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On a recent CNN commercial health reporter Dr. Sanjay Gupta talked about Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula and the town of Nicoya. He said that people live to be 100 years and even older in Nicoya. ABC and other news organizations have had similar reports. Everyone followed up a research by the National Geographic writer Dan Buettner who is also the founder of Quest Network, a longevity researching project for students.
In 2005, a Costa Rican demographer, Dr. Luis Rosero, claimed that of all the people in the world, 60-year-old Costa Ricans can expect to live longest. Academics at the international conference that Dr. Rosero attended didn’t believe him. Therefore, National Geographic’s Dan Buettner gathered a team and started an investigation. They identified several so called “blue zones”, places where people tend to live healthier and longer lives. The town of Nicoya is one blue zone. Here, 100-year-old women chop firewood, make all meals from scratch and wash laundry by hand. As opposed to the men in the U.S, men in Nicoya live to the age of 100 four times as often.
The high life expectancy depends on, among other things, the calcium rich water, the high altitude (thinner air lowers your blood pressure), a diet of exotic fruits and the people’s happy attitude.
I remember when I was 7-years-old and we made a trip to Denmark’s most northern city Skagen, situated in the region Jylland. A tractor tour for tourists called “Sandormen” took us from Skagen to “Grenen”, Denmark’s most northern point. Since the waves from the two meeting seas Kattegatt and Skagerack create strong currents it’s forbidden to swim there. But a lot of people walk into the water and stand with one foot in Skagerack and the other in Kattegatt.
Rolf Potts has reported from more than fifty countries and often promotes the ethic of independent travel.
“Potts is arguably the best, and most consistent, individual travel writer and blogger on the web.”
—Frommers.com (Editor’s Choice)
Right now I’m reading his book Vagabonding - An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel. If you want to discover the world on your own terms or just have an interest in travel I really recommend you to read it.
Don’t miss the excerpt from Chapter 1.
English Skytrax Research has ranked the world’s airlines. Through their own analyses and response from passengers they have developed a scale divided into five degrees to judge the companies. The full list consisted of 408 airline companies and 525 airports. Five Asian airlines landed on the top positions. Here are some of the other placings.
Five stars: Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Quatar Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airlines
Four stars: British Airways, Lufthansa Fyra, Thai Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air France
Three stars: Aeroflot, Sterling, KLM, SAS Scandinavia, Finnair
Two stars: Ryan Air, Indian Airlines
One star: Afriqiyah Airways, Air Koryo
Sometimes I practise my French and German by watching live TV or having it on in the background while I’m doing something else. I promise you, it’s a great way of learning a new language. If you listen regularly you will eventually recognize more and more words in whatever language you chose to practise.
If you’re an American who wish to master the British accent, you could choose one of the 97 available channels in the UK. Correspondingly, if you’re a British, but want to learn the American accent Live TV offers hundreds of different channels.
Good luck!
Shot from the pier in Caleta de Famara.
View to the nearby island La Graciosa
After a tasty dinner at a Spanish restaurant my sister and I strolled through the center of Caleta de Famara, past the pier and took a photo of these few houses outside the village.
One day we took a taxi to the other side of the island. I asked the taxi driver after “una buena playa”. He dropped us off by this stretch of sand cluttered with black stones outside the village of Lanzarote’s northernmost village Orzola. When we walked towards the ocean (which we couldn’t see for all the rocks) we realised that it wasn’t really a beach, but an inlet with a pond where a few children played with their toys.
While my sister laid down on her towel near the pond I followed the narrowing inlet towards the ocean. Lots of corals covered the sandy ground, so I went out of the water and balanced on the stones instead. Soon I reached the open water and stopped to savor the peaceful atmosphere. Not an island in sight.
As I went back to my sister I asked a Spanish family about the best beach on the island. The teenage son answered at once.
“This is the best beach. Mostly locals come here, not many tourists know about this place.”
“What is it called?”
“The white beach, but as you can see it isn’t really a beach. In south Lanzarote you can find the islands real white beach, Playa Blanca. A lot of tourists go there.”
