Cancun, Mexico

Playa del Carmen

Marvelling at a 1300-year-old Maya palace at Palenque as parrots screech and howler monkeys growl in the sweaty emerald jungle around you. This is Mexico. Sliding from a palm-fringed sandy beach into the warm, turquoise waves of the Pacific at Puerto Vallarta. This, too, is Mexico. Dining on salmon enchiladas and chrysanthemum salad at a Mexico City fusion restaurant, dancing through the night at a high-energy Guadalajara nightclub, kayaking at dawn past a colony of Baja California sea lions – all these are unique Mexican experiences. Every visitor goes home with their own unforgettable images. Such a large country, straddling temperate and tropical zones, reaching 5km into the sky and stretching 10,000km along its coasts, with a city of 19 million people at its center and countless tiny pueblos everywhere, can hardly fail to provide a huge variety of options for human adventure.

Mexico is what you make of it. Its multi-billion-dollar tourism industry is adept at satisfying those who like their travel easy. But adventure is what you’ll undoubtedly have if you take a just a few steps off the pre-packaged path. Activity-based tourism, community tourism and genuine ecotourism – the type that actually helps conserve local environments – are developing fast in rural areas. The opportunities for getting out to Mexico’s spectacular wild places and interacting with local communities are greater than ever – from world-class canyoneering near Monterrey or cooking lessons in the Veracruz countryside to hiking the Oaxaca cloud forests and snorkeling the coral reefs of the Yucatán.

Planning your first trip to Mexico? Be ready for more crowds, noise, bustle and poverty than you’re accustomed to, especially if it’s your first trip outside the developed world. But don’t worry – most Mexicans will be only too happy to help you feel at home in their country. Invest a little time before your trip in learning even just a few phrases of Spanish – every word you know will make your trip that little bit easier and more enjoyable.

Tulum, Mexico

The staples of Mexican cuisine are typically corn and beans. Corn, traditionally Mexico’s staple grain, is eaten fresh, on the cob, and as a component of a number of dishes. Most corn, however, is used to make masa, a dough for tamales, tortillas, gorditas, and many other corn-based foods. Squash and peppers also play important roles in Mexican cuisine.

The most important and frequently used spices in Mexican cuisine are chili powder, cumin, oregano, cilantro, epazote, cinnamon, and cocoa.Chipotle, a smoke-dried jalapeño chili, is also common in Mexican cuisine. Many Mexican dishes also contain garlic and onions.

Next to corn, rice is the most common grain in Mexican cuisine. According to food writer Karen Hursh Graber, the initial introduction of rice toSpain from North Africa in the 4th Century led to the Spanish introduction of rice into Mexico at the port of Veracruz in the 1520s. This, Graber says, created one of the earliest instances of the world’s greatest fusion cuisines.

found on lonelyplanet.com

White ripples of sand formed in the pristine waters as small sailboats glided peacefully in the horizon. The water is beautiful with many different shades of blue colored like a pastel painting. Seeeing that it can be easily understood why Boracay Island was known as the “Jewel of the Philippines”. This pearl among tropical islands was well-guarded secret paradise, until 1970s. From around that time Boracay island slowly graduated from a private travellers hangout to a favourite tourist destination in the Philippines and place with the best beach in the world.

Boracay is a tropical island in the Philippines, an hour flight from Manila. The island is approximately seven kilometers long, dog-bone shaped with the narrowest spot being less than one kilometer wide. Island is famous for its powder-fine white sand, clear warm water and nice, pleasant weather all year round.

Take a boat trip around the island and you’ll discover many beautifull beaches. Boracay’s two primary tourism beaches, White Beach and Bulabog Beach, are located on opposite sides of the island’s narrow central area. White Beach faces westwards, it’s 4km long and can be crowded. Skimboarding has come to Boracay in a big way.
Skimboarding is a clean and cheap sport, and has become popular along White Beach. The locals teach visitors the basics. A large variety of gourmet restaurants with food from many cultures are all within walking distance this magnificant white beach. Fine French cuisine, swiss food, several true Italian restaurants and wooded oven pizzerias, local Philippine food, sea food, Chinese and Thai food, Korean and many other food specialties.

