Monthly Archives: September 2016

Costa Rica January 2011 We flew from David, Panama to Alajuela, the international airport of San Jose, Costa Rica. I was required by the airline, in order to board the flight, to purchase an exit ticket out of Costa Rica, … Continue reading →

PANAMA CITY We then flew to Panama City with plans to travel north through Panama and Costa Rica before Roberta flies home. We were advised to buy exit tickets (this time cheap bus tickets) in order to get onto the … Continue reading →

GRENADA We then spent 2 days on the bus going through the rest of Honduras and most of Nicaragua ending in Grenada. It has the best colonial architecture in the country but doesn´t compare to Antigua. We walked around lots … Continue reading →

COPAN We took a bus from Antigua, Guatemala across the border into Honduras to visit the most southerly Mayan ruins at Copan. Without the huge pyramids of Tikal, Copan, once home to 27,000, has some wonderful features. Most pyramids had … Continue reading →

Guatamala Nov 2010 GUATEMALA CITY. I arrived on November 15 and spent 2 days there. With 2 million people, it is a big dirty place. There are guards in every store and fast food place – the ones in the … Continue reading →

Elections in Kazakhstan – No choice Democracy in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan is a managed affair, without clear rules of succession. Ever since communist bosses morphed into democrats after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, they have polished a … Continue reading →

At boiling point. The country is stable, but it will not be easy to keep it that way Feb 6th 2016 Economist It is sometimes dubbed “the Hashemite Kingdom of Boredom”. That may not be very flattering. But while Jordan … Continue reading →

The elephants fight back. Remarkable progress on ivory and shark fin; none on rhino horn Nov 21st 2015 Economist For anybody who fears that China’s interest in elephants’ tusks could spell doom for the great beasts, there have been two … Continue reading →

Central Asia. Stans undelivered – The five former Soviet republics struggle to survive the new Great Game Jul 2nd 2016 Economist Tajikistan has the vainest ruler in Central Asia. Emomali Rahmon flies what may be the world’s largest flag atop … Continue reading →

Corruption in Guatemala. Bad apples everywhere – An ousted president is accused of masterminding kleptocracy Jun 11th 2016 Economist When Otto Pérez Molina resigned as Guatemala’s president last September and was promptly jailed on corruption charges, it was seen as … Continue reading →