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| This is the north side of the Castle Museum from Krujë, Albania. I didn't have room in my post, so I thought I'd include it here. So what's next? Before answering that question, I wanted to share my experience since I returned to the United States. Reentry has been more difficult than expected. The difficulty is not from adjusting back to the American culture. That, surprisingly, has been easy. It is the switch back in time that has been difficult. When I arrived on the 30th, I was awake for 26+ hours before settling in for the night. Strangely, I felt like I could have stayed awake even longer. When I finally climbed into bed, it was already 8 am in Dublin, and my body was ready to go, so falling asleep was difficult. It has now been 5 days since my return, and despite my best efforts, I am still not sleeping through the night. I find this odd, as I did not struggle like this when I landed in Ireland. When I was in Europe, I routinely went to bed between 1030 and 1100 pm and was awake around 630 am. However, since returning stateside, I have been struggling to stay awake past 9 pm and am experiencing episodes where I am wide awake. I assume it is because my biological clock thinks it is mid-morning in Europe when it is 2-3 am in the United States. This photo was taken near Shiroka, Albania, where I spent the day with Laura and Caddy. This shell of a building sits on the spit that juts out into Lake Skadar. Despite my best efforts, I could not find information on the building. On that day, I had the opportunity to explore the concrete structure and can only guess its use. Too small to be a hotel, it appears destined to be a house, though the top level remains unfinished. Notice the rebar still sticking up out of the structure. I liked the form and wondered what it would be like to complete this project. It has so many secrets. What is the purpose behind the strange ellipses on the top floor?  The other thing I have struggled with since returning is my health. I have a cold. About a week before leaving Tirana, I got a cold. They always start the same way, a sore throat, then a runny nose. They usually hit me when I reached a dramatic change in direction in my travels. My body seems to let go, and I get sick. It happened when I left Ireland and again when I completed the Camino in Spain. So it isn't surprising that I got sick before returning. However, I thought I nearly had it licked. Since returning, I feel like I have regressed. The cough persists, as does the sinus congestion. I feel like not making progress toward good health when I was in Albania. These things have made my return more complicated than expected. Is it a severe case of Jet-Lag? Or is my body rejecting my return home? It did not matter, as it was time for me to return and regroup. My body needs to get over it. This is a traditional Albanian breakfast prepared at the hostel in Shkodër. However, it was always available no matter where I stayed. It includes left to right back row - cucumbers, Albanian pancakes, sliced ham, and feta cheese. Front row, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, sausage. I have grown fond of this breakfast, especially tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, and pancakes. I especially like eating the Petoules (i.e., pan-fried honey pancakes), and I would top them with fig preserves.  I plan to resume traveling in January and have some germinating ideas. Unlike my time in Europe, though, I need to do more planning to navigate the landscape better as it will not only be a shift in cultures but also in the style of travel. Areas that I am particularly interested in exploring this spring include Southeast Asia, the Southern Pacific, as well as Japan, and Australia. I will research and book my flights during my stay in the States as I am still determining what this will look like. As for the blog, what is next? Since returning, I have spent my days thinking about what this will look like. Accordingly, since this is Holiday Season and I need to do research, and many of you will also be traveling and occupied with family, I see this is a great opportunity to scale back temporarily. Accordingly, I will continue to make a post twice weekly, once on Mondays and again on Fridays. I have lots of pictures I have not shared, so this will be an excellent opportunity to share these, and it will also allow me to share developments with my upcoming travels before they resume. And it will also keep me accountable to ensure I don't simply fade away into the cracks of the couch this winter. So for now that is all, until Friday... This photo was taken the day I hiked from Valbona to Theth. I love all the colorful stickers on the sign, and it was unlike anything I had seen in Albania at the time, though it is pretty common to see this in the USA as hikers love their stickers.  The last picture I took in Dublin the morning before jumping on the plane to return home. Finally earned my rooster wings!  |
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