hiketothemoon

Rio The Right Way

Fri, 05 May 2017 03:01:24 -0700

Carioca. It means Rio native, and though it comes from the name the indigenous people gave the first white settlers it embraces all. Cariocas immerse themselves in the city, become part of it, take the shortest road to the beach, dance, celebrate, laugh, throw off their clothes. That’s what it means to be from Rio. To experience the city properly is to embrace it top to tail, which is exactly what I am going to do. And I’ve got a list.

Beach. Jesus. Boogie. Shop. Eat. Carnival. Tram. Surf. Pamper. Football. For cariocas these things are what life’s all about. Well except maybe the tram. The tram takes you places. So let’s start there. And let’s go to Santa Teresa.

Jump on the Bonde, the yellow tram from Lapa that takes you to this old residential neighbourhood on the top of the hill close to the city centre. Here old cariocas used to live in grand mansions, but now the area (surrounded as it is by seven rundown favelas) has become a hub for artists, musicians and intellectuals. You can pay for a seat on the tram – just a few pence – but hang onto the outside like a true native and you won’t pay a penny. The thrill is worth it. Best place to eat in Santa Teresa is Aprazível (aprazivel.com.br) with its tree houses overlooking the city and Guanabara Bay, and live DJ on Sunday afternoons. It’s unbeatable. And to stay here, there’s only one place: the delightful Santa Teresa boutique hotel itself (santateresahotel.com) – a spot the international jet set love, but don’t let that put you off. The rooms are exquisite and the pool overlooking Rio and the sea beyond is simply a must.

What about Jesus? There’s no escaping Christ the Redeemer in Rio, wherever you are he’s watching over you. To get the view from where he’s standing – and it’s some view, one cariocas regularly visit – go in the early morning and take the Corcovado Train. There’s no doubt that this 32-metre high Christo Redentor is a wonder of the world – it is in fact one of...Read More

How To...

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 03:08:07 -0700

First thing to say here is don't call it a backpack. As military types and any experienced adventurer will know you call it a bergen - the term was coined by British soldiers and comes from the original '42 Pattern external 'A' frame rucksack that was closely modelled on skiers' rucksacks made or used at Bergen, Norway. Essentially they had to be large and tough enough to carry equipment that would support any long range, independent operations.

My experience is that you want a small one, because whatever size you get you'll inevitably end up filling it – what you can lift in the gym won't matter on a four day gruelling trek. Along with the size, pack light, and make sure to get a waterproof liner or drybag for your bergen too. The last thing you want is rain to cut your adventure your short. Everything you must keep dry double-bag with smaller individual drybags because that way if your main liner fails your stuff will be safe. It also means you won't get rain on your kit when you open the thing up. Use different coloured drybags too to help you find what you're looking for.

This may sound like a hassle but when out in the field it makes such a difference. Do pay attention to where everything is and repack things in the same place, with things you'll regularly need (torch, map, snacks) near the top. Store heavier items at the bottom of the bergen for comfort, with an even distribution of weight between left and right, and try not to pack hard edges or corners against where your back will be or they'll dig in.

Finally do try on a selection of bergens before settling on one. Some come in different spinal lengths and...Read More

When It Rains...

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 02:15:02 -0700

Just for a second consider this, Southeast Asia in the dry season is too hot, humid, sticky and plagued by killer mosquitoes to be anything but unpleasant. The tropical paradises of Thailand, Vietnam and the rest of the Golden Triangle at this time are boring, obvious, dull. Yes the weather is warm and wonderful across say Cambodia in February, from the golden beaches of Sihanoukville to the temples of Angkor. But who wants perfect and usual?

Last time I was there around this time I spent most days avoiding being bitten and getting sunburned. Plan a trip to the Golden Triangle now for the summer though, when it’s wetter than an alligator’s tail, and you’ll never consider travelling there at any other time again. I know it’s no easy argument, but I say this from experience. Cambodia in August is incredible. Ok, you’ll be damp as hell but monsoon season means far less tourists and, simply put, the jungle in the rain is awesome with views that will blow your mind.

I am not talking rain like the stuff you get at home, I am talking rain that falls with wartime fury, water grenades dropping like bombs from dark grey skies, cascading off sandstone with a sonically satisfying thwack. This rain stings the skin. But it’s magnificent. It’s nature’s rage in all her fearsome glory, deafening, powerful, elemental. Watching it is liberating, enlivening, invigorating…

In concrete cities from Hanoi to Bangkok the deafening downpours wash away the dirt and dust in an extreme spring clean. In the mountains, the rivers and waterfalls are at their fullest and fastest. The clouds are full of belly-emptying promise.

