Category Archives: Reflections

Tilos: a walk to the beach the day after the mountain destroyed my sandals

Posted on July 11, 2014 by BarryH

Though I set out with that specific intention, I didn’t get to have a swim on the day that The Mountain Destroyed My Sandals. I passed the top of the path down to Depsoti To Nero on my way back … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Reflections, Wildlife | Tagged Agriosikia Castle, beach etiquette, Chile, folded rocks, French etiquette, goat compost, Greece, guano, Guano Wars, Livadia, Painted Dragon lizard, sandals, SKAI maps, swimming, Tholos Beach, Tilos, Youf Culture | Leave a comment

Symi: an eye catching trek

Posted on June 4, 2014 by BarryH

With temperatures rising and more stable summer weather settling in, by the middle of May the wide variety of flora and fauna, though still there, was becoming less evident on the Hot Rock which is Symi. Before my friend returned … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Mountains, Nature, Reflections, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged Agios Stavros Polemou, Dragon Arum, European Mantis, eye catching, Greece, Mantis religiosa, Oertzeni liazard, Painted Dragon lizard, poppies, preying mantis, red, Red Admiral butterfly, Starred agama, Symi, tortoises | 6 Comments

Symi: a trek to a waterhole in a desert

Posted on May 25, 2014 by BarryH

A week or so ago a friend and I headed back to the deserted settlement of Gria in the limestone crags high above Pedi. As ever, the first part of the walk is through the narrow stone-paved alleys of Horio … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Reflections, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged amphibians, bellflower, Black Rat Snake, campanula, deserted village, dragonflies, Greece, Gria, Gria pond, Βρύση Ζωοδόχου Πηγής, kitchen garden, Pedi Valley, pondlife, snakes, spiders, Spring of the Source of Life, Symi, threshing circle, windmills | 5 Comments

Symi: en route and arriving

Posted on April 10, 2014 by BarryH

“It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive” is an axiom, often repeated but first penned by Robert Louis Stevenson, which has become a cliché. The thought echoes and old Taoist saying that “the journey is the reward”. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, History, Landscape, Reflections | Tagged Crusader city, Greece, plane travel, Rhodes, Rhodes harbour, Rhodes Old Town, sunrise, Symi, Symi harbour, travel | 6 Comments

Escape to the sun

Posted on April 5, 2014 by BarryH

Apart from putting forward the ridiculous hypothesis that Jesus once visited Britain, William Blake’s poetic reference to “England’s green and pleasant land”, with specific reference to “mountains green” and “pleasant pastures” , ignores the fact that it is only so … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Grey Britain, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Reflections, Spring | Tagged Dragon Lily, escape, gardening, Greece, Grey Britain, poppies, potatoes, pub lunch, Sunshine, William Blake | 4 Comments

Canadian Rockies: Flashback in Sundance Canyon

Posted on February 21, 2014 by BarryH

The skiing and trekking in the Rockies are finished now and I’m back home. But there are still a couple of things to write about. Beginning with my jaunt to Sundance Canyon. I went there first in January 2011 after … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Reflections, Winter | Tagged banff canada, Bow River, Derbyshire Peak District, Mount Edith, Mount Rundle, narrow escapes, Sundance Canyon, Sundance Pass, thermal springs | 1 Comment

Canadian Rockies: warm weather and reflections

Posted on January 30, 2014 by BarryH

The weather has been warmer than usual with day after day of blue skies and sunshine. Rather than taking photos I’ve been concentrating on trying to improve my incompetent skiing, smooth wide turns on mild slopes but still aggressively sharp … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Landscape, Reflections, Winter | Tagged banff canada, Canada, Canadian Pacific Railway, freight trains, ice, snow, weather patterns, winter | 2 Comments

Time plays with the mind: the Canadian Rockies

Posted on January 16, 2014 by BarryH

It’s 23.30 Rocky Mountain Time, 06.30 GMT and 08.30 in Greece. After 30 hours without sleep I’m now in Banff and ready to go to bed, the first time before midnight for years. But then it’s another midnight not the … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Mountains, Reflections, Winter | Tagged banff canada, Canada, lack of sleep, Rocky Mountain Time, snow, time, time perception | Leave a comment

An alternative Christmas

Posted on December 27, 2013 by BarryH

I don’t enjoy Christmas. This year I was looking forward to it less than usual until I decided to do the unthinkable. Spend Christmas Day on my own. It’s a quirk of the human psyche that the things we choose … Continue reading →

Posted in Grumpy Old Men, Health and humour, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Pontypool, Reflections, Wales, Winter | Tagged alternative Christmas, choice, Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Father Christmas, Garn Wen, History of Christmas, loneliness, Pontypool Folly Tower, Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, Saturnalia, solitude, Wales | 1 Comment

Writers in Wales in the sunshine

Posted on November 11, 2013 by BarryH

I spent the weekend in North Wales at Ty Newydd, the National Writers’ Centre for Wales near Cricieth on the Llyn Peninsula. I was there for a re-union of those on a course last year on travel writing. We gelled … Continue reading →

Posted in Autumn, Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Reflections, Wales, Wildlife | Tagged cormorants, Cricieth, Llyn Peninsula, National Writers’ Centre, North Wales, sunrise, travel writing, Ty Newydd, Wales, Welsh Coast Path, writing | 10 Comments