ARCHIVES: EXOTIC ADVENTURES

HOW TO BECOME A DIVE INSTRUCTOR: Utila, Honduras
At 23, Tina Doran is doing what many young travel addicts have contemplated at one time or another – pursing a career in diving. After college she moved to Spain to complete her Divemaster certification in cold waters of Marbella. We discussed the practicalities of becoming a dive instructor to find out how a dream job can become a reality.

SAILING THE SEPIK RIVER: Papua New Guinea
It was as if we were floating among the stars. They sparkled above me in the sky, and gleamed alongside me in the deep black water. It was 4am, and we were travelling by dug-out canoe down the mighty Sepik River of Papua New Guinea. I had to pinch myself to be sure that it was real.

A SHORT TUSCAN ADVENTURE:Italy
The scent of citrus was in the air. It was mid October and while the Tuscan sun was low in the western sky it still felt warm on my face. I was sure that if I closed my eyes I would be a witness to the sounds and the sights of medieval farmers returning from the rolling hills to the safety of this walled city. Since the 13th century the walls of San Gimignano have served as the safe haven from marauding hordes.

THROUGH THE TOWNS OF THE HIMALAYAS: India
When most people think of images of India, few bring pictures of green mountain meadows and snow-capped peaks to mind. Delhi’s narrow Pahar Ganj, with its rickshaws, dirt, street-sellers and conmen is probably much closer to many people’s visual concept of India.

FIELD OF BOMBS: Phonsavan, Laos
The tiny Lao Aviation plane dropped hastily from the sky. Crossing my fingers I cursed my sense of adventure. What on Earth had persuaded me to risk flying to Phonsavan? The reason was, of course, the famous ‘Plain of Jars’. These ancient stone vessels lay scattered across the far-flung Lao province, and according to the travel books, have become something of a tourist magnet. I was looking forward to some hardcore sightseeing.

THE BLUE EYED MUMMIES OF AMASYA: Turkey
I saw the picture first and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the image of a baby boy mummy staring at me with wide open blue eyes. It was part of a brochure about the archaeology museum in the fabulous mountain town of Amasya, located about 100 miles south inland from the Turkish Black Sea coast.

A STEP BACK IN TIME: Viñales, Cuba
Whenever we asked someone where to go in Cuba, they would invariably exclaim “You MUST go to Viñales!” When we asked why, the replies were seldom convincing. Words like “beautiful, rural, quaint and restful” were used. While these were admirable attributes, they didn’t really convey the unique charm of this little town near the western tip of Cuba.

ISLAND OF LEGENDS: Langkawi, Malaysia
Our first trekking destination was the Ourika Valley. We were forced to leave the van and had to teeter across foot-wide Berber bridges fashioned out of sticks, suspended over the rushing white water and squeeze behind houses on uneven slippery pathways meant only for goats.

RAMBLING AROUND Marrakech, Morocco
My Moroccan trekking adventure had begun from the beautiful city of Marrakech that nestles like a rose-quartz gemstone near the foothills of the snow-capped High Atlas Mountains. When we arrived at the starting point, we were forced to leave the van walk to the meeting point as the roads were impassable. We had to teeter across foot-wide Berber bridges fashioned out of sticks, suspended over the rushing white water and squeeze behind houses on uneven slippery pathways meant only for goats.

GATEWAY TO THE HIMALAYAS: Nepal
It is hard to believe that Nepal only opened its borders to mass tourism in the 1950s. Now it is famous for its trekking and climbing, as it utilises the fact that most of the world’s highest mountains are within its territory.

A DAY-TRIP TO TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY: The Amalfi Coast, Italy
Few scenes on earth are as spectacular as the Amalfi Coast which stretches from Sorrento to Salerno. Combine sparkling blue-green water, rugged cliffs, a hair-raising bus ride, a leisurely boat ride and stunning little towns like Positano, Amalfi and Ravello and you have one breathtaking sight after another.

BURN AWAY THE WINTER BLUES: Whitehorse, Yukon
Torches are being held high. Banners and tall effigies depicting both Father Winter and the dragon of Spring are flowing into the night’s festivities as if alive. The sun has now settled into an intense cobalt blue creating a backdrop for the stark black trees lining the hills. I am in awe.

