Tag Archives: travel

We were in the waters of the fabled Spice Islands of Indonesia. Today, this archipelago is home to countless islands covered in thick rainforests. The landscape is scarred by years of volcanic eruptions and the underwater-scape comprises stunningly pristine coral reefs populated by every colour fish you can think of. The Banda Islands are not […]

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Finally! The day dawned clear, and while the mists cloaked the distant mountains, the extensive green hills covered in tea bushes and silver oak trees that surrounded my ‘resort’ had at long-last come into view. I had booked myself in for a week’s stay above Munnar, a town in the Western Ghats in India’s southern […]

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If you Google “French” and “food” you will get chapter and verse on culinary artistry, precision techniques, high-quality ingredients, and deep cultural significance. On my first trip to France – many, many years ago – I was working for some friends at a small auberge in Parignargues. There, I was introduced to concept of the […]

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I loved just about every minute I stayed on Haida Gwaii, that archipelago off the coast of British Columbia (BC) in Canada’s North Pacific waters. I knew I would spend most of my time walking in the old-growth woods and exploring the Haida Nation’s cultural history; what I didn’t expect was to be wowed by […]

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The best way to visit the Maluku’s (Malakas, Moluccas) in the eastern part of Indonesia is by ship. These were once known as the Spice Islands. The nutmeg, mace, and cloves that grew here – and nowhere else – attracted the attention of 16th century European colonial powers. The Spice Wars of the 1500s were […]

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