Travels on Planet Earth - A blog
By Caitlin Fitzsimmons There are few places on earth more steeped in myth and romance than Kilimanjaro. In ancient times, the tribes living on the volcanic slopes below told stories of demons and evil spirits guarding fabulous treasure. One tale has an ancient chief Mawenzi sending his younger brother Kibo, both the names of two [...]
How to get there Kilimanjaro International Airport is served by three international airlines: KLM, Ethiopian Airlines and Air Tanzania arriving from Amsterdam, Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam. Visitors are advised to pack all essential items in their hand luggage since baggage delays are common. Where to stay Protea Hotel Aishi is ideally situated [...]
By Caitlin Fitzsimmons Many hundreds of years ago the fearsome warriors of Uganda chewed on the coffee bean before going into battle. Coffee grew wild in the thick rainforest that blanketed the lands north of Lake Victoria and chewing the bean was believed to confer strength and invincibility. Today coffee is no less important for [...]
By Caitlin Fitzsimmons China’s growing economic clout has propelled Shanghai into the spotlight as a centre for international business. The good news for business travellers is that Shanghai is also a place that knows how to play. The city, known in the 1920s and 1930s as the “Paris of the East”, fell into a dreary [...]
By Caitlin Fitzsimmons The fresco in the ancient church puzzled us: what was the patron saint of England doing in Turkey? It was definitely St George. The painting showed a knight on horseback fighting an evil dragon, his shield with the distinctive red-on-white cross clearly visible. Of course, it turns out that St George was [...]
By Caitlin Fitzsimmons It’s morning in Dakar and in the centre of town the Sandega Market is heaving. A rainbow jumble of fabrics tumbles out of wheelbarrows, or is piled high on trestle tables and hung from cars. Household goods and children’s toys are on sale alongside artworks and bead jewellery, while roaming merchants selling [...]
How to get there Senegal is served by Dakar International Airport. Air France flies daily to Dakar, at a cost of about €800 return. Where to stay Hotel Sokhamon, a sumptuous Lebanese style hotel on the sea front, with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean. Tel: (221) 889 7100. Email: hotelsokhamon@sentoo.sn Sofitel Teranga, in the [...]
How to get there Scandinavian Airlines has flights to Longyearbyen from Oslo and Tromso several days a week. Flights can be booked at www.sas.no or www.braathens.no, with possible connections from other European cities. There is also a boat departing Tromsø once a week in summer, with a journey time of two or three days. Where [...]
Dougga in Tunisia is a well-preserved Roman city that is off the tourist track. The columns and arches of the crumbling Roman city loomed above us, its winding passages hinting at secret spaces. Below us, stretched the countryside, the slopes patterned with olive trees and dotted with the occasional dwelling. Not Italy, but Tunisia; a [...]
By Caitlin Fitzsimmons The Arctic tern is the only bird that breeds in the Arctic and then migrates to Antarctica for the northern winter, flying roughly 35,000 kilometres per year. The journey begins in the tundra and rocky landscapes of the frozen north, the hunting ground of the mighty polar bear, and ends in the [...]
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