It’s about kilometre 8 of my hike across the basalt-strewn slopes of northern Rapa Nui when we come across the fallen moai at Hanga Omohi. This is one of the smallest moai and, according to our guide, one of the key pieces of archaeological evidence showing the evolution of these cultural icons. Through the marvels … Continue reading Hiking for Moai

It’s 1.00 pm on the Wednesday afternoon of Holy Week and the little map on the seat-back screen in front of me tells me we’re at 10,362 metres and travelling at 774 km/hour. That’s about as much use as the map can be, however – the rest of the screen is blue, with a line … Continue reading Hola amigos

I must say that I’m pretty pleased to see the back of March. I always find it a bit of a blah time of year here in the Maritimes – winter hasn’t quite gone, and spring is not yet here. I think that we should consider adopting the calendar used by the Cree and Dene … Continue reading Goodbye March

This week has been brutally cold. We had day after day of -15C to -18C temperatures, with the windchill approaching -30C. The sun has been conspiring in this, shining brightly out of clear blue skies, so one might look outside and think “oh, that looks nice” and then go outside and go up on your … Continue reading A Week in February

A couple of years ago, one of the vendors at the Farmers’ Market told me that on New Year’s Day she had filled a jar with 36 glass marbles. Every week when she went home from the market, she took one marble out of the jar. When the jar was empty, at the end of … Continue reading Ascending into Retirement

So here we are, a month later and still the sky hasn’t fallen. The roads are not blocked by cars racing each other at 3 kms. per hour down University Avenue. The sidewalks are not littered with semi-comatose youth giggling uncontrollably. The police haven’t been swamped with calls to out of control parties in the … Continue reading Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

I hope that writing a blog is like riding a bike, a skill which once learned is never quite forgotten. Such hope comforts me as I sit in Ottawa airport on a mid-October afternoon and start to write. It was five months ago that I returned from my last visit to the Balkans, and a … Continue reading Drugs, Drones, and Decisions

On explorers and exploring In May I went back to Kosovo, with a couple of days in England en route. This gave me a chance to see the wonderful Captain Cook exhibition at the British Library, an experience of which any traveller would have been proud. Captain James Cook was, of course, the pre-eminent traveller … Continue reading On Explorers and Exploring

Note from Victoria Scribens: Sorry everyone for sending out an early draft version! The link for the Afghan Letters is now available.   Some general answers for readers! It’s always good to hear from people who’ve read the Blog, and sometimes I get asked questions which deserve a wider response. So here are some of … Continue reading Some Frequently Asked Questions

We arrived in England looking for quiet, a place where we would not be not surrounded by crowds of people. We needed a few days ‘down time’, to catch up on laundry, answer e-mail, and let our systems adjust to a more normal diet – one not quite so replete in wine and cheese. At … Continue reading Second Spring