Arctic Dreams: The Polar Bears of Churchill. PART I Dec 1, 2011
Arctic Dreams: The Polar Bears of Churchill. PART II Dec 8, 2011
Long-Haul Travel: A Frequent Flyer’s Survival Guide. PART I Feb 19, 2012
The Road Less Travelled Jan 27, 2012
Is this it? Discovering Yellowstone National Park Oct 8, 2011
After spending 3 months traveling through some of the wild places of the USA and Canada, and actively avoiding the cities, it still feels very strange to be living in a city again.
Even a city as stupendously cool as Melbourne.
One part of me is loving it: the wine bars, the galleries, exploring the graffiti-art lane ways that Melbourne is famous for. Another part of me is craving to be near a beach / mountain / forest in the middle of freaking nowhere.
Even the name excites me. Iceland. A land of Ice.
I am told Iceland is a place that you fall blissfully in love with and keep returning to, again and again.
This tiny island that floats on the edge of the Arctic has intrigued me for years. Its vast open spaces; the rugged natural beauty; iceberg choked lakes; thundering waterfalls; the largest ice cap outside the north and south poles; the elusive northern lights…who wouldn’t be intrigued by Iceland?
But I never imagined going there alone.
Even thinking about the Camino de Santiago makes me almost fall over backwards in a rush to get my walking shoes on and go for a really long walk.
There was a time, not so long ago, when any mention I made of the Camino was received with a blank look:
“You know, that walk across the north of Spain.” = blank look.
“Ancient pilgrimage trail. 800 kilometers. Really long walk.” = blank look.
It’s a traveller’s worst nightmare. Well, one of them at least.
Those huge red, flashing letters next to the departure time of your next flight have the power to rattle even the most frequent of flyers: CANCELLED. A delay is frustrating enough but you see ‘cancelled’ and your heart just sinks.
It hasn’t rained at all today. The sky is blue and the sun is out in full force. None of which is usual on the northwestern side of Olympic National Park in America’s Pacific Northwest.
The tiny lumber town of Forks* where we have based ourselves has an annual rainfall consistently over 100 inches.
But not today.
Seeing as I am heading to the USA today to start a 3 month long trip that will involve visiting some of the best national parks in the world, I thought it apt to write about one of the most exciting, picturesque and endurance-testing long distance hikes that this country has to offer… The Pacific Crest Trail.
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With a UK and US release of Martin Sheen’s latest movie The Way announced last week, I thought now would be as good a time as any to write about the Camino de Santiago.
No idea what I’m talking about? Well, the Camino, or The Way of St James, is both an 780km long ancient pilgrimage trail in Northern Spain and…something you should put on your travel ‘to do’ list right now! Bear with me on this one….
Not For The Faint Hearted is a series of posts about various long distance treks across the globe. If walking a really long way is what rocks your world, read on for some inspiration…
Lapland! Where better to extend the limits of your adventurous spirit than the Arctic wilderness in the far north of Sweden. When I think Lapland, I think reindeer and northern lights. But there is so much more than that to be had in this wild and untouched landscape.
Extract from my winter pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago last year:
Arctic Dreams: The Polar Bears of Churchill. PART I Dec 1, 2011
Arctic Dreams: The Polar Bears of Churchill. PART II Dec 8, 2011
Long-Haul Travel: A Frequent Flyer’s Survival Guide. PART I Feb 19, 2012
The Road Less Travelled Jan 27, 2012
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