Category Archives: Wildlife

Canadian Rockies and Greek Islands: twittering and tweeting

Posted on March 20, 2016 by BarryH

2016 is not going at all well for me. Just diagnosed, I now have a long-term health issue, probably triggered by the flu, which means a period of monitoring and the need to review plans and maybe lifestyle. So, still … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Canada, Greece, Health and humour, Nature, Photography, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged banff canada, Canada, canadian rockies, Die Ztwitscher Maschine, Greece, Greek cuisine, Paul Klee, spanakopita, sparrows, swallows, Symi, The Twittering Machine, tweeting, twittering | Leave a comment

Canadian Rockies and Greek Islands: looking back, looking forward

Posted on March 9, 2016 by BarryH

So far 2016 has had its share of setbacks. A minor viral infection in January which kept me indoors in Banff for two day and impaired activities for the rest of the stay. A skiing accident resulting in a dislocated … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Reflections, Spring, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged Banff, Bow River, Bow River Falls, Canada, canadian rockies, Forty Mile Creek, Greece, Lappatoniou Castle, Snow and ice, squirrel, Symi, thermal springs, Vermilion Lakes | 2 Comments

Banff, Canadian Rockies: last trek, early bath

Posted on February 19, 2016 by BarryH

The shoulder injury I wrote about in my last blog post did not respond to treatment anywhere near as quickly as hoped so regrettably I went for the early bath and flew home. I guess the body heals more slowly … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged animal tracks, Banff, Bow River, Canada, canadian rockies, Cave and Basin, ice, Mount Bourgeau, Mount Edith, Mount Rundle, powder snow, snow, snowshoes, thermal springs, wolves | 2 Comments

Banff, Canadian Rockies: a walk on the lake

Posted on January 14, 2016 by BarryH

On one of my days-off from skiing I fastened snowshoes on my pack and headed out northwards from Banff along the Bow River, then along its tributary Echo Creek, crossed the Trans Canada Railway at the point where a Canadian … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Reflections, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged Banff, Canada, canadian rockies, Cascade Mountain, elk, frozen lakes, ice, ice crystals, Rundle Montain, snowshoeing, Vermilion Lakes, wapiti | 2 Comments

Greece by bus

Posted on November 26, 2015 by BarryH

After years of hopping around the Greek islands I decided in 2012 that it was time to take a look at the mainland. By bus. Interest sparked by reading ‘The Mani’ by WW2 hero Patrick Leigh Fermor, made the wild, … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Reflections, Wildlife | Tagged books, Greece, Greece by bus, Meteora, photography, The Mani, travel by bus, writing | 5 Comments

Nisyros: Pirates of the Aegean and soft rock

Posted on October 31, 2015 by BarryH

Once upon a time the people of the small fishing village of Palloi on Nisyros, so it is said, got fed up with being raided by the Pirates of the Aegean, upped sticks and moved from their harbour-side homes to … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged Emborios, Greece, hiking, history, Landscape, lava, Mediterranean shag, Nisyros, Palloi, photography, Pirates of the Aegean, pumice, sea daffodils, underground church | 3 Comments

Symi: high points

Posted on July 25, 2015 by BarryH

Having been identified as the Third Man and knowing he was pursued by Joseph Cotton, Orson Wells took to the labyrinthine sewers with a multiplicity of escape options and made the most memorable Sewer Speech ever. Unfortunately most Hollywood villains … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged Butterflies, castles, Greece, hiking, limestone crags, mountains, movies, Symi, The Mani, tortoise, tower houses, treks, Turtle Dove, Viewpoints | 3 Comments

Symi: I lost my shirt ….

Posted on July 8, 2015 by BarryH

…. and I wasn’t even in Las Vegas! Nor does it have anything to do with the Greek economy which, despite the attempts of the IMF and the ECB to undermine it, and the grossly inaccurate and morally reprehensible scaremongering … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged bee hives, bees, dry waterfalls, Greece, Greek economy, Greek Island Walks, Gully bashing, hiking, Lapatonniou Castle, monasteries, mountains, photography, Symi, The Hot Rock, thyme, trekking in Greece | Leave a comment

Symi: The Day I Shrank, and other adventures

Posted on June 30, 2015 by BarryH

One: The Shadow Sunday 21 June, the summer solstice, time to climb Oros Vigla, highest mountain on Symi. The summit is barely a mile from the house as the crow flies but I’m not a crow so the 500 metres … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged ancient settlement, Coin-marked snake, Emborios, Greece, Greek economy, photography, snakes, Summer solstice, Symi, Vigla | Leave a comment

Symi: into a hidden valley, the past and beyond

Posted on June 20, 2015 by BarryH

I am increasingly fascinated by not just going ‘off piste’ on the Greek islands, but trying to understand the faint signs of the rich cultural past, trying to tread softly and see the wildlife and the plant life. There is … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged Greece, hidden valley, limestone, Little Owl, Oertzeni lizard, Pelagic, rift valley, Symi, thyme, tortoise, white mulberries | Leave a comment