The Pyrenees and Andorra are curious places; high in the mountains, isolated for centuries, these borderlands are fascinating. Borderlands are edgy, interesting and unique places. They are locations where cultures collide, languages meld, economies spill into each other, and the political life is delicately balanced between Macro International Policy and local sensibilities and the practicalities […]
Adak is a most interesting place The Aleutian Islands are distant, remote and fascinating; Adak, being the island farthest west that is actually inhabited, is of particular interest to map-gazers and travellers. Frequent Flyer miles are addictive, and often propel collectors to undergo some most curious journeys. “Aspirational Travel” is the phrase used within the […]
Ceuta and Melilla: Spain in Morocco I love Spain, and their outpost communities of Ceuta and Melilla have always fascinated me. I love wandering through some of Spain’s more curious regions, and their outposts in Morocco certainly fit that category. In normal times, I wander extensively, and hope to do so again; in the meantime, […]
Covid travel restrictions are difficult to follow. They change, they mutate, they annoy but they are an integral part of contemporary travel. To a great degree, we have become more fearful of bureaucracy than the virus itself. On my way home from France, I was wandering past the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, checking on its […]
“There is no such thing as a positive PCR test in Afghanistan”, or so said a correspondent to the Facebook community, Every Passport Stamp. This fascinating group, dedicated to visiting every country in the world, has taken Covid in its stride and continued wandering to some of the earth’s more distant points. They cross Mauritania […]
Tourism is a very, very complex industry that has been designed to look simple. Hundreds of interlocking components come together to deliver the illusion of the simple life. The image of azure seas lapping against yellow sands patrolled by Beautiful People carelessly shaking their hair takes a great deal of work. A simple vacation requires […]
Proof of the Covid Vaccination Covid vaccinations are vital. For those of us eager to travel and for the travel industry itself, the availability of vaccines is the only glimmer of light in these dark days of Covidry. We have seen extraordinary accomplishments. Tens of thousands of scientists from all over the world having immediate […]
The Trip to Saskatchewan Regina and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan’s primary cities, are fun; not, perhaps as scintillating as Paris or Bangkok, but fine places to spend a day or two in search of distraction. The idea of spending a couple of nights in the Hotel Saskatchewan in Regina and the Bessborough in Saskatoon, two rather elegant […]
Thirteen kilometres east of Elbow lies a true Saskatchewan surprise: The Smooth 42 Craft Distillery. And it is well worth pulling over to visit. This the third day of the trip, and yes, I know that Day 2 is yet to be published, was a day for small-town-exploration. It was a day to look at […]
A Prairie Road Trip Saskatchewan offers some terrific opportunities for a Road Trip. The Prairies are not my normal beat, I will admit, but in these Covidry Times, needs must. Canada’s patchwork regulations allow travel to and from a bewildering combination of Provinces without quarantine. At the moment, Manitobans are only permitted to return from […]
Turkmenistan is fascinating; from the quirky capital of Ashgabat to the ruins at Merv in the Karakum Desert, there is always something of interest to see, do or hear
For some reason, I have been to this curious corner of the Sahara twice. Once deliberately, as I have long been fascinated with odd places, and once as part of the drive from Spain to Sierra Leone.