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Spain Story
The Death of a Doorman
My previous portero died unexpectedly. One day he was there – a fat and jovial man, bald, glasses, head pushed a little forward giving way to the staircase of rolls in the back of his neck, always with a kind word, or the latest English phrase he’d taught himself, Goot eebening, or just to hold…
March 10, 2022
Story
Leave Your Eggs in the Sand
It was a great day to be chasing sea turtles. My wetsuit was tight around the shoulders, zipper stuck mid-back. Father was already sitting at the edge of the boat with his oxygen tank strapped on. My brother had gone into the water, floating with our friends. Giving up, I peeled off the top half and…
March 5, 2022
Story
Heritage, Porn and Islam
“Where are you from?” This is a typical way of breaking the ice among solo travellers. I get asked the question up to 10 times a day. “From Norway.” “From Norway? No way.” Norwegians do ask too, but not nearly as often. Although everyone sees in colour, asking a stranger about their heritage is considered…
March 4, 2022
Italy Story
Caruso
For a few years I lived in the Trastevere district of Rome. I rode a bicycle to work and bought groceries at the market. I lived in a flat at the top of a cobbled alley. All the buildings in the alley were painted a slightly different shade of terracotta; ivy grew on the walls…
March 1, 2022
Story USA
The Wild World of Weed Trimming
Amongst the backpacking community, there’s always plenty of buzz surrounding the highly fantasised life that is weed trimming. And the first rule of Trim Club is that you do not talk about Trim Club. Rumours abound that you’ll make bulk cash in a short amount of time, which gives every traveller a semi-chub as they think about…
February 28, 2022
Story
A Day in the Life of a Bear Conservationist
While we’re all familiar with the hype around shark attacks in Australia, how many of us have ever heard about bear attacks in Japan? Conflict with these animals has been increasing over the last 10 years, with a whopping total of 156 attacks recorded in 2020. Crop damage has also cost 426.7 million yen ($5…
February 28, 2022
Story
Beautiful Are The Fireflies
Our guide sunk his comically large paddle into the bank and pushed us away. While I half-expected us to gracefully sink into the river like Jack Sparrow's Black Pearl, we stayed afloat. Once we gained distance from the raucous restaurant, a peaceful silence settled over us as the boat cut through the silken black water.…
February 25, 2022

Astray is a storytelling project centred on travel, place, culture and identity.

We’re run by a team of writers who mostly live, work and play in nipaluna / Hobart. With reverence, we acknowledge the Tasmanian Aboriginal people as the traditional and ongoing custodians of trouwunna / lutruwita / Tasmania: land that was stolen and never ceded. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.