A World without Tigers

By Larry Habegger | June 22nd, 2009 | No Comments »

My friend Brian Weirum has been working for almost two decades to protect the tigers of India and Nepal through his work with The Fund for the Tiger, where I’m on the board of directors. Part of his good work has been leading an annual fund-raising trip to India and Nepal through Mountain Travel Sobek. This trip has raised more than $175,000 that Brian has put directly into the field over the last 14 years.

Now the government of India is planning to ban tourism to the parks where the tigers still roam. See what Brian has to say about it and what the issues are at my blog post on Cleared for Takeoff: The Triporati Blog.

2009 Writers Workshop Sailing off the Turkish Coast

By Larry Habegger | March 2nd, 2009 | No Comments »

Yep, we’re doing it again! We had such a successful voyage last September that we’re heading back to Turkey’s Turquoise Coast in September 2009 for another week of sailing, writing, and wandering the ruins and villages.

Like last year we’re restricting the group to 10 participants and we’ll meet for instruction in the mornings, have private consultations throughout the day (in and around writing and exploring), and meetings for discussion and sharing our work in the evenings before our sumptuous nightly feast. After that, of course, there’s more time to talk or write, sip wine or raki, or simply lie on the deck and look at the stars.

See what last year’s participants had to say.

Here are full details on the program.

To sign up, contact workshop organizer Robin Sparks at robin@robinsparks.com, or send me an email at larry@larryhabegger.com and I’ll pass along your message.

Hope to see you in Turkey.

Praise for the 2008 Writers Workshop Sailing off Turkey’s Turquoise Coast

By Larry Habegger | March 2nd, 2009 | No Comments »

Last year’s trip was fantastic, but don’t take it from me, listen to what the participants had to say.

“What a journey, everything I hoped for and so much more! There is no better place to be lost in thought, no better teacher with whom to contemplate craft, and no better way to stretch the artist within than with fellow writers on the open waters. Turkey was presented in a tailored tapestry, finely woven with the filigree of hospitality, the bold color of pungent produce and the tinseled charm of attentive service. Whether it is the sapphire waters, the distant horizon or the inherently starry skies there is no way you won’t feel inspired!”
—Jennifer Leigh Rosen, Writer & Photographer, Baja California Sur, Mexico

“When I signed up for the workshop, I couldn’t have imagined what I would leave with: deep friendships, a new understanding of myself and my writing goals, an amazing collection of photos, and a great big notebook of souvenirs in the form of writing tips, techniques, and guidance I received from Larry, who has replaced my 3rd grade teacher, Ms. Klein, as my favorite instructor of all time. Sailing on a handsome gulet along the gem-colored shoreline of the Aegean Sea is the perfect place to get inspired, forget about all the distractions at home, and devote yourself to a week of writing.”
—Cheryn Flanagan, San Francisco, California
Read the rest of this entry »

Hallelujah on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach

By Larry Habegger | January 16th, 2009 | No Comments »

Brad Newsham, author of the superb Take Me With You, has an irrepressible streak of peaceful activism, and if you’re in San Francisco on Monday, Jan. 19, Martin Luther King Day, you’ll want to be at Ocean Beach before sunset to help Brad spell out Hallelujah in the sand to celebrate the next day’s inauguration of Barack Obama.

Brad produced a half dozen or more “Beach Impeach” events in the San Francisco Bay Area in a tireless effort to move Congress to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney, and all of them that I attended were tremendous fun.

The gathering on the beach Jan. 19 will be a celebration, not a protest, and the weather is forecast to be positively balmy. If you want to come, show up at the beach across from the Beach Chalet near Fulton and the Great Highway about 4:30, and plunk yourself down inside your chosen letter.

Here’s the message Brad sent that lays out the details.

Friday evening, four days until a new president…

Dear Everyone,

I am so sorry. It’s a crying shame that I can’t invite all of you to join me down at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on Monday, Martin Luther King Day, the day before the Inauguration-of-a-lifetime. At 1 pm that afternoon I’m going to start outlining “HALLELUJAH!” (or maybe the shorter “ALLELUJIA!”) in the sand in 100-foot letters. When the photographer’s helicopter arrives overhead at 4:50 pm I may feel kind of odd standing there all alone, but if that’s the way it turns out, I’ll live with it.

Here’s the story: Read the rest of this entry »

Lots to catch up on

By Larry Habegger | November 20th, 2008 | No Comments »

I’ve been back from Turkey longer than I’d like to admit without posting anything here, but soon I’ll have some comments up from participants in the writing workshop aboard the gulet. Meanwhile, I’ve done a lot of posting on my blog at Triporati.com. Check it out.

Two spots available for Turkey workshop

By Larry Habegger | September 11th, 2008 | No Comments »

I learned today that we’ve had two late cancellations for my writers workshop on a traditional Turkish yacht sailing the Aegean and Mediterranean. The boat departs Bodrum September 20, returns September 27. Here’s a trip description.

For information about sailing along the ancient shores of Turkey with me, contact Robin Sparks at robin@robinsparks.com.

Backpacking with my daughters

By Larry Habegger | August 31st, 2008 | No Comments »

My essay about taking my young daughters on their first mountain backpacking trip appeared in today’s San Francisco Chronicle Travel Section. Read it here, or see it with photos on my blog at Triporati.com.

Best Moments at the Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference

By Larry Habegger | August 24th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

The Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference has come and gone and now that I’ve just about recovered from all the fun, here are my highlights. It was quite a time.

1. Alison Wright on her horrific accident in Laos and amazing recovery. Read her new book, Learning to Breathe. 2. Simon Winchester meeting his mentor, James Morris, for the first time, discovering a woman, soon to be Jan. 3. Isabel Allende on following her instincts. Did she really say that?! Only those present will know what I mean…sorry! 4. How do you spell karaoke? Battle between the “Wail of the Tormented” and Pauline Frommer’s exquisite voice. Who knew? And she says her kids don’t like her to sing!!?? 5. Don George’s moving eulogy and moment of silence to honor Linnea Larson, Tim Cahill’s wife, killed in a recent car crash. 6. Tim Cahill’s talk about founding Outside magazine, and why he left. Management mistreated his co-workers, the women. 7. My morning sessions on the Personal Essay. Lots of talent, lots of laughs, rewarding for me and for others (I trust). 8. Seeing fine old friends like the plump and expecting Jen Leo, “the other Larry” Larry Bleiberg, John Flinn, Don George, Tim Cahill, Tom Swick, Georgia Hesse, Catharine Hamm, Amanda Jones, Jim Benning, Bob Holmes, Simon Winchester, Isabel Allende, Phil Cousineau, George Olson, Linda Watanabe McFerrin, Michael Shapiro, Janis Cooke Newman, Pauline Frommer, Alison Wright…the list goes on and on. Don’t miss it next year!

Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference

By Larry Habegger | August 12th, 2008 | No Comments »

It’s that time of year again, what good friend and conference cofounder Don George calls summer camp for travel writers. I’ll be teaching a series of morning sessions on writing the personal essay at the Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference and as always am really looking forward to it. If you’re attending, see you there. If not, come next year, you won’t regret it.

Backpacking the Desolation Wilderness

By Larry Habegger | August 12th, 2008 | No Comments »

My young daughters had never backpacked before this summer, and they were so excited when we got them real backpacks at REI. Our first test trip covered a mile and a half and climbed about 400 feet in Point Reyes National Seashore to Sky Camp. It wasn’t easy for my 8-year-old but she managed. Next was a 5-mile, 1500-foot climb in the Desolation Wilderness of California’s Sierra Nevada. Was I crazy? Find out here.