After our tour of Colombia, Ed and I enjoyed four nights at Casa Cayuco, an eco-adventure resort on the Bocas del Toro archipelago in Panama. It was a delightful chance to snorkel, enjoy nature, and relax.

As an all-inclusive resort, we simply had to wait for the call of a conch shell which indicated it was time to proceed to delicious locally-sourced breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Nice! The resort is right on the water, and our “Tortuga” cabin had easy access to the beach.

Even more important than the luxury of the resort, was the impact that this lodge has on the local community.10% of the current profits at Casa Cayuco go directly to Salt Creek, a local Ngöbe Bugle village with around 1,000 residents. The proceeds go directly to the directors of the school, who manage the funds. On our final day at the resort, we took a short boat ride to visit the village, which was nestled in a deep patch of mangroves.

A Visit to the Local School

The village school, the heart of the community, is supported by donations from Casa Cayuco–in addition to minimal government funding. All lodge guests are encouraged to visit the village and bring school supplies for the classrooms. We were happy to contribute to this effort.

Not all the students were in class during our visit; some just peered through the windows. (Apparently, there had been some problems with the water supply during the last few days.)

Two new high school classrooms are being built with the funds from Casa Cayuco. The number of high school graduates has soared from 0 in the past, to 5 in 2017 to 25 in 2018 and will continue to grow. (The government supplies the teachers now that classrooms will be available.)

Tourist dollars spent at Casa Cayuco have a big impact on a local community. Many volunteers also support the village though community service projects.

Not only does the resort provide employment for locals, but the school leaders are also able to direct how the resources from the resort are used to benefit the community. Everyone benefits from this approach — especially the next generation!

Snorkeling in the Clear Waters

As visitors to this remote area, we also enjoyed the incredible snorkeling. We set off in a private pontoon boat, expertly commanded by José, a skilled free-diver and boat handler who lives in the nearby Salt Creek village with his large contingent of children and grandchildren.

 

The first day we jumped off the boat and explored the Zapatillas islands, a national marine park where all the underwater life is protected. The fish were colorful and plentiful.

José joined us in the water and was able to catch and release octopus, lobster, starfish, and many other sea organisms. José can free dive for over a minute and a half (!); we think he might be half dolphin!

 

Another day we snorkeled around mangrove islands and were astonished at the rainbow of colored coral and sponges growing on the mangrove roots.

 

Since José is an expert boat handler, he was able to maneuver the boat into Dolphin Bay and create some waves that encouraged the local dolphin population to come out and play in the waves. (Note: we were not quick enough on the trigger to catch any photos of dolphins leaping, but are including this one from the Casa Cayuco website since this is what it looked like!)

José is also an expert fisherman. He used a hand line to catch this huge barracuda, right from the dock.

 

The Casa Cayuco resort can host up to 24 guests. Joining us at the resort were a delightful couple from Denver celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and a group of 12 students from Pitzer College on a study-abroad trip.

Marine Biology at the Resort

The accompanying biology professor, Cheryl Baduini, took the underwater pictures shown above and shared them with us. She has been studying the marine life in Bocas del Torro for 15 years and is an expert in identifying the creatures and the coral.

The students worked on independent projects during their stay, and we observed their final presentations. Who knew we could partake in a college level marine biology course in Paradise?

Casa Cayuco has been owned by an American couple (Dave and Suzanne) for the last five years.  Recently, they added Mina, their 3-year-old daughter (who was born in Panama) to their board of directors … so the hotel can be considered to be run by  local!  Below, she is concentrating on hotel strategy and marketing, by critically observing the marine location:

So, this combination of beauty, learning, and giving back to the local village was a winner!  We loved our stay at Casa Cayuco and were delighted to be a part of a community that cares about giving back to the local area,  supporting the local culture, and preserving the beautiful natural environment.  2021 Update:  Dave and Suzanne have sold the resort but it looks like the new owners are keeping the traditions alive! 

The Panama Canal

And, no trip to Panama would be complete without a trip through the Panama Canal.  We enjoyed our small boat tour through the canal and marveled at the engineering foresight from 1914!

On our trip, a group of local indigenous people joined us … complete with their cell phones.

The original gates in the locks operate 24/7.  The journey is quite spectacular.

It was very windy during our transit through the canal and we had to either remove or hold on to our Panama Hats! It was quite the ride.

For those who follow this blog, you’ll remember that my 95-year-old mum and I have visited quite a few of Hemingway’s haunts over the past few years, including his homes in Cuba and Key West.  When we planned our current trip to Northern Michigan and Southern Canada, little did we know that once again, we would be following in Ernest’s footsteps!

Petoskey, Michigan

A young Ernest Hemingway spent his summers near the quaint town of Petoskey, Michigan. Many landmarks of his life in town are memorialized by plaques. We saw where he lived, where he fished, and where he recuperated after World War I.  He frequented the local saloon (of course) and chose the third spot at the bar for his hangout.

