Great Travel Writing Always Surprises

I'm always in the mood for a great travel read, and of course I have my favorite travel writers -- Rolf Potts and Bill Bryson are at the top of my list.

And I love it when really good travel pieces show up in places I don't expect. For example, I recently read a great travel essay in Golf Magazine.

Now, I'm not much of a golfer. In fact, I'm not a golfer by any stretch of the imagination. But I picked up the piece, called Adios Fidel Hello Tiger, because it featured a rather large photo of Che Guevara golfing.

I was alerted to the piece by a follower of my other blog, Che Spotting, which showcases pictures of Che from all over the globe submitted by travelers. It's a sort of Where's Waldo web site, except the travelers are looking for Che not Waldo.

Anyway, the Golf Magazine article was a very well written piece about the state of golf in Cuba. Currently, there are only two golf courses in the country. Foreign investors, however, would love to up that number.

But of course (as the author even said in the story) no article about Cuba can discuss the future without discussing the past, and so first he chronicles the history of the island's golf courses.

There actually used to be a whole bunch, and the PGA even held tournaments there, but then Fidel played a round against Che, lost and got so mad he bulldozed all the courses except one.

Anyway...if you're interested in golf, Cuba or travel writing and have got some time to check out the essay, I recommend it.

Che Spotting on World Hum

Big News!!!

Che Spotting is the feature story on World Hum today!

This is so very exciting! I've been a World Hum reader since its early days, back before it was bought by The Travel Channel.

I can't hardly believe that my new web site, Che Spotting, made front page news! Or front page, online travel news!

Read the article here:

Che Spotting Interview on World Hum

Spot Che From Home

The newest posting over at Che Spotting proves you don't have to leave home in order to spot Che.

You could just ramble on over to your nearest Redbox movie rental stand.

You might be surprised to find him lurking in there.

Check Out Che Spotting

I'm so excited!

My new web site, CheSpotting, is done, online and good to go!

I started the site with my friend Jen. It's something we've been thinking about for several years. Finally, we got around to it!

Here's the deal: The next time you're out and about, traveling through the world, keep your eyes peeled for an image of Che.

When you spot him, take a picture. Then submit your picture to CheSpotting.com and we'll post it for all to see.

Our goal is not political. It's pop.

Once you open your eyes to Che, you'll start to see that he's everywhere. We're fascinated by the many ways and many places that his image shows up.

We're all about appreciating the spread of the image, and not at all about spreading the joys (or lack there of) of Communism.

Come on over and check out CheSpotting!

Photos (c) CheSpotting.com

Anything Che Can Do I Can Do Better

The title for this entry, perhaps, isn't quite accurate. I can't perform radical, revolutionary, doctor-type moves. Nor do I want to.

However, while reading The Motorcycle Diaries, I did discover one thing I can hold over Che:

He took the train to Machu Picchu. I hiked four days through the Andes to get there.

That's me there in the picture, on the left-hand side, carrying all my gear.

My hiking partner was Alison, the very same friend with whom I now write Haiku By Two.

We made this trip back in 1998.

When people ask me to name the things I've accomplished in my life for which I'm most proud, this trip, this four-day hike, always tops the list. It was hard!

Che, with his notorious asthma, perhaps could not have followed this trail. But I did. And I would never give up the experience.

Motorcycle Diaries

After crawling out from under the weight of all four Twilight books, I decided to pick something from my bookcase that I really really wanted to read.

I settled on The Motorcycle Diaries, Che Guevara's famous (infamous?) journal recounting a trip he took through South America at the age of 23/24.

Despite the fact that I am Che-obsessed and the fact that this book has been sitting on my shelf for two years, I'd never cracked the spine. I decided it was time.

Besides, it's just a slim little book. Easy reading, I thought.

Not exactly. It took me three weeks to read 175 pages. Not quite as engaging as I had hoped.

This was probably because I had some pretty high hopes. Motorcycle Diaries the movie had been so engaging. Now that I've read the original book, I'm left wondering how in the world they ever made such a fun film from this drab account.

Or maybe I'm remembering the film all wrong. Maybe I let my feelings for Gael Garcia Bernal, the actor who played Che, cloud my judgment there. He is quite a little hottie.

Anyway, back to the book. Sure, it had its moments.

Like this line, which I highlighted and starred:

"All this wandering around 'Our America with a capital A' has changed me more than I thought."

To that I had only one thing to say:

Amen.

Unfortunate Signage in Minneapolis

I'm not a big fan of football and on Sunday I was in full Superbowl Avoidance Mode.

I headed to the movies with a friend. We went to see Milk, which was awesome. Sean Penn ruled his part and will totally deserve any award nominations that come his way -- and I hope a lot of them do.

He plays the role of Harvey Milk, the first openly-gay elected official in California. The film takes place in the 1970s and it's frightening to realize that the debate over gay rights hasn't progressed a whole lot since then. Same old arguments, same old social fears. The arguments are entrenched, which won't help anyone.

It was a pretty long movie. However, before heading into the theater, I noticed this sign outside.

Obviously the theater is showing more movies than it has screens, but did "Doubt" and "Che" really need to be displayed like this?

Personally, I know I would never doubt Che.

Che Spotted at Midtown Global Market

Che - The Movie takes Minneapolis

He finally arrived!

Che!, the movie with Benicio del Toro playing the part of Che Guevarra, finally opened at Minneapolis' Uptown Theater on Friday night.

In the past year, this movie has been getting a lot of press, which as a total Che junkie, I've been paying attention to.