Bulabog Beach faces eastwards and presents the best kiteboarding and watersport beach in Asia, due to the unique wave breaking reefs and ideal wind situations. There are numerous competitions and events here as well. It is also less developed and quieter than White Beach. Visit Kingfisher’s Farm where you can fish for your lunch and the staff will grill up your catch. Diving is extremely popular around Boracay. The waters surrounding Boracay have excellent sites for beginners and experienced divers alike. The waters are packed with vibrant fish and reefs, wreck sites, caves and canyons. There are 30+ great dive sites within 30 minutes of Boracay.

found on philippinestravels.net

Ponza and Gavi are the remains of a caldera rim of an extinct volcano, with a surface area of 7.3 square kilometers. Ponza is approximately 5.5 Miles long by 1.5 miles (2.4 km) at its widest. It is a crescent shaped island with one large beach called Spiaggia di Chiaia di Luna (Half Moon Beach) and a few small beaches and has a mostly rocky coast made of kaolin and tuff rock.
The island has layers of Kaolinite and Bentonite which used to be mined. It has many odd natural rock formations, one looks like a monk, another looks like a giant pair of work pants, Spaccapurpo (Arco Naturale O Spaccapolpi), another looks like a patch of flowers and another one looks like mushrooms, another looks like a horseman. It has the Fantasy Rock Castle and several natural bridges and arches.

It also has Faragliones or giant sea stacks made of solid rock. It has several small villages, among them are Commune di Ponza, Santa Maria and Le Forna. Ponza is often confused with nearby islands like Ischia and Capri, except Ponza has no active volcanism.

The island was inhabited from neolithic through Roman times. According to local legends, Ponza was named after Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea who tried Jesus of Nazareth for heresy. Pontius Pilate’s family owned a grotto on Ponza, which is still named after him.
The Pontius Pilate legend of Ponza’s name has recently come into dispute amongst historians, because the name “Pontia” appears in Strabo’s Geography. This pre-dates the birth of Pilate. It is not known if this is the same name as Ponza or a similar name. “Pontia” means “Land of Bridges” in Latin and Ponza has many natural arches and natural bridges, so that may be the origin of the name Pontia.

found on wikipedia.org

Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island off the Eastern coast of Australia is said to be the whitest beach in the world. The sand is made almost entirely of silica which provides the incredibly white color. The sand is so pure, NASA has used it to make special telescope lenses. Whitehaven beach stretches for over 7 km (4 miles) along the largest of the Whitsunday Islands. Trips leaving from mainland Australia to visit the beach leave multiple times a day, and there is a variety of accommodation on Whitsunday Island. Visitors shouldn’t miss a trip to the nearby outer Great Barrier Reef, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

found on beautifulplacestovisit.com

Hong Kong glows at night.

On first acquaintance Hong Kong can overwhelm. Navigate its teeming, tightly packed sidewalks and you’re met at every turn with neon signage, steam-filled canteens, molasses-slow traffic and a Babel of chatter.
Once this first sensory wave has rolled over you, though, take a deep breath and start swimming with the current, because you’ll find Hong Kong is a place to delight in.
Utterly safe and fantastically well organised, it offers little moments of perfection. You may find them on a plastic stool enjoying a bargain bowl of beef brisket soup or simply gazing at the thrilling harbour vistas. You’ll find them taking afternoon tea in the cool of a five-star hotel lobby or enjoying balmy open-air beers in the party zones.

Hong Kong can nudge you out of your comfort zone but usually rewards you for it, so try the stinky beancurd, sample the shredded jellyfish, brave the hordes at the city centre horseracing and join in the dawn tai chi. Escape the city limits and other experiences await – watching the sun rise from a remote mountain peak, hiking surf-beaten beaches or exploring deserted islands.

If it’s pampering you’re after, money can buy the ultimate luxuries in a city well used to serving its tiny, moneyed elite. Yet Hong Kong is also a city of simple pleasures. Most often it’s the least pricey experiences – a $2 tram or ferry ride, a whiff of incense curling from temple rafters, savouring fishing-village sundowners and seafood – that are the stuff of priceless memories.

Hong Kong Island beach.

found on lonelyplanet.com

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 km².
Depending on measurement, it is the largest or second largest body of water after the five oceans.
The minute South China Sea Islands, collectively an archipelago, number in the hundreds. The sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to competing claims of sovereignty by several countries. These claims are also reflected in the variety of names used for the islands and the sea.

Within the sea, there are over 200 identified islands and reefs, most of them within the Spratly Islands. The Spratly Islands spread over an 810 by 900 km area covering some 175 identified insular features, the largest being Taiping Island (Itu Aba) at just over 1.3 km long and with its highest elevation at 3.8 metres.
The largest singular feature in the area of the Spratly Islands is a 100 km wide seamount called Reed Tablemount, also known as Reed Bank, in the northeast of the group, separated from Palawan Island of the Philippines by the Palawan Trench.
Now completely submerged, with a depth of 20 m, it was an island until it sank about 7,000 years ago due to the increasing sea level after the last ice age. With an area of 8,866 km², it is one of the largest submerged atoll structures of the world.

