I have been recently looking at my pictures to go with my articles on Bolivia on the Round the World Flights site. Bolivia: Beyond Adventure Did Aliens Cruise in Santa Cruz? Drinking Coca Tea Blinded By the White I am getting increasingly fond of the ones I took of the Potosí silver mine in the […]
Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden
To celebrate Rio’s new 2012 Unesco site , I am republishing this condensed passage from my book Brazil: Life, Blood, Soul. When Portuguese King João VI instituted the Botanical Garden in Rio in 1808, there were many fortunes to be made from the discovery and breeding of exotic plants. There are over 8,000 kinds of […]
In praise of hostels
There is a certain weariness about hostels that comes with age. By 30 you outgrow dorms. By 35 you outgrow dirt-cheap accommodation, By 40 you want a bit of comfort. By 50 you want a quiet room overlooking the golf course. And by 60 you aspire to stay at the Ritz, though you may not […]