The lionfish is native to the Pacific Ocean. A couple of decades or so ago it is believed that someone in our neck of the woods threw a couple, or maybe an aquarium full of lionfish into the Caribbean. These truly beautiful little creatures have caused problems ever since. In the Pacific, lionfish have predators. In the Caribbean however, predators are few. Couple that with the fact that lionfish are voracious eaters, and that's where the problem begins. Re...

  Wet sea-sprayed garments causes irritation and blistering when performing obsessive, compulsive tasks like rowing day and night across oceans. So Elin Haf Davies and her female row-mates, three blondes and a brunette, worked in the nude - weather permitting. One particularly wonderful day, somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the gals were all having a nice birthday suit swim when a cargo ship passed dangerously close. I visualize this scene whenever ...

 Trevi Fountain is under construction, surrounded by glass hoarding about three metres high. Still, the area is filled with tourists, confused by what they see. So they take photos, or if they're alone, selfie shots through the glass, of themselves and the construction workers. Others stand backs to the glass, making wishes, before throwing coins over their shoulders toward the fountain. But the glass is too high and most of the coins ricochet back off the t...

It's a 20 minute walk from our apartment to the fabled Old Town of Kotor. None of us are much into fables so we chose to stay in Utopia - known by the locals as Muo. Or to others as fjord central.  We arrived at the Kotor bus station, cold, wet and hungry after getting drenched in Dubrovnik by a b****y Balkan rain storm. Shivering, we went into a tiny restaurant down the street from the terminal called Tanjga and voraciously chowed down on roast chicken with...

 As we approach the end of our stay in Dubrovnik I feel the need to reiterate: The people of Croatia, contrary to what I was told thirty years ago by a Croat living in Toronto, are good friendly folks. Croatia has architecture to match the best in Europe. The most memorable aspect for me however, will be their rugged landscape with almost 5,800 kilometres of coastline touching waters that are the clearest of clear.   For those planning a trip to Dubrovnik: ...