Author: James MacDonald
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The Vatican
I don’t even no where to begin so I’m just going to go for it. The day started out much like yesterday but with blue skies. We got off the bus outside the Vatican and marched ourselves to the ticket office associated with the bus tour company we purchased our tickets from on day one.…
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Raining in Rome
We woke this morning to the sound of rain pattering off the tin rooves of the neighbouring buildings. I knew I should have packed that umbrella. I at least brought my rain jacket. Breakfast was a croissant, muffin, yogurt and a hot chocolate. Everyone here wants me to drink cappuccino or coffee. For the first…
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First Impressions of Rome
That was a long flight. The snow began to fall as we boarded the first plane in Prince George this morning and while I was looking forward to warmer climates my thoughts were with my family. Winter is not my favorite season. It is lovely here in the high teens but rain is threatening. A…
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The Canadian Death Race
The Canadian Death Race (CDR) was my second ultra marathon. At 125 kilometres it is nearly double the distance of the first ultra I ran back in September, 2014. At the time I thought that ultra was pretty tough with some significant elevation change. Here is a little perspective for you: my total time for…
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A Farewell to the Middle East.
A few months ago I went for a run and got a very sharp thorn in my shoe. The thorn was so sharp and so long that it went all the way through the sole of my shoe and stuck me in the bottom of the foot. I had to stop and dig the thorn…
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Ramadan
This will be our second Ramadan in the UAE. I quite enjoyed the relaxed pace of things last Ramadan and look forward to a general slow down in this holy month. On a practical level, for us, it means that my work day is reduced to 6 hours (without a lunch break). Generally this means…
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Marathons and a Mountain
The last post to this blog was January 30th! This is what happens when routine takes over and adventures simply become living. Of course, our lives have been fairly eventful and we may come to regret not writing them down as time spirals on. I have always wanted to run a marathon and I got…
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Staying the Course
My last post was August 23rd. It has been over a month and a half since I’ve written, not that I have not tried. There are two draft posts sitting in the queue waiting for me to conjure the determination to finish them. Though, the chances of that I must admit are rather small. …
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Fear, Pain and Choice
This latest adventure took us across the barren Arabian Peninsula to the land of Salalah in Dohfar on the southern coast of Oman a round trip of nearly 3,000 kilometres by car. A stone throw from the Yemen border we found amazing beaches and astounding views of tropical like landscapes rising dramatically from the Arabian…
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Jebel Shams
I approached the cliff’s edge with some trepidation. The large stone in my hands was easily in excess of thirty pounds. With a small swing I released the stone over the edge mindful not to let the momentum pull me over with it. I dropped to my belly and inched forward as quickly as I…
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