Hodgepodge 360/365 - 52 Places to Go

A friend sent me a link to a "job opportunity" with the New York Times: they're seeking a journalist to travel the world and hit every place on their annual 52 Places to Go list. Ha, I'd love to do that. I'm going to apply, though I don't expect I have a chance. Sure, I travel a lot. Sure, I actually have a year free. Sure, I write—every damn day. And doesn't it count that I love finishing to-do lists just like that? But I expect they'll be wanting someone younger, or more adventurous than me, or wackier . . . or something. But I'll give it my best shot. And then not hold my breath. That's the best way to be in life anyway.

Here's the first ten of this year's list, annotated:

1. Canada: I have been to BC (Vancouver and the area up by Whistler, for rock climbing; also the southern part of the province where they filmed The Grey Fox) and Alberta (Jasper-Banff), but I'd love to visit the Maritimes, and Quebec City and Montreal, and the flat plains of Saskatchewan. If I were to take this assignment and something as general as "Canada" were on the list, I might try to go up and see the polar bears in Churchill, or maybe go river rafting in the Yukon Territory. Or just living it up in Montreal! (I assume I'd get an expense account. Gourmet dining? Or . . . what about taking the train across Canada? That would cover at least one stretch of the whole place. Hmmm . . .

2. Atacama Desert, Chile: Chile—every part of it—is very high on my list of places to go, chiefly because it (at least the coastal area) is one of the five Mediterranean climate regions, and that and South Africa are the two I still need to hit to finish that very modest list of places to visit. But the Atacama: I love deserts, and that landscape looks unbelievably beautiful. I'd be especially interested in learning from a local naturalist about the life there. And sleeping under the stars.

3. Agra, India: I've been to India once—in the far north—and that visit piqued my interest to see more. The Taj Mahal is a no-brainer, but to explore the brand-new Mughal Museum, and simply wander the streets? That would be fun.

4. Zermatt, Switzerland: I've been there once, with a man who became my climbing partner for a good ten years. In Zermatt, we spent a lot of time looking at the Matterhorn (he had climbed it a couple of times) and talking about Edward Whymper's ascent. The visit to the little climbers' graveyard was fascinating.

5. Botswana: The NYT article mentions the Okavango Delta, which I have visited and loved, but I have to say that I was equally captivated (in a different way) by the Kalahari Desert, where we camped very near to where the Adamses of Born Free fame had their research camp. Oh, the birds! And driving all those dirt roads in our open jeep searching for . . . whatever happened to pop up!

6. Dubrovnik, Croatia: When I was a teenager, the Los Angeles Times Sunday magazine had a cover story on Dubrovnik. I cut out the cover picture and taped it to my wall—everywhere I lived for the next few college years. It was always my dream to go there—and yet I still never have. Since then, the town has been destroyed by civil war, and rebuilt exactly as it had been. But . . . is it exactly the same? That's what I'd be interested in investigating.

7. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming: I've been there a couple of times. The last visit, we intended to climb the Grand, but weather worked against us. We did manage to climb Teewinot—not a very technical climb, but still: it was a good challenge, and oh the views!

8. Tijuana, Mexico: When I was a kid, I went to Tijuana—or really, more specifically, Rosarito Beach, nearby (which back then was a very sleepy little town)—with some frequency, on family long-weekends. If I were to go there now, I'd probably eat my way through town. I love Mexican food. And I would visit the border wall. I would definitely visit the border wall.

9. Detroit, Michigan: I've lived in Wisconsin and Illinois, but I've not actually been to Michigan. Now that Detroit has been named a UNESCO City of Design, it's pretty easy to say what I'd do if I were to visit: I'd find out what that means. Architecture? Arts? Anything else? It would be fun to find out. I'd also like to visit the River Rouge, the industrial landscape of which Michael Kenna did such a wonderful job documenting in black and white.

10. Hamburg, Germany: I've lived in Bavaria, visited the Rhine region, but I've never made it to Hamburg. Another haven for architecture and design: Zaha Hadid's promenade, the Elbphilharmonie. It's so stimulating to see cities remaking themselves. (I also still need to get to Berlin.)

This is fun!

Here's the rest of the list (items marked with a * are super high on my list of places to make sure I visit before . . . I can't; ones marked with a † I have visited):

11. Marrakesh, Morocco
12. Greenville, South Carolina
13. Pedregal, Ecuador
14. Penzance, England
†15. Osaka, Japan
†16. Stockholm, Sweden
17. Sikkim, India
18. Ile de Porquerolles, France
*19. Madagascar
20. Sanya, China
21. Cyprus
*22. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
†23. Minneapolis, Minnesota
†24. Kingston, Jamaica
*25. Comporta, Portugal
26. Kazakhstan
27. Gabon
*28. Athens, Greece
†29. Northwest Puerto Rico
30. Chiang Mai, Thailand
†31. Napa Valley, California (I happen to be there as I type)
32. Puerto Escondido, Mexico
†33. Sedona, Arizona
*34. Madrid
35. Ketchum, Idaho
*36. Maldives
37. Calabria, Italy
38. Antequera, Spain
†39. Lofoten Islands, Norway
40. Iberá Wetlands, Argentina
*41. Istria, Croatia
42. Placencia, Belize
43. Langtang Region, Nepal
44. Bozcaada, Turkey
45. Birmingham, Alabama
46. Sacred Valley, Peru
47. Laikipia, Kenya
48. Busan, South Korea
†49. Portland, Oregon
†50. Budapest, Hungary
51. South Bronx, New York
52. Ryukyu Islands, Japan