After a couple more minutes at the white beach, my sister and I continued to the nearest village Orzola.
View from the road towards Orzola
Orzola Harbour
Orzola Harbour
Vancouver
Switzerland’s capital Zurich has for several years been voted to the city with the best quality of life in the world. A report from Mercer Human Resource and consulting the 3rd April 2007 confirms that Zurich once again landed on the the first place. Vancouver came 3rd, after Geneva. Visit City Mayors to see all of the world’s 49 top cities.
Liverpool is internationally famous for its soccer, arts, literature, music and of course as Beatles’ hometown. The title ”The Capital of Culture” will definitely increase the global attention for this northwestern England city. The events and festivals prior to and during 2008 are expected to attract almost 2 million extra visitors.
Check out Visit Liverpool for more information, visit the official website for the city’s “Capital of Culture” celebrations or read Bob Barton’s article about lively Liverpool below.
Lively Liverpool - 800 Years Young
by Bob Barton
March 2007
Not content with one, they’re celebrating two anniversaries in Liverpool this year. While the 800 years since this maritime city was granted a royal charter by King John in 1207 will be marked with months of merrymaking, the reconstructed Cavern Club, where the Beatles first rose to fame, will enjoy its 50th birthday with a year-long party. Liverpudlians love to party as much as they love football, and the 2007 events will merge neatly into 2008, when the city is again en fete, this time as European Capital of Culture.
Some 300 events are organised for this year’s 800th anniversary: a veritable feast of concerts, conferences, exhibitions, flower shows, processions, re-enactments, walks and talks. It reaches a peak on August 28, dubbed Liverpool 800 Day, whose festivities climax with one of the world’s largest firework displays.
The celebrations couldn’t have a better setting architecturally. Liverpool, which rose to prosperity as a trading hub of the British Empire, is filled with grand buildings radiating from its centre to one of Europe’s finest river frontages, along the wide River Mersey. UNESCO declared a large swathe of the city, including the river frontage, a World Heritage Site several years ago. With impeccable timing, the neo-classical St. George’s Hall — built on an imperial scale complete with statues, a Minton tiled floor and an upstairs concert hall embellished with gold leaf and mirrors — reopens on St. George’s Day (April 23) after a £23 million makeover.
Contrasting with these largely Victorian gems are some stunning modern structures, as the city undergoes a 21st century renaissance. Hotels, apartments, bars, restaurants, stores and new public areas are springing up everywhere. A big development, called the Paradise Project, will provide all these as well as a pleasant walkway linking the city centre and the Albert Docks, where more museums and visitor attractions are located. Biggest development of all is the King’s Waterfront, with a new landmark, The Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool, resembling the wings of a giant bird, taking shape on the waterfront. This will be the venue for concerts, exhibitions and conferences from 2008 as well as providing another public piazza.
The city boasts the greatest concentration of National Museums outside London – and admission is free. They are joined by another in August when a £10 million International Slavery Museum opens: Liverpool’s role as a lynchpin in the slave trade is something the city is coming to terms with, 200 years after its abolition. Modern art lovers can’t fail to be impressed by the Tate Gallery, which occupies a former warehouse in the Albert Docks. The gallery will host the prestigious Turner Prize this autumn – the first time it has been staged outside the capital. The Walker Art Gallery is equally renowned, while the World Museum is filled with hands-on delights for families. The National Maritime Museum is popular, too, not least with thousands of people from overseas, whose ancestors passed through Liverpool as emigrants to a new life. It also houses a new Titanic exhibition: the port was headquarters of the ill-fated ship’s White Star Line.
Visitors can stay in any one of a growing number of boutique hotels such as the new Malmaison and the Hope Street Hotel, the last named popular with celebrities and dignitaries such as US Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice. Next door is the London Carriageworks, one of a growing number of good restaurants which pride themselves in the use of fresh, local produce.
