Wilderness Stories
Story & photos Vijayakumar Somalinga
Last summer I was having a conversation with my friend about native flora of British Columbia. I was quite disappointed that summer since most of the flower pictures I took turned out to be invasive and non-native species. For the first time during that conversation I heard the term "Garry oak meadows". A little research about the Garry oak meadows had me itching to go see this unique ecosystem. Story
The Incan Empire, part six
Story & photos © Raghbir Jin
The Incan empire was more a quilt than a blanket; a mass of regional cultures and backgrounds bound together with the stitches of the Quechua language. The result is a collective web of territories on the western edge of South America where each area has grown and developed with its own style and story, influenced by its own pre-Incan history before being united by the Incas... Story
Quito: Gate way to Galapagos
Story & photos © Raghbir Jin Part 5: The Incan Empire
Quito is a city of many titles. The Ecuadorian metropolis is the highest legal capital in the world at 2,800 metres above sea level. Its historic centre is the largest in Latin America and holds the titles of best-preserved and least-altered. It was the first city to be included in the UNESCO world heritage list. But Quito's record of importance started long before these modern times... Story
Into The Valley of Trees
Story and photos © Elise Mallory
My trip to the Carmanah Valley began as a weekend adventure to view some of the tallest Stika Spruce trees in the world but ended up being a journey into some of the thickest, richest rainforest that I have ever had the chance to explore. Though the desire to view the massive trees of the valley is what originally draws people...Story
Trujillo and La Libertdad, Perú
Story & photos © Raghbir Jin
Part four: The Incan Empire
Moving onward from the megalithic stone structures and Andean mountain backdrop at the centre of the old Incan empire to the adobe-built marvels of Trujillo and Huanchaco on Perú's northern desert coast is like shifting to a different world entirely. Story
BC's Wild West Coast
Story & photos © Editor
The West Coast of Vancouver Island has its own unique ecosystem. The trees are shorter and sturdier than their interior cousins because the wind is harsher, and the rain and storms more violent during winter months. It is a rugged albeit beautiful part of British Columbia and the seas are extremely hazardous. Story
India's WildLife Sanctuaries: Tiger
Story By Jim Christy, Photos by Virginia Dixon
From Jaipur, the 140 kilometre drive across the state of Rajasthan to Ranthambore took six and a half hours through dry, desert-like land reminiscent of the southern Okanagan in British Columbia. We stopped at a temple high in the hills where monkeys roamed free and women with snakes in baskets begged for money to appease the snake gods. One man played his flute and his cobra swayed, hypnotized by the music, or so he told people.... Story
The Ghosts of Vancouver Island: Cougars
Story & photos © Elise Mallory
This is the first thing that people usually tell me every single time I tell this story. “A cougar could be stalking you as you hike in the bush and you will never even know!” - another very popular statement that seems to attach itself to tales of cougar encounters (or lack thereof). Everyone I talk to has never actually come across one while camping or hiking, but everyone knows the eerie feeling of wondering if something is watching you in the dense environment of BC’s wilderness... Story
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