History at the Bar

In the past, this bar was a “men only club”, and instead of sitting at stools at the bar, the men stood and leaned against the bar.  There used to be a spittoon every three feet on the ground. The 32-foot-long mahogany bar was built in 1894 by the Brunswick Billiards Company; it’s now worth more than the building.  The mirrors are original; only the gas lights have been changed out for electric ones (leaving the ceiling charred from the gas lamps).  Billiard tables used to grace the area now populated by tables for dining. 

Our Guided Tour

One of the bartenders has become a local historian and was delighted to give us a complete tour of this restaurant, which was once a speakeasy supplied by Al Capone.  

Mary Ellen, the bartender in a Roaring 20’s dress with pearls, guided us through the bar and told about it’s history, including stories about Hemingway and his pals.  Our tour also included a view of the basement, where there were three hidden tunnels for bootlegging liquor to adjacent properties. (My mother was not too excited when the lights in the basement went out because they were on a timer.  Our guide had to ascend the stairs to turn them on, while I held on to my mother’s hand and we both stood still.)  When we ascended the stairs and came back to the restaurant, we learned that this establishment was never busted during Prohibition, because the owner had friends in the right places.

Petoskey Was Not Proud of This History

In fact, the town of Petoskey had swept this history under the rug, because it was not entirely complementary.  Little has changed to the facade of the restaurant, which was built in 1875, even though the buildings on both sides have burned down. Apparently, during Prohibition, the windows on the ground floor were blacked out, but the top windows were clear, allowing for the bar’s employees to keep a lookout for the police.  Hemingway immortalized this saloon in his short story, “A Man of the World”.  (It’s on our reading list!)

Thanks to a 2015 NY Times Article, we learned about Hemingway in Northern Michigan:

By all accounts, northern Michigan had a seismic effect on Ernest Hemingway and his  future work. He spent his first 21 summers there, fishing, hunting, drinking and chasing girls. It was a place where men lived hard and lean, ran trotlines and considered bilge water a beverage. “Good stuff for essays,” he wrote in a 1916 journal entry, recording fishing trip details he would later channel into Nick Adams stories.

Apparently, Ernest returned to Petoskey after his stint in World War I and worked on his novels at this rooming house:

The story in the New York Times stated that Hemingway was late for his first wedding, in nearby Horton Bay, because the fishing on the Sturgeon River was so good.  (This was his marriage to Hadley, his first wife, who was reportedly a Methodist teetotaler from Michigan. The bartender told us that the locals knew it would never work out!)

Across the Border

Not to be outdone by Michigan, when Mama and I arrived in Sault Saint Marie, Canada, we found that Canada also takes credit for entertaining Hemingway!

This was printed in the free tourist magazine for the area. (Sault St Marie is nicknamed “the Soo”, because “sault” is pronounced “soo”.)

Canada was fun — we met the locals:

And learned a lot from the historical characters in the museum.  Who knew that both Canada and the US claim to have won the War of 1812!

We took a train ride deep into a canyon and admired the engineering that built the tracks through the rocks.

Later on our trip, we returned to the US and will soon visit Mackinac Island.  We don’t think we’ll find more Hemingway sights on the island, but who knows? Stay tuned!

Wonderful Waterfalls. Majestic mountains. Beautiful rivers and lakes. Slovenia in early June was a scenic delight.

Spontaneous Itinerary

When we arrived from Croatia,  the office manager of the Sixt car rental agency in Portoroz Slovenia was somewhat surprised to be renting to tourists from the US. He inquired about our planned itinerary, and since we could barely pronounce most of our tentative destinations, he jotted down his favorite “off the beaten track” waterfalls and list of “must-eat” treats. We gratefully took the list, put his ideas into our google maps, and off we went.

Walking to Waterfalls

Our first stop was the Tolminska Korita area, where we hiked to a dramatic gorge. This steep canyon trail led to a deep fissure among giant rocks.

The trail was a bit slippery due to some morning rain, so we were very thankful that we’d brought out our handy walking sticks for extra traction. (Ed noticed that his physical therapist would be happy with two more points of contact while hiking.)

During our visit, we saw many other waterfalls, including the Boka Waterfall, the “highest waterfall”  in the country (dropping from 136 meters, directly from an underground karst.)

And the Rinka Waterfall, a skinnier one in the Logar Valley. The force of this fall could drench an unsuspecting visitor. While we were there, a group of school kids was also visiting. The teacher had a loud whistle, which he blew when a kid got too near. All the kids understood this not-too-subtle command, and they stepped back immediately.

A Roaring River in Southern Slovenia

The Soca River carves its way through the Soca Valley in Southern Slovenia. It was the site of the Italian Front during World War I, which is immortalized by Hemingway in A Farewell to Arms.

Water danced on the rocks and the sun shimmered on the leaves. The rivers (and rainfall) keep the scenery verdant and lush.

A Luxurious Lake

Lake Bled boasts that it is the top tourist attraction in the country (after the capital, Ljubljana). Since no motorized boats are allowed on the lake, the charming island in the middle can only be accessed by rowboat. We joined a jolly group from Austria for this journey on a traditional pletna boat, a man-powered craft, similar to a gondola.

Other folks opted to row their personal boat to practice sculling in their Olympic-sized course on the lake. We learned that several Olympic medal winners train on this course.

Lake Bled, with its picturesque island, was beautiful — and looked right out of a fairy tale.

