501 Places

Lviv (Lvov, Lemburg, depending on your historical bias) is a old architectural marvel in western Ukraine. Once Polish, then a western outpost of the USSR, the city is now a proud regional capital of Ukraine, and expected to be the jewel in the country’s tourism offering as travel to/from Ukraine becomes easier.

It’s a great place to wander around on foot. Locals are friendly (foreign visitors are increasing but still a relative novelty) and signs of progress abound – there is even a sushi restuarant in the main street!

Lviv is probably as Prague once was (long ago) and Krakow more recently. Beautiful churches, monuments and wide promenades make this a pleasant city for a short break. If you don’t arrive by train, then do take the chance to view the amazing railway station!

(June 2007)

After a couple of days hiking around Yellowstone National Park, the sounds of mud pools bubbling away and geysers spouting water into the sky become strangely familiar. The rotten egg smells are around almost every corner. The sights of prismatic pools, coloured rocks and geysers are found nowhere else on Earth in this concentration. And travelling off-season, even the sightings of bison outnumber the other hikers you might see along the way.

Truly one of the world’s natural wonders, Yellowstone is itself part of a giant volcanic caldera and one day, sometime in the next 100,000 years according to predictions, it will erupt and take a large part of the western US with it.

One warning about visiting Yellowstone too early in life.. any other geothermal area just doesn’t live up to expectations once you’ve seen this one.

(May 2000)

90 minutes in choppy waters. Then quickly put on a gas mask and a hard hat, followed by a very strict sounding safety briefing. Call this a pleasant holiday experience? oh yes!

White Island, around 20 miles off the coast of the New Zealand North Island, is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It is continuously erupting, the yellow sulphur is everywhere (you can’t escape the smell!) and the risk of flying rocks ensures the hard hat doesn’t leave your head at any time.

One of the most fascinating places on Earth, it is a site where nature truly rules. People tried to mine on the island many years ago, and the remains of their destroyed structures remain. It is an extreme, inhospitable environment, and a rare experience that comes highly recommended.

(Jan 2001)

At the tip of the American land mass, Ushuaia is a busy little town in southern Argentina. We spent a few days exploring the town and the surrounding part of Tierra del Fuego. We even stood at the port from where the Antarctic ships depart. Although it was not the time of year where people take this journey, I took note of the spot and vowed to return, as the white continent is high on my list of places we have to visit.

The autumn colours were stunning, and the almost hourly shift between warm sunshine and snow blizzards is reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands. Argentina may not be the most obvious destination for observing the fall colours, but you will be amazed at the stunning landscapes here (the peak of the colours is in late April)

One abiding memory was stopping talk to a couple of cyclists who were on their final day of a bike ride from Alaska – 18,000 km through the whole of N and S America. What a feeling it must be to come to the end of such a journey! (and how sore they must be…). We saw them riding up the steep and relentless incline that ended at a snowy pass before a 25km freewheel into Ushuaia and the final few kms.

Our departure from Ushuaia turned out to be anything but straightforward. A six hour delay with almost no communication from the airline. But what a treat the delay turned out to be! Only a short walk from the aiport terminal into the town centre, and a fantastic cake shop in which to while away the time… no pictures of the cakes sadly.

A mention of honour to our accommodation. We stayed at Tierra de Leyendes, (www.tierradeleyendes.com) and the service was outstanding. If people doubt the veracity of TripAdvisor this is one place that can support the review website’s credibility. We booked solely on the outstanding reviews, and they were every bit as good as everyone said. A highly recommended stop if you’re staying in Ushuaia. (my thoughts on the property are featured on the travel website  101 Holidays).

(April 2007)

Those who have witnessed the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, in their full glory will agree that it is an experience that defies description. Beautiful, mystical, mesmerising – no words can do it justice.

The picture on the left is at Kattfjord, near Tromso in Norway, taken in 2002. We had travelled up with the main aim of seeing the aurora borealis, and struck lucky on the first two nights there. Standing on the porch of our cabin, overlooking a tranquil fjord and seeing the green curtains of light dance over our heads, we were speechless. (Incidentally, it is a beautiful part of the world, and even without seeing the aurora we would have loved the place)

The image below was our first full sighting of the aurora borealis – I was working in the Shetland Islands in 2000, and looked outside in hope around midnight. From a faint red glow on the horizon, the whole sky was soon lit up. The show lasted for nearly two hours, and covered almost every colour of the spectrum. The picture is over-exposed and as it comes from my pre-digital days, I learned the hard way how not to photograph the aurora. It still captures a little of the magic of what we saw.

Solar activity goes through 11 year cycles, and we are currently in a lull. So if you want to maximise your chances of seeing the northern lights, plan your trip to Alaska/Canada/Greenland/Norway to coincide with the next maximum, which is due in 2013 and 2014. And bring your two aurora borealis spotting essentials with you: lots of patience, and a healthy dose of good luck.