Yes Keith,
I too was told that, although Dakar in Senegal was also an emergency landing ground for the Shuttle. Which is (metaphorically) up the road.

I miss ASI, but I don't miss MPA. The finest thing to do in ASI (after a couple of drinks of course) was to lie on one of the cinder paths in the dark and just look at the Milky Way, absolutely stunning - shooting stars, satellites et al. Brian Cox . . . eat your heart out!

Ah well, nostalgia is not what it used to be. We must stop communicating and re-commence slagging ourselves off like those around us ;o)

Take care