October, 2010 – Traveling the World Via Aunt Shirley

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Traveling the World through the Eyes of My Aunt Shirley

 

By Krista Martinelli

 

So you’ve heard the phrase, “Welcome to my world?” This map is the world of my Aunt Shirley. She keeps this map inside a closet, keeping

The thumbtacks represent the places Shirley Woods has visited.
The thumbtacks represent the places Shirley Woods has visited.

track of all of the places around the world where she has visited. As you can see, there’s a thumbtack just about everywhere. She is, without a doubt, the most well-traveled, adventurous person I’ve ever met. Seriously – from the North Pole to the South Pole to the Galapagos Islands to Hong Kong and almost everywhere else in between, she has been there. (See the list of places visited at the end of this article).

 

Shirley Woods, former school administrator in Fort Lauderdale, got a taste of traveling in 1971 with her friend Betsy, when they took an extensive tour of Africa, including the breath-taking Victoria Falls. However, her consistent traveling really started in 1990, after she was retired and stepped out of the school system. Then it was off to Australia and New Zealand, just the start of an ongoing series of international trips, usually between four – six per year.

 

My daughter and my Aunt Shirley, holding a Tibetan prayer wheel and bell in Shirley's home
My daughter and my Aunt Shirley, holding a Tibetan prayer wheel and bell in Shirley's home

We love visiting Aunt Shirley’s house and seeing her souvenirs from her world travels. She collects crystals, and my kids love seeing the many crystals displayed in her home. Interesting books are everywhere you look. And you will see lots of musical instruments, souvenirs and artifacts.  It’s one of the most fascinating places in the world to my children.

 

 

I asked about her favorite place, and she narrowed it down to two trips. The first was her trip to China and Tibet. “Tibet,” she explains, “is a country that speaks to my soul.” When she visited in 1995, China was in the process of taking over Tibet, and the Dalai Lama had been expelled from the country. Tibet holds many ancient traditions and its own ancient wisdom of medicine. Yet China is making every effort to expunge anything and everything Tibetan.

 

The experience of visiting Lhasa was almost surreal, she says, as its located 12,000 feet above sea level and takes some acclimation. With the help of a Tibetan guide, she visited Lhasa, experiencing life “above timberline.” Traveling in the countryside outside of Lhasa, she came across something so startling; it made her stop in her tracks. A rustic home with a Swastika painted on one side and a Star of David on the other side of the front door. Her guide explained that these pre-historic symbols originally were used to invite good spirits into the home and expel bad spirits from the home. So the dwellers in the home, oblivious to the history of Nazi Germany, were simply warding off bad spirits and welcoming the good ones in their older-than-Christianity and Judaic ways.

 

The other most amazing place she’s visited is Antarctica. She took a small passenger ship, the Marco Polo, and explored some small islands along with setting foot on the continent of Antarctica, that very few people ever get the chance to visit. “It’s a purity beyond all purities on Earth,” she says. “Antarctica is a place where you see no footprints of civilization anywhere.” As she explains, there are no electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs). “You immediately feel a lightness of your being. There’s nothing pushing at you.” The wildlife does not seem to be afraid of people. For example, the penguins do not run away. They have had very little exposure to people and have no fear. Spectacular in its primordial beauty, Antarctica is a place to behold. 

 

As far as difficult trips, there’s been only one trip where Shirley ran into political uprising and was unable to fly home on time. However, things were not so bad when stuck in Kathmandu in Nepal. She just spent three extra days in the Yak & Yeti Hotel. “We felt safe because the hotel was right next to the king’s palace,” she recalls.

 

When asked if there’s any place that she still would like to visit, Shirley mentions Bali. “It’s the last stop in the book/movie Eat, Pray, Love,” she says. It’s a place she’s been curious about for a long time.  So it’s already on the travel schedule. She’s aiming for Bali next June with her long-time traveling companion Jackie, as well as with a retired Wellington High School teacher Barbara Dale McCall.

