Stuck in the middle of nowhere and the road was blockaded up ahead. Striking gold miners carrying guns and sticks, armed police and nervous locals stood between us and the town of Nazca. Except that we were standing out here, in the pitch dark, cold and with no food, water or toilet facilities. And no way of knowing if the violence was headed our way.
Where I come from, our forests – while they do have their fare share of dangerous spiders and deadly snakes – don’t have predators with huge teeth and razor claws and can leave nothing of you behind except your chewed and bloody boots. Which will make you wonder why seeing a bear in the wild was number one on my wish list for visiting Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, USA.
The sky gathers clouds into granite clumps like Norse gods readying for an almighty battle. I’m surrounded by sheer rock walls that echo grey and black as though both sky and land are made of the same stuff. Any minute, I’m sure, the heavens will crack open.
I’ve always loved cherries – but I’ve never had cherries quite like these before. Opulent, vivid and syrupy, they popped in my mouth and exploded with delightful cherry goodness.
I’ve done some stupid things in my time (no, really) but climbing the Grand Canyon down and up in one day really takes the cake. Thank the pixies that I took a short, mountain-biking Belgian Knight in Shining Armour along with me.
If there’s one thing I learned in Nafplio, on my first day travelling in Greece, it was that a modern GPS navigation unit is no match for an ancient and medieval town plan full of castles.
So, you’ve built the world’s largest personal fortune, discovered and developed Saudi Arabia’s oil, married five times and haggled over the ransom to get your kidnapped grandson back. What do you do for an encore? Why, you build a Roman Villa in your backyard of course.
New York City is a must-see destination, but untangling myth from folk-lore, political spin from native pride or salami from boloney can sometimes get in the way of seeing beyond the set tourist attractions. What you need is a local.
Video: The heart of the glorious Hardangervidda National Park is the tiny almost-village of Finse. It sits on the edge of Finse Lake and stares intently across the water at the tip of the Hardangervidda Glacier, where I longed to climb.
I love libraries in general, and great, towering, legendary libraries in particular. And iff you’re ever going to fall for your inner nerd, the Library of Congress is absolutely the place to do it.