French Guyana is not known for much except its Penal Colony and Papillon French Guyana French Guyana is not known for much. Its history is shady, its current politics virtually unknown, but the country does have an icon for tourists, and that is the penal colonies, and in particular the character of Papillon. The story of Papillon, Devil’s Island and the amazing escapes immortalised in the movie with Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen has fascinated us for decades, and is a very strong lure to this very interesting, but rather remote country. France used these brutal places both to hide […]

The Suriname River is fascinating, and for tourists travelling to Suriname, the communities along its bank offer a spectacular experience. Surinamese jungle lodges are great, and really offer visitors a wide range of standards, accessibility and activity. Some time ago I wrote about Kabalebo, a lodge deep in the rain forest, and accessible only by air; it is a rather odd place, and worth considering on any trip to the country. The Surinamese government built some decades ago, several air strips in the jungle to assist the development of minerals, hydro power and other economic opportunities. Some worked out, and […]

The Upper Suriname River is a living museum, and worth the effort to reach it Suriname Apart from geography geeks, stamp collectors and cartophiles, Suriname is a country that has escaped most peoples’ awareness. And this is a great pity, because as a destination, Suriname offers interest travellers a peak into any number of worlds. It lies, along with Guyana and French Guyana on the north-est coast of South America, tucked in between Venezuela and Brazil. Access is patchy but straightforward; from North America, there are flights into the capital of Paramaribo directly from Miami, or with connections in Port […]

Scotland is a truly peculiar destination, and driving in Scotland – its Highlands, its Lowlands, its cities and its islands offer visitors more variety than one can shake a proverbial stick at. From Glasgow to St Kilda it is one long exploration. From the major southern cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh to the remote Orkney and Shetland Islands, from the majestic Highlands to the wild Outer Hebrides, Scotland has it all, and it is all worth exploring. It is also, one of those countries that virtually every visitor believes that they know before they arrive; they know because, as the […]

Northwest Scotland and the Scottish Highlands in November Touring in the Scottish Highlands is always a joy, and travelling the far-north of this wonderful destination is always an exercise in surprises. The scenery is breathtaking, the communities are charming, the food is memorable, accommodation delightful and the weather always a subject of conversation. This trip was no exception, and having decided to spend a few days in the South Of The North Of Scotland, with friends who dwell in Ardgay, I suggested a two-day drive to the north coast. I had my reasons; in search of a series of Around […]

Introducing North American journalists to Georgia is fun! As you probably know, Georgia, at the eastern end of the Black Sea, is one of my favourite countries in the world. Tbilisi, its capital enchants, Svaneti and Tusheti are two mountainous regions beyond description and the wine-growing region of Kakheti and its gorgeous community of Sighnaghi are utterly wonderful. However, one sometimes gets to believe one’s own rhetoric, and faced with the critical eyes of an audience unseduced by its charms sometimes one’s loves shatter and fade. And such was the worry when I agreed to arrange a group tour of […]

Can you travel too much and suffer from The Travellers’ Curse? Perhaps I am! The Travellers’ Curse, as it is widely known is a curious phenomenon. I was minded to think about it after reading a piece in a blog that I follow. The Travellers’ Curse, appears in many variants, and this is but one. “The more places you see, the more things you see that appeal to you, but no one place has them all. In fact, each place has a smaller and smaller percentage of the things you love; it drives you, even subconsciously, to keep looking, for […]

The Great British coast line is a most unusual and interesting place. It is long; 11,073 miles, with a “wiggliness” factor, more properly known as the Hausdorff Dimension of 1.25. This is wiggly indeed, and by comparison, the Australian coast measures 1.17, and the South African coastline a baby-smooth 1.02. I am not sure who spends their life calculating the relative wiggliness of coastlines, but some do, and we are grateful for their efforts. It is a coast that offers power stations, towering cliffs, retirement homes, smuggler’s inns, jagged rocks, smooth sand and genteel hotels; it offer walkers a variety […]

The Future of St Helena Here is where I engage is some crystal-ball gazing, allow myself to snatch snippets of conversation that float aimlessly through the air, reinterpret other conversations and simply draw conclusions from my long, dull and probably erroneous history. In all, my comments may be considered flippant, may prove to be well off the mark, but there again, what else can one expect from a subjective report from a brief visit to St. Helena? It is clear that the island community of St. Helena is neither going to be abandoned nor allowed to relentlessly decline. It is, […]