Monthly Archives: May 2026

I was staying in Geneva, Switzerland, but spending the day in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Chamonix) in France. Europe is like that! In the midst of a couple of rainy days in Geneva visiting with old friends before continuing further east, I booked myself an self-guided day trip bus trip to Chamonix. This included a ticket for the […]

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You are still in the city, but not quite! There is a ringing of birdsong – and the roar of sirens. The rustling of skinks in the leaf-litter contrasts with the clanging of distant machinery. Wind whistles in the branches while a helicopter whirrs overhead. There is something magical about city parks: oases of fresh, […]

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Imagine living in the shadow of an active volcano! Gunung Api – or Fire Mountain – is a peak of about 640-650 m. (2100-2133 ft.) on the little island of Banda Api in the province of Maluku, Indonesia. The almost-circular island has a diameter only 3 kilometres (1.9 mi), and most of it rises steeply […]

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