Visiting the ruins at Angkor, the experience is even better. The forest foliage itself glistens and gleams in a Technicolor-vivid green, overgrown and trippy, curling under and over the ancient temples. I was sodden but felt like Indiana Jones jumping jungle crevasses in search of mysterious treasure, resilient in front of the elements, often with...Read More

5 Best Offbeat Fests

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 04:33:56 -0700

Into The Valley

Rummu, Estonia

The music fest that is ITV used to take place in a crater in Sweden, this year it’s happening in an abandoned Estonian prison in freaky limestone quarry – raving to the newest dance acts and DJs has never been as adventurous.

29 June – 1 July, intothevalley.se/en

Milkshake

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

You won’t have more fun in Amsterdam than at Milkshake, the city’s so-funky-it-hurts dance music carnival. It’s glitter, it’s gay, it’s drag queens, fetishism, sexy after parties and some of the grooviest acts ever to grace a stage.

29-30 July, milkshakefestival.com

Fête des Lumières

Lyon, France

The city of Lyon gets lit up for three nights of incredible illuminations across buildings, streets, squares and parks with the grand finale light show projected on the stunning Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. It’s truly spectacular, take it from me.

Dates tbc. Fetesdeslumieres.lyon.fr/en

Documenta

Athens, Greece/Kassel/Germany

Documenta only happens once every five years, lasts 100 days and takes place at numerous venues across both Athens and Kassel. This 14^th edition features more modern and contemporary works in different mediums than grains of sand on beach – well not quite – and themes include freedom and what it means to be ‘public’. Prepare to...Read More

The Ultimate Travel Experience

Mon, 03 Apr 2017 03:37:39 -0700

The best holidays are all about the experience. But what about the ultimate trip, the ultimate fantasy travel experience?

Might it just be a journey with no destination, a trip where you don’t know where you’re going, because what’s important is not where you are but how you feel? London-based luxury travel company Brown & Hudson certainly believes so.

They will create a trip based on your motivations and ambitions, your strengths and personal development goals, and how you want to feel on your return, gleaned from ongoing conversations with you. A trip full of insightful, memorable and rare experiences focused on what makes you tick. They’ll find out what you’re seeking from travel, what motivates you, where you’ve already been, how daring and intrepid you are and plan it all. The rest will be a surprise.

It’s a novel and brilliant idea. Rather than focusing on the hardware of travel, the hotels and destinations, for the ultimate trip focus on the software – the outcomes or change that you want to achieve through travel. A journey where you don’t know where you’re going is about as exciting as it gets – especially when you know it’s exactly tailored to your wants and needs. Because it’s not about the where, it’s about what you like doing – then an unknown journey will bring incredible rewards.

Imagine your passion is photography, and then being whisked off to join a well-known street photographer in the slums of Bangkok, for example. Or you have a deep love of food and suddenly you find yourself in the South African bush preparing meals with rangers or a township with local cooks. Or it’s physical challenges that leave you invigorated and you end up exploring the depths of the Mariana Trench, the summit of Everest and even outer space aboard the Virgin Galactic.

It’s a beautiful concept – because perhaps what truly makes an unknown journey the ultimate fantasy trip is...Read More

Choose Silence

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 15:40:51 -0700

I recently discovered the joys of a new mobile telephone and what it doesn’t do. The Punkt cellular phone makes calls and can send text messages. That’s it. There’s no Wi-Fi connection, touch screen or social media apps enabled. A smart phone it is not. Enabling me to spend more time doing things – like living in the present, travelling and seeing the world around me rather than staring at a screen.

The phone got me thinking about going off grid entirely, leaving modern urban life behind and living on a remote island somewhere with a dog for company and coconuts for sustenance – until I realised that if I did that I wouldn’t be able to watch the final series of Game of Thrones. Not going to happen.

But off grid holidaying, leaving all tech and Internet noise and news behind for a period of travel… now that’s an idea that makes sense.

There are plenty of ecotourism companies that offer this sort of thing, and you can even find the perfect retreat on Airbnb – there’s a magical former shepherd’s hut in the pine-covered hills around Deià on the west coast of Mallorca featuring a stone tank to collect rainwater, a butane cooker and fridge, solar panels and a wood-burning fire on the site, for example. Best thing about it is the million-dollar view that’ll cost you nothing. Responsible Travel has a beautiful off-grid villa on the Ligurian coast near the French-Italian border, as well as in Dominica and yurts in Lanzarote. Then there’s always the wild camping option – look for patches of woodland next to a crystal-clear, trout-filled stream, with some mushrooms and wild garlic for foraging. Leave the iPhone at home and take an instant camera instead – Instagram-ing your idyll is strictly prohibited.

If you truly want to disconnect there is one other option I am keen to try: ensconced...Read More

L'Olivier

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 09:34:43 -0700

When Julien Le Goff joined the kitchen of top chef Joël Guillet’s restaurant L’Olivier in 2008 as second-in-command, he had no idea he’d soon be in charge of the world’s most relaxed Michelin-starred restaurant.