The Cavern Club in Mathew Street sits at the hub of its own quarter of the city, filled with reminders of the 1960s when Beatlemania was at its height, but still turning out great bands, like the Zutons. (Liverpool is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as having more number one records than any other city.) A highlight of its year is the Mathew Street Festival, when the area is alive with music. The subterranean Cavern – which still manages to evoke the same electric atmosphere as in the heady days of Merseybeat – gets international calls every day from bands that want to come and play on its hallowed stage. These days, Sir Paul McCartney prefers to play in the vast setting of the great Anglican Cathedral – the world’s largest – where he premiered his classical Liverpool Oratorio.
Climbing to the top of the cathedral tower gives you a breathtaking view of the city and on towards day trip attractions such as the Roman city of Chester with its medieval, galleried shops; a coastline dotted with championship golf courses and, to the east, the bright lights of the city’s friendly rival, Manchester.
There is a feeling of youth and vitality everywhere. Students dominate the city centre population, having more than doubled in number in the 1990s and helping fuel the vibrant nightlife, particularly at weekends. Wherever you go – whether it’s on board a ferry across the Mersey, on one of the daily tours at Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC, or on the Magical Mystery Tour to the numerous Beatles sights, you are constantly reminded that the people have a great pride in their town. In the words of Peter Smith of Liverpool Vision, “The people can see the city changing for the better, but our biggest challenge is changing the perceptions of those outside it.” The Liverpudlians are determined to move their city forward, no longer prepared – in the words of Lennon and McCartney – to simply “Let It Be”.
Further information: www.visitliverpool.com.
Liverpool800 event highlights
April 22 – May 20 – Seafarers and Emigrants Exhibition, The Swedish Seaman’s Church.
April 23 – Gala reopening of St. George’s Hall.
April/May – Coming of Age: Liverpool young people in every school celebrate their generation and place within the city’s culture.
Mid-June – The River Mersey hosts a festival of tall ships and naval vessels, with emphasis on the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the international slave trade.
June 29 – September 23 – Peter Blake at Tate Liverpool. Major retrospective of ‘the godfather of British pop art’.
July 2007 onwards – Magical History Tour at Merseyside Maritime Museum. Exhibition documenting the city’s history overt the last 800 years, told through the lives of ordinary people.
August 24-27 – Mathew Street Music Festival. Europe’s biggest free city centre music festival.
August 28 – Liverpool 800 Day – civic and community procession, thanksgiving service and firework display marking the 800th anniversary of the granting of the city’s first charter.
September 1 – 30 – Heritage Open Day season with local property openings and events organised by the Civic Trust, City Council, societies, museums and others.
September 15 – Clipper Round-the-World Yacht Race Start.
September 14-16 – The Big History Show at St. George’s Hall.
September 21 – River Mersey Cruise Liner Facility – official opening with the QE2 liner sailing in on its 40th anniversary.
October 19 – January 13 - Turner Prize Exhibition opens at Tate Liverpool.
Caleta de Famara is an old fishing village located on the northwestern tip of Lanzarote. This Spanish island west of Africa is sometimes called Europe’s Hawaii.
My sister and I went there in July 2005 for a five-day surfing course with Surf School Lanzarote. The director Tim Jones and his team are all British Surfing Association Level 1, 2, 3, and 4 qualified instructors and professional beach lifeguards.
Because of a minor accident involving me, a wet stone and a fall backwards I could only surf the first day, but I can really recommend Surf School Lanzarote if you want to get the whole picture of surfing. Famara is a quiet village, but it’s possible to book your own accommodation in the resorts of Puerto del Carmen or Costa de Teguise if you prefer to stay in a more busy place.
Evening on Famara Beach
Frida looks towards the island La Graciosa.
Espresso House in the Western Harbour is a popular café to grab a cup of coffee, lunch, chat or look at passer-by from the open-air café. Espresso House is located in eight cities in Sweden and at eleven places in Malmo.
Malmo is Sweden’s third greatest city, situated on the southern tip of the country close to the Oresund Bridge that leads to the Danish capital Copenhagen.
