Saturday, January 05, 2008

Female Nomad

Just read a fabulous book, Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Gold Engelman. She has been living around the world without a fixed address since the mid-80s, and writes of her experiences extremely well. A former upscale LA housewife and writer of books for children, she took off when her marriage broke up and has never looked back, living in Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Indonesia, Canada and New Zealand. This is a book well worth reading, and it's always fun to discover another adventurous woman.

Here in the cultural desert of Florida's Gulf Coast, I have also discovered a very interesting group of people who are part of a writers' group that meets at the Tarpon Springs Library. It includes a retired executive originally from Lima, Peru, a woman who recently returned from serving in the Peace Corps in Micronesia, an art teacher and a fellow Montrealer (that is, someone who is originally from Montreal.)

One of the big events of Tarpon Springs occurs this Sunday, the Epiphany dive for the cross at the Sponge Docks. Young men compete to see who can find the cross in the murky Bay waters. Unlike many parts of this area which are mainly for tourists, Tarpon Springs is a real community established just over 100 years ago by Greek fisherman and sponge divers, and it continues to honor its Greek heritage. The town is also known for its arts scene, interesting antiques shops and Greek restaurants. Don't miss Danny K's downtown, a local hangout with tasty and inexpensive Greek deli fare.