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Travel In A Vast And Diverse Country. Australia With Pamela Cook

What are the truths behind stereotypes of Australia — and what are the things that might surprise you? Pamela Cook talks about rural places, diversity of people and landscape, and the attractions of the city in this interview.

Pamela Cook writes rural and contemporary Australian fiction featuring complex women and tangled family relationships and is a podcaster at Writes4Women.

Show notes

What might surprise travelers about Australia
Attractions of the rural Australian life
Observing life in smaller towns and being inspired to write about them
Highlights of Sydney and the ease of public transport
Thoughts on post-pandemic travel
Book recommendations set in Australia

You can find Pamela Cook at PamelaCook.com.au

For more on Australia, check out Sacred Australia and the Northern Territory with Amanda Markham, and Outback Nights and City Days, my personal experience of Australia.

Cycling Oxford To Bath Through The Cotswolds, England

Places

In May 2021, we cycled Oxford to Bath through the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the southwest of England. In this article, I’ll share some thoughts and practical tips as well as photos from the route.

Practical info

We booked our self-guided cycle trip through Headwater who set us up with a local operator, Hikes and Bikes. We were given route information beforehand and Headwater has an app for navigation. However, we really love the Komoot app, so we plotted the routes into Komoot and used that on the way. The 24-gear bikes were provided with a side pannier and two locks and were fine for the route, which is mostly quiet roads and trails.

Bike with pannier Photo by JFPenn — Bike with side pannier for Costwold cycling. Photo by JFPenn

My husband, Jonathan, is an experienced cyclist and very comfortable on a bike. I haven’t been on a bike for several years and am definitely not bike fit, so it was a little challenging in parts, even though it’s not a very hilly route. Headwater rated it 1+, generally relaxing with some hills.

Walking To Rome On The Via Francigena With Chandi Wyant

Podcast

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“Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.” Soren Kierkegaard

When life becomes unbearably painful, sometimes the only thing to do is go for a really long walk. In this episode, Chandi Wyant talks about how walking the Via Francigena in Italy for 40 days helped her heal after a painful divorce, and how the lessons of pilgrimage can take time to emerge.

Chandi Wyant is an author, a Florentine Renaissance historian, and an accredited guide to Italy’s museums. Her latest book is Return to Glow, a Pilgrimage of Transformation in Italy.

Show notes

Why Florence and Italy
What is the Via Francigena?
The spiritual lessons learned on pilgrimage, even if you’re not religious
The challenging emotional and physical aspects of pilgrimage
Digging deep to face the fears that come with traveling solo
How traveling can increase our appreciation for other cultures
Travel book recommendations

You can find Chandi Wyant at ParadiseOfExiles.com

Travel That Changes The Way You Think About The World With Pam Mandel

Podcast

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“We’re all so far downstream from who we used to be.” Pam Mandel

We all have ideas about places that are far away from us, but when you talk to real people who live there, it’s hard to hold on to your preconceived notions. Those encounters can remain with you in memory even as you change and the place you left changes too.

Pam Mandel is an award-winning freelance travel writer and co-founder of The Statesider, a newsletter of U.S. travel stories. Her latest book is The Same River Twice: A Memoir of Dirtbag Backpackers, Bomb Shelters, and Bad Travel.

Show notes

When travel changes the way you think about the world
“It’s complicated.” Thoughts on Israel
Tapping into memory when writing
How to explore an unknown place — when to branch out of your comfort zone, and when it’s a good idea to retreat to the ‘known’
Making more of traveling in the USA
Is there such a thing as bad travel?
Travel book recommendations

You can find Pam Mandel at NerdsEyeView.com and The Statesider.

Header photo: Seattle by Luca Micheli on Unsplash

A Speck On The Ocean. Sailing The Pacific With Nadine Slavinski

Podcast

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Imagine sailing through the night across the Pacific Ocean with the sound of a gentle wind on the sails, the creak of rigging, and an array of stars above you.

Nadine Slavinski talks about the joys and challenges of sailing across the Pacific with her husband and son.

Nadine Slavinski is an archaeologist turned teacher whose sailing adventures inspire her fiction and nonfiction books.

Show notes

The Coconut Milk Run, sailing east to west in the Pacific
Experiencing different cultures and languages throughout the Pacific islands
Keeping watch and sailing for several weeks straight
Dealing with the fears that arise in the open ocean, and the challenges of the weather
Working up from day sailing to long passages
How places inspire stories
Recommended books about travel and sailing

You can find Nadine Slavinski at nslavinski.com

Walk The Kennet And Avon Canal Between Devizes And Bradford-On-Avon, England

Walking

You can walk (or cycle) this section of the Kennet and Avon canal in either direction. There’s a train station at Bradford-on-Avon and plenty of buses to Devizes. I’ve detailed the route from Bath to Bradford-on-Avon in this article.

In April 2021, I took the bus from Bath to Devizes (#272) and walked all the way back (around 37km). Definitely possible on a summer day when there is more light, with a lunch stop at Bradford-on-Avon (around 20km).

Devizes is a small town with plenty of places to get coffee and food. There are well-kept public toilets (20p in cash) sign-posted from the main square and on the way to the canalside where the Devizes Wharf has more amenities.

Practical info

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