Travel
I love travelling, and when I remember to write about my experiences I like to include notes that might help future travellers visiting the same places. I haven’t written about all of my travel adventures, because I don’t always have the time, but it’s really nice to look back and remember – and also to keep in mind the things I’ve learned about how to travel.
Camping
Our family try to get out to an Ontario Provincial Park and camp every year, and I’m starting to create some resources, mainly for ourselves, but which will also be helpful for other people.
Camp Shaw – Our 2026 Packing List – We’ve been refining this packing list for years, and it’s working well for us.
Morocco
In November 2010, I spent about about three weeks travelling solo around Morocco – while some of this information will be out-of-date, it’s probably still useful. I was in my early thirties, and had a really lovely time. I travelled between cities by train mainly, with the exception of one trip via Grand Taxi, one bus excursion, and one memorable (occasionally terrifying) trip through the Atlas mountains with a friend I met along the way who had a rental car.
I went into the Sahara on camel back, and spent a night in the dessert at a camp run by some Tuareg folks, I wandered the night market in Marrakech, I got to climb all over the Roman ruins in Volubilis (my first time visiting a Roman site!), I ate great food, and met wonderful people. I love Morocco.
Going to Morocco – Backpacking in the Maghreb! – Prior to my trip, I wrote about my plans for the trip and the resources I used in planning for it
Solo in Morocco – a longish list of things I learned, and things I wish I’d known prior, and
My First Hamman – a bit of a guide for a nervous foreigner!
Recipe – Preserved Lemons – When I got back home, I craved the Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons, potatoes, and olives that I’d had in Rabat – I still haven’t cracked the secret of the Tagine, but the Preserved Lemons are easy to make.
Paris
Je suis fou a Paris – My sister Cassie and I first visited Paris in April, 2012 together, and had a lot of fun – this article lists some of our favourite places we visited, and some resources we used in planning our trip.
Walking the Caminho Português
I’d wanted to walk the Camino for twenty years by the time I finally had the opportunity in May 2019, taking 12 days to walk the Caminho Português with my sister Sammi. I’d do this same route again in a heartbeat, but of course I’ve always wanted to walk the most popular route of the Camino de Santiago, starting on the French side of the Alps. Someday I will!
I decided to write it up as a day-by-day journal, because I’d really enjoyed the others I’d read, and because as a traveller I’m always looking for more detail about walking distances and time, cities, restaurants, and accommodations.
Caminho Português – this is the main page
Day 1 – Porto to Vila Cha 7.5 hours walking time from Porto to Labruge, + 10 min cab ride to Vila Cha, because the albergue was full. 26.9 km walked
Day 2 – Vila Cha to Rates 4.5 hours walking, 20 km walked
Day 3 – Rates to Barcelos 5 hours walking, 20.3 km walked
Day 4 – Barcelos to Ponte de Lima 45-minute train ride from Barcelos to Carapecos/Tamel (Sao Pedro Fins), 7.5 hours walking, 26.2 km walked
Day 5 – Ponte de Lima to Rubiaes 7.5 hours walking (part of it over a goddamned mountain), 21.9 km walked
Day 6 Rubiaes to Tui 6 hours walking, 22.5 km walked
Day 7 Tui to Porrino 5 hours walking, 19.8 km walked
Day 8 Porrino to Redondela 6 hours walking, 17.6 km walked
Day 9 Redondela to Pontevedra 7.5 hours walking, 23.4 km walked
Day 10 Pontevedra to Caldas des Reies 7.5 hours walking, 28.5 km walked
Day 11 Caldas des Reies to Padrón 6 hours walking, 20.6 km walked
Day 12 – Padron to Santiago de Compostela 8. 5 hours, 30.4 km walked
Finishing the Camino in Santiago
Walking the Hadrians’ Wall path
Hadrian’s Wall – this is the main page, with some useful tips if you’re considering walking the Wall yourself. As of September 2026, these are rough drafts – I’m still working on them, but thought I’d post them rough to at least get something up.
Landing in Edinburgh (Thursday, October 5, 2023)
Day 1 – Bowness-on-Solway to Carlisle – 10 hours walking time, 28.7 km walked (Friday, October 6, 2023) – this was a bit of an error on our part, I would recommend splitting this into two days.
Day 2 – Carlisle to Banks – 10 hours walking time, 23.1 km walked (Saturday, October 7, 2023)
Day 3 – Banks to Once Brewed – 9 hours walking time, 14.5 km walked (Sunday, October 8, 2023)
Day 4 – Once Brewed to Chollerford – 9 hours walking time, 12.3 km walked (Monday, October 9, 2023)
Day 5 – Chollerford to East Wallhouses – 8.5 hours walking time, 20.2 km walked (Tuesday, October 10, 2023)
Day 6 – East Wallhouses to Newburn – 6 hours walking time, 18.1 km walked (Wednesday, October 11, 2023)
Day 7 – Newburn to Wallsend (Newcastle-on-Tyne) – 10 hours walking time, 9.3 km walked (Thursday, October 12, 2023)
Travel back to Edinburgh (Friday, October 13, 2023)