). One last bookstore caught my eye, but it wasn't because of the books. There was a cat, sleeping on a stack of books! I went inside to pet him, and got a sleepy purr in response.

In the end, I donated my book to the hostel I'm staying at. It's a new hostel and they already have a collection going; hopefully someone will pick it up and enjoy it as much as I have. The weight will be in their pack then, not mine!

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