Update from Puerto Chiapas
We just crossed the dreaded Gulf of Tehuantepec: the southernmost gulf in Pacific Mexico, where winds funnel out of the Caribbean, howling down across land to gobble up sailboats in the Pacific with 20-30′ waves. We grabbed our weather window and raced Prism on a double overnight to Puerto Chiapas. A great adventure and test
Update from Zihuatanejo
We are about to depart from Zihuatanejo. We have spent the past two days exploring and reprovisioning here. The town is unlike any we have seen yet, it somehow has the humm of a busy city and the quaintness and relaxed vibe of a coastal town. The bay itself is beautiful; steep, jungle-clad hills (mostly
Introducing Miss Woubi, Ivory Coast’s Unlikely Cross-dressing Pageant
The Guardian – In a new article, ICWA Fellow Robbie Corey-Boulet shares the story of Ivory Coast’s Miss Woubi pageant. According to Corey-Boulet “the event, first held in 2009, takes its name from an Ivorian slang word referring to the so-called “effeminate” partner in a relationship between two men – the one who, as Ivorians put
Finding Altata: the Slow Change for the Fishers
“Whatever you do, don’t go to Altata.” These were the last words we heard as we cast off our dock lines in Guaymas. We were about to sail 300 miles with limited charts but plentiful warnings—with the goal of getting to this near-mythical town protected by a bar that might as well have been filled
Update from La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
We are nestled into the tropical marina here in La Cruz, a slice of civilization like we haven’t seen in quite a while. We are tucked into beautiful Banderas Bay, which is surrounded by tall, jungle clad mountains–a real treat after seeing only coastal plane for the past few months. There is a big sailing
Mad Magazines
Harper’s Magazine – In a feature released this month, Fellow Jonathan Guyer writes about the role of underground comics in Egypt. The piece focuses on cartoonist and satirist Mohamed Andeel, one of four founders of Tok Tok, the zine that launched a politicized comics movement in the country. The feature is available online to Harper’s subscribers or
The Presence of Clouds
Forecasting the weather is difficult in Oman. While it’s warm and sunny almost every day, problems arise when it does rain, so people tend to keep one eye on the sky. Muscat averages just a couple inches of rain per year that come in brief downpours of a few minutes. When these outbursts happen, an
Remembrance of Things Past
The Cairo Review of Global Affairs – In his review of Riad Sattouf’s graphic memoir, The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984, Fellow Jonathan Guyer delves into the growing legitimacy of comics as art and “the power of alternative modes of history.” The Arab of the Future is the first in what will
Under the Surface of Sea Level Rise: the Fisherman’s Secret Plight
‘Its beauty has been compared with the Greek isles,’ the guidebook waxed—followed by the incongruous statement that Topolobampo is primarily a cargo port. “Sounds good to me,” Jon said with a grin as we sat around the table on Oleada, discussing our trip through 400-plus nautical miles of coastline mostly unexplored by sailors. Beginning from
At Both the Center and the Edge
The beguiling rhythms of the tide have drawn Omanis seaward for millennia, and ancient routes and industries have continued into the present day. Oman’s biggest centers of population are former ports of importance, and their residents live at the mercy of the ocean, drawing their livelihood from fishing and seaborne trade. Nowhere is this more