The Western Harbour in Malmo was once a desolated industrial area. Today it has developed into a hip and charming quartier with eateries, cafés and shops. The trendy architecture lines the boardwalk and several bathing bridges face the sea. Teenagers, students and the 20 to 30 age bracket tend to hang out in the Western Harbour while families and children spend the summer days on Malmo’s famous beach “Ribban”.
The Western Harbour attracts a lot of tourists, partly because of Turning Torso, a 190 meter high residential building with 54 floors. Turning Torso was designed for the Bo01 area by the Spanish architecture Santiago Calatrava, inspired by the human form in motion. It is the second highest residential block in Europe, after Triumph-Palace (264 m) in Moscow.
One misty morning my sister and I took the Sihltal Zurich Uetlibergbahn (SZU) from Zurich Hauptbahnhof towards Uetliberg. At the end station, we read a sign with an arrow pointing upwards saying ”Uetliberg 15 min”. We who had expected a strenuous hike to the 871 m (2856 ft) high top realised that the guide book we had read earlier hinted at another hiking path further down the valley. It took us 5 minutes to reach the top and another couple of minutes to get to the 30 m high viewing tower.
If you want to admire the view from Uetliberg, do it on a clear day, preferably in the morning, or later in the evening if you’d like to see the blinking lights of Zürich.
I love strolling along Lake Zurich sunny mornings. The pedestrian area starts at Bellevueplatz, a hub for the city’s many trams (streetcars), and extends parallel with Uto-Quai towards Seefeldquai. About 1.5 km from Bellevueplatz is Zurichhorn Park where the popular bathing place Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen is located. Probably half of the city’s inhabitants gather here on hot summer days.
The most peaceful and tranquil place in Zurichhorn Park is the Chinese Garden. Zurich’s twin town Kunming in south-west China presented the garden as thanks for the aid with the progression of their drinking water and drainage system.
Zurich is a well-visited city among tourists, especially in the summer months when people can enjoy the lakeside parks and activities on Lake Zurich. To find a suitable accommodation during your stay in Zurich, visit Zurich Hotels.
Bungee jumping is definitely on my to-do list. And I wouldn’t hesitate to try it at one of the following places.
1. Macau Tower - China - 233 m
2. Locarno - Switzerland - 220 m
3. Bloukrans Bridge - South Africa 216 m
4. Europabrücke bei Innsbruck - Austria - 192m
5. Bhoti Kosi River - Nepal - 166 m
6. Vidraru Dam - Romania - 166 m
7. Newis Highwire, Queenstown - New Zealand - 134m
8. Auckland Bridge - New Zealand - 134 m
9. Action Valley - Peru - 122 m
10. Victoria Falls - Zimbabwe - 111 m
Den Grønne Kælder (The Green Cellar) is situated a few minutes walk from Copenhagen’s main pedestrian street Stroget. Mexican risotto, hummus, spinach lasagne, herb beef with rice, and been salad are some of the dishes included in their menu, about 80% is vegan. The savory food, the cosy and relaxed atmosphere, and its central location makes it to the best eatery in the Danish capital. Not to be missed.
Open times: Monday-Saturday 11am-10pm Lunch (Frokost): 11am-5pm
Address: Pilestræde 48, 1112 Copenhagen, Denmark
According to Guinness World Records the most spoken languages in the world are:
1. Chinese (Mandarin)
2. English
3. Spanish
4. Hindi
5. Arabic
6. Bengali
7. Portuguese
8. Russian
9. Japanese
10. German
According to Internet World Stats (March 19, 2007) the Internet top 10 languages are:
1. English
2. Chinese
3. Spanish
4. Japanese
5. German
6. French
7. Portuguese
8. Korean
9. Italian
10. Arabic
I woke up around 9am this morning, walked to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast, looked out through the window…. and see snow. In April! The weather is strange sometimes. In April two years ago I was swimming in Lake Zürich. Apart from in Lake Geneva, where else is it possible to swim in pleasant water with a view of snow covered Alp peaks? I can’t think of any other place than Zurich, at least not in Europe.
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