Thankfully, sunset on the second night was as benign as the first. By the end of the day the worst of the stormy conditions had passed, and while the boat still rocked, the skies were clear. I stood out on deck with a fast cooling coffee to watch the last of its light. A flock […] Read More
It was late yesterday afternoon that we embarked the ship. We remained docked for a couple of hours, before a gentle evening passing through the sheltered waters of the Beagle Channel as we got used to our surroundings. I quickly tried to get lost, but the corridors around the cabins, the lounge and dinning area, […] Read More
I woke up to the creaks and groans of the cabin this first morning on the ship, the sound of each roll straining everything around me. My backpack, which was propped against the wall, falls with a thump. My room-mate’s ipad clatters onto the floor. Just as predicted the night before, the ocean swell was […] Read More
Written August 2014. Above is the view across across to Manhatten from Brooklyn’s Bushwick Park. By night, the roof of an ex-industrial warehouse in Brooklyn is a great place to survey the skyline of Manhattan. There is absence of skyscrapers in this part of town, and view across to the East river sweeps unobstructed. Across […] Read More
Written December 2014. Before arriving I wasn’t sure what I’d make of Barilcohe. The guidebooks continuously refer to it as the Switzerland of Argentina. Amongst the lakes and low lying mountains, the postcard of Bariloche is wooden lodges and pine trees. It claims to create the best chocolate of south america too. And if that […] Read More
With a raised heartbeat and a pump of adrenalin, the very thought of the prospect was overwhelming my thoughts. I’d already been through this once. In Argentina, before I realised that I didn’t have the time to fit it into my schedule south. And so, when I saw so many skydiving adverts after arriving in […] Read More
Written March 2015. I stood consulting my map in the main square of Lijiang’s old town. A women had taken a few steps closer from nearby, into hearing range. After saying excuse me in Mandarin I began to carelessly chat a few words in English. Eventually asking for directions. “Minzhu road?”. “Can I help you […] Read More
Written March 2015. I looked around me. Within the heavy lines of people I didn’t spot another white face – anyone to recommend a hostel or cheap hotel to stay. I’d not yet got around to buying a phrase book either. And on attempting to log into the free WiFi via my phone I was […] Read More
Written January 2015. “Me gustas cuando callas porque estas como ausente” – I love it when you shut up, because it is as though your are absent. An ode to the beauty of women, just only when she stays quiet and keeps her distance. Words said with a wink in the opening line of poem […] Read More
Written September 2014. On the edge of Huaraz a 6km dirt track climbs upwards towards Wilcahuain. A small collection of ruins dating to sometime between 600AD and 900AD. In an aid to acclimatising to the mountain heights of the region I head up their on a late Saturday afternoon. Huaraz is 3,100m above sea level. […] Read More