Travellers Tales

The Marion DuFresne is a French scientific research vessel, run by the Terres Australes et Antartiques Francaises (or TAAF for short) in conjunction with the French Navy. Five, sometimes six times a year, it completes a round trip from the volcanic island of Reunion; transporting supplies and scientists to three groups of remote islands in

In September 1995, I found myself travelling northwards to York, to attend a conference organised by Fountain International, It was to be a gathering of like-minded souls, who were active in all aspects of healing, including people, animals and the Earth. Over the centuries, York has been a major centre of money, wealth, power and

In the early October of 1996, the eyes of the world were turned towards Iceland as the name Vatnajokull hit the headlines. In geological terms, Vatnajokull (the name means water glacier) is classified as an ice cap, although many refer to it as a glacier. Like all ice caps, it covers a very wide area

Bali is a magical, mythical island, lying east of Java and northwest of Australia, along the Pacific ‘ring of fire’. It has an irregular landscape of beaches deep ravines, fast-flowing rivers and rice terraces, which rise in curved tiers to a volcanic chain of mountains in the north. It is said the gods live here

The desolate pampa is an arid, sun-bleached place and water, or the lack of it, has dominated human life since the first people settled around Nasca in 1000BC. Whether it’s mysterious lines on the desert surface, ancient mummy cemeteries, buried pyramids, museums or watching a local goldsmith at work that appeals to you, there is

As our small wooden boat comes alongside the island, strong brown arms reach out to help me ashore. Looking up I see twinkling eyes in an old leathery face, a beaming smile that shows crooked, white teeth and short dark hair sticking out from a knitted woollen hat with ear flaps. I step carefully onto

As I stepped off the plane a dark, almost purple sky was torn apart by violent lightning and a torrential downpour began. Like thousands of others, I had come to this corner of the Brazil-Argentina border to see one of the most awe-inspiring sights on the planet, the famous Iguaçu Falls. According to a legend

Lush, green volcanic mountains towered over us, as the ferry churned its way through the gap in the bleached coral reef, into the translucent calm of Vaiare Bay, Moorea. In 1769 when Captain Cook and HMS Endeavour sailed into the lagoons of these South Pacific islands, it was to the sound of sails flapping in

With its tales of spectacular waterfalls, lush jungles, harsh deserts, remnants of long lost cultures and man-made wonders, South America has always been a continent that has beckoned to me. But it wasn’t until 2005, as a grandmother in my late fifties, that I managed to spend six weeks there, travelling independently and on my

To early pirates and sailors calling at the Galapagos Islands, the giant tortoise was easy prey and a convenient source of fresh meat. Given the added bonus they could be kept alive without food or water for up to a year in the hold of a ship, it’s not surprising tortoise populations were decimated almost