Jon Day.
Over the hill, through a gap in the trees, Coniston Water spins itself out into the distance: a blue ribbon of water glinting in the spring sunshine. It isn’t the largest or the deepest of England’s lakes, but it might be the most tragic, and from here it feels like the most mysterious…
Sara Wheeler looks back on her time in the Atacama, a trip full of adventure and romance.
Through an open tent flap, I watched the sun rise over the Andes. Light cascaded down the slopes and across caramel sands, drawing tall shadows out of cacti and elongating the waxy fruits that bubbled from the tips. I heard José striking a match and making a fire.
The Atacama Desert – the driest on the planet – unfurls for 600 miles down the north of Chile, extending from the Peruvian border to thirty degrees of latitude. Widthwise, it stretches from the Pacific coast through mineral-rich desert flatlands up into the foothills of the Andes and the abbreviated volcanic landscape beyond. José and I were taking a road trip. I had met him on the road: literally. My Jeep got a puncture, I cut my thumb on the jack and he came to the rescue. He had a tent but no vehicle. I had a vehicle but no tent. One thing led to another. It was 1990, and I was 29…
Our Englishwoman finally moves in to her new home, and sets about exploring and decorating… It was strange but a joy to sleep in our own beds and indeed an absolute pleasure to clutch our own mugs and drink tea brewed in a pot. The house embraced our belongings and they in turn looked as though they had been hand-picked for this new space. We were momentarily on a high…
The film we watched and reviewed way back in September last year finally goes on general release today…
Jo Craven.
It’s worth noting that foraging isn’t only for those with hedgerows at hand – there are urban foragers who marvel at the finds on Highbury Roundabout or in Richmond Park.
