I set off on a five-day trek to see Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, in the company of two perfect strangers… and everyone else on the crowded trails. I had heard of the pristine beauty of Torres del Paine, and the amazing view at the end, but the real reason I was on this trek was my determination to make my South American adventure a real adventure, not just about beach hopping and bar hopping.

I threw up in the washroom of the administration office, and began the 32-kilometer stretch to Glacier Grey.

So, after a few hours on an ancient bus, I hopped off at the trailhead, threw up in the washroom of the administration office, and began the 32-kilometer stretch to Glacier Grey with nothing but a backpack full of granola bars, instant coffee, a kettle, and a different flavor of rice for each night. And a camera, of course!

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Like many inveterate wanderers, I’ve done my share of couch surfing. But never until now have I asked complete strangers if I can spend the night on their couch. Like many new authors, I have a marketing budget of zero. But how could a traveler sell an adventure memoir and not take her book on tour? I knew I had to hit the road, and the only way I could afford that was to plan a route that would rely mostly on staying in hostels or in the homes of friends and family. A shoestring book tour seemed fitting, since They Only Eat Their Husbands: A Memoir of Alaskan Love, World Travel, and the Power of Running Away is largely about my shoestring trek around the world.  

I underestimated how far I’d have to take that idea.

A shoestring tour seemed fitting, since They Only Eat Their Husbands is largely about a shoestring trek around the world.

I won’t receive the first revenue from book sales until May. Yet I’m going on my tour from March 20 to April 16, right when I’m approaching the limits of my credit. I believe in the power of networking, so I’m not shy about sharing my goals with supportive friends—and it was one of them who suggested, “You should check out the couch surfing website.”

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Allow me to share with all of you this valentine to my husband. Dale, you may recall I told you this fairy tale 14 years ago, though it’s grown up a bit since then. Happy Valentine’s Day to my soul mate, with all my love…

Why The Princess Hit The Road
by Cara Lopez Lee

Once upon a time there was a lonely Princess who, like most princesses, was in search of a prince. Since most searches of that kind end in disaster, you might wonder why she bothered. It might be blamed on her Fairy Godmother.

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I’ve taken two trips to China to do research for a historical novel. Tortillas from the Canton Café will be loosely based on the family history of my Chinese-Mexican grandmother. Here are more of my journal notes on Hong Kong, as I continue “Tracing China’s Past”:

April 13, 2008
Hong Kong, China

We visited a place that retained some of the traditional beauty of old Hong Kong: Hoi Pa Village and Tak Wah Park.

Yesterday my translator ZhuZhu and I took the Metro to Tsuen Wan, one of Kowloon’s outlying housing estate districts. Don’t let the term “housing estate” fool you; in Tsuen Wan, as elsewhere in Kowloon, most people live in tiny apartments in dismal, repetitive high-rises. However, we visited a place that retained a vestige of the traditional beauty of old Hong Kong: Hoi Pa Village and Tak Wah Park.

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