TORTOLA

When I went from Virgin Gorda to Tortola the huge cruise liner Queen Mary 2 was anchored in front of Spanish Town and the small passenger ferry I was on passed very near to the sea giant.
Tortola is the biggest of the British Virgin Islands and its main center and harbour, Road Town, is the region's capital. Almost every day, at least in season, ferries are stopped there, while the passangers go on island tours and shop, which ensures lots of people in the streets aroung the bay. I went a little bit out of the center and was rewarded with a visit of the old residence and gardens of the British Governor-General, now a museum open to the public. It is a charming mansion, built on a small hill allowing fine sea views, and it is maintained like in its noble past days. Just see the dining-room, where Queen Elisabeth had meals while on visit to the island many years ago.

ATLANTA

In a few days I will have a stopover in Atlanta, on my way to Panama. It has already happened to me, with the difference that in 2007 it was a night stopover both ways, which allowed me to see downtown Atlanta twice. I was not really impressed by the city. If I compare with all other Olympic Games cities I know, it is by far the one I felt less enthusiasm with.
The airport is very big and, I suspect, was the first world-wide to have an internal underground train system to link the various terminals.
A little bit out of the centre is the atraction which caught my eye and my mind: the houses and monuments linked with Martin Luther King, in Auburn Street, which was, long before the Civil Rights Movements developed, a district for the wealthier segment of the black community. MLK was born, leaved and preached there. It is now classified as a National Historic Site and includes the family's home, the Ebenezer Baptist Church, a visitor center and gardens, a Community Center, the King Center with an exihbition and, more rewarding for my feelings, the MLK' Tomb in a beutiful open public space.
If passing through Atlanta this is the feature you ought not to miss!

LUANDA

I have just read that Luanda, Angola's capital, will have a new iconic construction, a huge 325 meters high building with 70 floors. That's fully in accordance with the recent fact (2007) that Angola joined the OPEP, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Money becomes an easy matter when the pumps discharge so much amounts of dollars! Of course someone may challenge the way the barrels money is distributed and invested, but definitively this is not at all an ethic problem for most of the leaders of the continent, just a problem for those outsiders to the elites of rich developing countries.
Before Angola was an independent country I lived in Luanda and from 1967 to 1971 worked in the then tallest building in Angola, which was also Portugal's tallest one, as Angola was politicaly  portuguese. It has 23 floors and is 90 meters high. I have been Inspector and then Chief-Inspector of Banco Comercial de Angola, an affiliated bank of Banco Português do Atlântico and my office was on the 3rd floor, till I moved to Mozambique. After  indipendence the bank was taken over by the MPLA Government and changed its name twice; it is today the BPC, Banco de Poupança e Crédito. On top of the building there was a big electric panel with the letters BCA; now the letters are naturaly BPC. The upper floor has a fantastic view of downtown and the bay, best in the night, for my taste. Was the construction of the then imposing private-owned BCA building an ethic problem at the time? Well, not by Luanda's 2009 standards.

MONTSERRAT, CATALONIA

Montserrat (jagged mountain in english) is unusually shaped, which makes it so attractive; I suppose this is the reason why a monastery was founded here on the XI century and, although Napoleon's troops totally destroyed it and killed the mooks, a Benedictine successor is there and very much alive. The Dark Virgin, a XII century wooden sculpture, is venerated there and is host to lots of pilgrims.
The mountain is some 50 kilometers from the great city of Barcelona and constitutes one of Catalonia's big attractions. Aditionally it gave its name to the homonym island in the Caribbean - but visually I do not see any coherence on this. I tend to say that, when in Barcelona, a day-visit here is an absolute must. The monastery is very big, very well maintained and includes, in addition to the Sanctuary of La Moreneta (the Dark Lady), a museum, a library and a boys' choir performing almost every day. Beyond the religious complex, the mountain itself deserves to be walked and climbed; it is  now a Natural Park and is well structured for allowing the visitors great views. Enjoy your visit!

MONTSERRAT, CARIBBEAN

Sometimes we talk about devastation, as sometimes it happens. In Montserrat it came in a tremendous way, very rarely in modern times anything of the kind happenned that touched such an incledible pourcentage of the population. This is because it is such a tiny island with around twelve thousand inhabitants before the big eruption, may be only fife thousand by now.
In 1997 a massive explosion of the Soufrière Hills volcano distroyed more than half the island, including the capital and forced the dislocation of most of the locals; such a part of the island is still an "exclusion zone", due to the risks of renewed sismologic activity.
I went there on a day trip from Antigua, which this is fairly enough to see what is available. Everything to be seen is related to the tragic events of 22 years ago.
First you are taken to a valley which defines the line of separation, where you can walk on ashes, lava and boulders and see nice abandoned villas. Then you go to the Volcano Observatory, located on a high position but out of the possible lines of destruction when the volcano stikes. From the mirador you have the volcano mountain in front and you see Plymouth,the (ex)capital, near to the sea and with just a few towers and houses above the ashes and debris: most of it lies now under the surface. Later at another mirador you can see, on the east side, the old airport - or inded what remains of it.

SPISSKY HRAD

It is said that Spissky is the biggest surviving (although ruined) castle of Central and Eastern Europe. So, I ought to visit it. Especially that the first time I passed on the area, going from Levoca to Presov, I passed not far - but at the time I was not yet a fan of WH. The second time, touring the North of Hungary by car, I decided I should not miss Spassky Hrad and took a detour to Slavakia; the two countries were freshly EU members, but not yet "Schengenland" ones, so the border checks were in place, but on a relaxed mood.
At a curve of the road Spissiky Hrad appeared in the distance, bravely on top of a big hill. I stopped at Spissky Kapitula, the nearby small town, just down the hill; here you have fine views of the Hrad from an underneath position. Then I proceeded to the castle. Being in such a proeminent position, I could devise (it was a fine Summer day) the Tatra mountains in the distance. I took my time to stroll around the castle and also to walk outside its precinct on the grassed slopes around it.
Later I drove back to Hungary, via Kosice, and stopped for dinner and sleep at Tokaj, the town of the country's famed sweet wine. The next morning I walked on town and climbed up the vineyards on the hills follwing a copious hungarian-style breakfast - on a happy mood, having added two more WH sites to my personal "collection". Sadly on that evening Portugal was to loose the final of the football Euro 2004 championship. Life is never as perfect as one hopes!

VIRGIN GORDA

I took the small passanger ferry in Charlotte Amalie,United States Virgin Islands, in a gorgeous tropical morning and landed quietly in Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, an hour later or so. The name of the island is not that gracious, if you understand latin languages and Columbus is supposedly the man to blame, because from the distance it looked to him as a lying fat lady.
As it was the low season I did not care to reserve a hotel room, which on arrival the immigration control office disliked and ordered me to go for a room and return to get back my passaport after the booking, which I did with no problem, as I had already an idea where to stay. Later in the day the hotel esplanade and bar, just in front of the beach, gave me the opportunity of a very beautiful sunset, with some other BVI islands and islets in the distance. Before that the afternoon had been rather stiily, there is no argument for any stress in these islands of absolute non challence and tropical quietness. I had just a short walk to the the Baths, more or less the only island's tourist spot, apart from the resorts. One can have a bath in the warmness of the sea waters under the protection of huge granite boulders, sometimes creating grottoes open to the sea.