TRAVEL MEMOIRS

OHIO, USA From head to tail the Serpent measures 1,330 feet in length and three feet in width. It dwells high above a 100 foot bluff overlooking Brush Creek commanding reverence and respect. Our car journeys up the backcountry road into the park. My heart beats faster. I can’t wait to stand beside this wondrous creature. full story >>>	GEORGIA I started walking back across the Inguri River Bridge, which separates the post-Soviet Republic of Georgia from what once used to be a prime tourist destination in the former USSR, Abkhazia. The bridge’s halfway point boasts a statue of a gun with a twisted barrel ... I could hardly think of a more ironic place for housing this embodiment of peace. full story >>>
BRUSSELS It was ‘car-free Sunday’ when I arrived in Brussels. From dawn till dusk, no motorized vehicles were allowed into the city centre, apart from public transport. The streets filled up with smiling happy cyclists, trikers, Nordic walkers, roller-bladers, joggers and strollers. What a great opportunity to explore my new surroundings! full story >>>	FRANCE We were planning a long camping trip to France. We had dreamed for years of hiring a boat on the Canal du Midi but were always put off by the expense, so my partner came up with the idea of cycling its length: inexpensive, a good way to see the countryside, meet the people and great exercise. full story >>>
SRI LANKA The jet is beginning its descent into Colombo, Sri Lanka. I look over at my new Sri Lankan friends, a Canadian couple raising money for housing for tsunami survivors. They are visiting family and making connections for a possible housing site on the east coast which we will be visiting. full story >>>	INDIA Having experienced first hand the joys of visiting the quintessential Himalayan hill stations of India, we decided to alter our hill sojourn a bit and gave the less commercialized Saputara a try. full story >>>
THAILAND I wake, underwater, drowning again. My limbs are free. I look above into darkness. I’m down deep. The weight of the water crushes me. Debris boxes me in. I turn left…everything is black. I turn right…there’s a faint circle of light. Instinct guides me to swim! Swim! Swim for your life! Adrenaline fuels me and I sever a path through the filthy, now motionless, water. full story >>>	NEW MEXICO Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975, the Trinity Site is near the north end of the Jornada del Muerto desert. This desert name often translates as “journey of the dead man,” the name the Spanish conquistadors gave to the 1660s northerly route from Mexico. full story >>>