Knowing I have a train to catch fills me with joy. Rail stations are always a fascinating hive of activity, people and machines on the move. Some stand out, most blend in. The human zoo in all its glory. I take great pleasure in observing the madness while turning inwards and entering what I call […]
There’s something relentlessly compelling to me about harsh environments. I find the way that they focus my mind to only the most immediate concerns very calming. It’s like having the volume turned down on your stream of consciousness. In that way, Namibia is something of a revelation. The entire country is functionally a pretty harsh […]
2012 to 2024 RIP My Hiking Boots. “Strong, durable, and comfortable on any trail,” declared MEC. And for once, the marketing department didn’t lie. After a 12-year career of loyal service, These Boots took their final step in the cobbled streets of Casco Viejo, Panama City. Succumbing not to time, but to the cruel inevitability […]
It’s a good hour before sunrise as our party of six board a Blackfin powerboat. A thin mist of rain dissipates as the first light of dawn emerges from the brooding clouds in the distance. Our vessel cleaves through thankfully still waters as we leave the port of Barbate in southern Spain. A cool poniente […]
Lately, it feels like things are changing faster than we can keep up- especially when it comes to the planet. So here’s a pause. A story from a quieter corner of the world, right inside one of its loudest cities. A glimpse of something ancient, resilient, and still very much alive. Welcome to Xochimilco. Maybe […]
No doubt about it, this is a dream job. Even if there comes a point on every research trip when my inner traveler werewolf sprouts a hairy back and howls at the moon. One too many luxury hotel visits or carefully plated amuse-bouche pom poms and the revolt is inevitable. What’s the remedy? To the […]
Are you one of those cooks who tends to get distracted doing 300 things at once, and ends up burning some of your meals? If so, this dish is for you – here you intentionally burn your pasta (to a certain degree). You heard that right, my friend. Spaghetti all’Assassina, or killer pasta, has you […]
Trieste is a city that seems to have been unearthed from the bottom drawer of a well-travelled desk—forgotten for a while, perhaps, but still scented with ink, salt, and old ambition. Here, on the northeastern edge of Italy, I recently spent several days drinking in the atmosphere of this unique city with its Venetian, Slavic […]
I’ve never really thought of myself as a city person, yet here I am, living in Toronto and daydreaming about my favourite cities in Latin America. There’s just something about certain cities that gets under your skin. I love the hum, the energy, the people, the way you can wander into a side street and […]
Last March, while researching in Mexico, I found myself swept into the fun chaos of Carnival in San Martín Tilcajete, a small town just outside Oaxaca City. Unlike the massive parades of Rio or the glittering masks of Venice, this was something raw, intimate, and deeply rooted in tradition. Here, Carnival isn’t just a party; […]
There’s a particular hum that fills a museum when it opens for the day. Footsteps on polished floors, whispers bouncing off tall walls, the occasional squeak of a bench being shifted for a better view. It’s comforting, familiar. But what if you could skip all that? What if it was just you—and the art? In […]
We are walking through a winding courtyard which, as far as I can tell from all the monks moving quietly around us, must lead to a temple. “Here it is!” my friend calls out to me in my reverie, so I turn. Ah! The coffee shop. In my meditative state, I’d walked right past it. […]
An early embedded memory for me is the black and white haze of the 1934 film Babes in Toyland. It aired often during the holidays on various channels. Not that there were many channels. In those days, in our house, we had 3, and that weird UHF channel thing that had the clicks and lots […]
Norway is a place of abundance, where luxury comes not in form of five star hotels (with a few noteworthy exceptions) but in striking natural beauty at every turn. I’ve been lucky to have visited this magical world of fjords and trolls, glaciers and waterfalls many times, but there was one place that always eluded […]
Cariocas like the Carioca way of living. So the last thing you want to do in Rio is look like a gringo, or seem lost in the multitude of social interactions and signs so particular to this city. You’ll want to mingle and feel part of it, sure that Cariocas will be very welcoming and […]
It’s not lost on me that it’s easy to become a bit “over-churched” when travelling through Europe. As beautiful as all those architectural wonders can be, after a week or two they often have the tendency to merge into one another. However, to my tastes, there is one church that defies this trend, and one […]