Tag: Travel

One Night in San Salvador (El Salvador)

Petroglyph at San Salvador National Museum of Anthropology

The first Salvadorean who I asked about visiting his country advised me to avoid its capital, San Salvador, entirely. “I love my country, but….” He urged that I get a bus direct from Guatemala (where I was based) to a beach town, chill there, and try not to even go through the capital. The countries… Continue reading One Night in San Salvador (El Salvador)

Yes – Go to Nicaragua now

The news coming out of Nicaragua back in October 2018, was uncertain. Violence from the political situation seemed to have abated, but various travelers and locals were reporting that the tourism infrastructure was in chaos. Hostels had closed down, buses weren’t running, etc. I went to Guatemala in October, to be based there for a… Continue reading Yes – Go to Nicaragua now

Ready in Teotihuacan Player One? (Mexico)

I’m no gamer, but….. ***** Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology is simply stunning. It’s task is to somehow present the bewildering range of peoples, cultures, languages which are, and have been, in this huge country. It does this in the range of usual ways: sculptures, textiles, photos, cinematic projections, reconstructions. When I visited (fortuitously… Continue reading Ready in Teotihuacan Player One? (Mexico)

A Short Walk in the Lamington Kush – The Stintson plane wreck, Australia

“If I had a camera I could take a photo and show guests what my uncle’s legs looked like after he found the Stintson”. ****** Between teaching my groups of American students ecology up at the rainforested O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, and in the adjacent Lamington National Park, it often seemed like there were a couple… Continue reading A Short Walk in the Lamington Kush – The Stintson plane wreck, Australia

Australia’s Bunya Mountains and Alternate World Histories

Could the Bunya Mountains be the one place to turn your preconceptions of human nature on its head? *** I recently finished Bruce Pascoe’s book ‘Dark Emu’. It’s an accumulation of the abundant evidence that Australian Aboriginals practised what was, by any objection definition, agriculture – and on a large scale. It’s not just a… Continue reading Australia’s Bunya Mountains and Alternate World Histories

Tracking in the Ancient Dunes of Kings Canyon, central Australia

A camp-fire, such a simple pleasure, second-nature to a lot of us, and yet a whole new experience for some people. Our Emu Run tour arrived in their private camp site near Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park, towards sunset. We had driven from Uluru for hours along dead-straight roads, flanked on either side by a… Continue reading Tracking in the Ancient Dunes of Kings Canyon, central Australia

Caterpillar Dreaming – Hiking Australia’s Larapinta Trail

The 220 km Larapinta Trail is a bit of a con…. ________________ It’s a funny thing, despite the Larapinta Trail being regarded as something of a toughie, just about any one I mentioned it to had either done it, or done part of it. Officially, it runs for 220 km along the MacDonnell Ranges, to… Continue reading Caterpillar Dreaming – Hiking Australia’s Larapinta Trail

Life’s Lessons on the road: hitch-hiking in West Germany

The key to hitching in West Germany, as one quickly learned, was the free booklet that you could pick up at any autobahn service station. Specifically, it was the center two pages. You could pull them out and ditch the rest. Those pages opened out into a map of the West German autobahn system and… Continue reading Life’s Lessons on the road: hitch-hiking in West Germany

That Bare-Foot Guy on the Overland Track, Tasmania

“Has any one seen the guy in bare feet and a track-suit? He’s mad” ++++++++++ Kate and I were reasonably experienced back-country walkers and we were expecting some bad weather on Tasmania’s Overland Track. We had carefully selected clothes, a tent, and sufficient food for our walk of over a week to the south. In… Continue reading That Bare-Foot Guy on the Overland Track, Tasmania