Majestic Mountains of Slovenia

The Virsc mountain pass passes through the border with Austria, where we dipped in for a few kilometers. This pass included 50 switchbacks (each with its own number). We were surprised to note quite a few bicyclists pedaling up and down this incredible climb. We “assumed the position” at the summit.

And felt like we were literally among the clouds.

A charming Russian church blessed one of the switchbacks.

The Logarska Dolina Did Not Disappoint

We ended up in Logarska Dolina (the Logar Valley). The view from our room in a farmhouse in the Logar Valley was breathtaking. From our porch, we watched a rainstorm dance around the valley and were thankful to be under the awning.

The Julian Alps beckon hikers from all nations. We only took a day trip but saw other hikers embarking on a hut-to-hut journey. Perhaps next time.

Fabulous Food in Slovenia

Our splurge stop in Slovenia was at Hisa Franko near Kobarid. Here we had booked an 11-course extravaganza dinner. Not only did we have 11 courses; we opted for the wine pairing of 7 Slovenian wines plus champagne to start and an extra red with the optional cheese course.

The flavors were delicious, and the presentation of each morsel was exquisite. Each course–made from local ingredients–was presented with a sense of place and a sense of humor–especially this shrimp course.

Luckily we had also booked a room in the Inn upstairs, so we were able to climb upstairs and fall into bed after this incredible dinner. When we arrived home, we learned that Hisa Franko was just rated #48 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Quite memorable!

More Food To Try

To continue our food odyssey through Solvenia, we tried the  “kremma rezina” at Villa Bled, overlooking the lake–another recommendation by our Sixt Car rental agent. Delicious, but not low cal.

On the island in the middle of Lake Bled, we tried “potica”, our second dessert of the day. Potica is the traditional Slovenian dessert that the Pope asked Melania Trump if she served it to POTUS during their Vatican visit. The Pope is reported to have asked, “What do you feed him…Potica?” when he noticed Donald’s imposing bulk.

Not to be outdone, local food entrepreneurs honor Melania with some treats named after her:

And New Beverages as Well

In the new food and drink category, we also tried Orange Wine (like rose, but orange) which has become quite popular in Slovenia. According to All About Orange Wine Slovenia has a long history of orange wine making. It was delicious!

In Bled, we dined at a small restaurant that had an interesting claim to fame — Sir Paul McCartney also loves it! 

We found Slovenia to be an unexpected pleasure. No traffic or crowds. We highly recommend it to fellow adventurers.

We’d never heard of Istria — the triangular shaped portion of Croatia that’s closest to Italy.

Then, we’d never heard of the villages — Motovun, Vodnjan, and Rovinj.

Making these acquaintances was a delicious delight.

Konoba Mondo in Motovun

Our first destination in Istria was in Motovun. The map said that all roads lead to Motovun, a lovely walled village on top of a mountain.

Jan made a 1:00 reservation for lunch at this konoba (tavern) in Motovun. According to Google Maps, we had plenty of time to get there before they closed mid-afternoon. We were surprised to see a DETOUR sign in Croatian when we tried to turn into the road to Motovun.

We went ahead anyway but were stopped by a huge pile of gravel completely covering the road. So we reluctantly turned around, and instead of taking the direct route, we took a 45-minute detour that allowed us to access the walled city from a completely different direction.

The hassle was worth it. This first (and best) meal on this foodie quest was at this charming, unassuming restaurant nestled in a quaint corner of this hilltop town. Sadly, our friend had learned about this restaurant from an Anthony Bourdain (RIP) TV episode. Also, the NY Times called Konoba Mondo “what eating in the Old World should feel like”.

The fresh tagliatelle with black truffles was amazing  Never before had we seen such huge truffle shavings. We learned that many “Italian” truffles originate in this area of Istria.

Not to be outdone, the homemade ravioli with black truffles was also delicious. Who knew that you could make celery ravioli?

After lunch we learned that Mario Andretti is from this town; Italy claims him as well, as the town used to be called Montona, Italy.

Truffles are a big deal in this area. On our next trip, we want to join some truffle-sniffing dogs and see how they find the truffles buried deep in the forest. Now, we’ll just have to be content with enjoying the fruits of their labor. We didn’t buy this t-shirt but thought it was cute.

Vodnjanka in Vodnjan

If you blinked, you would miss Vodnjanka, a gourmet paradise on the side of the road in the tiny town of Vodnjan. 

Here, they raise their own pigs for prosciutto. As they lovingly raise only two or three pigs per year, the prosciutto was excellent–very lean and tasty, and unlike any other prosciutto we had on the trip.

We also enjoyed the black truffle ravioli and gnocchi at this restaurant and were delighted with the just-out-of-the-oven chocolate cake which was the best ever.

Rovinj

We enjoyed our three nights in Rovinj, a delightful coastal town in Istria. It was once an island.

The octopus salad was tasty.

At Baldi trattoria, we said our farewell to Istrian cuisine by savoring this incredibly fresh calamari.

The delicious Croatian wines complemented the wonderful food.

We Highly Recommend Istria!

