Author Archives: admin

ITALY – The Trip (August 4- 2021) I flew from La Palma, Millorca to Verona (via Rome) on Alitalia (80E + 50E for one piece of checked baggage) in 3 ½ hours. Covid. No PCR is required but vaccination is … Continue reading →

July 25-31, 2021 Canary Islands The Canary archipelago consists of 8 inhabited islands with a population of 2 million. They have been an integrated part of Spain for centuries. As a major European tourist destination, all the major islands have well-developed … Continue reading →

Madeira July 21-24, 2021 Madeira is a sub-tropical archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous region of Portugal. The archipelago is made up of two populated islands, Madeira and Porto Santo, and two groups of unpopulated islands called the Desertas and … Continue reading →

Cape Verde (Portuguese: Cabo Verde) comprises a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean,  500 km west of Senegal. Cape Verde is formed by 10 main islands and about 8 islets. The once uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; they subsequently became … Continue reading →

The Archipelago of the Azores is an autonomous region of Portugal formed on the tips of barely submerged underwater mountains, the nine islands boast crater lakes, hot springs and spluttering geysers. The population of one quarter of a million residents live on these … Continue reading →

Social skills The vital art of talking to strangers Three books explain why it matters—and can easily be lost JulY 10th 2021 ECONOMIST  Hello, Stranger. By Will Buckingham. Granta; 336 pages; £16.99 The Power of Strangers. By Joe Keohane. Random House; 352 pages; … Continue reading →

The riddle of how humans evolved to have fathers Few other mammalian dads invest as much time and care in rearing their offspring – or even the children of others – compared to human fathers. By Elizabeth Preston 27th June 2021 … Continue reading →

POST COVID SYNDROME WHAT WE KNOW AND DON’T KNOW ABOUT LONG COVID It may actually be a collection of quite different syndromes  Apr 27th 2022 (Updated Apr 29th 2022) ECONOMIST  More than two years since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, scientists have … Continue reading →

Lives v livelihoods How to assess the costs and benefits of lockdowns The policy will stay in governments’ toolkits. A growing body of research will guide its use June 29th 2021 ECONOMIST “TO ME, I say the cost of a … Continue reading →

AZORES – General, Rough Guide, The Trip CAPE VERDE – Islands of Democracy, Rough Guide. The Trip MADEIRA – General , Rough Guide, The Trip CANARY ISLANDS – General, Rough Guide, The Trip BALEARIC ISLANDS – Rough Guide, The Trip  ITALY – Lombardy, Aosta, Piedmont & Seborga, Sardinia FRANCE – Provence-Alpes- Cote d’Azur, Languedoc-Rousillon  SPAIN … Continue reading →