found on wikipedia.org

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is an amazing rendezvous of yachts. First run twenty-six years ago as La Nioulargue, the regatta gathers together the most extraordinary modern sailing boats alongside the most beautiful traditional yachts in the early autumn. A host of racers and sailing enthusiasts come from all the corners of the globe to do battle in the bay of Saint-Tropez. The Trophée Rolex is awarded to the winner of the Classic Division over 16 metres.

found on regattanews.com

Kerguelen, a subantarctic island of volcanic origin, is located in the South Indian Ocean, approximately 3,300 mi. (5,310 km) southeast of the southern tip of Africa (see map). Also known as Desolation Island, it is the largest of the 300 islands, islets and reefs in the Kerguelen Archipelago (total area ca. 2,700 mi2 / 7,000 km2), which lie between 48° to 50°S and 68° to 70°E. The region is part of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories — Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises (TAAF), which also includes Terre Adélie (Antarctica), the Crozet Archipelago, and the tiny islands of Amsterdam/St-Paul.

TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES

Ille Kerguelen, covering an area of 1,318 mi2 (3,414 km2), has a highly irregular coastline with a number of large peninsulas linked to the island by low, narrow isthmuses. These large features are further sub-divided by fjords into smaller peninsulas. Remarkably, despite its total area, no point on the main island is more than 12 mi. (20 km) from the sea.

Mainnland, the main features are the numerous valleys and ridges with the highest point, the glaciated Mount Ross, reaching a height of 6,068 ft. (1,850 m). Mount Ross is the youngest volcanic edifice recognized in the Kerguelen Archipelago. The Kerguelen Islands lie in the Northern part of the Kerguelen-Gaussberg ridge, having been built up by a series of thick lava flows over millions of years (see “Origins of the Kerguelen Plateau”).
Cook Glacier covers nearly one third of the island, and the abundant rainfall combined with glacial meltwater keeps numerous streams and lakes full of water. Peat marshes, lignite, and guano deposits are found on the island.

WEATHER

Kerguelen’s weather is harsh, with rain, sleet or snow falling more than 300 days a year; it is not unusual to get snow at sea level in the middle of the summer. Winds blow continuously from the west, as the islands lie in the path of the “Furious Fifties”. Averaging 68 m.p.h. (110 km/hr) year-round, sustained winds of 93 m.p.h. (150 kph) are commonplace, and gusts of up to 124 m.p.h. (200 kph) have been recorded. Appropriately enough, the lone chapel on the island is called Notre Dame des Vents.

Kerguelen lies on the Antarctic Convergence where upwelling cold water from the Antarctic mixes with the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean, birdlife and marine mammals are abundant. The state of the sea reflects the high wind speeds, with wave heights of 40-50 ft. (12-15m) being common. The sea around Kerguelen is, however, ice free.

found on discoverfrance.net

Most people who haven’t yet made it to Cuba for holidays are the same – they’ve always meant to take vacation there, it’s just never worked out for them. The thing is – if you’re gonna visit Cuba, take your trip as soon as possible. Fidel Castro stepped down as president of Cuba and even though it’s his brother who took over, Cuba’s going to change.
Mass Tourism in Cuba
Cuba has already undergone a significant change and whoever took holidays at the island before that first change got the best out of it. That change came in 1994. After the fall of Berlin Wall and end of communism in Eastern Europe, Cuba’s main business partner – Russia was on the brink of bankruptcy and had to deal with its own crumbling economy so Cuba lost its foreign supportive hand and 80% of international trade. Fidel Castro – to day recognized as world’s greatest leader (recognized as such by everyone except from Americans) did the only thing he could to save his country from complete financial collapse: opened Cuba to mass tourism.

Still Same Old Cuba
Everything about Cuban way of life, its crumbling continental architecture, saloon cars from the 50′s, tobacco fields, cigar factories and some of the world’s best medical care and education remained the same. The difference was most noticeable in areas known for world’s finest beaches. Varadero is basically a tourist resort. It’s not even a Cuban town. It’s a location with high density of hotels and crap loads of tourists.
Similarly, while streets of Cuba are still not too busy and still dominated by those old American vintage gas-guzzling monsters, it is not unusual to see a shiny modern car in the mix. That would be a foreigner on a rental.