Now that you’ve heard of these areas, we recommend them for your bucket list. Your taste buds and stomach will thank you!  Next stop:  Slovenia

Croatia offers the sports enthusiast an endless variety of outdoor activities and adventures.  Over the last few weeks we’ve enjoyed the beautiful scenery and created our own triathlon, featuring stair climbing, biking, and kayaking.

Stair Climbing in Croatia

The walls of Dubrovnik, fortified in the 15th century, offer a mile and a quarter scenic stroll around the old city.

Stairs abound  — first we had to climb up to the wall, then up and down along the wall.

Luckily there were no cruise ships in town when we took our stroll on a late afternoon. So, we enjoyed relative peace and quiet as we peered down at the red tiled roofs of the old city.

Of course, we had a change to practice our favorite position.

The scenery along the walls was breathtaking, and we were also reminded that many people and animals live within the walls.

We also climbed through the wall to the Buza bar, where we enjoyed an overpriced beer and watched the sun set.

The “street” listed for our AirBnb, was actually a steep stairway.  Houses and apartments cover the hill above Dubrovnik, and all the up and down streets are not streets at all — just pedestrian stairs. We trekked up and down these stairs every time we wanted to get back to our apartment.

But, the trek was worth it!  Our apartment had a lovely deck for watching the sunset and enjoying calm morning coffee.

Ed found even the shorter Dubrovnik stairways to be visually compelling … he had to wait a bit for tourists (and locals) to get out of the way of his shot.

The stairways beckon — by day or night!

On the island of Hvar, our AirBnB was also located up some steep stairs above a beach. it offered a spectacular view from the deck.

On Hvar, we hiked to an abandoned village and saw this interesting  800 year old shelter for farmers. It has survived all these years, with no cement or grout. It’s able to move a bit during earthquakes and the central key stone holds the building intact.

We hiked a bit more and had amazing views of Croatia.

Stairs in Montenegro As Well

Our stair climbing continued into Kotor, Montenegro, where we encountered another walled city, with lots of opportunities to climb stairs.  

This “Great Wall of Kotor”, built between the 9th and 19th centuries, reminded us of the Great Wall of China.

Kayaking

In Dubrovnik, we joined a group led by Adriatic Kayak Adventures and kayaked between Lopud Island and Sipan Island (both are just a ferry ride away from Dubrovnik.) Before getting into the kayak, we learned a few tips on stroke techniques, donned our life jackets and kayak “skirts”, and headed into the water. We are glad to report that we did not capsize and held our own among the other kayakers (who were all in the 20’s or 30’s.) We learned that a 81-year-old couple from California had recently completed a 7 day kayak trip with our guide. Now that’s aspirational!

Biking

On Sipan Island, we traded the kayaks in for Trek Bikes.  

The bikes had a very familiar feel, and we enjoyed the scenic ride among the olive trees and vineyards. The 250 residents of Sipan Island are proud to be in the Guinness Book of Records for having the most olive oil production per capita than any place in the world.  We sampled the local production and it was delicious. We ended up on the other side of Sipan Island and admired the view.

On Our Next Visit to Croatia

We will expand our Croatian “Triathlon” to many move adventure sports that we witnessed, including:

Paddle boarding with white lab.

Sun bathing with a white lab.

Walking with golden retriever (don’t tell Sydney!)

But, alas we had no pets along for the ride.

We could have played water polo directly off the shore in the charming town of Cavtat (apparently many members of the Croatian National team have trained here.)

But alas, we had no water polo ball and no “speedos” (which was definitely a good thing…)

To round out our fitness program in Croatia, we  exercised our upper bodies by lifting steins of the local beers and glasses of delicious wine that perfectly matched the grilled local fish. 

After all of the exercise on this trip, our next destination will be more foodie experiences in Istria. As they say in Croatian: živjeli! 

During our three-week journey through Morocco, we embraced a wide variety of landscapes, peoples and cultures.

Meet the Berbers

80% of Moroccans are of Berber heritage. The Berbers developed a rich culture that thrives in the high mountains and desert. In the past, they lived side by side with a large Jewish population, and both cultures were influential to one another. The Berbers have a unique vocabulary and a wonderful, self-deprecating sense of humor:

A “Berber 4×4” is a mule that carries our luggage up a mountain to a Kasbah. This was a new mode of transport for our well-traveled bags.

Mules, which can climb stairs and hills are much more expensive than donkeys which only operate on level ground.

A “Berber gas mask” is a handful of crushed mint held up to the nose to combat the noxious odors in the tanneries where cow, sheep, goat, and camel hide are turned into leather goods using traditional methods and ingredients which include pigeon poop and organic dyes. These traditional tanneries operate as they have for hundreds of years large courtyards in urban medinas.

“Berber Pizza” is stuffed bread cooked in hot sand.

“Berber Whiskey” is mint tea poured from on high to aerate the flavors of the tea.

A “Berber salt mine” is a well operated by two guys with a rope and a basket. They scoop up the water in baskets and send the salty water to evaporation pools below.

Berber became an official Moroccan language only six years ago, and now it’s on many of the highway signs.

Many people speak Berber, Arabic and French, with a smattering of English in tourist-facing activities and commerce.