THE SIREN OF BARRA DE NAVIDAD: Mexico
I have recently taken a mistress, a bewitching, beguiling siren. My siren is a small part of the Pacific Ocean that roars eastward onto a long, curving arc of golden beach whose southern end is occupied by the quaint, west coast Mexican town of Barra de Navidad.

HIKING MOUNT GOLICA: Slovenia
Slovenia, located south of Austria, is an alpine country with plenty of mountains and places to hike. Hiking trails in the valleys and in the mountains attract visitors from all over the world.

DOG MUSHING IN THE YUKON
Five dogs lurch forward with shocking fierceness, without one second of hesitation, throwing my city-soft body into shock. Frantically I grab for the crossbar with my mittened hands, raise one foot off the brake — a small spiked platform of snowmobile track — to a small, icy runner. The other foot tests the brake. A 61 year old woman…what was I doing?

BOROBUDUR: Java, Indonesia
Turning the corner, I found myself on the main path that led straight up to the front of the temple. It was massive, like a layered pyramid of dark grey stone rising out of the dirt. I picked up my pace to get to there quickly until I realized that I didn't need to rush the moment. I just stopped and stared in wonder.

THE STAR-CROSSED SHANGRI-LA: Guatemala’s Ixil Triangle
After a tortuous bus ride through the Guatemalan highlands, I’ve finally arrived at the village of Nebaj. A cobblestone street is lined with white, adobe buildings, streaks of rain visible against their red, tiled roofs. The damp air smells of pine needles. Panoramic, mist-shrouded peaks barely visible in the distance resemble the coast mountains of western Canada.

SEARCHING FOR THE LAKE NORMAN MONSTER: North Carolina, USA
Loch Ness, Scotland. Lake Van, Turkey. Lake Hodges, California. Seljord Lake, Norway all have had reported sightings of monsters. North Carolina has its own alleged monster of the waterway called The Lake Norman Monster, or “Normie” to his close friends.

SAILING THE MAINE COAST: Penobscot Bay Maine, USA
Imagine sailing the Maine coast on a schooner launched in 1871. The Stephen Taber, a historic landmark, has been sailing continuously for 138 years. Originally a cargo boat, it now takes up to 22 passengers on sailing adventures through Penobscot Bay.

CONTRASTING INDIA: Delhi/Ladakh, India
As our jeep drove on through the Ladakh district of India in the Western Himalayas, under the watchful eye of this bright afternoon sun, mud houses seemed to emerge from the desert. Then we see ahead the magnificent Tikse monastery which swells to its dazzling proportions, leaving us in awe.

RUINS AND REAL LIFE: Jericho, Israel
"Do you want to drive or do you want to walk?" Saed asks, stopping the car. We have arrived at the bottom of a small mountain on the outskirts of Jericho, in Israel’s West Bank. Believed to be the oldest city in the world, Jericho is also the lowest, at 244 meters below sea level.

ARGENTINA’S ASCENT INTO THE CLOUDS: Salta, Argentina
The eighteenth century Cabildo, built to house the town council, with its two story rows of arches, is characteristic of the hispanic architecture around the Plaza. At more than one thousand kilometers northwest of Buenos Aires, Salta is the best preserved colonial city in Argentina.

INTO THE SAHARA: A Moroccan Adventure
I tip the jug back with both hands and take a good long swig. A day and a half earlier I walked into the Sahara, just me, a fellow traveler and Ahmed, our guide. Now the three of us have come to this spot, a windswept patch of sand in the shade of an acacia tree, after walking miles without map, compass or GPS.

HORSEBACK IN TIBET: Tibet, Asia
The romantic notion of galloping across the Tibetan grasslands on horseback has me lost in a reverie. According to the locals, Serchul County has the five “mosts” in the Ganzi prefecture. It is the highest (4000 metres above sea level), the farthest, the biggest, the coldest, and the poorest. It's subtle charm then is its rawness, its simplicity and its vastness.

SEEKING OUT SEA CAVES: Isle of Skye, Scotland
The Spar Cave on Scotland's Isle of Skye is a truly wondrous place. In the 19th century it was a fashionable destination for well-to-do Victorian trippers, drawn north to the rugged Strathaird peninsula by Sir Walter Scott's poem The Lord of the Isles in which he wrote of a mermaid bathing in a pool concealed deep within the enchanted cell.

