THE PAGE TURNS

April 3, 2026April 3, 2026

C is for Comoros

Where are the Comoros? Graphic by spesh531.

Fast Facts

Named for: jazīra al qamar Arabic something like جَزِيرَة قَمَر Islands of the Moon)
Long/Lat: 11.7 S/43.3 E, 10,400 mi East or 10 hrs from Castro Valley
Population: 883,000, about 13 CV’s worth
Size: 863 sq mi, 57 Castro Valleys.
Avg temp in April: 83 F/29 C
Median household income: Low, ~$3,000 annually
Official languages: Arabic & French (Ethnicity = Comorian, but heavily influenced by the Bantu, Arabic, and French)
Main industries: Spice exports; ylang-ylang an essential perfume oil, 80% of world’s supply comes from Comoros

So far, we’ve explored a few places in the Northern Hemisphere, so this is a good time to go south. How about an island chain, off the coast of Southeast Africa?

The country of the Comoros includes three islands: Ngazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Mohéli), and Ndzwani (Anjouan). A fourth island to the southeast, Mayotte, has noticeably different name: it’s French.

What were the French doing there? And, if you notice the Arabic reference to the name al Qamar or al-Qumr, what were the Arabs doing there?

April 2, 2026April 2, 2026

B is for Bhutan

Where in the world is Bhutan? Graphic by Shahid Parvez

Fast Facts

Named for: the English Bhutan refers to “Böd” or Tibet, Sanskrit for “End of Tibet” as Bhoṭa-anta (भोट-अन्त). Bhutan calls itself Druk yul (literally, “country of the Thunder Dragon” which is a Buddhist sect but sounds cool).
Long/Lat: 27.3 N/ 89.4 E 7500 West of CV, 14 hrs
Population: 770,000 (11 CVs), smallest in Asia
Size: 14,800 sq mi (1000 CVs)
Avg temp in April: 63-80 F (17-26C), cool to dry heat, depending on altitude
Median household income: $4,300, but most farm own food
Ethnicity: Mostly Ngalop, Sharchop,and Lhotsamp; some originally from Tibet or Nepal, but many indigenous. Buddhism runs a strong current through culture.
Main industries: Tourism, Cryptocurrency, Farming

Topographical map of Bhutan, with borders. Graphic from electionworld.

Bhutan is a strip of land that launches into the Himalayas, east of Nepal, north of India and Bangladesh, and south of Tibet, a region of China. Bhutan is 98.8% mountain, the most mountainous country in the world. The average elevation is 10,761 ft, which makes Andorra look like a flatland, hilly Castro Valley look like it’s under water, and New Orleans like… well… Atlantis.

We might view the people as poor, but they are rural and faithfully Buddhist, farming in those hills as they have for centuries. Except for one thing that comes from those mountains: water. The glaciers in the Himalayas melt, water runs down hill, and that creates hydroelectric power. Bhutan has a large net negative carbon usage, power to sell.

April 1, 2026April 1, 2026

A is for Andorra

Where in the world is Andorra? Graphic by Bosonic dressing.

Note: Today begins the first of the April A-Z challenge. See Running a Small Country for more details.

Fast Facts

Named for: The “Andosins” i.e. Big People or Water People or “land covered with bushes” or “the wild valleys of hell” as in Andor in the Bible. That is, nobody really knows.
Long/Lat: 42.30 N/1.30 E. 6,000 miles east of Castro Valley, 10 hours.
Population: 89,000 or 1.3 Castro Valleys
Size: 467 sq mi or 30 Castro Valleys
Avg temp in April: 55 F, very similar to CV
Median income: 28,000€ ($30k)
Ethnicity: 35% Spanish, 32% Andorran, 10% Portuguese
Main industries: Tourism, Banking (tax haven)

Andorra is a carve-out in the Pyrenees, the mountain border separating France and Spain, a roundish dot, balancing the stability between those two large personalities. It’s far larger than my Castro Valley, but more sparsely populated. That’s due to the mountains: average elevation is 6500 ft. Mountains mean ski resorts, which explains the 20 millions of tourists per year, 117 tourists per inhabitant.

It’s also a tax haven, meaning taxes so low that international companies are headquartered there. Nothing like wealthy people skiing after they’ve finished their banking. Meanwhile, the people serving them coffee earn a pittance. Same as it ever was.