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Janice Van Cleve
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My travels have taken me all over the world. My first travels were with the Army to various posts within the United States and I went to Vancouver and Victoria in British Columbia, but living in Seattle that hardly counts for international travel. I did go to Israel in 1985 and to Mazatlan in Mexico in 1990, but my real travel adventures did not begin until 1998: The Baltic - August, 1998. We boarded ship in Dover. Every morning as soon as we stopped at a port, I jumped off to explore the cities on my own. I saw gay Amsterdam and the crown jewels in Stockholm. I climbed a church steeple in Copenhagen and got kicked out of the parliament building in Helsinki. I posed for a photo with a Russian cop at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, climbed up the Heinricksturm in Tallinn, and met a cute girl in Riga. In every port I bought a piece of amber and got coffee and a danish. I met Pauline and Ronnie with whom I still write today. I rented a car in Dover and drove across England on the wrong side of the road to lovely Glastonbury. I spent a whole morning in Chalice Well garden and every dawn and dusk up on the Tor. It was there I bought my personal chalice. Caribbean - March 2000. We sailed from Ft. Lauderdale. It was my first experience visiting the Maya sites. I was hooked the minute I discovered that the Maya glyphs could be read and they told history. I met Eighteen Rabbit at Copan and visited Quirigua, Tikal, Coba, and Chichen Itza. I also met Ed Sachtleben with whom I still enjoy some very good wines and Mary Wright. Egypt - October 2000. I arrived at night alone in Cairo and was lying on the tomb of Pharoah Menkaure inside his pyramid the next day. The Egyptian monuments were on a much larger scale than those of Greece and Rome. I was particularly captivated at Sakkara. There Anubis himself led me around Zoser's pyramid in the morning light. I thrilled at the hieroglypics in the tombs of the kings and bartered aggressively with street vendors in Aswan. The water meter at Kom Ombo was particularly interesting. I was fascinated how the dawning sun shined directly into the door of Abu Simbel and illuminated Ramses II deep in the sanctuary only on his birthday. I met Teresa's mother Evelyn on this trip and she and I continued to write afterwards. Turkey and Greece - May 2001. It was a long flight from New York and I remember doing knee bends in the back of the plane over Sicily. Istanbul was a delight. Each street had its specialty. I roamed the Hagia Sophia and the cisterns and marveled at the subdued elegance and comfort of the Topkapi palace. I swam in the Dardanelles and visited Troy. Our bus broke down off Lesbos. Bergama theater was stunning but my favorite was the little shrine to Demeter in Pirene. The ship that took us across the Aegean was the same Stella Solaris that took me around the Caribbean! Leona Rubin and I enjoyed a leisurely explore of Patmos and Rhodes but our visit to Crete was way too rushed. I enjoyed Santorini's internet cafes and exploring Athens and Delphi. I booked my own tour to Mycenae, Epidaurus, and Corinth. Copan - January 2002. A week before my tumor surgery I traveled alone into the back hills of Honduras to do more research on Eighteen Rabbit of Copan. I met Ricardo Agurcia, the lead archeologist there, and Rene Viel and they gave me valuable information. Ricardo took me to see Casa Kinich, an interpetive intereactive museum for kids. I loved it and became a donor to his Asociacion Copan. This time I thoroughly explored the ruins. I mapped each section foot by foot. I explored Las Sepulturas, Cerro de las Mesas, El Bosque, the two museums, and the butterfly zoo. Howard Rosenzweig was my innkeeper at Casa de Cafe and I have stayed at his place on all my subsequent visits. Peru and Bolivia - September 2002. Ed invited me on this archeo-astronomy trip under the direction of Dr. Krupp. The altitudes were physically challenging. I loved Cuzco - talking in Spanish about the Maya to kids on the cathedral steps in the square. We examined all sorts of Inca sites around Cuzco and then took a train to Machu Picchu. I explored the whole thing and even climbed to the peak of Hynu Picchu and to the gateway of the sun on the Inca Trail. In Bolivia we stayed at the Paris hotel right on the main square. I marveled at the ruins at Tihuanacu. It was cold and clear and breathless up there. Then we took the bus ride from hell from Lima all the way up the desert coast to visit the Chimu and Moche ruins. I enjoyed Chavin de Huntar most. We had to cross the Andes through a high tunnel in a small bus on a crumbly road. The temple was a warren of tunnels and the fierce Lanzon idol still stares malevolently from his niche. Three Blondes in Greece - February 2003. Jessa, Joy and I - three blondes, six blue eyes, and no reservations - enjoyed a most delightful vacation in Greece. We found our own wonderful B&B in the Plaka in Athens, had dinner with a native Athenian, explored the Acropolis, and got bopped in the celebrations that ran riot at night. I drove in a rented car in Athens on our way to Epidaurus which we had all to ourselves. We took the local bus to Delphi and stayed overnight there. We thoroughly explored the ruins and made friends with the locals, including a young woman named Artemis. In Crete we had a wonderful time at the museum and all day at Knossos. We even got the workman to takes us down inside Knossos to all the back rooms. At Phaistos we enjoyed the hilltop palace. We took a ferry to Santorini and met a mother & daughter from Utah. I love Santorini. Good food, good wines, good internet, and a drag bar at night. We saw Akoutiri and the southern lighthouse thanks to our Utah friends. Antarctica - January 2004. This was the adventure I'd been thirsting for - kayaking in the Antarctic. We crossed the stormy Drake Passage in the Russian research vessel and found the icy continent emerging from the fog. We got in lots of kayaking and we even slept in bivey bags on the ice. I had a room to myself on board. Our furthest stop was a Ukranian outpost where I tested the vodka. Food was excellent on the ship. On the way down I stayed overnight in Buenos Aires on New Year's Day. The place was quiet after a night of partying. I got to see Evita Peron's monument and tomb in the Recoleta. I was very moved by it. Siberia - July 2004. I talked my way onto at mutual exchange between women's groups in Siberia and Seattle. I had one of the Siberians stay at my home in February and now I traveled with 5 other women to consult and assist the Siberians set up their own nonprofits. Spectacular dinner at Russian captain's house in Vladivostok and several seminars. Saw American cruiser pull in for Fourth of July ceremonies. We flew to Irkutsk and I stayed in the burbs with a young woman and her grandmother. Grandmother was a charmer and we exchanged gifts and vodkas. I got myself around the city alone very well. We took the trans-Siberian railway out to Ulan Ude for more work and a drunken picnic and hike out by some river. Got out to an island in Lake Baikal and saw a frontier fort from cossack days. Sicily - September 2004. Leona and I got held up by a hurricane in Atlanta and arrived in Milan late. We caught up with our tour in Palermo and enjoyed a beautiful, restful journey around Sicily. The west end is lush farms but the center is barren. Syracuse was a delight to wander around. We got good foods and explored catacombs, ruins, old churches, and an old synagogue. Tauromina was a delight. Wine and cheese outside on the cobbled street, coffee under an arbor looking out at Mt. Etna, and charming shops. We had tickets for Malta, but the plane did not show up. So we went to Rome instead and saw the forum. Mexico - February 2006. A dream trip comes to life! From Teotihuacan to Uxmal, I could not have planned a better itinerary. I was thrilled to find the Maya enclave of Tetitla at Teotihuacan outside of Mexico City. I'd read about it, studied it, and found it via Google Earth and now I was in it. I saw places I never hoped to see - Monte Alban, Mitla, Tonina, Bonampak, and Yaxchitlan. The latter we reached in small boats down the crocidile infested Usumacita River. Palenque was a magical place rising in the mists of the jungle. I thoroughly explored Tikal, this time poking into group H and the Bat Palace and then up to the top of Temple 5. I photoed a spider monkey just 20 feet from me. Belize was a downer and I left my lunch in Tulum, but I was better for Chichen Itza and Uxmal. I do like Latin American towns. I especially enjoyed Oaxaca, Chiapas del Corzo, San Cristobal, and Merida. New Zealand - August 2006. The Lord Of The Rings Tour! I traveled with another elf, a dwarf, 5 hobbits and two wizards to the filming sites of the movie. At each stop we jumped out and recreated the scene, line for line. I ate cookies in the Witch King's living room, waded across frigid streams in Edoras, contested Deagol for the ring, and played in the snow of Mt. Doom. Auckland was beautiful, warm and park like and I enjoyed the Dominion museum and reading the history of the Maori wars. Wellington was fun and the restaurants were good. Queenstown was a touristy ski village but it boasted a nice wine bar. I even took a helicopter ride over the Southern Alps. Copan - February 2007. Back for a week to revisit my friends, research the ruins again, and meet up with Ricardo Agurcia. I gave out copies of my book, made new contacts, and took a lot of photos for research. It is a friendly, peaceful little village and I feel so at home there. My innkeeper is a congenial host and I met new friends staying at Casa Cafe. Ricardo invited me to come back in June for the international congress, and I did. Copan - June 2007. The III International Congress in Copan was the best organized conference I'd ever been to. It was a thrill to meet many of the researchers whose books I've read and used in my own studies. They were all top people in their fields, yet very gracious down home friendly. I made many new friends and sold many copies of my book "Eighteen Rabbit." My friend, Sonya, who now runs the Yax Kuk Mo souvenier store in town and the gift shop at the park entrance agreed to carry my book at her store and copies were flying off the shelf. I was really pleased at how well it was received. Nasty hit of food poisoning dampened the end of the trip but I recovered soon [see A Taste Experience on the home page for the cure.] Italy - May 2008. A wine cruise of Italy. A group from Seattle sailed on the Azamara Quest from Civitaveccia to Bari, Split, Venice, Ravenna, Tauromina, Sorrento, Olbia, and Livorno. I explored the remains of Diocletian's palace in Split, Croatia, and climbed the bell tower. I wandered the tired streets of Venice and got some beautiful earrings. I climbed to Castelmolo in Sicily and enjoyed two pleasant lunches in Olbia, Sardinia with my friends. Pompeii and Herculaneum took two visits and Italian trains were easy to use. After the cruise I took off on my own for a wonderful week in Rome. Hotel Grifo is expensive but wonderful and perfectly located between the Colosseum and the Quirinal. I must have walked 8 miles a day there, exploring