NO ORDINARY CHRISTMAS: Bolivia, South America
Magically, as our bus enters the lakeshore city of Puno, the sounds of flutes, drums and bells float across the air. Craning our necks out of the window, we see elaborately costumed dancers twirling to the rhythm of the music. “Puno is the festival capital of Peru!” says our bus driver.

DEATH AND DOLCE IN THE DOLOMITES: Italy
Here I was, in a cramped machine-gun post 8,000 feet up on Lagazuoi in the Italian Dolomites, where ninety years previously the Austrians had defended their Alps front line against Italians who had joined the war on the side of the Entente Powers.

THE HUNTERS AND THE HUNTED: A Kenya Photo Safari Adventure
Everyone who has a chance to see nearly two million animals on the move has been touched by the magic of this place. What is it that gets under their skin? The urgency of the movement of the wildebeest? The wide open plains? The African light?

HIKING THE SAMARIA GORGE: A SENSORY EXPERIENCE: Crete, Greece
From the moment I reached the threshold of the trail leading through the Samaria Gorge, on Crete, I became acutely aware of the limitations of conveying my experience in text or on film. The sheer magnitude of this landscape is impossible to capture in a photo or even in words. And yet my camera lens was resilient when it came to struggling to capture the pristine vistas or vivid colours of the floral and fauna.

MAASAI MARA: Kenya, East Africa
There are so many beautiful places to visit in Kenya, from sea level to mountain tops which can reach up to 10,000 feet or more; and of course there is always Mount Kenya at 17,058 feet, Africa's highest peak with its famous Club and golf course set on the lower shoulder. The Africans you will meet go out of their way to be helpful and friendly. Don't wait too long before travelling to this wordly paradise.

THE ASTOUNDING TEMPLES AND TREES OF ANGKOR: Cambodia
The full moon hangs low. Voluminous clouds shroud us in darkness as we ride toward Cambodia’s ancient Angkor temples, and the world’s largest religious monument. The open sides of the tuk-tuk (essentially a motorcycle pulling a covered cart, in which my girlfriend Jen and I sit) allow us to breathe in the cool, tropical air, a far cry from the stifling midday heat.

CHILLIN’ IN CHILE: Exploring the Atacama Desert on a Horse With No Name
I arrived in the Atacama Desert four days ago, and it rained. I’m not joking. It rained. San Pedro de Atacama is one of the driest places on earth. The average humidity is 35%, the skies are clear for 330 days a year, and there is very little rain, which generally falls over about three days in February.

HIKING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD: Glencolmcille, Ireland
As I stand high above the ocean I envision my fate if I were to stumble on a rock, slip on the narrow muddy path or get blown over the edge of the highest sea cliffs in Europe. I take a deep breath and my first steps towards crossing One Man's Pass.

THE VIEW FROM SNOWDON: Wales
The view from the summit of Mount Snowdon, when the cold wet mist evaporates from the barren slopes, is a vista of yellow-brown hills and intensely green meadows. This rugged region of North Wales served as a training ground for Sir Edmund Hillary’s mountaineering team before their ascent of Mount Everest in 1953.

HIKING HALLASAN IN THE SNOW: Mount Halla, South Korea
At the foot of Mount Halla, my girlfriend Jen and I stop and gape at the meter of snow clogging the trailhead. Our guidebook clearly specified: no special equipment required. From a distance, the only visible snow lies atop Hallasan’s trapezoidal summit, like a white fin on a surfacing whale.

THE HEAVENLY GATES: Sapa, Vietnam
Jumping off the Victoria Express train in 5:00am fog at Loa Cai, a Vietnamese border town next to China, is not the most inviting start to the day, but I am here - determined to find the Heavenly Gates near the mountain-top town of Sapa.

WONDERLAND OF ROCKS AND TREES: Joshua Tree National Park, California
I’ve never been much interested in rocks. I’ve always seen them as lumps of matter, squatting sullenly in the earth. So when I started on a journey through the Joshua Tree National Park, near Palm Springs, California, I never expect to be so excited and amazed by the rocks found there.

MEMORIAL TO AN INTREPID TRAVELER: Sir Edmund Hillary 1919-2008
Knighted in 1953 after conquering Mount Everest’s summit, to the locals Sir Edmund was like a god. They bedecked him with garlands of flowers and almost worship him. Mitch says Sir Edmund’s calmness and poise impressed him. “It was an unexpected treasure meeting him,” Mitch says.