Someone recently described me as having a spiritual connection to Arenal volcano. I’ve never thought of myself as a spiritual person. But either way, she draws me in. She has so many personalities. Sometimes she looks like a monk with a ring of white hair as the clouds gather round. Sometimes, when the sun sets, that halo glows bright. Occasionally, the sun is at just the right angle to sends her shadow up to the Read more…
This week has seen three celebrations in Costa Rica: Children’s Day, Independence Day and of course the big event – my birthday 😉 9 September is Children’s Day. Which is slightly ironic as, apart from a few teenagers waiting for the school bus, I have hardly seen any children since I got to Costa Rica. Not sure where they are all hiding. But on Children’s Day, they are centre stage. A full day of activities Read more…
Pura Vida. It’s a ubiquitous and integral part of Costa Rican life. You will hear it said umpteen times a day. In shops and restaurants. In passing in the street. It must be the most used phrase in Costa Rica. Which makes it surprising that it is not the official motto of the Costa Rican tourist board. So, what does it mean? Literally, it means the pure life. But it is so much more than Read more…
After an extended period back in the UK, it is time to find a new country to call home. When I moved to New Zealand, I went for a specific purpose: I had a job. Which dictated the city I would live in and gave me a social structure as I found my feet. In my new life as a freelance consultant, I could live anywhere with a good internet connection. The world is my Read more…
This is not the country I had planned to move to. I was looking for an emerging economy with a new and distinct culture. Not Britain in the sunshine. But New Zealand has got completely under my skin. It is so much more than Little Britain. It is a country full of stunning landscapes that has spent the last few decades forging its own path, independent of its colonial ties. The cultural links still exist Read more…
The landscapes may be vast, but much of rural New Zealand life happens on a much smaller scale. Fulfilling the needs of the handful of early settlers who packed the 4-pew churches to the essential services of today’s rural villages, the images below tell a story of the communities of this country. Four-pew churches sufficed for the early settlers and today’s dwindling congregations Tiny libraries: from early buildings to miniature Lilliput libraries Tiny post offices Read more…
Life as an expat is full of wonderful experiences. But it also has its drawbacks. And one thing that is of course under pressure is relationships. How to stay connected to those people you have left behind. Of course, the age of WhatsApp and Zoom makes it infinitely easier than for the generations before who had to rely on six-weekly letters and then scratchy phone calls. But does ease necessarily equal quality? Let’s take a Read more…
Language. It’s often what identifies a nation. Something that overtly signals a nationality to outsiders. Something that is woven into a country’s cultural heritage. Simply, it helps to make a nation what it is. New Zealand actually has three official languages: English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language. I’m not going to comment on the last one, I wouldn’t know where to start. Except to say that it is impressively inclusive. And in the spirit Read more…
I hate driving long distances. Hours of monotonous motorway driving fills me with dread. The classic road trips have never appealed. Route 66, the Garden Route or the Great Ocean Road? No thanks. I once considered the Mongol rally but that was more the pull of adventure in foreign lands than it was about the mode of transport. So, it is a surprise that I have enjoyed my New Zealand road trip so much. Six Read more…
Before I moved to New Zealand, I was warned that it would be like stepping back in time. Back several decades. I had visions of brown wallpaper and formica tables. Of a world before online deliveries. On-line house hunting before I left home seemed to reaffirm these suspicions. Floral wallpaper. Corduroy sofas. Not quite the sleek and modern style I was used to. Could I live in something that was stuck in the seventies?! In Read more…
Lockdown. It’s what everyone is talking about. What else do we have to talk about when we haven’t been allowed to leave our homes for the past 7 weeks? So how has it been? Actually not too bad. I thought I might miss the personal interaction at work. But it turns out a daily Teams meeting is all I need to feel connected to the outside world. I now have regular group Skype/Whatsapp catch ups Read more…
Like much of West Africa, Ivory coast is 50% Muslim, 50% Christian and 100% animist. Praying at church or in the mosque does not stop people from worshipping the animist Gods. Mother earth. Fetishes are common place and to the uninitiated often look like a pile of rubbish crowned with animal skulls. The market sells animal skulls, skins and shells. A hot and dusty version of a Chinese medicine shop. The Senufo cut the hair Read more…
Only 1 year after the liberalisation of the European aviation industry was agreed, the Yamoussoukro Declaration was signed in 1988 to great fanfare. A decision to liberalise the African aviation industry, to drive economic progression through increased trade, an opportunity to raise their people out of poverty. The unification of that endless African sky. Reinforced by the Yamoussoukro Decision of 1999 this was a grand vision. A statement of intent. And then…..nothing. Yamoussoukro is itself Read more…
After two years of amazing travels, it’s sadly time to get back to the real world. But it’s not really my real world. Or at least not how I used to know it. I’m no longer squatting with my parents. Now I’m squatting in an Airbnb in downtown Auckland, waiting for my all my worldly goods to reach the far side of the world. If I had to get back to the real world, I Read more…
The first question my mum asks when I tell her I’m going somewhere is “is it safe?” Weirdly when I announced I was going to Pakistan, she took it very much in her stride. I say weirdly because as everyone who sees the news knows, Pakistan is best known for suicide bombers and harbouring Osama bin Laden. But this is only a part of reality. Yes, there are areas which remain lawless. But vast swathes Read more…
