The waiter brings another Rum Punch as we lounge poolside, deciding which catamaran tour to take the next day. Just kidding. We cling to the seat back in the ZR van as it careens at high speed around a corner, reggae music blaring, headed to the fish market. We’ll buy the catch of the day … Continue reading It’s Not a Holiday
I walked down the driveway, and the wolf followed me. He slipped into the narrow space between the garage and the fence. We knew there was a wolf in James Bay, the area of Victoria where my sister lives. Its presence in this urban environment was unheard of, so had been all over the news … Continue reading Where the Wild Things Are
But I'm not a tourist! I hear the chorus. I'm not getting into that debate. Some days, I'm a traveller, some days a tourist. It depends on the day, and the definition. The other day my kids and I hiked to the Green Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii. Tough hike because of the … Continue reading Loving it to Death: the Tourist’s Dilemma
Deep in the Amazonian rainforest, beside an ironwood tree, our guide tells us about his ayahuasca experience. In a dark hut with his shaman, after days of fasting, he took the sacred plant concoction. It felt like snakes were coming out of his mouth and nose, he said, as all the bad in his soul … Continue reading Letting Go, Part 2
I turn on the tap and wet my toothbrush, then turn it off. It's only as I'm brushing that I remember that the tap water isn't safe. I go out into the hall of my Saint Petersburg hotel and fill a bottle from the water cooler that is on each floor. It's hard to adjust … Continue reading Water, Water, Everywhere…
We landed at the Helsinki airport at Midsummer and took a taxi. As we went through suburbs and then the city, everything was clean and spacious, but somehow odd. Then it struck me: there were no people. On a Saturday evening, there was no one walking, and no cars moving. It was eerie, like being … Continue reading Kesämökillä: Finnish Cottage Culture
As in other aspects of my life, I considered how I could step more lightly on the earth before I started this trip. I started with my tour company. National Geographic is a leader in thinking about the future of the Earth, so it was an easy choice to pick them them for the Israel … Continue reading Stepping Lightly: Searching for Sustainable Travel
Brave Travels 