Travel Logs
Travel Log #1 - France, Paris (20/02/2023)
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Traveling back from France on the Eurostar, I have been skiing in the French alps before now, but this was an opportunity to visit Paris for the first time. I did have a small business matter for being there, I have long had a sporadic correspondence with one of the book sellers at Shakespeare and Company who insisted if I was ever in the area, to drop off my three novels (signed) for their archives, which I was happy to do.
We stayed at the Hôtel Eiffel Trocadéro. It was an enjoyable trip, three days, croissants for breakfast, a tour of the Eiffel tower (a breathtaking view at night), a brisk walk passed Notre-Dame (it still had scaffolding around it from the fire a few years back), we went to Ménagerie Zoo and saw some monkeys (the zoo was clearly still finding its feet after the Covid Pandemic), we went to Père-Lachaise cemetery and visited the tomb of Oscar Wilde (in the past admirers took to kissing the tomb, covered all over with lipstick bows, until it was detected that the acidity in the lipstick was eroding the stone, now the whole thing is enclosed in a plastic box), besides this there was the obligatory conga line of restaurants, cafes and bars, I should of liked to have seen Samuel Beckett's grave in Montparnasse and paid a visit to Victor Hugo’s house, but there simply wasn't the time.
In terms of the city as a whole and its people as a whole, it is hard to find the words. It seems very pro-tourist but to a fault, copying what other country’s thing that it is, baguettes, berets, frogs legs and all, even the Chinese takeaways have snails on the menu, the city of Paris proves large and glittering, but it has become a parody of its own stereotype. Its unique beauty buried beneath the tacky expectations of tourists.
Travel Log #2 - Mexico, Chichen Itza (10/05/2024)
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Flying back from Mexico, we stayed at the Ocean Coral & Turquesa Hotel in Riviera Maya, five days, the food was very good indeed, the pools and oceans were a delight, but the mighty Mexican sun on the other hand, my oh my, it lasers through factor 50 sunscreen like it’s nothing, I am not made for this climate, this furnace, although this is not the first time I have been to Mexico, and I doubt it will be my last. It is a beautiful country.
We saw such wonders of the old world, including an underground Cenotes, an ancient observatory, a Maya ball court (the great ancestor of modern day basketball) the guide that directed us round was quick to state that the greatest player of each game was sacrificed to their many gods and that this was a great honour. I found this quite an amusing prospect, that each game would feature a handful of Mayan men desperately playing as bad as they could. And of course the greatest sight of all, the El Castillo Pyramid, it is truly colossal, there was once a time were the average traveller could climb the stone steps, the whole Pyramid was covered in loud sightseers goofing around, but now it is more protected and respected for the historical sight that it is and cornered off with rope, and quite rightly so. We were having such a jolly and informative time, that is until we lost our group and our guide and with only 15 minutes to get back to the coach before it left with out us.
The area around the Pyramid is covered in dense forest with long dirt paths that lead off through the trees, along the paths were makeshift market stalls run by the smallest race of men I had ever seen, they were all uniformly around 5 foot tall, none of them spoke a word of English, these were no ordinary Mexicans, these were the direct descendants of the Maya, their very own blood built that Pyramid, toiling and dying in this unspeakable heat all those moons ago and now they were selling refreshing bottles of iced water to sweaty panting tourists such as I.
To cut to the chase, quite literally, we took the wrong path, we thought we were heading to the car park but we were going in the opposite direction, by the time we noticed we only had 5 minutes left, I was forced to run through this beautiful historical site, yelling “Where's the exit! Where's the exit!” and in my rushing panic I knocked over one of the little Mayan men, I still feel bad about it, but by all the gods in Mexico I managed to reach the car park just as the coach was pulling out to leave. The next few days after that were spent relaxing by a pool, which seemed to soothe the matter. All in all an educational trip, a memorable trip.
And as a finishing statement, it is worth mentioning twice. A beautiful country.
Travel Log #3 - Wales, Cardeeth (28/07/2025)
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Traveling back from Wales after attending my Brother John's wedding. We got very lucky with the weather, the day was rare, sun lit and clear, sandwiched either side of weeks of torrential rain, it was a jewel of a day.
I seem compelled to state, that a venture to Wales is far from being a grand pilgrimage into lands unknown, I lived in Wales as a boy, My Mother and Sister live in Wales, Half my life and my heart is Wales. But this seemed a fun footnote of a visit and so I include it presently.
The wedding itself was held in the smallest church in all of Cardeeth, the game of sardines came to mind, certainly a pleasant service, all things bright and beautiful, tiny pews, confetti from cones, the local choir sang a rendition of a popular Taylor Swift song. But the real novelty was the wedding breakfast and subsequent celebration, you see it was a country and western themed wedding. Novelties included, a line dancing lesson, a mechanical bull, whisky tasting, and one of the longest father of the bride speeches I have ever sat through, but all in all an enjoyable trip.
Travel Log #4 - Jamaica, Lucea (15/10/2025)
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Flying back from our honeymoon in Jamaica. We stayed at the Lady Hamilton Hotel by the coast of Lucea for seven days and nights; palm trees, coconuts, white-sand beaches and water so clear that the guppies mistake the sky for blue ripples and swim up to greet you as a fellow fish; inform John Milton for I have found his paradise and she is Lucea.
And for added allure it also has a fascinating pirate history to sail along side its tropical beauty; close to Sunset Cove where we spent many of our days, was where the notorious buccaneer Calico Jack was captured after his ship was run aground by the ruthless pirate hunter Jonathan Barnet, we were also very close to where the evil pirate captain Henry Morgan owned a large estate in 1675.
It is a humid place, a remarkable place, its wildlife is particularly poignant, both magical and maddening; by night an invisible army of whistling frogs makes the sound of one million fire alarms all going off at once, so raucously shrill that even the crickets pack up their fiddles and head home defeated, and by day the cove is lingered by leopard-spotted cats no bigger than the common domestic feline but altogether different, for they are wild, their coos for food are not perfectly rehearsed as a collared pets would be, it is unfinished, malformed and clipped short of its assurity, to hear it is quite something, for it is not just any meow, it is the first meow. Other notable creatures include small mischievous lizards that creep stealthily along any and all canopies, ceilings and high sills to drop down on unsuspecting travellers and scurry away fulfilled, it brings them such joy, the shriek of terror, the revolted wriggle of their landing pad, it is their treasured pastime. And round mosquitoes that fly sluggishly past you, their bellies swollen and full after a long-hovered day around the crowded beach buffets.
And on the subject of eateries there was a good few to be attended but as with many resorts you invariably end up savouring every culture of food except the one you are in. One of my favourites was a little seafood restaurant called Poseidon that over looked the Caribbean Sea, where the local "must have" was a type of lightly battered red snapper fish that is so spicy that it is served with a pint of drinking water.
In regards to any great adventures on this trip, we did arrange to leave the relative safety of Lucea and travel to the Luminous Lagoon near Falmouth and swim in its glistening night-time waters, where tiny microorganisms cause the water to glow a bright blue when disturbed but this excursion had to be cancelled due to scheduling and on reflection I am glad of it, instead it has been a dignified and peaceful visit, we snorkelled about the angelfish, drank colourful cocktails and walked on the beach as the sun set upon us, it made for a very relaxing and enjoyable honeymoon.
I should have perhaps mentioned this next point at the start rather than the end but this is not the first time I have been to this island; it feels like decades ago, it 'was' decades ago, not that it looks any different, the only part of paradise that succumbs to change are its passing pilgrims that waltz through its many pleasures, secure in the knowledge that if they stay too long, a paradise it will cease to be.