Istanbul is a dazzling, beguiling city. Once the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, its epic history was shaped by a myriad of cultures including Arabic, Armenian, Greek, Bulgarian, Jewish and Kurdish. Its waterways are mythic; the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara. Shimmering domes, minarets and medieval towers rise from its seven hills.
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Achill Island: a postcard from the lost world
A walking festival draws us to Achill Island on Ireland’s wild and beautiful west coast.
On the first night of the festival, we meet walkers from all over Ireland. Among them are Maree & Seamus O’Brien, Brid & Paula (named after the last Pope), the O’Reilly brothers and their nephew Jean-Paul (also named after a Pope) and Michelle, a fellow Camino aficionado. There’s also Anne & Ivan, an American couple keen like us to walk the land of their ancestors and know more of its stories.
Our leader is Tomás, an Irish-speaking archaeologist and mountaineer. Before we start climbing, he advises us to move gracefully up the slope, stop and let the wind pass and be mindful of our fellow walkers.
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Walking into the Light
Melbourne is in lockdown. We can only walk for an hour a day, within a five-kilometre radius of home. Once out in the world, we cannot come close to another person or stop to enjoy a coffee or a glass of wine. And we must wear a mask. The seductive aromas of coffee roasters and spice shops, the fragrance of starry clematis, sweet floral wattle and heady jasmine are lost to us.
Touch, taste and smell, all compromised by what it takes to keep COVID-19 at bay. Light, however, is not denied to us. The blue hour, the golden hour, solar noon, the twilights. If we walk at different times of the day, perhaps we will see things in a different light and deepen our sensory experience of these strange times. Read More
Walking in the Winter of Our Discontent
Winter 2020 unfolds as a season of discontent. Borders are closed. The joy of walking long distances through unknown, beguiling lands is lost to us and, as the winter progresses, even the hope of a sojourn in tropical Queensland is extinguished.
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Our Isolation Camino
In Australia, in this time of isolation, all travel is banned. Marooned at home, we find ourselves yearning for the long-distance paths of Spain. Alluring, elusive, unattainable. Until a challenge goes out, to walk the Camino Inglés wherever you are in the world. A spark is ignited. We decide to walk it and transition, step by step, out of our state of restless confinement.
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The Way of St James, Chemin de St Jacques, Part 1
Early each morning, as they have for centuries, pilgrims gather in the romanesque Cathédral Notre-Dame-du-Puy to be blessed before starting their journey on the Way of St James, the oldest Camino de Santiago route outside of Spain. Down a flight of 60 steps, pausing to take a last look back at the imposing white and black striped facade of the cathedral, reminiscent of the great mosque of Cordoba, and onto an ancient trail first walked by Bishop Godescacl in the winter of 951 AD. Read More
Larapinta Trail, Central Australia
The Larapinta Trail takes the walker deep into the astonishingly beautiful red-heart of Australia.
Following the spine of the Tjoritja / West MacDonnell Ranges, the Larapinta Trail traverses the land of the Arrernte people. Their songlines tell of ancestral beings who travelled this country, bringing its flora, fauna, waterholes and landforms into life. The trail extends for 225 kilometres, from Mt Sonder to the desert town of Alice Springs. It weaves its way through spectacular gorges, climbs over rugged peaks, drops into green oases and follows the meanderings of ancient rivers.
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Camino Francés, Spain
In the autumn of 2005, inspired by our friend Robert’s stories of walking the Camino Francés and in need of respite from the clamour of our lives, we walked out of St Jean Pied de Port on an 800-kilometre pilgrimage to the holy city of Santiago de Compostela.
A candle, lit in the cathedral in Santiago; a hand placed on the same marble column that pilgrims have placed their hand on for centuries; a relic, a piece of the true cross (plastic or otherwise); and that we travel well together. These were the entreaties from friends we carried with us as we walked across northern Spain. What follows are notes from our diary of 30 extraordinary days on the Camino Francés (literally, the Camino from France).