Fjords near Greenland, a photo from Shirley's most recent trip
Fjords near Greenland, a photo from Shirley's most recent trip

 

 

According to Shirley, the overseas image of Americans has improved over the years. The book “The Ugly American” depicted our unwelcome and sometimes unattractive image as a nation about forty years ago.  “Personally, I’ve always been treated warmly while traveling,” she says, although she did find one exception to this rule – in France. She remembers a French shop owner who refused to serve her “because she was an American.”  However, her husband stepped in, graciously apologizing for his wife, and helped us.  As Shirley is quick to point out, that was just one person among many kind individuals in France that she met. For the most part, people in other countries tend to treat Americans warmly.

 

Shirley is adventurous when it comes to her travels, but not so daring when it comes to the exotic foods. While their food, in general, is amazing, Thailand also offered possibly the most exotic and frightening variety of things to eat. Some of the delicacies in local marketplaces were silkworms and “crispy beetles.” While Shirley’s friend Jackie was willing to give these things a try, Shirley played it safe.

 

I asked what the makings are of a good traveling companion, since

Shirley and her traveling companion Jackie
Shirley and her traveling companion Jackie

 Shirley has taken countless trips with her friend Jackie.  Because of the intensity that traveling brings out, it’s certainly difficult to find the right person to travel with. “Jackie is always in a good mood,” says Shirley. “She is very helpful and always joy-filled.”

 

Among many types of trips, Shirley has been very happy with a company called Grand Circle trips. She’s taken 14 of these guided trips, and they include a home-hosted meal with a local family. “They are precious, gracious, hard-working people,” says Shirley, speaking of the families who host these special meals. She loved the tea ceremony in Japan, as well as the meals with families in Russia, Italy, Turkey, Egypt and other countries.

 

Why does she travel so much? “Traveling opens hearts and minds beyond the cocoons that we are used to living in.” By venturing to new places, you will find “deep, enriching experiences,” says Shirley.

 

So until my kids are a little older and I’ve saved up a little more money for trips, I will be traveling vicariously – through my Aunt Shirley.  And I’m really excited about the next big trip – Bali!

 

Shirley Woods’ World Travels

 

Around the U.S. including

Alaska 

Hawaii

          Oahu

          Kauai

          Maui

         

Canada

          Ottawa

          Toronto

          St. John’s, Newfoundland

          Calgary

          Victoria

          Lake Louise

 

Antarctica

          Paradise Harbor on the Continent

          Deception Island

          Port Lockroy

          Half Moon Island

 

England/Wales

          London

          Dover

          Glastonbury

          Stonehenge

          Land’s End

          St. Davids

          Exeter Castle

          Tintern Abbey

 

Scotland

          Edinburgh

 

Kenya

          Nairobi

          (environs)

 

Tanzania 

          Serengeti Plane

          Lake Manyara

 

Greece

          Athens

          Delphi

          Temple of Athena

          Rhodes

          Santorini

          Mykonos

          Meteora

 

Ukraine

          Yalta

          Odessa

 

Bulgaria

          Varna

 

Turkey

          Ephesus

          Istanbul:  Saint Sophia, Topkapi, Blue Mosque

          Antalya

          Izmir

          Gallipoli

          Troy

Cappadocia             

 

Italy

          Vatican… St. Peters

          Sistine Chapel

          Assissi

          Venice

          Florence

          Verona

          Milan

          Sicily:  Around the whole island

 

Malta  Around the whole island nation

          Gozo

 

Egypt

          Cairo

          Luxor

          Aswan

          Pyramids

                   Down the Nile

 

 

India

          Delhi/New Delhi

          Jaipur

          Agra

                   Taj Mahal

 

Nepal

          Kathmandu

                   Temples, Stupas, and Palaces

 

 

 

SE Asia

          Viet Nam

                   Nha Trang

                   Saigon

          Phillipines

                   Manilla

          Malaysia

                   Kuala Lampur

          Thailand

                   Bangkok

                   Chiang Rai

                   Chiang Mai

          Laos

          Cambodia

                   Angkor Wat

          Myanmar (Burma)

          Singapore

         

