Monthly Archives: July 2013

My enemy’s enemy, my friend

It is a sorry sight to see demonstrators carry the photos of the army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Tahrir Square, degrading the very site that became an icon of liberation from despotic rule and the harbinger of democracy … Continue reading

Posted in Current Affairs | 6 Comments

From Lake Titicaca to La Paz – I

Now, if you saw a map of Bolivia, you would notice that the country is land-locked with no access to the sea.  Why, on earth, would it need or have a navy?

Posted in Travelogues | 3 Comments

An American in Cuzco and Pakistanis in Tacna

Give them a hint of a job or the scent of a business prospect, and they will go anywhere, sometimes with the instinct of migratory birds, no questions asked, no maps required.

Posted in Travelogues | 6 Comments

Andean empire of the Incas

At its height the Inca Empire incorporated a large part of western South America, around the Andean mountain range. Centred in Peru, it included large parts of modern Ecuador and Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile, and a small … Continue reading

Posted in Travelogues | 1 Comment

Land of Amazon, Samba and Carnival – ll

There are 67 indigenous tribes still living in Brazil who have had no contact with any outsider whatsoever, happily living in their own pristine – call it primitive if you like – little worlds, a few miles square!  Surely this … Continue reading

Posted in Travelogues | 2 Comments