I think it’s fair to say that you don’t often see your soon-to-be vacation home in one of the Microsoft Bing daily wallpaper photos. The image was achingly beautiful. A recently-departed sun continued to cast a magical light on the scene, painting the horizon with thin layers of golden stripes. Three small white boats, resting…
Due to a road collapse and a landslide, the Quilotoa Loop is currently subject to a significant and perilous detour just north of Lago Quilotoa – and is completely blocked to traffic north of Chugchilán. Road Collapse near Lago Quilotoa Approximately 1km north of Lago Quilotoa the first road closure has a detour that, after…
Yesterday’s battle against the elements seemed as if it were months ago. The sun was struggling into the clear morning sky of an Icelandic winter, as if straining against the horizon’s short leash. Our car, essentially alone, was weaving in and out of the splayed fingers of the spectacular eastern fjords, stopping frequently as each…
When you drive in Iceland, it doesn’t take too long before you stop noticing the yellow poles marking the sides of rural roads. Spaced 25 to 50 metres apart and arranged in pairs, one on each side of the road, a driver could be excused for thinking their purpose is mainly decorative. Surely one glance…
I can’t remember exactly when it happened, but I was definitely younger than ten years old when I realised that England is not a big country. At least some of my early childhood misconceptions on the subject can be traced back to the military style planning with which my father would prepare for each family…
I’m generally not the type of person who finds symbolism in the world around me. On the rare occasions I display even a vague awareness of my surroundings, I am more likely to infer the arbitrary workings of coincidence than I am to acknowledge the possibility of a deeper, allegoric significance. So it was that,…
We don’t go back to places. However much we may enjoy a particular destination, the number of places we have seen and the variety of experiences we have gained along the way are still far outnumbered by those yet to be encountered. It’s the traveler’s perennial dilemma. You travel thousands of miles, find your favorite…
As we turned toward Reykjavík, a tangible sense of trepidation filled the car. The thought that we would be able to successfully navigate through an unfamiliar city and its inevitable traffic mayhem, without a detailed street map to assist us, and on to the hotel we had selected from our trusted Lonely Planet book seemed…
One day, I’ll stop going on and on about our visit to Iceland. One day, I’ll finish writing about the trip and will post the account of our final day in that magnificent country. Today is not that day. On a positive note, I do at least recognise the signs of my obsession with the place.…
I’ve had over 17,000 mornings during my lifetime, but I doubt I’ve ever awoken as cautiously as I did in the Hótel Egilsen on 9th November 2014. We had occupied a room at the top of the hotel and, lying in bed, I could reach up and touch the slanting ceiling above me; a ceiling…
Journeys And 