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In the Sinai Mountains
It is getting cool during the day and downright freezing at night. The Sinai mountains are at an altitude of over 2,400 m, with peaks covered with snow during the winter. Snow is good because it means water for the Bedouin gardens, but it also means less customers because nobody wants to spend a chilly night on a mountain and wake up to frozen pools of water.
'As a child the brutal cold was more terrifying than the war'
It was not Hitler that frightened me but the cold. From autumn to spring, the cold was everywhere. There was little escape, even when there was the rate chance the sit in front of a fire. As a child everyone had a right to the best and closest place to the fire before you did and so, you usually ended up in the place no-one-wanted-at the edges or at the back.
Eight years ago Laura Pollán was a schoolmarm
Eight years ago Laura Pollán was a schoolmarm who lived with her husband Héctor Maseda, leader of the illegal Cuban Liberal Party. Despite all the vicissitudes of living in a country where the freedom of assembly is penalized, the family tried to lead a normal life in its small house on Neptuno street. But early one morning several heavy knocks on the door heralded that their lives were about to change irreversibly. After an exhaustive search, Maseda was jailed and sentenced to a prison term of 20 years on charges of endangering national security.
The Welshman who gave his name to the world's highest mountain
2012 marks 160 years since scientists mapped and surveyed the mighty Himalayas. Sion Morgan looks back at the role of Welshman George Everest, whose name adorns the most famous peak of all
In 1852 a group of scientists completed a 50-year project which began at the foothills of the Himalayan mountains to map and survey Asia’s mammoth mountain range.
Among the pioneering researchers whose blood, sweat and tears were given to the cause was a man from Crickhowell called George Everest.
Irish woman survived snakes, sun in outback
A YOUNG Irish woman has learned the hard way that there are better places to cool off after an argument than the Australian outback.
Kelly Carty Eglington is lucky to be alive after spending half a day lost as the temperature soared above 35C and she suffered hallucinations, dehydration and severe sunburn before she was rescued.
Originally from Coolock on Dublin's northside, Kelly has been in Australia for the past four years, where she lives with her partner Damian Raudino, an Australian.
Yesterday, the 25-year-old spoke of her ordeal for the first time.
A Taxi Ride in New Delhi
Those of you who want to perfect their driving technique should go to
India. A friend of mine, Frank Anshen, went to a linguistics conference
in New Delhi and took a taxi from the airport. As in New York City,
Indian taxi drivers are normally Sikhs, who wear a large turban.
As they were driving from the airport, the taxi driver kept his
head turned to the back seat while carrying on a running conversation
with his passenger. Meanwhile, Frank's knuckles were turning white
The Waxwings of Woodley Precinct
The January air was cold and crisp, the sky a clear blue canvas and the slight warmth of the winter sun provided welcome relief from the chill wind. We had walked to our local shopping precinct, our New Year’s resolution being to support local businesses rather than add to supermarket profits.
The parade of shops forms three sides of a rectangle around a grassed area with paving, benches dotted at intervals and several trees. One is a lovely copper beech and most of the others are rowan trees, at this time of the year bursting with ripe, red berries.
The creative sleepwalker
Meet Lee Hadwin, by day a nurse, at night he's a "sleepwalking artist" who produces strange and fantastical artworks which he has no recollection of drawing when he wakes up the next morning. Dubbed 'Kipasso', he says he is utterly mystified by his nocturnal talent, while at the daytime he shows no interest or ability in art whatsoever. Major galleries have been asking for examples of his work, which they hope to market on its artistic merit as well as its novelty value.
A Weekend in New Dehli
Forty-eight hours is little time to do credit to any city, especially one the size of the Indian capital. But if you do decide to undertake that Herculean task there are a few places you must see. First the basics. In the absence of private transport, Delhi can be navigated through hand-pulled rickshaws for short distances, auto-rickshaws (simply called “autos”), or the underground metro for longer hauls. Delhi will, however, be interlinked by metro in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Taxis are a more expensive alternative.
A beautiful time to enjoy northern Patagonia
This is a great time of year to visit Northern Patagonia. Valleys are blanketed with Lupines, waterfalls are full, and the sun shines bright and warm. Go north from Coyhaique on the Carretera Austral and within minutes you are into the Rio Simpson valley, a deep gorge where waterfalls cascade and streams carve their way through the mountains and forests. Here you will find many safe places to stop and enjoy. Then the road takes a sharp right and you are travelling beside the Rio Manuales in its wide flower filled valley.