Category: Travel Lab Reports

Liquid Gold & Mud Slides
1

Liquid Gold & Mud Slides

It all started with the police check last night.

Torchlight zig-zagged across the car and we huddled in the backseat.

“You are English,” said the policeman. “And yet you say you want…

Beneath the Deep Blue Sea
3

Beneath the Deep Blue Sea

Pedro Martina’s sun-worn face lights up as he grabs my shoulder and points into the distance.
“Three of them are under the water now,” he says. It’s certainly not the first time Pedro has hunted whales…

Ghosts Underground
4

Ghosts Underground

The Museum of the International Red Cross and Crescent, Geneva
They stand together. Arms shackled, faces covered, feet bare, their posture somehow shrieking both defiance and despair. They huddle in the corner and a wide space surrounds them. Reflective glass panels form the walls in this courtyard, while white sail sheets stretch over their heads, bearing [...]

Searching for Volcanoes
3

Searching for Volcanoes

Speeding along the tarmac road, I wonder how long it’s been since I last took a normal breath. The road drops…

It's Raining Sweets - Reyes Magos, Spain
2

It’s Raining Sweets – Reyes Magos, Spain

The crowd cheers and I duck as a rainbow of hardboiled missiles pelts down around me. A moment later, men, women and children scrabble around on the lamplit pavement, their hands brushing mine, their fingernails gouging mud and fruity pulp…

The Blogger, the Coast and the Segway.
9

The Blogger, the Coast and the Segway.

It’s an ominous start to the day: dragging 40 kilos of equipment through Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter. We are a group of travel bloggers; the demonic machine, the Segway.

Soothing Souls - The Legacy of Salts Mill
4

Soothing Souls – The Legacy of Salts Mill

Everyone talks in whispers, the omnipresent classical music giving the atmosphere of a reverential mass, or perhaps a mix between a library, an art gallery and heartbreak hotel.

Hiroshima Today
0

Hiroshima Today

As the sleek shinkansen train slid into Hiroshima station, I admit I felt nervous. Yet for all the studies and reports, I was still unprepared for what I saw.

P-p-p-pick up a Pepper - Basque Life in Espelette
1

P-p-p-pick up a Pepper – Basque Life in Espelette

If I could only use one word to describe my trip around the Basque country it would be colour.

Water Takes No Prisoners - Three Days in the Peak District
7

Water Takes No Prisoners – Three Days in the Peak District

A visit to England’s oldest National Park had me reflecting on bravery, sacrifice, and the need for waterproof trousers.

Water takes no prisoners in the Peak District.

When Roses are Thorns
1

When Roses are Thorns

“I’m sorry,” said the dark-eyed receptionist. “We’re full. You find place, you must take it.” He sucked air through his teeth and shook his head. “Otherwise your only hope is Roses.”

LAB REPORT: MARSEILLES
5

LAB REPORT: MARSEILLES

Marseilles seems proud of its bad-boy image. As a sailor’s city, the Old Port’s promenade is awash with fresh blue paint and a salty breeze. Its reputation is formidable, its spirit rebellious. Above all, Marseilles is a city to be heard.

It Doesn't Take Two to Tango
5

It Doesn’t Take Two to Tango

Ah, you can almost hear the accordion in your mind. The stomp and the swish of the dancers. The haughty stare and ice-licked face of the star, raven hair tight against her scalp.
Or, you can see a rambling, scruffy line of pale-faced young men shuffling forwards in clear and present embarrassment.