I had a desire to experience the desert of southern Morocco, in a way that's low-impact on the environment and local communities. So, I found a locally owned horseback tour, which truly exceeded my expectations. The horses literally have a small footprint of course,...
Steps toward the car-free city I haven't posted in a while because, frankly, I'm finding it difficult to make myself sit down and write, or even just stay indoors, in a city with so much going on, especially when it's sunny and up to 20 degrees out! So, I'm...
Fes and Marrakech My first couple of days in Morocco, in the medina of Tangier, were a bit of a shock. Coming from a city where people hardly even make eye contact or speak to strangers, it was a very different experience being stared at, called out to, sized up, and...
My faith in humanity (and Moroccans) was restored in a trip to the “blue city” of Chefchaouen. This was after a bit of a rough landing that turned into a couple of days in Tangier. To start with, I ended up taking a ship from Algeciras (Spain) to the “wrong” port -...
Entering vacation (and adventure) mode and heading to Morocco As much as I've enjoyed my sustainability investigations (and I still need to update my Vitoria-Gasteiz post with some learnings), I've resolved to chill a bit more for the remainder of my trip. I took the...
I finally figured out how to attend side events of the COP 25 climate conference in Madrid. It took some digging, and help from a couple of my new connections. So I'm busing it from San Sebastián, where I spent a few days decompressing from the hubub of Barcelona. San...
Le centre historique The relative smallness of Europe is somehow surprising. It took only about 5 hours of high-speed (TGV) train travel (plus a 2h layover) to get from Brussels to Montpellier, on the south coast of France. High speed rail seems to me one of the most...
A few quick impressions I spent a couple of days in Brussels, in part to meet with a work contact related to heat pump technology (separate post - they're piling up!). I traded in my backpack for a suitcase and it's much easier to mount on my bike. The bike is working...
It really is amother world of bike-friendliness here. And I have amazing hosts who have welcomed me into their homes, served me delicious food, and last night took me on a tour of the beautiful town of Amersfoort about a half hour train ride south of Amsterdam. Today...
I visited the UK, primarily to meet family and experience the place of (some of) my ancestors. I did also manage to delve into some renewable energy topics a little (more on that in another post). Perhaps like many Canadians, I don't have much connection with my...