We spent a night in the desert, traveling on camels and sleeping in Berber tents.

We donned the traditional Berber headdress to protect our faces from sun and sand.

Berber people are friendly and hospitable; Omar, our guide, took us to his village and introduced us to his father.

He even tried our favorite pose!

Influence of Islam

Islam is the official state religion of Morocco. We learned that the “Minister of Islam” is a high government position, and the current Minister is a dear friend of the King. All communities have a mosque and the salaries for most Imams are paid by the government.

Most women wear modest dress with headscarves in public. Only men are seen in most cafés and if there is a woman in a café, people think, “she must be waiting for transport.” Beer and wine are only served in selected hotels (and some restaurants) that cater to tourists.

The call to prayer is heard five times a day. Jan previously thought that this was a pre-recorded tape, but she was corrected…. “No, the ‘muezzin’, a respected member of the mosque community,  chants the call to prayer in the minaret”. In cities, we could hear the call in “surround sound”, as multiple mosques were calling the faithful at the same time.

Jewish Heritage

Historically, Morocco had a large Jewish community that lived alongside and in peace with the Muslim community; as of 1980, most Jews had emigrated to Israel or elsewhere. Many Moroccan cities have a “Mellah” as the Jewish quarter is known. Mellah homes are different from traditional Moroccan riads. Unlike riads, which are focused on an inner courtyard or garden, homes in the Mellah have street-facing windows and balconies so Jewish residents could chat with neighbors without leaving their homes.

In Marrakech, we visited an active synagogue, which is a pilgrimage sites for many Israelis. We met a local man who had just returned from his mother’s funeral in Israel. She was 94 years old, and had left Marrakech in 1950.

And we learned that Chefchaouen, one of our favorite cities, was painted blue by original Jewish residents to differentiate it from green—the color of Islam!  This city offers picturesque vistas from every turn and is an absolute delight.

French City Planning in Morocco

French is the second language of Morocco (after Arabic). Wide boulevards, reminiscent of the Champs Elysees radiate from the King’s palace in Fes. These were designed by a French architect. Even Essaouira, a sleepy beach town with incredible kite-surfing and windsurfing, somewhat incongruously practiced alongside camel rides along the beach, was laid out by a Frenchman who wanted the “Medina” (old city) to have an organized feel and not be a labyrinth.

Gnawa Music (from Sub Saharan Africa)

The only “profession” in the village of Khamlia is making music. Whenever a tourist shows up, this talented bunch of musicians brings their traditional drums, string instruments, and castanets to perform mesmerizing music, as well as their attractively packaged CD’s for sale. This music originated with animism religions of West Africa and can often put the musicians in a trance.

Uniquely Moroccan

Riads are traditional Moroccan houses which focus inward, allowing family members to communicate easily across the inner courtyard. Traditional riads also have specialized doors with one knocker sound and smaller entry for family members and a different knocker sound and larger entry for visitors. If the family knocker sounds, the women inside know that they do not need to put on their robes and veils.

Not all doors have this feature.

In Morocco, the North African culture lives side by side with Islam, even though many aspects of the culture are “forbidden” by Islam; for example, trance-inducing music, tattoos (often worn by countryside brides), and “liberated” women.

Couscous is the go-to Friday meal (because it takes four hours to cook!) We were lucky to visit a friend’s home on a Friday, where we enjoyed this home-cooked beauty.

Jan  went to cooking school, where she chopped and diced her way to create delicious Eggplant Zaalouk and Seafood Pastila. She even got to eat it for lunch– and bring leftovers home to Ed.

The shopkeepers in Marrakech are friendly and the leather goods are lovely.

Weavers are everywhere, producing traditional woven goods from agave, wool, and cotton.

Blue Chefchaouen has become the new “Santorini” as a destination for Chinese brides and their photographers.

The Marrakech Medina is lively with girls in school uniforms. The future is bright, if these girls have anything to do with it!

Oil from the abundant olive trees is pressed and bottled using traditional methods.

Traditional fishing boats set sail every morning from Essouaira, on the coast.

The gigantic mosque of Casablanca — the largest one outside of Saudi Arabia —  can hold 25,000 worshipers inside and 80,000 outside! During Ramadan, we learned that both locations are filled to capacity on a daily basis.

“Au revoir”, “Salam Alikome”, and “B slema” Morocco! It was amazing. We are fortunate and ever grateful for your hospitality.

As they say, “inshallah”  (if God willing), we hope to return.

A few years ago, Ed’s second cousin, Shep Forman, suggested, “Let’s go to Eastern Europe to try to find the Forman roots.”  We thought, “that sounds fun … let’s plan it!”  As a result, we spent ten days with Shep and Leona Forman exploring Latvia and Lithuania–searching for Forman roots. Shep is the cousin of Ed’s father, and is the youngest member of that generation.

Tracking Down Family Genealogy

Specifically, we were looking for the birthplaces of Simon Forman (Shep’s father) and Samuel Forman (Ed’s grandfather) and their parents — Michael Forman and Maria Zimina. Shep’s father had told him that he was from Riga and records showed that Maria was from Kanaus, Lithuania. Shep’s father also said, “I’m Litvak”… which Shep assumed meant that he was from Latvia.

