To Africa!

The Eindhoven wandering mug has a new caretaker! It was officially handed to me at the end of May at the top of Mt. Holyoke overlooking the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts. `

The picture is looking north, and you can discern the Connecticut River to the left, the University of Massachusetts - Amherst in the far right, and Mt. Toby and Sugarloaf Mountain in the distance. In the other direction, there are more views of the Connecticut River and of Springfield.

Mt. Holyoke is assessable by car, or even better, by a quick and uphill hike. It offers some of the best views of the region through other peaks in the Holyoke Range, such as Bear Mountain and Norwottuck Mountain to the east have similar vantage points. As a native of the West Coast, it is hard for me to call a 1000 foot tall peak a mountain – it’s really a hill – but in this region, such a peak is one of the tallest. I’ve hiked Norwottuck Mountain a number of times; once I almost got lost at nightfall, and once I saw two beautiful barred owls. Mt. Sugarloaf is also assessable by car, though I have hiked it when it was covered in slippery snow/ice and saw a pair of peregrine falcons. Below is a view looking south from Mt. Sugarloaf of the Connecticut River and the Holyoke Range after the snow was gone.

The story of this handoff began more than a year ago. My friend and I were at a craft fair on the Amherst common, and came across a potter’s booth with two wandering mugs that needed to begin their journeys. We were both intrigued by the idea and made a deal with each other. Since I was planning to go to Africa in a year, she would be the first caretaker of the wandering mug and would hand it off to me. We chose the Eindhoven mug and the so the adventure began!

A year later, the mug has enjoyed Northeast apple cider, hot chocolate, and maple coffee, has said goodbye to the Pioneer Valley from the top of Mt. Holyoke, and is now preparing for travels across the U.S. before heading off to Burkina Faso. I’m looking forward to keeping you updated on its adventures!