Compass & Camera

Happy New Year!

I've missed you. Today I reconnect and say hello to whomever may be listening. My voice... Read More
Tulum

We've been here for one month visiting friends, working remotely and relaxing in Tulum, Mexico after leaving Vancouver,... Read More
Finding the Unicorn of the Sky

Last March, we decided it was time to pack up and leave Vancouver -- such is... Read More
A Thousand Shades of Chefchaouen

Near the northern tip of Morocco, in a pocket of sunshine at the base of the Rif mountain range,... Read More
Lisbon Life

Portugal sits at the western edge of Europe, with Spain along one side and the Atlantic Ocean... Read More
Leaving My Heart in Havana

The song accompanying this post is Besos Discretos performed by Fusión Caribe, a fantastic band on the streets of Havana. Video follows below. ... Read More
A Love Letter to Asia

Arriving with a scaffold of expectations doesn't help if you're setting sail on an ocean of possibilities.... Read More
Magical Maldives

Like drops of glass in a cobalt blue ocean, the islands of Maldives look like they exist in their own world. We... Read More
The Allure of Sri Lanka

We arrived in Sri Lanka late on a Friday night, unable to see the country's landscape from... Read More

September 10, 2017November 19, 2017

— 60 Comments

A Grizzly Weekend in Bella Coola

We depart for Bella Coola from the south terminal of Vancouver International Airport, where the old-school spirit of travel is alive and well. We're aboard a twenty-seat prop plane but we never cleared security and our bags were never x-rayed. We're flying into the... Read More

August 19, 2017November 9, 2017

— 19 Comments

Sintra: A Tale of Two Castles

We're standing on a mountaintop west of Portugal. We've lucked out. It's one of those perfect days when the blue sky extends all the way to... Read More

July 14, 2017August 10, 2017

— 34 Comments

Final Postcards From My Grandmother, 1972

This is the last post of a four-part series. To read the first three posts, go here, here and here. It was summer, 1972 -- exactly 45 years ago. As my grandmother Peg set out... Read More

February 6, 2017June 21, 2017

— 36 Comments

The Kanheri Caves of Mumbai, India

Rajesh and I choke along the highway in his rickshaw, breathing in the air pollution as we zip past the slums bordering the highway. I probably should... Read More

January 16, 2018June 21, 2018

— 27 Comments

The Fingerprint of Fez

Throughout this post you'll find the words of author Paul Bowles, an American expatriate who lived in Tangier, Morocco for 50 years. He wrote an essay called "Fez" in 1984. His thoughts on the city still ring true today. I've interwoven my story with excerpts from... Read More

January 9, 2018January 27, 2018

— 35 Comments

Tangier: A Visual Feast to Start the New Year

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm kicking off 2018 with a post about a city I visited last spring. I hope you enjoy this portrait of Tangier, Morocco. May, 2017 After two weeks... Read More

November 19, 2017January 9, 2018

— 31 Comments

Stones and Bones of the Alentejo

Driving through the Alentejo, it's one of those experimental travel days when we leave our itinerary entirely up to choice and chance. The only thing we know for... Read More

July 27, 2017August 29, 2017

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Azulejo and Zellige

Azulejo and zellige. I know, readers! These are tough words to get your mind and mouth around. But they're relevant terms if you're traveling through Portugal, Spain and Morocco which is what... Read More

March 4, 2018April 25, 2018

— 38 Comments

Into the Tanneries of Fez, Morocco

Travelling, one accepts everything; indignation stays at home. One looks, one listens, one is roused to enthusiasm by the most dreadful things because they are new. Good travellers are heartless. ~Elias Canetti, The Voices of Marrakech Death hangs constantly in front of us as we visit the... Read More

November 23, 2017January 9, 2018

— 30 Comments

Divine Gifts

Last spring, we spent three weeks exploring Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Throughout those three weeks we kept seeing hints of glorious wildflowers as we traveled through the... Read More

November 2, 2017

— 26 Comments

Sagres, at the Edge of Europe

Spring, 2017 At the tip of southwest Portugal, we find Sagres. It is awash in pastel colors -- flesh colored tones of earth, a moody green-gray ocean and a... Read More

June 16, 2017July 27, 2017

— 36 Comments

The Bonneville Salt Flats

Helloooo! It's been a long time since my last post. In the travel blogging world, this usually means the blogger is tired, out of money and content, or traveling. And sometimes, all of the above!... Read More

May 26, 2015June 21, 2017

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Road Trip Oman: Nizwa and Final Thoughts

We arrived in Nizwa last night after a long day exploring Jebel Shams and the aged village of Misfat Al Abriyeen. Today is our last full day in Oman. We start early, meandering the narrow streets surrounding downtown Nizwa. Crumbling stone walls and newly constructed homes co-exist amidst an unlikely landscape of palm trees. As... Read More

April 9, 2015August 25, 2016

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Road Trip Oman: Peaks and Valleys Near Jebel Shams

After two blissful nights on top of Jabal Akhdar we depart the hotel feeling completely relaxed, with the distinct scent of Frankincense wafting from our backpacks. We load into the Pajero, reluctantly wave goodbye and... Read More

March 4, 2015August 25, 2016

— 11 Comments

Road Trip Oman: Secluded Luxury at Jabal Akhdar

After two nights of wild camping and one night in the desert of Wahiba Sands, we're a little rough around the edges. The Pajero is covered in dust and so are we. I'm looking forward... Read More

February 17, 2015April 25, 2018

— 33 Comments

Road Trip Oman: Foray Into the Desert

We wake up on the beach in Ras Al Hadd, having met a large yellow fin tuna and having enjoyed a peaceful night camping next to the ocean. The Omani sun burns... Read More

April 14, 2018

— 19 Comments

Sunset in Carvoeiro

Right at this moment, it's sunset at my little outpost on the world map and I'm reminiscing about this moment of magic on the southern coast of Portugal. Out for a sunset stroll, we found the boardwalk in Carvoeiro. Looking east ... a... Read More

December 3, 2017December 3, 2017

— 35 Comments

Making Paper in Bhutan

From the Archives: Bhutan, 2013 The Jungshi Handmade Paper Factory sits on a hill overlooking the mountainous terrain of Thimphu, Bhutan. The paper factory illustrates the government's resolve to... Read More

August 8, 2017

— 20 Comments

World Textures

This week's photo challenge: textures, one of my photography addictions. Hope you enjoy this amuse-bouche of textures from around the world. Next post on... Read More

September 26, 2016

— 13 Comments

A Quest to See Killer Whales

We were very lucky on our quest to see killer whales yesterday. We spotted quite a few of them, just south of Vancouver in the Strait of Georgia, not too far from... Read More