“From time to time we are faced with pivotal decisions that can affect the entire course of our lives. The firm resolve to become happy – to learn about the factors that lead to happiness and take positive steps to build a happier life – can be such a decision. The turning towards happiness as…
Beginnings and Endings
“Whoever looks into the mirror of the water will see first of all his own image. Whoever goes to himself risks a confrontation with himself. The mirror does not flatter, it faithfully shows whatever looks into it. Namely the face we never show the world because we cover it with the persona, the mask of…
A travelling Odyssey
“Ah how shameless – the way these mortals blame the gods. From us alone they say come all their miseries but they themselves, with their own reckless ways, compound their pains beyond their proper share.” – Homer, The Odyssey A friend of mine recently told me that my journey is taking on Homeric proportions. It…
The heart of humanity
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” – Mahatma Ghandi Like so many times in the last 2 and half years, I find myself wandering along a dusty road, framed by a backdrop of mountains…
The Land Of The Golden Fleece
“In their country the winter torrents are said to bring down even gold, which the Barbarians collect in troughs pierced with holes, and lined with fleeces; and hence the fable of the golden fleece”. Strabo, The Geography Ancient Colchis – modern day Georgia. They are one and the same. According to the myth, Jason must…
Heading For Anatolia
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. Lao Tsu 3 months in Turkey was never going to be enough. But at the border with Greece, that’s what they gave me. I had…
Istanbul: Searching for Constantinople
Either I conquer Istanbul or Istanbul conquers me Fatih Sultan Mehmet Never have these words been more true. Arriving in Istanbul was a shock to the system. Suddenly the simplicity of “just walking” no longer existed. From the outskirts of the city I felt myself struck dumb at its size, the urban sprawl of grey, crazy…
A Guest in a New Land
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. Alan Watts Crossing into a new country is like an amazing assault on the senses. It is the unknown and the unexpected; it is searching for, and unlocking the doors within the soul; it is when the…
In the Hands of a Baker
The night is still dark and outside it is a silent – the early morning period when there is a stillness in the air, the distractions that come during the daytime are far away and a tranquil peace lies over the sleeping village. But already the lights in the bakery of the village are shining, and there are promises…
Man vs Mountain…Part 2
I had been following the hiking trails along the Rindomo gorge, trying to cross the Taygetos Mountains from Messenia to Lakonia. It had proved to be much more challenging than I had anticipated, and was about to become even more so… Leaving the safety of the church of Panagia Kapsomatousa around 3.30pm, I followed the…
The Sacred Traveller
Using the sun to guide me and an increasingly battered map of the peloponnese, I follow mountain paths and coastal trails, zigzagging and snaking my way south and east through this history filled land. People I meet along the way direct me onwards, telling me you must visit this place, or that place is magic; and…
The mozzarella Experience – a day in the life of a mozzarella maker
I was in search of a white Christmas. Not snow and reindeer, but mozzarella and buffalo… It’s 4.30am and inside the caseificio a haze of steam hovers like a morning mist. The 3 cheese makers (there are 2 called Aziz so I’ve named them Aziz Cheese and Aziz Big. Anton is the third) are hard at work…
How people can change your life
Every day I meet people who are amazed that I have decided to walk to India, in fact 3 very different types of people: the friendly, the indifferent and the angry. For many I’m just another person passing by, without any meaning to their lives. For others my journey perhaps goes against everything they have…
The joys of a border crossing
After a short (OK 1 month) sojourn in Greece, I sailed into Bodrum in glorious morning sun. The tips of the masts in the harbour twinkled, the red Turkish flag fluttered in the increasingly stifling breeze, and the castle stood proudly, its Green covered battlements still in good nick. Then I prepared myself for the…
Through Fairy Tale Valleys
Experience life in all possible ways good-bad, bitter-sweet, dark-light, summer-winter. Experience all the dualities. Don’t be afraid of experience, because the more experience you have, the more mature you become. Osho I headed for Cappodocia knowing full well that it is one of the most visited and touristic regions of Turkey, due to the geological…
Central Turkey: From Hattuşaş to Cappadocia
Photos from my time in Turkey from Spring and early summer 2015 The word “travel” comes from the Old French word “travail” (or “travailler”), which means “to work, to labor; a suffering or painful effort, an arduous journey, a tormenting experience.” (“Travel,” thus, is “a painful and laborious journey”). Whereas “to wander” comes from the West…
Part of the picture
Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down…how do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come? ― Shams Tabrizi It’s been some time since I’ve posted anything. Despite so…
