Panama Canal

Did you know that the French tried to dig a canal through Panama in the 1880s? They did, but after thousands (21,900) of deaths from malaria and yellow fever, they gave it up. The U.S. then went in and, chalking up only 5,600 deaths ("only"), opened the canal in 1914.You can drive or walk across bridges that span the canal.The locks move ships up and then down as they pass over the isthmus.It isn't free: they charge a toll. The most expensive, according to Wikipedia, was $331,200 in 2008 to the "Disney Magic." The least expensive toll was 36 cents, charged to Richard Halliburton who swam the canal in 1928 (also according to Wikipedia).
It takes between 8 and 10 hours to sail from one end of the canal to the other - a distance of about 50 miles. Still, it beats swinging down around the Horn if you're trying to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific.The scenery is lush and tropical. Anyone up for a boat ride?

Cliffs of Moher

On the Western Edge of the Burren area near Doolin in County Clare you will find the Cliffs of Moher. You may remember them from "The Princess Bride" where they were called "the cliffs of insanity."O'Brien's Tower rises about the midpoint of the cliffs.The view is spectacular.Just be careful when you go.That first step's a doozey!

Patos Lagoon

Lagoa dos Patos, or "Lagoon of the Ducks," is the largest lagoon in Brazil: 174 miles long and 44 miles wide.It is separated from the ocean by a sand bar and has several islands trapped within its boundaries. It got its name from Jesuit settlers who, in the 16th century, bred waterfowl there.It is a valuabe fishing spot with its varaible salinity and shalow (relatively speaking) depth, and in recent years rice has been grown in it.Mostly I just liked the name.

Pisa

Bienvenuto!
On the Western Edge of the Tuscan Region, where the Arno flows into the Ligurian Sea, you will find Pisa.Pisa has been well known since it first started as a seaport village. It has been home to the powerful Medici clan. It is where Galileo Galilei was born and conducted experiments in gravity. More recently, Andrea Bocelli was born there.

Of course, it's most famous icon is a crooked building.The tower (not the most crooked in the world, by the way) is open to the public. I knew it had been closed because they wanted to stabilize it, but I didn't realize they'd succeeded. Congratulations to the engineers who accoplished that over decades of work!The 20th century repairs to get this belltower to stop tipping over have continued into the 21st. In fact, in May of 2008, the engineers (who had removed 70 metric tons of dirt from under it to stabilize it and try to bring it at least a little more into shim) said that it had finally stopped moving for the first time in its history. Anyone want to climb up and ring the bell?

Yalta

On the North Coast of the Black Sea is the Crimea. Livadia Palace (above) was a vacation spot of Tsar Nicholas II, but it is probably most famous for being the location of the Big 3 Conference at the end of World War II.A stroll along the Tsar's Path provides you with a stunning view of this Ukranian metropolis. What I find most amazing, however, is the Swallow's Nest:

Sri Lanka

"Ayubowan."
May you enjoy the gift of long life is the traditional greeting in Sri Lanka.
From the time I learned there was a place called Sri Lanka, I admit, I was intrigued. It's a teardrop shaped island off the tip of India in the Bay of Bengal known for its Buddhism and Beaches, Lagoons and Shrines, and for Gem mining. According to one source, Vasco de Gama said that this island was the best place to go for Cinnamon and Sapphires. Anciently, the island was known as Ceylon by its inhabitants and Serendib or Serendip by Arab traders. (That's where we get our word "serendipity" in point of fact.)

Just remember who has the right of way at the crossroads.

Castile-La Mancha

>In the middle of Spain is the autonomous state of Castile-La Mancha. Its most famous denizens were an imaginary hero, Alonso Quixano, and a painter from Crete, Dominikos Theotocopoulos. Both Alonso and Dominikos were products of the end of the 16th/beginning of the 17th centuries, both have inspired flights of adventure and imagination, and both have been credited with inspiring movements in the arts and the creation of masterpieces.


