China

          Yangtze River

          Beijing

          Shanghai

          Canton

          Hong Kong

          Tibet

 

Central & South America

          Costa Rica

          Aruba

          San Blas

          Panama Canal

          Cartagena, Columbia

          Manta,  Ecuador

          Lima, Peru

          Macchu Pichu

          Lake Titicaca

          Santiago, Chile

          Around Cape Horn  

          Falkland Islands

          Ushuaia, Argentina

          Buenos Aires, Argentina

          Amazon River

          Manaus and Jungle surrounding

          Trinidad

          Devil’s Island

          Martinique

          Barbados

          San Juan, Puerto Rico

          St. Thomas

          Tortola

 

 

Mexico

          Monterey

          Puerto Vallarta

          Oaxaca

          Acapulco

          Chichen Itza

          Copper Canyon

 

Uruguay

          Montevideo

 

Brazil

          Iguazu Falls

          Punte Del Este

          Rio de Janeiro

 

 

Norway

          Kirkenes above the Arctic Circle

          Along the west coast

          Alesund

          Bergen

          Oslo

 

Denmark

          Greenland

 

Sweden

 

Finland

          Helsinki

 

Iceland         

          Reykjavik and surroundings

          Isafjord

          Akureyri

 

Europe

          Along the Danube from Passau to Budapest

          Frankfurt

          Munich

          Passau

 

Hungary

          Budapest

 

Austria

          Vienna

 

 

Czech Republic

          Bratislava

          Melk

 

Spain

          Madrid

          Toledo

          Granada

          Alhambra

          Seville

          Costa del Sol

          Salamanca

          Avila

          Malaga

 

Gibraltar

 

Morocco

Tangiers

         

Portugal

          Lisbon

          Fatima

          Santarem

          Canary Islands

          Las Palmas

 

Belgium

          Antwerp

          Brussels

          Ghent

 

Holland

          Amsterdam

 

Ireland

          Dublin

                   St. Patrick’s Cathedral

                   Trinity College

          Killarney

          Ring of Kerry

          Galway

          Rock of Cashel

          Blarney Castle

          Clare Coast

          Tipperary

 

Japan

          Tokyo

          Hakone

          Kanazawa

          Kyoto

 

Switzerland

          Zurich

          Grindelwald

 

France

          Strasbourg

          Alsace-Lorraine

          Nice

          Antibes

          Vence

          Cannes

          Monaco

          Monte Carlo

          Aix-en-Provence

          Arles

          Avignon

          Vivres

          Tournon

          Vienne

          Lyon

          Dijon

          Paris

          St. Pierre Island off Canadian Coast

          Mont St. Michel

Rhone and Saone Rivers

 

Germany

          Frankfurt  

          Berlin  

          Dresden

          Rothenburg

          Rhineland

          Along the Rhine, Mosel, and Main Rivers

 

Luxembourg

         

Poland

          Warsaw

          Poznan

          Auschwitz

          Krakow

Russia

          Moscow

                   Kremlin

          Along the Volga, Svir, and Neva Rivers

          Uglich

          Yaroslavl

          Petrozavodsk

          Kizhi Island

          Mandrogi

          St. Petersburg

                   Hermitage

                   Peter and Paul Fortress

          Catherine’s Palace

 

Slovakia

Slovenia

Croatia

Bosnia

Montenegro

Serbia

Romania

          Transylvania

 

Mexico

          Cabo San Lucas

          Acapulco

          Puerto Vallarta

          Manzanilla

 

Venezuela

          Las Piedras

 

Jamaica

 

Panama

          San Blas

 

Curacao

 

Dominican Republic

 

Israel

          Tel Aviv

          Jerusalem

          Mount of Olives

          Sea of Galilee

          Bethlehem

          River Jordan

          Garden Tomb

          Environs

 

Galapagos Islands

 

Australia

          Cairns

          Sydney

          Melbourne

          Phillips Island

 

 

 

New Zealand

          North Island

          South Island

          Roturua

          Aukland

          Christ Church

 

Fiji

 

Tahiti