But then perhaps he knew just like his clientele, that once you’ve tasted the glitz of St Tropez, Cannes and Antibes and want to get back to Riviera basics – assuming those basics include impeccable service and gourmet cooking – L’Olivier is where you come. Four years later it was Le Goff’s job to keep that precious Michelin star and he knew just how to do it.

Housed in the isolated Le Mas du Langoustier, a luxury Provençal chateau hotel perched on the westernmost edge of the Île de Porquerolles, lost between forest, rocks and a blue, blue bay, L’Olivier is an honest expression of its environment: “My mission is for the cuisine here to reflect the sprit of the island itself, authentic and generous,” Le Goff says. And, like the best remote restaurants, success depends on what comes from the land and out of the sea, the menus determined by what’s there and then, eaten in spectacular surroundings.

Arriving at Le Mas by sea gives a taste of those surroundings, walking via a beach of black sand up the path to the entrance, flanked by aromatic eucalyptus and pines.

Inside, sit at one of the simple tables by the wide glass windows with a view of the wooded headland, ruined fortress and the Mediterranean beyond. Notice the gnarled olive tree standing like a totem in the middle of the room and the tuxedoed staff expertly weaving around it – they may be in black tie but there’s no dress code here. Fellow diners come for the food, shirt-sleeves and summer dresses are de rigeur. When head sommelier Damien Beghuin arrives with L’Olivier’s signature Champagne aperitifs, sample the clean, crisp stand out Pol Roger 2006, before letting Le Goff’s cuisine take over.

Choose from the Côté Terre or Côté Mer, or opt for a sequence of tasting...Read More

The Sea of Cortez

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 06:37:39 -0700

A bronze statue of Jacques Cousteau clutches a diving mask and stares out to sea on the malecón, La Paz’s main promenade. It’s an indicator that even on dry land there’s no getting away from the Sea of Cortez – or as Cousteau famously called it, “the world’s aquarium.”

Stretching 700 miles from north to south, the Sea of Cortez (also known, less romantically, as the Gulf of California) is the result of some spectacular tectonic grumblings five million years ago, since when it has separated the Baja Peninsula from mainland Mexico. This narrow but menacingly deep channel holds legendary status among divers and marine naturalists, and La Paz, Baja’s biggest metropolis just two hours by plane from L.A., is the perfect starting point for an otherworldly voyage of discovery.

Home to at least 30 different mammal species (including one third of the world’s different whales and dolphins), well over 500 species of fish and more than 150 types of bird, the Sea of Cortez is one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth – something you’re frequently reminded of in La Paz, a city that wears its seafaring credentials with pride (nowhere more so than in the local restaurants where you can sample everything from grilled yellowtail to octopus).

Your most likely mooring spot in La Paz is the luxurious Marina CostaBaja, where vessels up to 200ft can comfortably lay up while owners and guests disembark for the 15-minute drive to the centre of town; once there they can take in the same dreamy vistas that were an inspiration to John Steinbeck when he wrote The Pearl, which is set in the city. Steinbeck had a soft spot the place: the American author also wrote about his precious time in the area in another book, The Log From The Sea of Cortez, which describes a six-week sea voyage he made with his friend Ed Ricketts, the marine biologist.

Mid-summer temperatures in this stretch of the world can be punishing, though the azure waters offer respite, as do...Read More

How To Get Lost

Thu, 08 Oct 2015 16:00:00 -0700

When you’ve been travelling (and writing) as long as we have, often planning every trip well in advance, there comes a time when you realise that the only way to truly get under the skin of a destination is to throw away your map, your itinerary and get lost.

Take random turns, wander up dead-ends, observe, interact with people you meet… Don’t avoid world famous sights or exclusive experiences – do them and do them with gusto. But if you also open yourself to the unknown, unexpected and amazing things will happen.

Getting lost works best in cities. In fact some are positively made for going missing. Anywhere with a good marketplace – Marrakesh, Rome, Barcelona, London, Venice – is an invitation to wander off and drop into shops you’d never have found if you hadn’t taken that wrong turn. In Marrakesh you’ll enjoy more cups of mint tea than if you’d stayed on the straight and narrow. One trip we adopted a little boy as our guide who led us through souks to discover all manner of wonders we wouldn’t have otherwise. A hidden apothecary through an unmarked door with hundreds of jars containing everything under the sun; a random weaver’s shop far away from the tourist trail; a hammam that only locals visited next to a bakery full of freshly rising bread.

In Venice’s web of narrow streets and passageways between buildings, where every other turn leads you to an unknown waterway we found hidden churches, deserted squares and sleepy bars frequented by gondoliers.

In Paris we became became flâneurs, indulging in the city’s famous art of wandering and were rewarded by cobbled streets we’d never seen before, foamy coffees in alternative cafés and quirky second hand shops around Avenue Trudaine.

Once in Beirut, we jumped in a hop-on/hop-off taxi thinking we were going downtown but pitched up in a little street with a tiny bakery selling man’oushe (flatbread pizza-like snacks) into which, attracted by the smell, we...Read More