Chinglish is a well-known phenomenon. Some phrases are really sweet and summarise how beautifully the Chinese phrase quite mundane things. Others are simply hilarious. And others are just downright puzzling. These are all signs seen on my recent visit to Yunnan. Here’s a few sweet phrases for positive mindfulness… Keep natural grass for our health. The grass is smiling, Don’t disturb her. Please keep off the grass green. Your civilised behaviours will help make the Read more…
The festival was cancelled. The road was under construction so there was nowhere to perform. No problem that the handful of tourists couldn’t get in. But they needed a stage. We’d come all the way to Yunnan to see a festival that wasn’t happening. No-body dresses in traditional costume any more, we were told. Only at the festivals. My tribal fix was unravelling pretty quickly. But I needn’t have worried. The following day was International Read more…
The Nazca Lines are what drew me to Peru. How on earth could an ancient civilisation draw such enormous yet accurate shapes? Even today it would be considered an accomplishment. But before the age of aeroplanes and drones? It should have been impossible. Yet a short flight takes you up over an array of enormous animals – a monkey, whale, humming bird, condor. And don’t get me started on the astronaut. If this was created Read more…
The history of this region is almost as long as the novel. But it’s the most recent past for which the region is most commonly remembered. The nineties brought bloody war. The unity of Tito’s Yugoslavia collapsed as provinces declared independence. Settled peoples suddenly found themselves living in the ‘wrong’ country. Bosnia Herzegovina bore the brunt of the war. Its capital, Sarajevo, was under siege for 1425 days. For nearly four years its citizens lived Read more…
As this phase of my journey through Africa comes to an end, I’ve reflected over what I am taking away from the experience. Lots of wonderful memories, thousands of photos, new friends. But in thinking about what I have learnt from my time in Africa, two things strike me most. The first thing is how different life could be. Yes, I’ve travelled in poverty-stricken areas before. But it’s not until I worked with women in Read more…
T.I.A as Leonardo DiCaprio once said. T.I.A. This Is Africa. It’s the phrase to sum up the lackadaisical attitude of Africans to things we would pay more attention to at home. To be fair, I was expecting to write this blog earlier. But things have improved a little over the past few years. But the TIA blindness still make me smile…. My first homestay in Uganda (the one I had to move out of after Read more…
Madagascar is often called the eighth continent. Originally a part of Gondwana, it has been isolated for 80 million years. As a result its evolution is unique. Probably the best example of this is its lemurs. 112 different species which are all endemic to Madagascar. From rodent-like mouse lemurs to giant bamboo lemurs and cute ring-tailed lemurs, it has them all. Unlike the suicidal animals of the eighties computer game, these animals live sedately in Read more…
I’ve had a few encounters with scary creatures during my time in Africa. Not as close as the panda incident for those familiar with the story. But then pandas are supposed to be cuddly not scary. Although cuddling one will cause it to be scary. But back to Africa….. I’ve only seen a few snakes in my time here. Of undefined variety. One was merely basking in the toilets until a hotel gardener whacked it Read more…
Taking public transport in Africa is usually like taking life into your own hands. It’s more of a white knuckle ride than a rollercoaster at Alton Towers. In Uganda the main form of transport is the motorbike or boda-boda. So called because they used to go from border to border. Boda-boda are champions in defying physics. Men in wellies and rag shirts ferry everyone and everything. Five people, sofas, cows, a bakery or even a Read more…
Things in Malawi did not start out as I had hoped. I had been looking for another volunteer project where I could use my business skills and add value but without it being a rerun of my time in Uganda. I found a project working with entrepreneurs in Mzuzu, a small city in the north of the country. Maybe naively I thought I would be welcomed and valued as I was in Uganda. Unfortunately it Read more…
There’s a question travellers are asked – ‘What are you? Mountain, ocean, forest or desert?’ For me it has always been desert. Which is ironic as I’m not great with extreme heat. But there’s something about a desert that is mesmerising, inspiring and humbling. The colours, the wildness and the tenacity of life in the harsh environment of the Namib Desert make it one of my favourites. Following unusually long rains, the desert is currently Read more…
When people think of Africa, they think of animals. Of lions and cheetahs stalking their prey. Of vast herds of zebra and wildebeest. Of ungainly giraffes and imposing elephants. It’s the quintessential image of Africa. For me, Africa isn’t about animals. But almost all holidays to Africa are built around a safari. In fact it’s hard to go to a sub-Saharan African country and not go on safari. I’ve been on four now and only Read more…
Is South Africa really Africa? Geographically of course it is. Politically? Well the recent demise and corruption charges for President Zuma certainly suggest it is. Corruption is sadly endemic at the highest levels of politics in most African countries. Zuma certainly won’t be winning the Ibrahim Prize. Economically it is the second largest in Africa. A member of both the BRICS and CIVETS economic groupings. But it’s this economic engine that makes South Africa feel, Read more…
Revisiting fond memories is always a risk. We knew that. Returning to Turmi after five years was indeed a bit of a disappointment. The market was, on the surface, the same. Hammer men and women stood around in traditional costumes. The men in their striped loin cloths, holding their small wooden stools. The women in goatskins and collars, their twisted hair dripping in ochre. But look more carefully. Many were wearing western dress, some combined Read more…
We were in the Omo Valley in 2011. An amazing place with many different tribes still living a traditional life. We were back to revisit old friends and explore some new ones. The Surma live to the west of the Omo River. Off the beaten track. Which is why we went. We camped in a Surma village in order to integrate with the community, at least to the extent possible in a few days. The Read more…