On a chilly afternoon in early April 1799, a group of large horse drawn sledges appeared on the ice off the coast of Oulu in Finland. They had come all the way from Sweden and the horses were tired. Clouds of steam rose from the animal’s flanks. They blew and stomped on ice so clear [...]
Tag Archives | travel literature
On the Road with: Pietro della Valle
Even after Maani died she travelled with Pietro for five years until he could get her back to Italy. Quickly, the group of women attending the body removed her viscera and filled her innards with camphor oil. Next they delivered her heart, likewise camphorized, to Pietro on a saucer. He was less than impressed and [...]
My Hometown – In 500 Words
The undersized bars were packed. The streets were not. I remember it a lot differently in high school. Mike and I cruised Main Street Pueblo Colorado in my white, worn out Toyota Corona looking for girls. Then, inevitably disappointed and at the same time somewhat relieved, we meandered off somewhere to drink beers and talk [...]
Book Review: The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography
When you realize that Saint Bernadette most likely saw a fairy and not the Virgin you’ve made a key discovery about the very core of France. Bernadette indeed saw something in the cave that day along the roiling Gave de Pau near the village of Lourdes at the base of the Pyrenees but… “Ou pétito damisèla”, [...]
The ULTIMATE Travel Resource Library – Part III: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
The FULL Travel library is available here You already know we’re book hounds here at Around the World in Eighty Years. Heck, the name itself is an ode to the literature of travel. I never go anywhere without a stack of travel books. I’m obsessed with knowing as much as I can about a [...]
The Invincibility of Madame Mathilde. A Story of Haiti
Beautiful Madame Sylvie felt her lungs tighten and her throat burn. Her grey and wrinkled mother looked at her and asked if she was Ok. “No,” she answered. Then her eyes bulged and she gasped for breath. There was none to be had. She collapsed into her breakfast of fried egg and boiled plantain. A [...]
The ULTIMATE Travel Resource Library – Part II: Finland, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Egypt
The FULL Travel library is available here Part I: Colorado, France, Haiti, New Mexico and Vietnam available here You already know we’re book hounds here at Around the World in Eighty Years. Heck, the name itself is an ode to the literature of travel. I never go anywhere without a stack of books. I’m [...]
The ULTIMATE Travel Resource Library – Part I:New Mexico, Colorado, France, Vietnam and Haiti
The full library is available here Part II is here – You already know we’re book hounds here at Around the World in Eighty Years. Heck, the name itself is an ode to the literature of travel. I never go anywhere without a stack of books. Wherever I go, I’m obsessed with knowing as [...]
Books of the Marvels of the World – 21 Best Travel Books of All Time
For me, quality travel literature goes beyond a travel journal or a simple list of dates and events. The “travel-adventure” genre is WAY overdone and generally quite boring to me. Travel literature is writing of high literary value that sets down for posterity the experiences of a man or woman traveling in a land and/or [...]
The Cow-Headed Man
In my parents basement there was a series of colorful plywood doors. Behind the doors were piles of yellowed books crammed into a dark recess in the foundation. They were all of the books in the house. I never understood why my parents, who were avid readers, kept books hidden in the basement. “Can you [...]
Manje Kreyol: A Day in the Life of Haitian Food Culture
By eight o’clock in the morning we were bunched up with the boxes, sacks, mules, chickens, children farmers and merchants at the edge of the Artibonite River. Everyone talked at once and the crowd on the opposite shore whooped and hollered encouragement. The boys running the service bailed the silty orange water with plastic cups. [...]
Archaeology, Environment, Travel and Obscura – News Roundup
Probably the best headline of the week: French Polynesia denies cannibals ate German tourist. Good thing that. I guess. I do wonder, however if eating a German can give you some of the weird side effects our normal diets do or if you’d have to eat an Australian for that. Maybe the German should have [...]
Purchase Fine Art Prints and Books by Jim O’Donnell
-
Twenty-One Beautiful Birds of Panama – Birdgasm!
-
Cemetery Junction – Eight Groovy Graveyard Pictures
-
Spring Rainstorm Pictures – My Shot of the Day – April 1, 2013
-
Seeking Some Sassy Ceviche at the Fish Market in Panama City
