The Storied Scrolls
Zack Thoutt's Reader Group & Newsletter
Issue #2 · Jan 16th, 2022
Sunday Lunch
Nomad Life · CH 14
Winter Truffles are Coming
A story about Jackson Pollock's ocean canvas, Venetian imports, and truffle hunting in Croatia.
ibenik’s coastline was vast, the sea flowing through inlets and channels around dozens of tiny islands in the distance. Even from the 1000-year-old fort atop the hill in the old town, I was unsure if I could see open water on the horizon or if another layer of islands lay beyond.
Sparse vegetation scattered jagged mounds of beige rock like threads of hair atop a balding man’s head. In some parts of the world, slabs of limestone like these have eroded into fantastic spires sculpted by wind and water, but here the stone was rough and freshly exposed from the belly of the Earth.
I imagine that from the sky Šibenik’s coast looks like Jackson Pollock laid an ocean canvas on the floor and splattered it with limestone paint. The semi-barren rocky terrain where desert meets forest reminded me of Santa Fe, only if the valleys were flooded with ocean and each mountaintop was an island...
Where in the world are Zack, Shelby, and Skutull
Current location: London, England
What we’ve been up to: Enjoying Sunday roasts at pubs
What’s challenged us: Getting to the UK was a nightmare because France stopped outbound travel to the UK (but no other country). That meant we couldn't take the Eurotunnel, the standard method of travel between the UK and Europe. Since we can't fly with Skutull, we took an overnight ferry from Rotterdam to Hull. The ship was larger than I expected, but the ride was bumpier than I expected!
Miles traveled: 25,483 (1.02x 🌎)
Days nomadic: 319 (0.87x ☀️)
📜 Our Story | 🗺️ Map of Our Journey | 🌄 Future Itinerary
Message from Zack
Along our trek from Vienna to London, we finished our first trip around the Earth by total miles traveled! With our one-year Nomad Anniversary just around the corner, I can't believe we've been at it so long and have gone so far.
P.S. Here are my favorite links since last time
- Book: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
- Book: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
- Quote: "A genius is the man who can do the average thing when everyone else around him is losing his mind." - Napoleon Bonaparte
Enjoy the journey,
