A subject dear to my heart is the time we’ve spent hiking our beautiful coastline. From the rugged Juan de Fuca Trail in the south to endless beaches of the Naikoon way up north in Haida Gwaii, our coastal trails are a gateway to magical places that offer a unique and profound connection with nature. … Continue reading The Coastal Hikes of BC
Our last post described our integration into a comfortable life in Zimbabwe, followed by my tumultuous tenure and eventual demise with CARE Canada. With my usual self-confidence, as unfounded as it may be, I bounced back reasonably quickly and my work took on a wholly different focus. The above is representative of one of the … Continue reading Zimbabwe – Part 2: Mining, Safaris and Corruption (1994 to 1995)
Zimbabwe was one of those critical junctures in our lives. We had just fled our precarious life in Southern Angola as the civil war restarted. Zimbabwe represented a safe haven, good health care for our daughter, work opportunities for Claire, career advancements for myself and wonderful travel opportunities. As was so often the case with … Continue reading Zimbabwe – Part 1: Stability then Upheaval (1993 to 1994)
I had started this blog post on the Greek Island of Kalymnos with the intention of publishing shortly after our return to Canada. A bout of Covid, caught on the long flight home, and then the demoralizing results of the US election have put a damper on things leaving little energy for writing, but as … Continue reading Kalymnos, Rock Climbing and Getting Older
Part One was about our trek in the Solukhumbu District. From there, Andreas and I returned to Kathmandu, reconnected with Steve and John, indulged in the delights of that fascinating town and then began planning our next trip. We decided to bus to the town of Dumre, walk up the Marsyangdi River valley to the … Continue reading Nepal – Way Back When (1980) Part Two: To Manang…..and back?
I’ve wanted to write this post for a long time now. Though my 2-month long sojourn in Nepal happened 44 years ago, it remains one of the most formative experiences of my life and, I believe, shaped its future trajectory. Prompted in part by the women in my life heading off for a trek in … Continue reading Nepal – Way back When (1980) Part One: Solukhumbu
This blog post is, in some small way, prompted by the refugee crises impacting so much of the world. The current, tragic situation in Gaza (Oct/23-May/24) has been especially triggering for Claire. Accordingly, she wishes to share a bit about her past work with refugees traumatized by war. Long before she met Jim, Claire was … Continue reading Claire On the Border: The Genocide and the Refugee Crisis of Cambodia (1980)
One of the benefits of working in a war zone was regular R&R. During our tenure in Mozambique, which was one tough posting, we decided to use our R&R to travel to Northern India (similar in cost to a return home, to which we were entitled, so we convinced the Red Cross to pay for … Continue reading The Vale of Kashmir and Hiking to Ladakh (1985)
Our departure for Istanbul is in a few, short days. Though not wanting to sound melodramatic, the thought of giving up all our comforts and routine for 6 months of unknowns has got me a little on edge. Claire, on the other hand, is totally stoked and keen to get going. While I have focussed … Continue reading 1. Biking Europe: Pre-departure Angst (April/2015)
I think it was way back in the fall of 2019, that we started planning our next bike trip, with Morocco, Rwanda and SE Asia all being high on the list of possible destinations. And then the Pandemic hit and everything changed. So here we are, in late 2023 (with Covid, btw, making a resurgence) … Continue reading 1. A Good Year (2023) & Then Off to Southeast Asia on Our Bikes
We left Istanbul at the break of dawn. After three days of wandering around the city we were nervous about riding any of the busy streets. Istanbul traffic is notoriously bad. The drivers are quite aggressive contrasted by amazingly nonchalant pedestrians. The thought of trying to ride out of sprawling Istanbul was too much, so … Continue reading 2. Turkey: Istanbul and and Finally Underway (April, 2015)
Another inauspicious start to a bike trip! Our Europe trip started with the damaging of my e-reader beyond repair en route to Istanbul . Our South American trip began with losing our computer at the Newark airport security gate in the middle of the night and now, SE Asia has got off to an equally … Continue reading 2. Hanoi (and other missteps) – Oct/2023
We set out on this trip with the intention of going with the flow, letting serendipity be our guide and so far, it has been all that and more. For instance, I was determined to avoid the major highways but when you have the choice of a 2 M wide shoulder of smooth asphalt as … Continue reading 3. Turkey: Best Laid Plans
Our first three days riding out of Hanoi were both easy and illuminating. We followed the broad, flat valley of the Red River (Song Hong) towards the northwest, and the town of Yen Bai, at which point we turned west and headed up into the mountains. Those three days showed us how densely populated the … Continue reading 3. North Vietnam: Impressions (of the ill-informed)
The transition from Turkey to Greece has been more abrupt than I had imagined. Despite Marmaris being a quite cosmopolitan, secular, touristy, port town it is still Islamic and replete with all the traditional elements of Turkish society that we were becoming familiar with: many women in headscarfs (though not a single niqab or burka … Continue reading 4. From Turkey to Greece
I failed to mention in our last post a couple of classic Jim & Claire screw ups. We were in a small town, but had decent wifi so planned on posting to our blog. I doggedly copy edited the draft, had everything just right then gave the iPad to Claire for final review. A few … Continue reading 4. Laos – To the border and beyond
We’re taking a rest day in Crete after three full days of riding this hilly island. Yesterday started with a 90 minute climb straight up from the seaside village (Tsoutsouros) where we had ‘wild’ camped on the beach in the middle of town. We wanted to get on the road before the town got up … Continue reading 5. The Greek Islands
After four nights in Luang Prabang (LB) it was time to move on. Doing so meant another two, maybe three, days of hill climbing . Getting decent beta on what lay ahead was a challenge. Highway 13, our route of the past few days, apparently degenerated into a potholed nightmare but an intriguing alternative route, … Continue reading 5. Laos – Over the Hill
Claire’s totally bagged after a long day of fighting headwinds and is already in bed (snoring peacefully away) by 8:30 PM. I just came back from a walk past a string of clubs on the beach with pounding Euro-dance rock and ‘statuesque’ women hanging about in skin tight pants, skimpy tops and 4” pumps…and now … Continue reading 6. Greece: Athens to Corfu
I guess in some ways Vientiane, the capital of Laos, best personifies the Lao people. For a capital city it is super chill. There is not the entrepreneurial hustle of Vietnam. People are gracious with their time. They are, as most everyone says, laidback. Honking, in our minds the signature characteristic of Vietnam, is almost … Continue reading 6. South Laos – Caves, Climbing & Fine Riding
OVER THE HILL AND BEYOND 