Ultralight Backpacking in Banff
If I had to spend the rest of my life on a desert island, you are the 10 men I would want to spend it with. Thus began Jonathan’s invitation to go on a “Long Walk” two years ago. Honoured to be among the chosen disciples, and trusting that anyone whom Jonathan could love that…
Newfoundland Nature – through Galen’s lens
I’ve already waxed poetic about Newfoundland’s dynamic culture, and the unique feeling of being at the very beginning (or end) of land and time. Now, the windswept edginess of her landscape and wildlife deserves its own portrait, coloured by the artistry of Galen’s photography and the keenness of his partner Cairo’s birding eye. Rugged, raw,…
Nicaraguan Justice
Or: “The things my mother would rather not know about my young backpacking days: How I got robbed, ended up in a Nicaraguan jail, and was almost doomed to a Tom Hanks “Terminal” existence in a Honduran ditch.” 1. Wandering Oblivious into a War Zone Someone at the Tica Linda youth hostel in Costa Rica…
Come Home! St. John’s Cultural Embrace
“Is ye a Newfoundlander?” Skipper Lukey asks/challenges. “Indeed I is, me ol’ cock, and long may your big jib draw!” my son and his partner boisterously shout back at the completion of their “Screeching-in” ceremony at Christian’s Pub. They’ve downed a disgusting rum shot (so bad it’ll make you screech) and kissed a frozen cod…
So Happy Together
“Your life is so different than my own right now and seems so enviable. You and Sarah constantly have new things to talk about with the changes in destination and history and culture going on around you. That must be so refreshing at your stage of marriage.” Refreshing, yes, assuming the relationship is strong. Living…
Mile Zero – Newfoundland
Dukes of Hazzard at 8:00, 8:30 Newfoundland. Canadian childhood included constant reminders that Newfoundland is special. Apart. So far gone that it gets its own time zone. It really does feel like we’re perched tenuously on the edge of everything here. But not the end of the world, like at Finisterre which was clearly the…
No Country for Old Cyclists – Cape Breton
Cycling the Cabot Trail of Cape Breton ain’t for sissies. It may not even be for old men. It may even be that I’m old… Part-way up this mountainside that has no visible end, I’m negotiating with myself to just make it to that next bend. Or maybe just to that next phone pole. Reminding…
British Columbia: Still Beautiful, Super, and Natural
I grew up proud of the “Beautiful British Columbia” license plate on the back of my Dad’s ’74 Ford Gran Torino. Simple, understated, confident. And oh so true! Then BC Tourism jumped on the 1980’s hyperbole bandwagon and launched the “Super, Natural” slogan that, until an AI search 10 minutes ago, I thought was “Supernatural.”…
Three Best Places to Retire in Nova Scotia
I’ve written before about the challenge of choosing where in the world to travel when the whole world is on the menu. Imagine the higher stakes of picking a place to Settle Down when the options feel almost as vast. No, we’re not settling down yet. But sometime probably in this decade we’ll plant some…
Oh Canada! Why Now?
I wake up early this Canada Day morning, go for a swim the park rangers promised would be much colder than it was, then walk around the 100 wooded campsites of Notre Dame Provincial Park. Unlike our sad little site with nothing but the little backpacking tent from our honeymoon 26 years ago, these campers…
Magdalen Islands through Galen’s Lens
What better way to celebrate graduation than taking Galen on one of his dream photography tours, and his partner Cai on one of their dream naturalist tours? The first photos below are taken by me, mostly to give contrast to the stunning quality and artistry that is Galen Juliusson Photography. We finish the graduation bonanza…
Six Degrees of Proud for my College Graduate Galen
I watch my first-born glide across the stage to accept his college graduation certificate. Big goofy smile reminiscent of his old “Did you see that kick?” glances at us ever-attentive parents shivering on the soccer sidelines, he bounds over to the President and gives him a full hug instead of a handshake. Then just like…
Welcome to the USA?
