Sometimes a city isn’t a skyline or a list of monuments. Sometimes it’s a story that refuses to stay still, slipping through tidy definitions and glossy brochures. I was recently invited—somehow, improbably—to write for the Ateneo de Cáceres, as part of their reflections on what culture means in the context of Cáceres’ bid for European…
Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. I have a soft spot for the Spanish postal system. Back at the turn of the millennium my mother and I decided to walk the Camino Santiago…in January. By…
A place close to my heart, just north of here where the scorched summer earth becomes green once again. Cool water runs off the sierra and where the wines are meant to enjoyed, not examined. Writing in Roads and Kingdoms about a toast to an old friend.
Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. Just as the bartender put down our cañas, my companion somewhat skeptically asked, “But how is it possible that you, a Canadian, are complaining about the cold…
Take a drive from the shores of the world’s biggest lake called a sea, through rice paddies that wouldn’t be out of place in Southeast Asia, and end up in a Central Asian village in mist covered mountains? It’s not teleportation, but the trip to Masouleh might be the closest thing. Up from the Caspian, a…
Up here the mythically infamous Tehrani smog thins out just enough to get an idea of how massive this city really is. Clear cool water rushes out of the mountain backdrop, down culverts lined with enormous green trees that would seem unimaginable just a few miles south. In fact this is a place where myths…
Travel, as far and wide as you can. But tread lightly. Writing in Verge Travel.