I’m off to Israel with nine other bloggers, where we’ll listen to and interview visionaries in technology, social media, renewable energy and the arts. Everything will be captured here, but all of our blog posts will be aggregated to a central site to be announced soon.
I chose a picture of Haifa’s port because it was here where I landed by ship on my very first trip to Israel now more than twenty years ago. I was traveling alone, very young (still a teenager), wore a small backpack and landed without a map, guidebook or clue where I was going. I had no plans, other than to hitch north to south and back again.
When I would depart was also unknown, as exploration and adventure were the only two words I knew at the time. It was a time when I knew few boundaries and the world was unlimited. A main goal was to meet as many people who were “not like me or my culture” as possible.
Haifa has a long history and its even more evident when you land by ship at dawn. It has been a refuge for mariners since prehistoric times. My recollection of it was “dusty” and “industrial.”
I wrote in a diary at the time, now a beaten up cardboard notebook with faded international flags, “my first view of Israel was of Haifa’s dusty port. It was not quite 5 am. Fog and mist surrounded our ship and it grew even hazier as we got closer to dock. A sprawling industrial place. Army soldiers everywhere…….on boats passing by us, even more upon landing. Surreal. As if it were all a dream and we had turned back the hands of time by a century.”
That was 1985.
This trip is largely business but I do plan on returning to a few old haunts, if they still exist or I can find them by retracing my scribbled notes from so many years ago. More from the road.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
