Alastair Bland

Alastair Bland

 

Alastair Bland is a journalist based in San Francisco who writes about the environment, agriculture, science and food.

Figs are a great prize of roadside foragers—a fruit unwanted by many landowners and as available as it is delicious. The green figs shown here are desert kings, a variety that produces a large first crop in July.

Hungry? Pull Over. Here’s Your Guide to the Best Bets of Roadside Foraging

All along the roadways of America—and the world—there's figs, avocados and wild berries ripe for the picking

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The Tallest, Strongest and Most Iconic Trees in the World

Where to see the greatest trees in the world

Does it get any better than this? Trees, shade, green grass and a pair of horizontal bars beside the Dordogne River, in Souillac, add up to one of the finest outdoor workout stations in France.

Fitness Afar: Great Places to Hang Out at the Bar

Going abroad needn’t mean going flabby—globe-trotters can find pull-up bars and other outdoor gymnastics equipment in some of the most unexpected places

Cork oaks recently harvested of their bark are a common sight in the southern Iberian Peninsula. These middle-aged trees are growing in the Spanish province of Extremadura.

Cork Trees: Soft-Skinned Monarchs of the Mediterranean

A cork tree stripped of its bark will be harvested again in nine years—if people are still using cork by then

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The Hunt for a Bottle of Asturias Cider and the Stories of More Drinks From Northern Spain

In this part of Europe, a glass of rioja is nice, but nothing beats apple cider, a way of life

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Spain: Of Sun, Siestas — and Salmon?

About a dozen Spanish streams support native runs of Atlantic salmon, but anglers are deeply divided about how to fish for them

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Ways to Celebrate the Summer Solstice

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Six Ways to Celebrate the Summer Solstice Around the World

From Eagle Summit in Alaska's White Mountains, watch as the sun dips, dips, dips---but remains just above the horizon

Andorra makes no effort to charm those crossing the border from France. Shown here is the entry point into the commercial hub of Pas de la Casa.

Andorra: The Ugliest Country in Europe?

They had green mountains, trout streams and wildflowers; meadows and waterfalls, but Andorrans made their country the least charming in all of Europe

The brown bear is among the largest land animals in the northern hemisphere. Whether there is still room for it in the French Pyrenees is uncertain.

Can Brown Bears Survive in the Pyrenees?

The keepers of sheep and cows helped eliminate the Pyrenean brown bear, and shepherds are not thrilled to see France's largest predator return

Follow the arrows, find the cheese. This sign led to a sheep farm in the village of Tilhouse.

On the Cheese Trail in the Pyrenees

Make a fuss in the road and someone will appear. Spit out some gibberish about “fromage a vendre,” and that should do it. You'll get your cheese

Petra Van Glabbeek tows Ouiza (staring out the rear) and Coco (standing, and getting a free snout-scratch from the turning wheel) on a luggage-less day ride. On uphill climbs, the dogs are asked to trot alongside the bikes.

The Family that Never Quits Pedaling

I thought cycling with a laptop and a bottle of wine was hard. Then I met a pair of Dutch cyclists on tour with a grown dog, a puppy---and a baby

The author was recruited very temporarily by this traveling team of cyclists from Corsica when he arrived at Col du Soulor (1,474 meters/4,724 feet).

Where Lance Remains the King

Among the peaks, cirques and summits of the French Pyrenees, the greeting call to an American on a bike may always be "Armstrong!"

The table is set with a heaping salad of beets, soft-boiled eggs, orange and avocado. Dressed with a zesty walnut oil vinaigrette, this dish goes exceptionally well with an anonymous red Gascogne blend from a wine shop bulk barrel.

Sleep Like a Pauper, Eat Like a King

Between grocery stores, wine shops, artisan bakeries and farm stands, I regain each calorie I burn in style and taste

The author, on tour in the Sauternes region of Bordeaux, loved the gold-hued sweet wine of the area but filled his bottle with local bulk red.

Tasting France’s Finest Wines

Sauternes is a village near Bordeaux that would have been cow town if dumb luck, microclimatology and royal wineries had not showered the region in fortune

The author stands at the entrance to the hilltop cave near Saint Julien de Lampon, that served in the 1940s as a wartime refuge from Nazis.

Resistance to Nazis in a Land Riddled with Caves

We wondered if the cave's tenants peered down at the valley and if they wrapped all glassware in cloth to prevent reflective giveaways to the Nazis below

The author points directly at the hole in a rock wall in Groléjac where he left two cans of strong beer. Come get them.

Free Beer in the Dordogne Valley: Come and Find It!

These beers should last for several hot summers and cold winters. Where exactly are they hidden? Here are the directions

At 100 Euros for 100 grams, these French black truffles had better not be from China.

Truffle Trouble in Europe: The Invader Without Flavor

If it looks like a black truffle, and if it cost you $1,500 a pound like a black truffle---it may actually be a worthless Chinese truffle

The Dordogne River flows through some of the finest country of southern France. Truffles, cep mushrooms and wild pigs occur in the woods, while huge catfish and pike lurk in the slow eddies of the river.

Off the Road in the South of France

Ernest Hemingway popularized the cosmopolitan lifestyle of Paris, but he missed out every day he wasn't walking through the forested hills of Périgord

The deathstalker scorpion, a Middle East native shown here in captivity, kills several people each year and occasionally hammers its stinger into the hands of hobbyist collectors.

The Nastiest Critters Lurking Outside Your Tent

The bite of a Goliath bird-eater is hardly worse than a bee sting---but it is among the nastiest things that could skitter across your face in the Amazon

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