Andorra

Country Information:

Andorra is a landlocked country, sandwiched between the French and Spanish borders. The country is a parliamentary democracy that is ruled as a co-principality by two princes—the French president and a Spanish Bishop. There roughly 86,000 Andorrans living here. Andorra is the only country in the world where the official language is Catalan. But French, Castilian and Portuguese are also widely spoken. The majority of the population practices Roman Catholicism. The capital of Andorra is Andorra La Vella. The time zone is 6 hours ahead of EST.

Jim’s Perspectives:

Andorra is known for its tourism, retail and spectacular mountainous views. In fact because it is so mountainous there is only one road entering Andorra from France and likewise only one road entering Andorra from Spain. Andorra has ski resorts and mountainous slopes. 

Took a hike through downtown and through a residential district to snap the photo above (2015).

One fun fact about Andorra is that Andorrans are a minority in their country. Estimates show that roughly two thirds of the Andorran population are not of Andorran nationality. In fact people of Spanish nationality account for roughly 43% of the population.

 

Turkey

Country Information: The capital of Turkey is Ankara. There are approximately 81 million people living here. The official language of Turkey is Turkish, but Kurdish is also spoken. The majority of Turks are Muslim, mostly Sunni.  Jim's Perspectives: Have been to...

Turkimenistan

Janette ... the love of my life The highlight of the my trip in '16 was having the chance to visit an Ahal-Teka horse farm where I fell in love with Janette, a tall thin blond with blue eyes, long legs and silky skin. I miss her... The capital of Turkmenistan is...

Finland

Helsinki, Finland: Jim and Susan in 1992, sitting at the statue & flowers in front of the White Cathedral Country Information: Finland gained independence in 1917. The capital is Helsinki. About 5.5 million people live here and the official language is Finnish...