“Please don’t excite the dawgs or they’ll pee.” If US Immigration wanted to make people smile, they could have adopted my highschool buddy Kyle’s front door greeting (in full slow Arkansas drawl). First impressions are lasting (just ask Head ‘n Shoulders dandruff shampoo), and the US could choose to make a welcoming, “you’ve come to…
Walking with my Toddler Husband
Me ‘n Sazza, we walk and explore together – a lot. And me, I get amused and curious and blown sideways – a lot. As a creative writing exercise with my Albanian Writers Group, I played with how all the beauty cuts and I’ll-Be-Right-Back!’s and Did-You-See?’s might look from her perspective. Walking with my Toddler…
Poland is all it’s Krakow’d-up to be
It’s our last week of this 9-month Europe/North Africa jaunt. Part of me wants to hole up in our current home – Krakow – and just Live like we did in Albania: get a one-week gym pass, write, knock off a few more of my Netflix things-to-watch, idle in coffee shops. It’s my last chance…
Clean Corners in Copenhagen
Everything works in Copenhagen. Corners are 90 degrees. Metro trains are every 4 minutes. Cyclists use proper hand signals. After all the delightful quirks and imperfections of Albania, Tunisia and Turkey, it’s relaxing and pleasant to be in a place where the quirk is to make sense. We are here in Denmark to visit Zekiah…
Albania’s Small Towns
We could easily spend our entire 7-week Albanian stay in the capital Tirana. Comfortable, friendly, safe – it lets us settle into Living instead of Travelling. But what a shame it would be to not take advantage of easy access to gorgeous Albanian countryside and fascinating smaller towns. We recollect how glad we were to…
Lessons in Authoritarianism: Albanian Ghosts Dance in the White House
Much has been written about how Trump (and his Maple-MAGA admirer Poilievre in Canada, if he gets the chance) is following Hitler’s playbook to destroy democracy, but Albania offers a much more recent example. Learning the horrors of Enver Hoxha’s 41-year authoritarian reign has been emotionally draining as I see the parallels to current affairs…
Weekend in Kosovo
One reason we chose to set up camp in Albania for 2 months is the easy access to several other countries we know nothing about. With a half-day drive one can cross the border into Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia or Greece, and the outer ring of Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Italy…
For Americans Wearing Canadian Flags
At a bar the other night I met yet another three Americans who laughingly admitted to wearing a Canadian flag when travelling. Here’s what I wish I’d said to them. What part of you can possibly think that’s okay?! “People treat us better,” is inevitably your reason. Sometimes hiding behind a “We don’t like our…
You Can’t Paint Over Poverty
Everything I wrote in my “Extreme Makeover Tirana” post was true – for me. The murals and painted buildings make every walk an adventure, and the brave new architecture is literally fantastic. But fading rainbows and optimistic green arrows can’t mask the continued hard times for the average Albanian. The young woman in the photo…
Extreme Makeover – Tirana, Albania
Grey – I couldn’t imagine any colour but grey. We have come to Albania because the only image I could conjure was rows of bleak featureless communist-era cement buildings. Populated by grey, emotionally-flattened post-Communist-era people. My Western cold-war propaganda indoctrination sunk in deep. Antiquated propaganda-based assumptions are inevitably wrong, as they thankfully are here. The…
Cold ASS, Warm Quakers and a Hot Vicar – Alderney
Our first exposure to Alderney’s ASS occurs at the Nunnery. The venerable Alderney Swim & Soup club has kindly invited us for a polar plunge that they do every morning. Though not every morning has 30mph winds blowing the 4 degrees air over the 6 degrees water. And no-one told us that they all wear…
Hike Around Alderney (all 10 miles of it)
The sweet and salty are swirled together. Beauty framed by tragedy, today’s Peace tinged by yesterday’s war, carefree days more poignant after last night’s nightmares. Alderney is a yin-yang paradise of light layered over a heavy, dark past. On a warm (10 degrees) sunny (ish) February morn we set out to walk around the entire…
Currently in...
Mayne Island, BC, then to a family wedding in Surrey
Heading to...
Paris, Albania, Milan, then Cambodia-Thailand-Vietnam for Oct-May. Please share any sites, people or ideas by email.