Lapiz Luzuli The terrible tragedy unfolding in slow motion in Afghanistan reminded me of gems on sale in the open air markets of Yemen. In this week’s Camino a Ítaca, I look back at the Afghan stones that were so valuable and the near hysteria of right-wing conservatives, desperate to declare their deity somehow more…
It’s hot…well, it’s always hot in Spain during the summer but this week has been particularly hot. This week’s Camino a Ítaca circles the globe and looks at why some have such a problem with the axiom of Climate Change. Click over to read the original article in Spanish in el Hoy or read the…
This week’s Camino a Ítaca looks back to when I first started traveling. Remember those Yellow Fever passorts they used to give out? I imagine they still do? Looking back and looking forward. You can click over and read the original article in Spanish en el Hoy, or read the English version below. (PDF en…
Saparmurat Niyazov, a.k.a Turkmenbashy This week’s Camino a Ítaca brings us to the vast steppes of Central Asia and then back again in search of the more ridiculous flights of fancy imposed upon us all by our Dear Leaders. Click over to read the original version published in Spanish in the regional newspaper, el Hoy…
Lady of Elche statue In this week’s Camino a Ítaca we walk back to the fifth book of the Jewish torah, back to deuteronomy. Well, if not exactly back to this religious text, back to something equally atavistic: Oposiciones. The medieval method they use here in Spain to choose their public school teachers (and other public…
In this week’s Camino a Ítaca I’m reminded of the perseverance of some of my brave, female students in Yemen. If they could, I can. Click over to read the original in Spanish or the English version below. (PDF en castellano abajo). Standing in front of a new class is always somewhat nerve-wracking, especially if…
Crossing the Tagus River enroute to Plasencia by bus. This week’s Camino a Ítaca looks back on a recent event where I was … stranded, 80kms from home because there were no connections. Click over and read the original in Spanish or read the English version below. Eighty kilometres really isn’t far, but after six-thirty…
Chimeras of Communism or Liberty In this week’s Camino a Ítaca, I reflect back on my time in Baku while traveling along the false dichotomies that are leading populist right wing parties to power across the world. Click over to read the original Spanish version or read the English version below. (PDF en castellano abajo)…
This week’s Camino a Ítaca looks back to a time when I realized that all that glitters is definitely not gold. Despite the face it puts on regarding individual rights, when they come up against entities too big to fail, we know who the winner will be. Click over to read the original in Spanish or…
In this week’s Camino a Ítaca I look back at a surreal experience in deepest Arkansas and how some feel the past so strongly that they actually feel a living part of it. Click over to the original in Spanish or read the English version below. (PDF en castellano abajo) The poor woman had obviously…