Everyone had an opinion and no one had a solution.

An island is a fixed and finite piece of geography, and usually the whole place has been carved up and claimed.

There is an intense but simple thrill in setting off in the morning on a mountain trail, knowing that everything you need is on your back. It is a confidence in having left the inessentials behind and of entering a world of natural beauty that has not been violated, where money has no value, and possessions are a dead weight. The person with the fewest possessions is the freest. Thoreau was right.

There has to be a measure of difficulty or problem-solving in travel for it to be worthwhile.

All travel is circular. I had been jerked through Asia, making a parabola on one of the planet's hemispheres. After all, the grand tour is just the inspired man's way of heading home.

I don't look down on tourism. I live in Hawaii where we have 7 million visitors a year. If they weren't there, there would be no economy. So I understand why a tourist economy is necessary.

One of the pleasures of reading is seeing this alteration on the pages, and the way, by reading it, you have made the book yours.