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.