The Forman family emigrated to the US in the early 1900’s. Ed and Shep had researched their relatives on Ancestry.com before our trip, and they came equipped with some online records and documents. US Census data listed Simon and Sam as being born in “Russia”. (In the early 1900’s, Russia controlled all of Eastern Europe including the Baltic countries which are now Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.)

Riga, Latvia

Ed and I met Shep and Leona in Riga, a very cosmopolitan city, with many green parks and open spaces. At the Jewish museum of Riga, we met with a historian, who referred us to an expert a the Latvian archives. We made an appointment with her to meet the next day. This historian also commented, “I’m 100% sure that Maria Zimina is a Russian Orthodox name. This means that she was not Jewish. Instead, she was probably Russian Orthodox.”  This news was disconcerting to both Shep and Ed, as they had never imagined that there were Christian roots in their backgrounds.

At the Latvian archives our historian Rita could find no record of the Formans in Latvia. But she said, “often, people said they were from Riga, if they left Eastern Europe from Riga … even when they didn’t live here.”  (It was a major seaport and a gateway to the west.)

We were a bit discouraged by this data, but we enjoyed our stay in Riga anyway. We loved touring the old town and sampled “Black Balsam” … the native liqueur of Latvia. (If you ever need a really effective cough syrup, try Black Balsam–highly recommended!)

We attended the World Premier of the opera, “Rose of Turaidas” performed by the Latvian State Opera. Since we bought tickets in advance (for the sold out performance), we’d learned that it was a black tie event and packed appropriate attire. Ed and I bought our jackets and my scarf at the “Gold Mine” thrift store in Ketchum, Idaho since we received the news about “black tie” after leaving SF for Ketchum. This was the first time Ed ever put on a size “44 long”. But for $5, who can complain that the length goes below his second knuckle (!).

Little did we know that our seats for the opera would be five rows behind the President of Latvia and his wife. We learned this because the President’s beefy bodyguards (with earpieces) sat in our row! The lighting and staging of the opera was very innovative, and even though we couldn’t understand the nuances of what was going on in the opera, we enjoyed the performance.

Kanaus, Lithuania

After four days in Riga, we drove our rental car to Kanaus, the town where we hoped to find records for Mary Zimina who at this point could be characterized as our Russian Orthodox great grandmother. As we entered the town, we were not impressed. We saw rows and rows of Soviet-style dreary apartments and confusing traffic patterns. We checked into our hotel and after a lovely dinner at the Dia Restaurant, attended Yom Kippur services at the Kanaus Choral Synagogue, the only surviving synagogue in the city. It was a traditional Orthodox service, with melodies unfamiliar to Ed and Shep.

The next day we drove to the Museum of the Ninth Fort, on the outskirts of town. We were sobered to learn that this location was a killing field for 3,000 Jewish people from Kanaus who were marched here and shot in 1941. This picture in the museum illustrated the horrors of the period.

This monument was placed in front of the mass grave to honor the legacy of those who perished.

Vilnius, Lithuania

We traveled to Vilnius, a bustling, charming city with a vibrant spirit and lively Old Town. On our second day, we met with Regina Jopilevich, a local expert on Jewish genealogy and Lithuanian history. We took her to the hotel’s computer and she instantly started researching in online databases.

After about an hour of work, she had an ‘aha’ moment …. and found the birth records of both Sam and Simon Forman!

We learned that Sam, Simon, and their sisters were all born in Kanaus, Lithuania. And, Maria Zimina, was not really “Maria”, but Mariausha, daughter of Moshe …. These are all Jewish names, so the idea of some non-Jewish relatives was put to rest. Shep and Ed breathed a sigh of relief!  Jan just smiled with acceptance.

It was quite an exciting moment to see the records of all the Forman Family members. Regina was an expert at looking for different spellings of names (Fuhrman vs Forman, etc.). Also many of the children had Hebrew names, which were changed to American names when they moved to the US. The key to her genealogical research was finding the same names in previous generations, but because of the differences in the records between Hebrew, Russian and Lithuanian names, it truly took an expert to figure it out.

While researching, she found that Sam’s wife, Rose Fanger, was born in Moletai, a nearby village. (This town is also called  Malat and Malata… which adds to the confusion to the genealogy for the uninitiated.) So, we got in the car and drove to her village. We had a lovely lunch in a local cafe … complete with dumplings and herring.

After lunch, we met this 85 year old resident of the village who described her life in Moletai.

She invited us into her home (which had no running water). We imagined that Rose (Ed’s grandma) and her family could have lived in a similar home prior to emigrating to the US in the early 1900’s.

We met her husband, and were impressed with his US Air Force hat!

In this painting of Moletai’s past, we imagined Ed’s relatives strolling the streets.

In his role as “paparazzi”, Ed took photos of other houses in the village.

In Moletai we also visited an old Jewish cemetery by entering  through a hole in the fence.

