All expedition voyages start with an itinerary. Few follow it. This month-long journey along the coast of Antarctica was no exception. What began as a voyage of exploration soon turned into something far more urgent—a rescue mission in one of the most remote corners of the world. Antarctica lies at the bottom of the world —or perhaps at the top, depending on how you hold the map. When we set out to travel along the coast, we wondered: which coast exactly? East or west? It tur

At the foot of Mount Parnassus, the old quarter of Harmena in Amfissa still smells faintly of leather and oak. Water runs through stone channels once vital to a thriving trade, and though the hammers have fallen silent in most workshops, one still echoes with the rhythm of human hands. A Family that Endures As I ate lunch at an outdoor restaurant in Harmena, I looked forward to meeting Spyros Merinopoulos , who, together with his father, runs the town’s sole remaining tannery

The Acropolis view — the skyline no law dares to block. A Civilization That Never Really Fell A large component of my journey through Greece was visiting the ruins of ancient civilization. Spanning from the early Aegean period (around 3000–1000 BCE) through the Hellenistic Period (323–30 BCE), Greek culture gradually spread across the Mediterranean and Near East. Its peak came during the Classical Period—the 5th and 4th centuries BCE—before political control passed to Rome. Y

Our van driver carefully wended his way through the narrow back alleys of Amfissa, Greece. We were searching for the workshop of Christos P. Papadimos, known as the last traditional bell maker in Greece. I expected to meet a wizened old man with white hair and a mild stoop. Instead, we were greeted by a lively man in his thirties, surrounded by his three young daughters. Christos shows us a cow bell It was hard to believe when Christos told us he’d been making bells for twent

During my recent voyage to the Scottish Isles, I was amazed by the sheer variety of wildflowers in bloom. Although the iconic heather...

The gatehouse. The Glenapp Castle estate spans around 110 acres, nearly 40 of which are dedicated to formal gardens and woodland. From...

Scenic back roads, a quiet hike, wildflowers in bloom, and a brush with history—our wine-country escape was all about the journey, not...

On March 7, 2025, The New York Times  published something chilling: a list of words and phrases that U.S. government agencies had been...

Our final safari on the morning of April 7 was nothing short of extraordinary. Immediately afterward, we were whisked to the airstrip for...

If I were in charge of a safari adventure, we’d stop every two feet. There’s so much here that’s new to me—insects, flowers, plants,...

Expedition days aboard the Silver Wind  were full, but nothing quite prepared us for the pace at Phinda Mountain Lodge . The phone rang...

Our safari adventure began sooner than expected. Just five minutes after leaving the Phinda airstrip in an open jeep, we encountered a...

Our voyage may have ended, but the journey was far from over. The moment we stepped ashore, we were greeted by Gareth, our guide for the...

I’ve spent the past few nights anchored in the calm waters of Saldanha Bay, enjoying blue skies, mild winds, and pleasantly warm days....

Saldanha, South Africa Immigration in Saldanha was surprisingly quick and smooth, giving us time to return to the ship and prepare for...

In a nod to old maritime tradition, Captain Sasha delivered his final daily update: ship’s options, speed, heading, weather and sea...

Another sea day brought more opportunities to scan the horizon for seabirds, dive into a good book, and attend fascinating lectures. It...

I didn’t expect a seabird, a violin, and a pair of dividers to have much in common—but this voyage has a way of connecting strange dots....

Some sea days are for resting. Others, like this one, are for wandering—through memory, imagination, and the occasional fossil bed....

Now that we’re hightailing it out of the Tristan da Cunha group two days early, I have a few extra sea days to reflect on our earlier...