But I should have been paying better attention. Once I had paid my $15 entrance (gulp) and had settled in my seat, I realized I really had no idea what to expect from this film. The only words I'd let pass my filter were "Che" and "Benicio del Toro." I'd never read a review.

Here's my review: Unless you already know the story of Che Guevarra's life and death, and unless you have a nice FIVE hour chunk of time to kill, perhaps you should skip this one.

The first part was fine. The second part was L-O-N-G and choppy. With an hour yet to play out in the show, my fellow Che-loving movie-going companion leaned over and whispered, "I've never been more ready for Che to die."

I, too, was very ready for Che to die. I was getting hungry, and weary of wondering how long it was going to take the big screen to finally get to the end.

Instead, I started counting heads. The theater was full. After counting 94 people on the main floor, I guessed another 20 or so were in the balcony over head, for a rough estimate of 115 people who showed up on a Saturday afternoon to spend five hours watching a movie glorifying Che.

Who were all these people? My family and friends find my Che obsession bizarre, and I was almost starting to believe them. My mom doesn't like it because, she told me once, "it's too Communist." My husband's standard response, whenever I mention Che, is "Che is gay."

But clearly, with 115 people sitting through this show, I was not alone. And in the end, knowing that, I figured was worth my five hours and my $15.

Happy Che-lloween

This year, for Halloween, I decided to go as Che.

Isn't this hilarious?

And the best part is, you can dress up like Che, too. Just follow the link at the bottom of the image!

Che Guevarize ! powered by Fluctuat.net

Close, But No Che-gar

Whenever I go roaming from home, I'm on the lookout for Che.

In Hawaii, my mission was no different.

However, after nine days on the Big Island, I didn't spot my Che.

But I did run across a life-size version of his good buddy, Fidel. For this trip, I guess he'll have to suffice.

The Magnetic Pull of Che

My Che-loving bud, Jen, and I met up again this week. This time in honor of my birthday.

She produced a brightly-wrapped present tied with a spring-green ribbon and when I opened it, I found -- surprise surprise -- a Che-themed gift.

The "Create-A-Commie" is one of those faces printed on a flat, magnetic panel enclosed in a thin plastic box that you're supposed to decorate with magnetic "hair." The makers of this particular toy encourage you to give your skills a go at recreating the face of a famous communist.

Out of all the commies named -- Gorby, Castro, Lenin, Marx, Brezhnev and Trotsky -- Che is the only one given the distinction of a definitive article.

We, of course, noticed this right away. He is not just any Che. He is "the" Che. As if there were any other.

And yet, in looking over the complete packaging, I couldn't help but notice that one very significant commie was left off the list: Mao.

Considering the toy was "Made in China" I can't help but wonder whether this was simply an oversight or a conscious decision.

Chillin with Che in the Big Easy

So I made it to "Nola." That's New Orleans, Louisiana.

Luckily I'm not here alone. My good buddy Che is -- of course -- here keeping me company.

I was so excited to have spotted my Che so early on in my Louisiana trip that I almost didn't notice the verbiage on the sign.

I certainly hope the store owners aren't implying that Che is a "Killer."

I'm pretty sure it was the "cigars" they were after, but when it comes to Che ...

Well, one can never be too sure.

What I can be sure about, however, is that after only one day, Louisiana has smashed all my preconceptions to little bits.

I am completely intrigued with the French Quarter and wish wish wish that I had days to explore the city, as opposed to just today, this one day, which was over and done with in a flash.

In fact, after walking just one block from my hotel, I found that I was chiding myself.

Why, why was it that I so long resisted a trip to New Orleans?

Che Spotted in JFK

A trip is not a trip unless there is a Che-spotting.

That's my rule anyway.

On this most recent trip to New York to visit friends, I was so caught up in having quality bonding time with my long-time buddies that I nearly forgot all about my ongoing Che-spotting mission.

But no fear! This time, Che came to me.

As I rose to board my plane home in a busy JFK, a college-aged man pushed into line before me carrying "the" whopping 800-page Che Guevara biography.

I recognized the cover right away as the book sat on my bookshelf for many years. I bought it, determined to read the whole thing cover to cover, but the sheer size of the volume just overwhelmed. I never got more than 20 pages in and eventually I sold it to a used book store.


I would never have pegged the book's holder for a Che fanatic. Then again, most people wouldn't peg me as Che obsessed either.

I hope this ambitious reader makes it further through the book than I did!

Che in L.A.

And of course there was a Che-Sighting in L.A.!

I caught these images of Che hanging out on a hat rack in Chinatown.

At $5.99 a piece, I could have bought the whole lot. But I didn't. I practiced restraint!

Is it Che or is it Anne?

And speaking of clippings...

I can always count on my dear friend Cuba Jen (thus named as we traveled in Cuba together) to clip, collect and send various Che-related images my way.

On her recent trip to South Africa, she stopped off in Amsterdam for some days, and happened across this postcard taking a new spin on a classic Anne Frank portrait.

Is it just us with our warped Che-obsession, or does this Anne Frank look a little like Che?

After all, in her own way, she was revolutionary too.

Che It Isn't So

At least there is one person in my life who understands my Che obsession.

My friend, Cuba Jen (so named because I traveled with her in Cuba) just got home from a three-week trip to South Africa.

She returned home happy to report that Che is thriving in Cape Town.

She filled a recent evening with tales of her assorted Che-sightings and just sent three emails loaded down with photo attachments as proof.

Among her Che-booty was this disturbing shot.

Who -- oh who? -- would ever think it appropriate to adorn dear Che with Mickey Mouse ears?