On the outskirts of Moletai, we visited a somber sight where 2,000 Jews perished in the Holocaust. Recently, over 2,000 people were present for a commemoration and a screening of a  documentary  for the 75th anniversary of this atrocity. The memorial was in a relatively small space and we are told it was incredibly impactful when 2000 people surrounded the memorial in 2016. To provide perspective, the Jewish population in the region of Vilnius was in the hundreds of thousand before WWII and is less than 2000 today.

On our second day of research in Vilnius, we visited the Lithuanian Archives, where we searched for records on microfilm and ordered paper copies of documents. Leona was impressed by the  original birth records for the Fanger family.

And Ed and Shep found records from the SS Emory, the ship that carried the Forman family to the US in 1905.

During this research, Ed discovered that the aunt he was named for, Aunt Henrietta, was born in Kedainiai in 1874. We were also able to flesh out more of the details of Ed’s family. This was the Block family — Ed’s great grandma and great aunt on his mother’s side. So, we were off to Kedainiai where the Block family lived.

Kedainiai, Lithuania

We visited Kedainiai on our way back to Riga. This village can trace its heritage back to 1372. At one time in the past, Kedainiai hosted a large Scottish community. (Who knows, perhaps Jan’s ancestors crossed paths with Ed’s family in this village.) We saw many wooden homes. Maybe Henrietta lived in a house like one of these:

Our trip wrapped up back in Riga. Both Ed and Shep were very satisfied with our research results. It’s wonderful to know the connection with Lithuania. We celebrated our good fortune  during our farewell dinner. We were able to trace the Forman, Fanger and Block branches of Ed’s family back many generations and to gain perspective on their lives in Europe. We felt very lucky that most members of our families were able to leave early in the 20th Century, well before the Holocaust.

So, here’s a toast to Ed and Shep for a wonderful trip to Latvia and Lithuania! All four of us hope to return to these beautiful countries in the near future.

Recently, we spent 72 hours enjoying the sights and scenes of St Petersburg, Russia. We didn’t really know what to expect. Images derived from the TV show, “The Americans”, of KGB-types following us around and large pictures of Putin everywhere came to mind … but neither proved true. Instead we found a cosmopolitan city, alive with charm and idiosyncrasies.

The city was a delight. And although 72 hours is quite rushed to absorb such a culture-rich environment, we tried our best. At its core, St. Petersburg is a very European city with rivers and canals, wide avenues lined with traditional six-story buildings and many churches, although these churches are topped with Russian Orthodox “onions” rather than steeples.

Visit to The Hermitage

On the “beaten track”, we enjoyed the visual feast of the Hermitage, floor after floor, building after building. This museum had more riches and abundance of art than anyplace we have visited: twenty-six Rembrandts, two daVincis (out of the 20 still in existence), numerous works by Monet, Gauguin, Degas, and many other luminaries. The art ranged from Ancient Egypt to 1920’s Russia in hundreds of galleries in various buildings. The older art was in the Romanov palaces that line the Neva. The Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works were in the General Staff Building across Palace Square, which has been renovated brilliantly. (We saw much of this newer collection in Amsterdam in 2012 while the General Staff building was under renovation, but it is so special and unexpected at the Hermitage that it was worth seeing again.)

Everything about the Hermitage is enormous, including the plaza outside.

We snapped our obligatory picture at the Church on Spilled Blood.

We traveled within the city by subway, which was easy to navigate and very clean. Because bedrock is quite deep here, the escalators from the surface to the platforms were quite long, leaving ample time for passengers to send text messages, read their Kindles or turn around and have a conversation with their companions.

Giselle at the Mariinsky Ballet was terrific. The first act featured more pantomime than we are accustomed to at the SF Ballet; the second act had some brilliant technical dancing.

The ballet crowd was a mix of tourists and well-heeled locals. Some tourists donned sneakers and jeans, while most locals wore formal attire. We overheard one suit-and-tie attired cruise passenger proclaim: “They lied. They said jeans were not allowed!”

Only In St Petersburg

We wandered through the backstreets of Vasilyevsky Island and came across this surreal sight.

It seemed like a scene right out of Dali. But, later we saw that some entrepreneurs created a riding ring for children in an area that was once the courtyard of an elegant home.

One horse looked like she needed a bang trim.

In the enormous Palace Square, a mine troupe was joyously wrapping up their street performance.

And, instead of following us around, this red army soldier was carrying reams of paper back to the office!

This street musician was playing a saw, delighting his audience.

It’s a St Pete tradition for a bride and groom to pose at several locations around the city on their wedding day. We saw several couples. One bride was crying.

And one couple posed on a destroyer in front of a large gun.

St Petersburg is modern and lively. Instead of old rickety Soviet-style cars, we saw Mercedes, Land Rovers, BMWs, KIAs, and many other international brands. The young St Petersburg gals were dressed to the nines, and wore a lot of makeup. Lip plumper seemed especially popular. Locals even enjoyed sun bathing on the shores of the Neva river at the St Peter and Paul Fortress. (Not everyone thought it was chilly.)

The only images of Putin we saw were on matryoshka nesting dolls, in one set encasing the line of Soviet leaders and on the other, alongside Trump with a series of American leaders on the smaller dolls.

