Colombia sat next to Panama it was true, and it did not look too far. There must be regular buses plying the route? But no.

“Fancy cycling for a couple of weeks in Central America early next year?” my mate Nigel asked last autumn. I was only just back from seven weeks in France following England’s progress in the Rugby World Cup, but it didn’t take long to reply. “Sounds interesting. When exactly?” “Start of February,” he replied.

In a world of ever-expanding luggage sizes, there's a certain freedom in traveling light, even for an entire month. The secret? Embracing simplicity and making smart choices. Here's a glimpse into my travel philosophy, honed through years of exploration and a love of rugby!

I clambered into her VW Campervan at some ungodly hour to drive over to the area between Fleet, Aldershot and Farnham, known as Caesar’s Camp. It was Friday 22nd of December, the date of the Winter Solstice and thus the shortest day of the year.

I have always been fascinated by the massive former power station on the southern bank of the Thames just outside Waterloo Station. Its sheer scale and the symmetry of the four tall, creamy, round yellow chimneys always had me transfixed.

It is a massive cliché that the Belgium capital is a boring place full of bureaucrats and Eurocrats with little to offer the weekend visitor. Not so.

As the awful, dismal, record-breaking, wet weather of March left us, April appeared in a benign, sunny frame of mind. In the Spring sunshine, I spent a couple of days in the intriguing West Suffolk market town of Bury St Edmunds.

The Kingdom of Fife on the East Coast of Scotland to the North of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth offers a wonderful opportunity to explore the gently undulating and spectacular coastline on foot.

Unbelievably and coincidentally, I am writing this piece around fifty years after the event.

The essentially two-wheeled traffic in Hanoi can be disconcerting. While it rarely travels at any great speed, the roads are constantly full of heavily laden bicycles and motorbikes and everyone rides on whatever side of the road they choose.

We had enjoyed a most agreeable Sunday afternoon in Winchester as a prelude to our walk along the South Downs Way. The ancient cathedral city is always a delightful place for strolling around, exploring the ancient lanes, seeking riverside paths, admiring the wonderful architecture and, of course, contemplating the fabulous cathedral.

We picked probably the best time to undertake the 84 mile walk from coast-to-coast from Bowness on Solway to North Shields on the Northumberland coast. June is a benign month, and we were not likely to have to endure adverse weather as we trekked along the Hadrian’s Wall trail for the vast bulk of our walk.

I visited the Hungarian capital, Budapest, primarily for inexpensive dental treatment, but extended my stay for a week to explore this fascinating city on the Danube.

We arrived in Zurich by TGV train from springtime Paris. It was around 10.30 pm as we orientated ourselves, making sure we exited in the appropriate direction from the vast and impressive Hauptbanhof and walked a couple of kilometres to Lang Strasser.

Late afternoon there was a crunching screech and a sudden lurching halt to our forward momentum. The fully laden 40m long steel cargo vessel had grounded on a sandbank.

Aussie indie rockers Spacey Jane were delighted to be playing Electric Brixton on a recent Friday night. Their energetic and entertaining set went down well with the 1500 full house, who responded by singing back their tunes enthusiastically.

We did not know we needed to show passports to book into a Cuban B&B, a Casa Particulares, and landlords were unprepared to break the rules.

As it was now late afternoon, I suggested we have a beer. We made for the lively outdoor drinking establishment over the road.

At least my civilised train departure of 10.26 am and the extended weekend breakfast hours allowed for a bit of a lie-in. I had a substantial breakfast with three reviving coffees and could cobble together a couple of filled ham and cheese rolls for lunch and I was on my way.

I needed a travel fix. I was finding confinement ignites a desire for freedom, and in this weird pandemic world of 2020, this was becoming increasingly difficult and my options for a trek were becoming reduced by the day.

We’d enjoyed a perfect full morning’s skiing on slopes blanketed with deep, fresh powder, under a cloudless blue sky. Exhausted but exhilarated – you can cover a lot of miles with just three of you at the same ability level skiing hard – we stopped for a late lunch.