39 years ago, after the Inca Trail, I went to the Princeton Uni field station. 2 days by truck over the Andes, 2 on boats up the Madre de Dios river to get there; a day by boat and a plane to get out. The Madre de Dios is a tributary of the Amazon - but today, we get to see the Amazon proper!

Machu Picchu a few days ago - views so stunning that we could only sit down and watch. No photo can do true justice, given the high mountains surrounding the site and the constant flutter of butterflies

Thirty-nine years ago I did the Inca trail but fell ill at the end and missed Machu Picchu. Had fabulous visit today when torrential rain stopped, clouds cleared and the sun shone giving awesome views. Here’s start and end of the trail - and MP in all its glory

Our new paper is now out on "Temperature-sensitive incubation, transmissibility and risk of Aedes albopictus-borne chikungunya virus in Europe". Chikungunya has a lower thermal threshold for transmission than previously thought, carrying a higher risk of outbreaks across Europe. lnkd.in/g79PzgqJ

Me: como te llamas? It: Llamas Me: si, como te llamas It: ??

Great day in the Sacred Valley yesterday visiting Moray, where Incas did agricultural experiments, Maras with some 3000 salt pools, and the amazing Ollantaytambo with its incredible stone masonry

Final two weeks to submit your abstract to present at this year’s UK VBD Conference in Liverpool. Don’t miss out! Submission deadline is 28th February 2026. forms.cloud.microsoft/e/j9hjJbCnRS

And a few more pics

Lovely houses in our village

And more from the fete

Then up to 12000 ft and the sacred valley where there happened to be a village fete by our pousada, with kids spraying everyone with foam and water. Lots of grilled pork and guinea pigs to enjoy

Great choice of potatoes in the supermarket

Lovely Lima - misty this time of year but excellent and extraordinary Museum Larco (especially the erotica room) and wonderful Pisco sours

Sunshine in Lima. I w feel like shoots that have just appeared above ground and seen the sun

Godwits on Meols beach

We are delighted to announce registration is now open for the seventh UK Vector-Borne Diseases Conference. 31st March-1st April 2026. Register here: bit.ly/48ZQ7ee

"I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace"

Over the moon with my improving DIY skills - here repairing water damage to a friend’s ceiling.

Adolf Hitler “unacceptable for Poland to not be part of Germany”. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Dunlin at Hoylake this morning

Wildlife in Iriki park, Morocco. Two species of gazelle (Dorcas with white rump) and Dama; addax (reintroduced) and ostrich (also reintroduced). Wonderful colouring on the addax face

Riad pool in Marrakech- unfortunately I am more like 6 ft tall so was not allowed in

This bit of tree, in a hotel garden in Ouirgane in the High Atlas, is also interesting. OH says she sees a snail. I’m a bit smuttier

Overlooking Foum Zguid in southern Morocco. I see Buddha toes and Jabba the Hut mountains. What do you see?

Enjoying a fine few days hiking and camping in the Moroccan desert.

My James Watson story. My partner (J) worked at Nature and a friend (M) took on the role of book review editor (mat cover) in 2002/3. While M was in the role a new book by Watson came in; sent it to review, the review was published in Nature.

Catching an early LeShuttle en route to Switzerland. My 1977 Michelin map of north France not looking as useful as I hoped - the main autoroutes seem to be missing

@liverpooluni.bsky.social's prestigious five-year Fellowships, launched in 2023, are now inviting applications from early career researchers with innovative AI-focused research ideas that address one of the University’s five research frontiers. Closes: 1 Dec 25 news.liverpool.ac.uk/2025/10/24/u...

Our paper on the flower import industry as a route for Culicoides (and their diseases) into Europe is now out 🙌🏽🦟🌹✈️🌍 resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... This is all thanks to @baylism.bsky.social persistence 🙌🏽 @royentsoc.bsky.social @globalvectorhub.bsky.social #VBD #midges #BTV

Very clear message from @brusselsairlines.bsky.social “Due to a technical issue at Brussels airport, it is only possible to do manual check-in and boarding. We strongly advise all passengers to check in online and to use the Self Bag drop when arriving at the airport” Thanks, I’ll do that.

An AI for an AI - new paper by @liambrierley.bsky.social on machine learning approaches to predict avian influenza viruses are zoonotic based on sequence information: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Aedes albopictus Is Rapidly Invading Its Climatic Niche in France: Wider Implications for Biting Nuisance and Arbovirus Control in Western Europe 🔗 buff.ly/5NGai2L

And the birds of the Pantanal - even better than the jaguars!

A few jaguar pics from Porto Jofre in the Pantanal. We were lucky enough to see 7 different jaguars in two days, some hunting caiman, one eating one

It’s the mad mozzy hour in the Pantanal - about 5:40 to 6:30 pm

one of the rules on Sugarloaf mountain is that you are not allowed to apologise for your crimes (3rd from bottom). So I kept quiet and will seek forgiveness elsewhere

I don’t think there is any city in the world as dramatic as Rio de Janeiro - the mix of hills, beaches and islands is astonishing.

I’ve now been retired for two weeks and I have not been to the local tip EVEN ONCE. Admittedly I spent 7 days on a trip to Australia but even so - this isn’t right.

I spent over a year in Australia in the 1980s and saw none of these in the wild. Two hours today on Magnetic Island off Townsville and saw 3 and a baby. Gorgeous place

Enjoying a £59 single of whisky on retirement night

Great visit to the Western Approaches museum in Liverpool today. Fascinating glimpse into a secret past

Officially unemployed!

I’m in my last 3 minutes of paid employment. What shall I do??

Today I put in recycling bins or threw in a skip the contents of my office built up over 40 years. The only way to do it is to not look - start reading and you’ve lost. Emotionally drained regardless

It’s taken 36 years since my DPhil was awarded in 1989 but I have a new qualification. Level 1 City&Guilds in Plastering!

Come on you beauties. Still not fully ripe but can’t be long now

Pain and suffering on women in Christian art - St Peter’s Church, Leuven

Enjoying a couple of days at a conference in Leuven - beautiful townhall, interesting beguinage (look it up) and home of the world’s biggest brewery (AB InBev)

Wonderful brickwork on this property in Leuven, Belgium - incredible angling to fit with the slope of the roof. Never seen anything like it before

My first proper go at plastering. It’s hard!