Logistics

We didn’t know anyone previous to this trip who had visited St Pete on their own without a visa; our trip went off without a hitch. The 72-hour no-visa rule is designed for cruise ship passengers, but it also applies to travelers on the ferry from Helsinki. We traveled on roundtrip tickets on the Anastasia (Moby St Petersburg line). It was a large, smooth boat with staterooms and cafes, and an all-night gaming lounge.

As we boarded the boat, we received a pile of bar-coded coupons, which acted as our boarding passes allowed entry our room and permitted us to dine.

We took a shuttle (run by the boat line) to our hotel on Vasilyevsky Island. Most of the other 100-or-so no-visa visitors were on tours, and were shepherded from location to location by flag-carrying guides

Our boutique hotel was delightful and provided very fast Internet. (Hopefully it was secure, as spent some time online commenting on Business Plans for our African Business School client. We made sure not to conduct any financial transactions while we were online.) The hotel even had a sense of humor, as illustrated by the door tags.

There are definitely trade-offs with this method of travel. A Russian visa costs at least $350 per person, and takes a while to obtain. But, with a visa, you can stay more time in St Pete and see more cities, including Moscow. With the visa-free visit on the ferry, you spend an additional four hours on the ship (after landing in St Pete and before departing the city), since you cannot spend a moment beyond 72 hours on the ground. In our case, the ship was quite sunny and hot, but we coped.

Even though our journey back from St Petersburg – Helsinki – Tallinn (and then on to a bus from Tallinn – Riga) took around 30 hours, it was worth it. The crew onboard told us that the satellite wifi was unreliable, so we enjoyed the chance to unplug, read, and binge on downloaded Netflix.

Spasibo, (thanks) St Pete! Do svidaniya (bye!) until next time.

We have just embarked on a seven-week journey around Eastern Europe and North Africa; we feel privileged to have the opportunity to experience new cultures and cuisines. We spent eight days in Poland, where we enjoyed visiting Krakow, Warsaw, and Gdansk. Our favorites were Krakow and Gdansk.  Instead of a popular view of Poland being a dour land of older ladies in head scarves sweeping their fireplaces, the Poland we visited was young, alive and vibrant. Along the way we tasted many new Polish delicacies.

First Course: Soup

Warm and hearty soup is central to the Polish cuisine. One day in Krakow, we visited a “Milk Bar” — an inexpensive, no-frills cafeteria style restaurant that used to be subsidized by the government during the Communist era. Here we tried: Zurek–a white soup from a sourdough base that included a hard boiled egg and sausage and Barszcz, otherwise known as Borscht—a clear tangy, beet soup. Both were pretty good, but basic. Later in our trip, at the Gdansk Solidarity Museum, we elevated our soup game by trying Carrot and Orange Creme soup. This was definitely more gourmet than the first soups we tried!

Poland is Pierogi Paradise

Pierogi are ravioli-like dumplings that come in all shapes and sizes. We tried a combo platter in Warsaw, which included Potato, Duck, Cheese, and Spinach.

Our favorites are the Russian Pierogi–which are not Russian at all, but are filled with a mixture of boiled potatoes mixed with quark (a type of cheese) and seasoned with salt and pepper  They are served with fried onions (sometimes crispy … sometimes sauteed.) Yum!  Some of the pierogi we tried were light and delicate; others were more dense. The thickness of the dough was inversely correlated to the quality of the restaurant!

And, on the potato front… they are everywhere!  Boiled, baked, mashed, fried.  The magazine on the LOT Polish airline even included an article titled, “22 ways to eat potatoes”. Potato doughnuts, anyone?

Traditional Dishes

We also dined on several traditional entrees: Beef Cheeks with wine sauce  and Pig Knuckle. Both were delicious. Sometimes they were served with an extra flair, including a flower!

And, we tried a few more unusual dishes — Bigos , a sauerkraut stew cooked with meat (surprisingly tasty) and Golabki, cabbage stuffed with meat and rice.

Dinner of the Knights

For Ed’s birthday, we celebrated at a Krakow restaurant in a medieval cellar. Here we dined in the style of the Knights of the middle ages. Wild boar.  Lamb chops. Goose carpaccio. Clear chicken soup that the bride and groom drink on their wedding night. And, Chilean wine that had a label printed in Polish. (Who knew that Chilean wineries can customize their wines this way for restaurants in Poland?)

Lots of Other Cuisines Exist in Poland

Lest you think that Poland only offers traditional dishes with lots of potatoes, we also enjoyed seeing the emerging “foodie culture”.  We were surprised to see the variety or restaurants, many with inventive names.

Gdansk Dining

Since Gdansk is along the waterfront, the seafood was fresh and delightful (with potatoes, of course).

And, we enjoyed Beef Bourguignon at Correze, a local French restaurant named for a department in southwestern France we had not heard of previously.

To Top it Off:  Vodka!

We tried many types of artisanal vodka (wodka), which was often served as a “bonus drink” with the check. Here’s our (not-too-scientific) analysis:  Ginger — very strong, tastes like a huge portion of candied ginger; Blackberry — tastes like cough syrup; Pear — not too “true” of a flavor; Mint — nice and subtle; Hazelnut — not too sweet and our favorite!

As they say in Poland, Na zdrowie! (Cheers!)