Author Archives: johnkwhi

johnkwhi

About johnkwhi

I have worked as a writer, computational analyst, project manager, physicist, and lecturer during a 30-year career. I recently published the general trade book Do The Math! On Growth, Greed, and Strategic Thinking (Sage, 2012), aimed at improving general numeracy, and The House of Words (Tuttle House, 2013), a literary thriller starring New York Scrabble champ Suzy Q. I recently moved to Spain and started this Caracolas blog to record some of my experiences.

Bilbao: Modern Cathedral Town

Bilbao’s old cathedral is in the heart of its medieval pedestrian centre (Siete Calles or Seven Streets), mostly forgotten today amidst the bonhomie of pintxo bars, but fortunately there’s a new cathedral in town, the Guggenheim, a shiny titanium-clad museum … Continue reading

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Adventures in Northern Spain – Part I: The Northwest (Asturias, Galicia, Porto, Zamora)

If you’re looking for a summer trip to knock your socks off, look no further than northern Spain – all the down-home charms of yesterday with all the modern conveniences of today. I recommend two, both by car starting and … Continue reading

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A Little Bit of Spain in Pictures

After almost 2 years and 50 caracolas, the semi-regular is becoming semi-irregular, and so it’s time for a Best Of. Like the Best of Bread or Frampton Comes Alive, hopefully the collection of greatest hits exceeds the originals, the proverbial … Continue reading

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Pamplona – Not just bull runs and imagined worlds

A simple word association game with Pamplona likely brings up two – bulls and Hemingway. The running of the bulls (or encierro) is part of the Festival of San Fermín, held every July 6 to 14 in this historical capital … Continue reading

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Paella Town – Fire and water in Valencia

Valencia is the third-largest city in Spain at almost 800,000 people, and one of the largest on the Mediterranean coast behind its Catalan cousin Barcelona. A country’s third-largest city usually has to try harder, but with the biggest old city … Continue reading

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Science and Innovation in Spain: A wonderful work in progress

According to the just published Innovations Cities Forum, 8 Spanish cities are among the 445 most innovative in the world. Three Spanish cities made it to the top 100, including Barcelona (49), Bilbao (65), and Madrid (87). Surprisingly, the Asturian … Continue reading

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Made in Spain: ArcelorMittal Steel

ArcelorMittal is the world’s largest steel making company in the world with almost 240,000 employees in 20 countries, including at six locations in Spain: Etxebarri, Lesaka, and Sestao in the Basque Country, Avilés and Gijón in Asturias, and Sagunto in … Continue reading

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The best place to live in Spain!

I’ve been here a while, so I should know a few things by now. Hands down the best place to live in Spain is Asturias. Well, according to my list as weighted by my spreadsheet. Maybe your list as weighted … Continue reading

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The Canaries (Canarias)

At this time of the year, Spaniards like to go where it’s sunny. I know many people think Spain is sunny and warm all year round, but it’s just not so. In some places, it regularly gets to zero degrees … Continue reading

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La Rioja – More than Words and Wine

The Spanish language is said to have begun with a thirteenth-century monk, who first put ink to paper a poem using the vulgarized Latin spoken in medieval Spain. Like Homer’s Odyssey in Greek and Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales in English, … Continue reading

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