Egypt’s Intellectual Situation
September 17, 2015 Painter Adel El-Siwi leads me through his workspace on the fourth floor of a downtown Cairo apartment building. His hands, cargo shorts, pink T-shirt, and Crocs are splattered with paint. Shelves of art, literature, and philosophy books reach the high ceiling. Across the corridor, massive canvases face the wall like unopened presents. Tubes of
It’s a Small Sea After All: La Paz to Puerto Escondido
No paved roads, no power lines, no fresh water. As we set the main sail and aim north, we travel into one of the most remote areas in North America. From above, this coast looks void of human influence. A typical US coastal square kilometer contains 200 people. On average, only two souls inhabit each
Hurricane Linda
We are still in Puerto Escondido, or more accurately Nopolo. We have been taken in by a couple I met when I drove from La Paz to San Diego to meet Josh and sail the coast. She and her husband retired here and they have been a literal port in the storm for us. Hurricane
Crime And Climate Change
Until the summer of 2014, La Paz had lived up to its name, which means ‘the peace.’ The coastal city on the Baja peninsula seemed immune from the drug trafficking violence of the mainland, which is estimated to have claimed 120,000 lives since 2006. But on July 31st, that bloodless exemption vanished. On the side
Update from Puerto Escondido
We arrived in Puerto Escondido last night, a large natural harbor. It was my first good night of sleep since leaving La Paz; even the lightning storm that cruised by in the night couldn’t keep me away. (This was our first night with no swell or wind waves to toss us around inside the boat while
Update from Agua Verde
We are anchored at Agua Verde, just 23 nautical miles south of Puerto Escondido. This place is called Agua Verde for its turquoise waters–but it must have been named in the winter, since the hot summer water seems to have made the bay truly green. We haven’t ventured to the tiny town yet, as we
Translating Dissent: Voices from and with the Egyptian Revolution
Jonathan Guyer has contributed a chapter to Translating Dissent: Voices from and with the Egyptian Revolution, a forthcoming book from Routledge. His chapter focuses on the translation of Arabic political cartoons. Here is Jonathan’s abstract: This chapter reflects critically on the translation of Arabic political cartoons, both in broad and narrow terms. The questions I address
Update from the Sea of Cortez
We had an amazing trip to Isla Pardito, one of the few inhabited islands in the Sea of Cortez. The island is less than 1/16th of a mile across and the cement block, thatch roofed houses are all stuffed onto the westward slope. There are four families who have lived there for five generations. I
A Mysterious Disappearance at Cedros Island
About the Author Living and traveling on a sailboat is often about suffering gracefully and making good decisions in bad situations. I think that’s part of the reason I choose to sail the coasts of Latin America and the Caribbean. My partner Josh and I get to share the challenges of a seabound experience with
Hull Scrub
Josh and I take the boat to Bahía Falsa just outside of La Paz to scrape the underwater jungle off of the hull. Most likely the hull will never get this overgrown again during our trip. La Paz has a reputation for growing forests on boat hulls, plus sailing keeps it cleaner. Perhaps El Niño