ruins, visiting famous places, and enjoying some fabulous food. I did find a Lesbian bar just a block south of the Colosseum and was grateful for the comraderie. Arctic - August 2008. Flew SAS to Copanhagen and then spent an afternoon in Oslo, enjoying the sights. Flew to Longyearbyen in Spitzbergen to join the Akademik Vavilov. Surprised to find Annie, Lynne, and Wally from my Antarctic trip on board. Kayaked in the north end of Svalbard, lost my camera, crunched through the edge of the Arctic ice shelf, and braved a storm to reach Greenland. So many shrubs, blueberries, and mushrooms on Greenland! Then to Iceland and Heimay to climb the volcanos, see the geysers, and visit the Althing. I stayed in Iceland after the cruise to visit museums, eat fish, and enjoy a wild bunch of Vikings. Southern Africa - August 2009. Booked myself into a charming B&B for three days in the center of wine country in Stellenbosch. Joined up with safari group in Capetown and explored the Cape of Good Hope. Then we trundled off in a safari truck for a month of camping in tents and exploring Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia. Namiba is a strikingly beautiful country with geology, history, and animals. It was a former German colony and I appreciated seeing the relics of its past. We camped among the animals in Botswana and had lions and elephants outside our tents at night. I hiked sand dunes at Sesriem and rocks up behind Victoria Falls. It was a long and hard trip, bouncing over gravel roads, and eating supper late over a campfire. Pretty amazing to be surrounded by beauty and wildness and not be the top of the food chain. Copan and Guatemala - December 2009. A symposium on the latest finds at Copan drew me back to my favorite Honduran village. I arrived a week early to stay at my B&B and explore on my own. I reconnected with old friends, enjoyed the ruins and the village, and sold 45 copies of my book on Eighteen Rabbit. The symposium included tours into tunnels normally off limits to visitors and a special visit to the lab where we saw The Dazzler and other artifacts up close. Stunning! Then we traveled to El Paraiso, Quirigua, Tikal, Yaxha and finally to the museums in Guatemala City. I came back even more steeped in Maya knowledge and enthusiastic about my research. Guatemala and Copan - October 2010. Who knew I would be back in Central America so soon? My book, The Founder, was published in August and the Maya Conservancy liked it. They invited me to be a guest lecturer on a tour that would include participation in modern Maya rituals. It was a wonderful learning experience, I met new friends, got to see Antigua, Lake Atitlan, and Momostenango, and I returned to Copan Ruinas once again. I never tire of the Copan ruins and I am so well taken care of by Howard. This time he put me up in the Terramaya Hotel, a jewel in Copan Ruinas. I was privileged to get two private discussions with David Sedat and Sonia Esmeralda was happy to take all my books. Very successful trip. Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Rome - September 2011. I actually planned to go to Tunisia and Libya and I had the tickets, but the Arab Spring revolutions were in full swing and I had to switch to the western Balkans. Slovenia is a charming, modern, beautiful country and I really enjoyed the resort town of Bled. The Adriatic side of Croatia is pretty dry and barren but I did enjoy seeing Split again. Met two women from Puget Sound in Diocletian's palace who recognized me from the plane trip Paris to Ljubljana. Small world. Bosnia was very Turkish and I felt very non European there. Our hotel was less than 100 ft from where Archduke Francis Ferdinand was shot in 1914, launching World War I. Lots of history here. I made great friends with Constantine and Shireen. We finished in Dubrovnik which I thoroughly explored. I ended with a wonderful visit on my own back to Rome and Hotel Grifo. I got 2 uninterrupted days on the Palatine and enjoyed many church crypts as well. Hong Kong, Nepal, India, Malta - February 2012. Around the world in 26 days! Stayed in a firetrap "mansion" in Kowloon and a pick pocket got my wallet but I still explored Hong Kong. Nepal is a whole new world, primitive but fascinating. Loved our bungalow at Chitwan game preserve. Boat trip and rituals in Varanasi along with cows in the streets. Real adventure was the 3rd class sleeper train to Agra complete with mice. Taj Mahal is breathtaking! Rajastan palaces are enormous. Roberta, my Italian roommate is the best travel partner I have ever had. I loved the rural places we stayed and I found internets where I needed them. Last stop was Malta. I had advance tickets to the Hypogeum and I thrilled at all the ruins and museums there. A policeman bought me pizza and we had a nice conversation. Everybody on Malta was friendly and helpful. Loved this place. Back to Seattle through London. Spain - November 2013. Based on a recommendation from two friends at WTA, I flew to Spain to participate in an English imersion program for Spaniards sponsored by Diverbo. After studying the maps I found the Madrid metro, got to my hotel and to the tour company taking me to El Escorial, and eventually back to the airport. Diverbo took us by bus to La Alberca, a small village SE of Salamanca. There we worked for a week with the students on English, all the while enjoying luxuious free room and board. The food was delicious. The setting was beautiful. The people were exceptional. My "buddy" was Ana Beltran, a gorgeous young secretary. I was very emotionally touched by this experience over my other trips.
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