Welcome

March 4, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Hi. I’m Marie and you are very welcome to HopsSkipsandJumps. If you are reading this you are probably like me – happiest when planning your next trip (or 2… or 3….!) I’m a very unlikely victim of a travel bug. Firstly, the gene pool – my parents were of that generation that only […]

BROWN!

July 1, 2026.Reading time 1 minute.

For Dan’s CFFC Crayola Box Brown

On the Road in Montenegro – (1) Kotor and Thereabouts

June 30, 2026.Reading time 31 minutes.

At the moment of the creation of our planet, the most beautiful merging of land and sea occurred at the Montenegrin seaside. So declared Lord Byron in the early 19th century and, whilst I might debate its being THE most beautiful piece of coastline I’ve ever encountered, I’m happy to acknowledge that the country is […]

MURAL!

June 14, 2026.Reading time 1 minute.

I’ve used this one before – but I love it!!! Cesária Évora was a Morna singer from Cape Verde. This mural is in Mindelo on São Vicente Island. Portuguese artist Vhils drilled and scraped layers from the wall to form a low relief portrait. FOR DEBBIE’S ONE WORD SUNDAY

HAVE A LOOK AT MADAGASCAR’S CULTIVATED LANDSCAPE

June 14, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

I’d always imagined Madagascar as total jungle, narrowly framed by tropical beaches. Anything but! Especially nowadays. The island, which is a bit bigger than France and about twice the size of Arizona, now devotes over 70% of the land to farming. Most farms are small family units – there’s somewhere between 2.4 and 2.5 MILLION […]