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Posts published by “Alastair Bland”

Top 9 Adventure Travel Hoaxes

Traveling may be thrilling, exhausting, dangerous, mind-opening and, occasionally, boring. But more than anything else, going to faraway places is easier talked about than done. Thus, we find history riddled with quiet rumors and full-fledged…

The Perils Of Cycling In Rabies Country

I left my baggage at a hostel in central Cuenca and rode east, on a small quiet highway that climbed into the beautiful green hills and would eventually lead over a small mountain range and…

Fish, Game & Halibut

When the salmon bite turns off, local anglers have traditionally turned to halibut and striped bass fishing to keep their rods bent. The 2008 and 2009 seasons were prime examples — -years when the salmon…

Return Of The King Salmon

California draws millions of visitors each summer with a wide variety of natural and cultural attractions — like Yosemite National Park, whose astounding cliffs are proof of either God or glaciers; the brutal but beautiful…

The World’s Tallest, Strongest & Most Iconic Trees

I recently wrote about the cork trees of the Iberian Peninsula, those great, handsome figures so emblematic of the interior plains of Portugal and Spain. But further abroad are many more trees of great stature…

Cork: An Industry Sinking

Grape variety, place of origin, and price: These are likely the main factors that determine which wine bottle lands in your shopping basket, but perhaps you should consider one more thing: the bottle’s cork, or…

Resistance To Nazis In A Land Riddled With Caves

We rode out of St. Julien, across the bridge over the Dordogne River and a mile down the other side of the river. We turned right on a side road toward a settlement called Le…

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