El Greco and Don Quixote de la Mancha are not the only noteworthy things of this dry plateau on the Iberian Peninsula. It is a land riddled with castles such as the Castle of Alarcón and the Castle of Torija.
It is home to Spain’s smallest National Park, Las Tablas de Daimiel.One can take a bicycle or horseback tour over the 620-mile Route of Don Quixote and find oneself following the imaginary footprints of one of literature’s best-known characters and passing through Toledo, the city that holds the El Greco House Museum.

Timbuktu

Okay, I admit it: I didn't think this was a real place. Well, not only is it real, it's got a fun history.

According to TimbuktuFoundation.Org, there was an old Tuareg woman who lived by a well in the area "called Tin Abutut who stayed at the well. In the Tuareg language, Tin Abutut means 'the lady with the big naval.' With the passage time, the name Tin Abutut became Timbuktu." (Or Tombouctou if you're French.) How many towns can boast being named after someone's belly button?











Another interesting tidbit I found was that it was not until the 20th century that a European or American actually went to and returned from Timbuktu. How fortunate that Ibn Battuta (1304-1368) went there and had been able to put it on one of his maps!

Sadly, Timbuktu is one of the poorest spots on earth, a mudbrick and tent settlement on the edge of the Sahara with people who struggle daily for existence. The mosque in the photo above is built of mud, a testament to the importance of worship in the lives of those who live there.

The desert has such stark beauty! How can something so spare be so stunning?

Maine

Maybe it's because I grew up in Southern California where leaves changing colors and falling down means that a windstorm has blown the dead, brown fronds off of the palm trees, but I love the colors of fall leaves.


I love the idea of taking a walk in a vibrantly colored landscape, splashing through dry pools of color as leaves eddy on the ground, blown from their lofty perches. Acadia National Park in Maine looks like such a gorgeous place to me.


Can you smell the autumn? Can you feel the sun's warm rays through the crisp air?

(And are you now ready for a mug of warm cider?)

Maldives

Maldives. Tiny little atolls dotting the Laccadive Sea, spread over 90,000 square kilometers. This tropical paradise is on the equator, so the average temperature ranges from a low of 79 to a high of 84.
















It's the lowest country on earth. It's highest point is 7'7" above sea level. That's it: seven feet, seven inches.Needless to say, it has a vibrant aquatic profile.










According to the State Department, "The early history of the Maldives is obscure. According to Maldivian legend, a Sinhalese prince named KoiMale was stranded with his bride--daughter of the king of Sri Lanka--in a Maldivian lagoon and stayed on to rule as the first sultan."


It's the perfect place to go and enjoy some sunshine, some snorkeling or SCUBA diving, and a brilliant sunset.

Queen Maud Land

I hesitated making this the destination today, since I am not a snow and cold fan and also because I know for a fact that at least one reader has snow "for reals," but after the day I've had at work, going sompelace silent has great appeal. Perhaps next "trip" I'll try to do something equatorial, but today, the ice is like snow: a sound baffle that insulates my poor eardrums against one more assault by the telephone's insistent and seemingly incessant shrieking for my attention.








Remote.
Austere.
Uninhabited.
Incredible.









Queen Maud Land's borders are not as well-defined as one might expect in the 21st century. Apparently Norway, who claims it as a dependent territory, has never really bothered to delineate the northern and southern borders: just the eastern and western ones. In fact, as recenty as 2008, the Prime Minister of Norway was naming mountains, so you've got to figure on there being some space in which to stretch out and be alone in this vast area; maybe even a spot that is still unnamed.




I was reading a book recently (kind of a cheesy one, but okay for brain candy I guess), that had something in it about how it has been proposed (by whom I'm sure I don't know) that Antarctica be designated as a repository for the world's print library because of its being an ice desert. Apparently conditions are ideal for preserving paper there. I knew you could put a book (or other object, but let's face it: this is me, the unrepentant bibliophile) in the freezer to inhibit mildew, but I have to admit I never drew a line of logical progression between that and shipping a box of books to Antarctica for shelving. Maybe we could park the books in Queen Maud's back yard there where her border is a little fuzzy relative to the pole. Let's call that Library Land!