Dear friends, Yep, I'm travelling again. This time to spend a few days in Zanzibar with a friend and then on to Madagascar to explore the National Parks for a couple of weeks. I flew from Bangkok to Zanzibar via Nairobi and Kilimanjaro which afforded me some magnificent views of Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru rising above [...]
Dear friends, My final story from Oman comes from the wonderful southern city of Salalah where we spent three days in and around the city, visiting the beautiful coastline where there were more camels than people on the long white beaches, learning about the ancient trade in frankincense, seeing the tombs of holy men, relaxing [...]
Dear friends, We spent a couple more days in and around Nizwa and Al Hamra in the interior of the country and visited the magnificent 17th Century Jabreen Fort, palm plantations and Wadi Nakhr, the hanging villages of Al Aqor and Al Ain on the Sayq plateau, walked along the ancient irrigation (falaj) channels and [...]
Dear friends, After the fascinating morning at the goat market I wrote about in the last blog, we also spent time in the wider market and then visited the Nizwa's Round Tower Fort. Later, we walked through a fascinating hillside village and then settled into a wonderful 'eco-luxe' hotel for the night called 'The View', [...]
Dear friends, The day we made the Wahiba Sands crossing was wonderful - the stark beauty of the desert, a few camels, a little excitement and thrills as we did some 'dune bashing', sunset on the dunes, dinner under the stars and a full moon, with music and chilled wine. Ancient and modern, practical and [...]
Dear friends, When telling my family and friends that I was going back to where I taught 50 years ago, and that I had booked a flight out to Fera in the Maringe Lagoon off the island of Santa Isabel, they asked if I also had a hotel reservation. 'What, no hotel near there, [...]
Dear friends, As promised, here is a quick look at a trip I made out of Honiara along the north coast to Lela Beach to check out a weaving festival which I saw advertised around town. The site was right on the beach and not so many people around in the morning although I gather [...]
Dear friends, This month I had the wonderful experience of revisiting the Solomon Islands, fifty years after I taught there as a young volunteer. I spent a couple of days in Honiara, exploring the city, meeting a few people who have been my contacts, visiting the local market and a weaving festival. Honiara was buzzing [...]
Dear friends, After my couple of weeks in Canada, I ventured south over the border to the beautiful state of Vermont to visit another friend. I had thought to do just a single post from Vermont, but even in the short two-day stay with Lois I realised her garden alone was worth a story, and [...]
Dear friends, One of the highlights of my North American trip was to be able to attend the wedding celebrations of a dear colleague and friend Andrée to her charming partner Denis. Together with a few other Red Cross colleagues we spent several days with Andrée and Denis at their home in Bromont, Quebec, and then joined [...]