Retirement Role Models – Camino Days 16-18 (Castrojeriz)
Foggy pre-dawn starts up a final hill and officially onto the Mesita – the flat table-top plains that some find boring and is supposed to challenge us mentally for the next ten days or so. A time to ponder big questions, and for these first few days it seems that the How and Why of…
Ugly-Yummy-Real – Camino Days 14-15 (Burgos)
This 2-day walk from Belorado to Burgos is one of great contrasts – in landscape, emotions, history, geography. We leave yesterday’s windy open hillsides and plunge uphill into beautiful forest land. So many branches and trees down, thankfully no-one was hurt in yesterday’s gale force winds. In hindsight, we maybe should have taken a safety/rest…
Against the Wind – Camino Day 13
Today’s test was wind. Constant 35-50+ mph headwinds had us bent over, pushing hard on poles, and sometimes doing a quick about-face to withstand the strongest gusts. It never let up for more than a few seconds for an entire 6 hours of trekking, sometimes pushing us a few feet to the side, making us…
Bright Lights, Big City – Camino Days 8-11
Slipping out of a 12-bunk-bed dorm room at 6am without a light is a fine art, but with minimal rustling we can be on the road under the stars for an hour before the gentle blue awakening in the east behind us starts to chase the stars away. Slowly the shaggy world shakes itself from…
Castles in the Sky – Camino Day 7 (Villamajor)
The new ankle brace and effective cream have me feeling positive and strong as we leave town through the medieval “Saint Nicholas Gate.” To be safe, Sarah’s made me agree to just a 10km walk today, and to send my big backpack ahead with the “donkey” transport company that shuffles packs between hostels for just…
Let’s Get Physical – Camino Days 2-6
“What are you, a mountain goat?” asks Shelley as I bound ahead up the rocky slope to capture a picture of our fellow pilgrims on one of the steepest and most dangerous part of the pass over the Pyrenees Mountains. Not sure if she’s impressed or exasperated, I answer honestly “This is PLAY!” The first…
Starting a Family – Camino Day 1
A professional trumpeter, a Catholic marriage counselor and a physiotherapist start hiking and get lost at the first intersection… It’s not the beginning of a joke; it’s the beginning of our five-week adventure hiking the Camino Francés to Santiago (Spain). Martin Sheen’s movie “The Way” promised us a quick quirky family, each with a burden…
Atlas Obscura – The best travel hack for Bordeaux and everywhere
Finding good wine, visiting the impressive National Theater and a few of the 362 historic monuments, walking the vibrant old streets, and putting together a fresh local charcuterie tray for my wife’s breakfast are all easy and obvious things to do in Bordeaux. But to find the odd, quirky surprises, I turned as always to…
Nice! (France, that is)
When you get invited to Diana Ross’ 170th birthday party in a swanky boutique hotel overlooking the French Riviera, the only possible answer is Yes! My mother Diana turned 80, and her foxy beau Ross turned 90, so they brought us, my brother and Ross’ granddaughter to Nice for a week of luxury, food, a…
Genoa Italy and Movie Sites
When Galen found out we were in Genoa Italy, he insisted we visit “the multi-coloured fishing village” but didn’t say why. It wasn’t until we arrived that we immediately recognized it as the beautiful setting for the animated film Luca (fish boy grows legs, rides bike, defeats the town bully…) On the earlier bike ride…
Rome in a Day
If you were raised in North America in the 70’s, you might remember eagerly plunging your dirty hands down to the bottom of the Kellogg’s cereal boxes to pull out the “Seven Wonders of the World” cards. Tony the Tiger at the Taj Majal or Egyptian pyramids, the Fruit Loops bird nosing a Greek acropolis…
Cycling “The Wolf’s Lair” in Italy
A week of bikepacking “The Wolf’s Lair” in Italy to celebrate a friend’s 60th birthday? YES! Do I know where the Abruzzo region of Italy is, or who are the other 3 Rugged Men I’ll be sharing meals and beds with, or how to say “Flat Tire” in Italian, or how to ride a bike…
Rocca Calascio – Italy’s Castle in the Sky
Day One of cycling through the stunning Italian countryside ended at the fairy-tale “Rocca Calascio,” which has been declared one of the 15 most beautiful castles in the world by National Geographic. The first day of any ride is always hard as muscles and mind take time to toughen up. Leaving L’Aquila was particularly gruelling…
L’Aquila, Italy
For the next 8 days I’ll be cycling way up in those Abruzzo Mountains of Italy. For now, here’s a quick photo dump from this beautiful city of L’Aquila. It took 6 hours and 3 trains to get here, but oh so worth it! After a devastating 2009 earthquake destroyed much of the town, and…
Living the Legends of Ireland
For a wee tiny nation, Ireland has a huge footprint in global consciousness. In Canada we grew up with Lucky Charms cereal, the Irish Rovers music, leprechauns on 4-leaf clovers, green McDonalds milkshakes for St. Patrick’s Day, and sturdy men in outdoor showers lathered with Irish Spring soap. But a two-week house sit in Schull…
Perfect Day in Ireland
On a lazy Saturday in County Cork, Ireland, we decided to do a Camino training day by walking 20 kilometers. After a half-hour morning dog walk (not part of the 20 km), we drove half an hour along the coast to hike the 14km Goortdubh Loop out of Goleen. The winding one-track road took us…
Turning a House-Sit into a Home
We come through the door timidly, respectfully. The host family welcomes us into Their Space, introduces us to Their Dogs, informs us of how to find and use Their Stuff. They are entrusting Their Precious Home (and animals) to us, their Trusted Housesitters, and in exchange for a free place to stay, our job at…
Paris and the Slow Movement Movement
Paris seems like an odd place to muse upon Going Slow. But a Joy of travel isn’t just seeing new places; it’s how they help you reflect and reshape your understanding of your own wacky ways and world. Slow is not my habitual gear. Whether on the soccer field or plowing through the endless Things…
Flavigny-sur-Ozerain: Medieval Magique
Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche fell in love here in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. Belle lamented that “there must be more than this provincial life” in a French town just like this. For one week at least, there was nothing to lament about this Peaceful medieval town. A few hours by fast train South-east of Paris, the long…
Iceland in 3 Days
What can we say about Iceland, or any country, after just three days? For our 25th anniversary we treated ourselves to a stopover in Iceland, just long enough to know that we want to come back for months, not days. A friend asked us for one word to describe Iceland – I’ve managed to winnow…
25th Wedding Anniversary
In celebration of our 25th anniversary, here’s something I wrote just 4 tender weeks into our union. Still every bit as enraptured 25 years later. This time four weeks ago i was a single man, camping with a growing number of close friends old and new along the paths of Mt. Ranier, preparing for a…
Help! Where should we go after Iceland?
As I’ve written before, choosing where to rest our heads when the whole world is our oyster can be difficult. So, we’re asking for your help – where should we go in November? Until then, we have a great itinerary. I’m writing this from the airport on our way to Iceland for 3 days of 25th anniversary celebration. …
3 Ways to Kill Time in Minnesota
Minnesota is a pretty swell place to spend a summer. After selling the house and hitting the road last October, we found ourselves back in the Twin Cities for the summer with the precious opportunity to be with Zekiah for his first professional internship (transportation planning with HR Green, which he rocked!) But at a…
Master Cleanse: Ten Days on the “Lemonade Diet”
After 4 days of Winnipeg Folk Fest, 200 miles of cycling home and a 10-day media cleanse, I was feeling free, clear, strong of body and spirit. It bubbled up in me that it’s time to do another Master Cleanse – the 10-day “lemonade diet” I “enjoyed” 18 years ago. Time to take back control…
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.