Travel

The twin engine Dakota came in low, dropped three bright orange cargo chutes, and dipped a wing to the guys on the ground before heading back to Resolute Bay.

In mid June when I arrived in Churchill, along with the other members of Operation Franklin, the ice on Hudson’s Bay was just beginning to break up. A lead of water had opened along the shore and most of the snow had gone.

Roughly 70 kilometres north-west of Ho Chi Minh City lays the sleepy, hamlet studded, lush green district of Cu Chi. Peaceful and tranquil, Cu chi provides a pleasant day trip into the Vietnamese countryside.

The lunacy of Ho Chi Minh City’s streets behind us, the occupants and driver of our mini bus were able to relax as we headed south into the countryside, en route to Southern Vietnam’s agricultural hub and the river that gives it life.

Arriving in Ho Chi Minh City roughly 20 hours after departing Vancouver, a hotel and a soft bed was the only thing on our minds.

By Alison Appelbe Situated on a moody heath known as “the devil’s moor” or Teufelsmoor, the village of Worpswede, in northwestern Germany, is everything a village should be. Houses have exteriors of patterned brick and thatched roofing.

Suzhou calls itself “the Venice of the East”. But, so does Zhouzhuang, and there are a dozen other watery towns in China’s Jiangsu province that could legitimately claim the title.

By Jens Ourom We felt like grizzled cycle trek veterans as we approached France’s border from the south.

By Jens Ourom Just as our Portuguese was becoming passable, and perhaps before we were quite prepared for it, we loaded our bicycles onto a nondescript ferry for a 10-minute crossing of the Rio Guadiana that separates southern Portugal and Spain.

Words and images by Jens Ourom Bicycle tourists risking death and dismemberment in Sea to Sky Highway traffic, struggling up endless hills with all their worldly belongings strapped to their bikes — as these very belongings drag them right back down