Havana
Havana has the best hospitals and schools in the Caribbean. The colonial architecture will remind you of Spaniards who conquered the island. The mass tourism has not affected Cuba’s capital much. Old hotels built in the 30′s are still in operation. Most give funky smell, but from the window you can see it all – national monuments, street performers, incredibly beautiful Cuban girls, coco-taxis, old men sitting on a street smoking cigars, little traffic mostly consisting of those old two tone saloon cars and palm trees.

found on lonelyplanet.com

Sprawling across half of South America, Brazil has captivated travelers for at least 500 years. Powdery white-sand beaches, lined with palm trees and fronting a deep blue Atlantic, stretch for more than 7000km. Dotting this coastline are tropical islands, music-filled metropolisesand enchanting colonial towns. Inland, Brazil offers dazzling sights of a different flavor: majestic waterfalls, red-rock canyons, and crystal-clear rivers – all just a small part of the natural beauty. Its larger and more famous attractions are the Amazon and the Pantanal, the pair hosting some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet. Wildlife-watching is simply astounding here, as is the opportunity for adventure – though you needn’t go to the jungle to find it. Kayaking, rafting, trekking, snorkeling and surfing are just a few ways to spend a sun-drenched afternoon in nearly any region in Brazil.

Some of the world’s most exciting cities lie inside of Brazil’s borders, and travelers need not come to Carnaval to experience the music, dance and revelry that pack so many calendar nights. Given the country’s innumerable charms, the only drawback to traveling in Brazil is a logistical (and financial) one: you simply won’t want to leave!

found on lonelyplanet.com

A healthy working situation…?

In the 2000 Wolfgan g Peterson film “The Perfect Storm,” actor George Clooney portrays B illy Tyne, captain of the ill-fated Andrea Gail fishing boat. The story comes from a real-life incident — three storms meet in the Atlantic Ocean where th e Andrea Gail and her crew are hauling in swordfish. All six crew members perish. The movie gave audiences an inside look at the extreme weather and lethal work that members of the commercial fishing industry endure. It also paved the way for a television show that, several years later, would put viewers on those boats.

“Deadliest Catch” debuted on The Discovery Channel in the spring of 2005. While “The Perfect Storm” followed sword fishermen in the Atlantic, “Deadliest Catch” takes viewers inside the lives of commercial crab fishermen on six different vessels off the Alaskan coast’s Bering Sea. Airing in 150 countries, “Deadliest Catch” consistently draws up to 3 million viewers in the United States each week. The show was created by executive producer Thom Beers, of Los Angeles-based Original Productions. Beers dreamed up the idea after spending time aboard the fishing boat Fierce Allegiance while filming another Discovery show called “Extreme Alaska.”
The show is titled “Deadliest Catch” because of the inherent peril of the Alaskan crab fishing industry. In the 1980s, the job was at its deadly peak, with an average of 37 fishermen perishing each year. New safety regulations and changes in how fishing permits are granted has led to a decline in the death toll. Still, between 2003 and 2008 an average of 11 fishermen per year died at sea [source: Associated Press].

Drowning accounts for 87 percent of those deaths — generally man-overboard or sinking-boat scenarios. Deck injuries account for the other 13 percent [source: CDC]. On deck, you run the risk of being crushed by a swinging 800-pound (362-kg) crab cage called a pot. You could also get entangled in a winch, smashed by a hydraulic lift or sucked into a bait-cutting machine.

Sound brutal? That’s because it is. In this article, we’ll take you inside “The Deadliest Catch” and the grueling business of capturing crab. But first, let’s learn how to translate all that crab fishermen vernacula.

found on discoverychannel.com

The Republic of Cape Verde
(pronounced /ˌkeɪp ˈvɜrd/ ( listen); Portuguese: Cabo Verde, pronounced [ˈkabu ˈveɾdɨ]; Kabuverdianu: Kabu Verdi) is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa. The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of them (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation. Due to the infrequent occurrence of rainfall the overall landscape is not particularly green, as the country’s name suggests (verde is Portuguese for “green”); the name of the country stems instead from the nearby Cap Vert, on the Senegalese coast.

The previously uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, and became an important location in the Atlantic slave trade due to their geographically advantageous position. The islands’ prosperity often attracted pirates including Sir Francis Drake, who twice sacked the (then) capital Ribeira Grande, in the 1580s. The islands were also visited by Charles Darwin’s expedition in 1832. The decline in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis. With few natural resources and without strong sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the people grew increasingly discontent with the colonial masters, whom nevertheless refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomy.
This discontent festered and culminated in 1975, when a movement led by Amílcar Cabral achieved independence for the archipelago.

The country has an estimated population (most of it of creole ethnicity) of over 500,000, with its capital city (Praia), accounting for the majority of its citizens. Nearly 45% of the population lives in rural areas, about 20% lives below the poverty threshold, and their is a literacy rate around 85%. Politically, the country is a very stable democracy, with notable economic growth and improvements of living conditions, despite its lack of natural resources, and has garnered International recognition by other countries and international organizations, which often provide development aid. Since 2007, Cape Verde has been classified as a developing nation.

fond on wikipedia.org