The Wandering Scot

An occasional travel journal.

Browsing Posts in Travel

New Mexico: Alien Egg Hatchery

New Mexico’s Bisti/De-Na-Zin is a confusing trackless wilderness, but in these days of GPS and downloadable maps, that’s not a big issue. I saw lots of hoodoos, some petrified wood, many weird rocks.  But the main thing I was looking for was the “Cracked Eggs” aka the “Alien Egg Hatchery“.  This is an area with […]

This was my first visit to the Hagia Sophia since it was converted from a  Museum back back into a Mosque in July 2020. It turns out the conversion wasn’t merely some kind of symbolic gesture, but a full conversion to a normal working mosque. (But tourists, both Muslim and others, are still very welcome.) […]

A Botanical Road Trip

I’m on an all-electric road trip through California into Arizona and back. The trip has ended up having a distinctly botanical flavor, including visits to: The Joshua Tree National Park. Indian Canyons, near Palm Springs, with lush palm groves along narrow desert canyons. The Desert Botanical Garden near Phoenix, for an amazing collection of mature […]

I’m doing an all-electric road trip across California into Arizona. I’ve got delayed a little in Yuma, Arizona, at the Yuma Territorial Prison – apparently there was a problem with my paperwork when I bought my admission ticket. I’m sure it will all be fixed soon, but if someone could bake me a cake in […]

Iceland: Puffins!

I’m up near Borgarfjorour Eystri in North-East Iceland visiting puffins. At Hafnarhólmi, visitors are allowed to walk right up to a puffin nesting area. There is a wooden walkway and a “hide” right in among the puffins.  There are many, many puffins!  They are slightly nervous of humans but only slightly.  Some nests are right […]

Iceland: Geysir

I’m in Iceland, travelling the Ring Road around the island.  I arrived this afternoon at the Hotel Geysir, which is in Geysir, a short walk from the geyser Geysir. Geysir (from whom all other geysers are named) is taking a rest this decade, but his nearby buddy the geyser Strokkur is spouting regularly, every 5-8 […]