I lost one of the two most important people in my life today. I’d like to take a moment to tell you about her. Dashiell first came into my life when she was 2 weeks old. I was in my third year of university, and she was so small I could hold her in the palm of my hand. We’d always had cats when I was a child, but I really had no intention of getting a cat of my own. My girlfriend at the time was...
I spent the first half of my twenties as a starving student, reading all the time and scraping by on poor food and the cheapest no name coffee that comes in a giant tin. I didn’t start traveling until after I graduated, and I felt like I had to make up for lost time. I spent the second half of that decade working horrible temp jobs for very little pay, and saving it all for trips. When I was 28...
I bought a copy of The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World last week. The new 2012 edition, with the planet sketched out in map sheets so beautiful they rival high art. I’ve dreamed of owning this enormous atlas as far back as high school. And in university I went to the library between classes to flip through its pages. But I could never afford to buy one back then. It’s nice to finally...
Kick back your chair and tilt your hat to a rakish angle. It’s time for a short update on what’s new in Road Wisdom Land. My latest magazine feature was just added to the Articles page. If you missed it at the newsstand, you can now read it online. It’s a story of mystery, myth and our search for the real man behind the legend of King Arthur. I learned that a journey through Wales is a lot like...
Jeez, I disappear into the deserts of Namibia for a couple weeks and the news world turns over… I learned of the death of Kim Jong Il when I stopped for fuel in the town of Otjiwarongo. Anyone who followed his rare appearances in recent years could see a visible decline in his health, but still, the announcement of his death caught me off guard. I’ve been a keen North Korea watcher since I...
My latest magazine feature just hit newsstands across Canada and select international magazine stores in the United States. It’s the main feature of Outpost’s 15th Anniversary issue: a story of mystery, myth and our search for the real man behind the legend of King Arthur. I learned that a journey through Wales is a lot like waking up in a detective story. And in this episode we were traveling...
The Australian adventure lifestyle magazine Bare Essentials ran an 8-page interview with me back in November/December 2010. Their questions were fun and original, and I thought you might enjoy reading the full spread. Here’s the text in it’s entirety. Click the banner at the bottom of the page to grab yourself a copy. They did an excellent job on the layout, and it featured photos by...
A bit of shameless self-promotion to share with you… The Australian adventure lifestyle magazine Bare Essentials is running an 8-page interview with me in their November/December 2010 issue: We talked about why landscapes spark inspiration, trip preparation, the spirit of place, and even which books I have on my bookshelf. Eight full pages of your favourite introspective traveling scribe...
I first read about Jasper Evans in a book by the explorer John Hare called Shadows Across the Sahara. Hare set out to retrace an ancient trade route from Lake Chad to Tripoli, a three month south-to-north crossing of the Sahara — 1,462 miles of barren desert known in the days of slavery as a place strewn with the carcasses of men and camels. The route was last crossed by Hanns...
My latest magazine feature has just hit newsstands across Canada and select international magazine stores in the United States. It’s the main feature and cover story: an exploration of time, culture and change, and of two completely seperate worldviews which have coexisted in Egypt for centuries. Alexandria, a Hellenistic city, has always looked towards the Mediterranean, while the rest of...
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