Sailing the Northwest Passage

by Erik Olsen on

Lewis and Clark were just a century or so too early. Remember one of the goals of the pair, sent out by Thomas
Jefferson, was not just to cross the continent, but also to find the Northwest Passage for the sake of an easier trade
route for east coast businesses. Well, they didn’t find it, partly because at the time it didn’t exist. But thanks to
global warming, sections once covered by ice have now opened up.

And so we have father and son team Ben and Brad Gray who are
out to do it by ocean. The boat they are on, a 57 foot powerboat called the Idlewild, will carry them for 16 months
as they sail around the world, part of it through the NW passage. The route takes them through the Northwest
Territories’ Slave and Mackenzie Rivers Northwest to the Arctic Ocean, and then along the Northwest Passage to
Greenland, Africa, Australia, Japan, Alaska, the western section of the Northwest Passage and back home to Canada.
Whew. 

The Allure of Noto

by Erik Olsen on


While we’re on the topic of uncrowded places in places you least expect…

Consider Japan. Now here’s a country with a population almost half that of the United States, and yet all these folks
are squished into a country mass about the size of California. That’s crowded. But

in the New York Times, we learn about the Noto Peninsula, an area about midway along the western coast of Japan and
200 miles or so northwest of Tokyo where a “raw, unspoiled Japan” still exists.

The photos of Noto are beautiful, and a little Googling
reveals that Noto is an excellent kayaking
spot, with long rocky shore and place to pull up to walk local markets.

Hidden Italian Islands

by Erik Olsen on

In places like Europe and the US, it’s hard to find anyplace “hidden” these days. Most places that have any value as
destinations are peopled with tourists, and in worst cases, riddled with awful trinket and knick-knack shops.

But according to
this piece
in Travel and Leisure there are some fine island destinations in Italy that are close to being “hidden”. Michael
Gross goes in search of these  goes in search of these “rustic hideaways”, places where you’re not going to get by
on English alone, and where you better be ready to be happy just hanging out. The Tuscan Archipelago is one such place,
a cozy and quiet necklace of islands where you can find solace, few crowds, and, of course (it’s Italy, after all),
amazing food. Another destination reviewed here is the Pontines, an island group I’d never even heard of (yeah, I guess
I’m not going to win the geographic Olympics any time soon).

T and L’s recs can be expensive, so take care, but there are some fine travel ideas here.

Michael Palin Inteview on Powells

by Erik Olsen on

He’s one of my all-time favorite dudes, let alone my favorite Python (although John Cleese takes a close second).
Michael Palin, as many probably know, took his career as British funny man, and turned himself into an adventurer. He’s
been all over the world, literally from top to bottom, doing shows for the BBC and writing books.

I actually got to meet him years ago when I lived in Bangkok. We chatted briefly and drank some wine, and I thought he
was amazingly nice, even if all I could do at the time was complain about how bad the Bangkok traffic was (and it WAS
horrible).

Anyway, here on the Powell’s Web site, there’s a great little
interview with Palin in which he talks a bit about the Pythons, but mostly about his amazing adventures. He’s
hawking a book about the Pythons and his newest book, Sahara, about his efforts to cross the great desert in
Africa.

Mt. Marathon Race Seward

by Erik Olsen on


It was just a few years ago that I was in Seward after a wonderful multi-day hike into the nearby mountains, and
after a stomach expanding meal of fish and chips on the water, we watched the
Mount Marathon running race. It takes place very fourth of
July in the town of Seward, a very relaxed and charming town in Alaska that reminded me of how Seattle probably used to
be.

The race is grueling for those who have to run it. It’s basically a dead sprint to the top of a mile-high mountain and
down. Hard core. And every year some uber-athlete wins, and some poor guy falls on his face and gets a full-body
raspberry. I actually

wrote about it last year…although it looks like the MSNBC redesign dumped the link.