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Thailand (full size) :

Thailand (full size)

Joseph Bengivenni

Updated: Dec 19, 2009 9:29pm PST

Syria  2009 :

Syria 2009

Martin Newman Photography

Updated: Dec 19, 2009 6:43pm PST

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Syria: Aleppo, Hama

Kathy Wilhelm

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Egypt  2006 : Visited: Cairo, Luxor, Hurghada, Dahab, Nuweiba, Alexandria, Sinai

Egypt 2006

OUTHERE

Visited: Cairo, Luxor, Hurghada, Dahab, Nuweiba, Alexandria, Sinai

Updated: Dec 19, 2009 1:06pm PST

LAKE TITICACA, THE ALTIPLANO AND IT'S REGION : Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It sits 3,812 m (12,507 ft) above sea level making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. By volume of water it is also the largest lake in South America.

The lake is located at the northern end of the endorheic Altiplano basin high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. The western part of the lake lies within the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department.

The lake is composed of two nearly separate sub-basins that are connected by the Strait of Tiquina which is 800 m (2,620 ft) across at the narrowest point. The larger sub-basin, Lago Grande (also called Lago Chucuito) has a mean depth of 135 m (443 ft) and a maximum depth of 284 m (932 ft). The smaller sub-basin, Lago Huiñaimarca (also called Lago Pequeño) has a mean depth of 9 m (30 ft) and a maximum depth of 40 m (131 ft).[4] The overall average depth of the lake is 107 m (351 ft).

Lake Titicaca is fed by rainfall and meltwater from glaciers on the sierras that abut the Altiplano. Five major river systems feed into Lake Titicaca[6]—in order of their relative flow volumes these are: Ramis, Coata, Ilave, Huancané, and Suchez. More than 20 other smaller rivers empty into Titicaca, and the lake has 41 islands, some of which are densely populated.

The Altiplano (Spanish for high plain), where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on earth outside of Tibet.


Information in this description and photography captions were taken from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Titicaca;   http://www.peru-explorer.com/titicaca.htm;
   http://www.peru-travel.com/Lake_titicaca_information.htm;    http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/topdestlaketiticaca/a/floatingislands.htm;   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uros

Pictures taken during our visit in July 2008.

LAKE TITICACA, THE ALTIPLANO AND IT'S...

andresalvador

Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It ...

Updated: Dec 18, 2009 4:16pm PST

Travel Destinations : Store Front

Travel Destinations

Tracy McCrackin Photography

Store Front

Updated: Dec 18, 2009 3:20pm PST

ESPANOLA ISLAND, GALAPAGOS, ECUADOR : The archipelago is a little world within itself, or rather a satellite attached to America, whence it has derived a few stray colonists, and has received the general character of its indigenous productions. Considering the small size of these islands, we feel the more astonished at the number of their aboriginal beings, and at their confined range. Seeing every height crowned with its crater, and the boundaries of most of the lava-streams still distinct, we are led to believe that within a period, geologically recent, the unbroken ocean was here spread out. Hence, in both space and time, we seem to be brought somewhat nearer to that great fact--that mystery of mysteries--the first appearance of new beings on this earth

.---Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle

Española is the oldest and the southernmost island in the Galapagos Island chain. Española's remote location helped make it a unique jewel with a large number of endemic creatures. Secluded from the other islands, wildlife on Española adapted to the island's environment and natural resources.

Wildlife is the highlight of Española and the star of the show is the Waved Albatross. The island's steep cliffs serve as the perfect runways for these large birds which take off for their ocean feeding grounds near the mainland of Ecuador and Peru abandoning the island between January and March. Known as endemic to the island, Española is the Waved Albatross's only nesting place. Each April the males return to Española followed shortly thereafter by the females. Mating for life, their ritual begins with the male's annual dance to re-attract his mate. The performance can take up to 5 days consisting of a series of strutting, honking, and beak fencing. Once the pair is reacquainted they produce a single egg and share the responsibility of incubation. The colony remains based on Española until December when the chick is fully grown. By January most of the colony leaves the island to fish along the Humboldt Current. Young Albatross do not return to Española until their 4th or 5th year when they return to seek a mate.

Information on Espanola Island and captions on photographs were taken from   http://www.galapagosonline.com/Islands/islands/Espanola/Espanola.html,   http://www.geographia.com/ecuador/galislands.htm,   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_Islands,   http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/marineiguana.htm,   http://www.gct.org/iguana.html,   http://www.galapagos-seniors.com/galapagosanimals/galapagos_sea_lion.html,   http://www.gct.org/birdfact.html,   http://www.galapagosonline.com/Galapagos_Natural_History/Birds_and_Animals/Birds/Boobies.html#Blue-Footed%20Booby%20(Sula%20Neboxuii),   http://www.galapagosonline.com/nathistory/wildlife/birds/galapagosbirds.htm,   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-footed_Booby,   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%1pagos_Mockingbird,   http://www.galapagostourist.org/islands/espanola-island.php,   http://www.opentravelinfo.com/travel_guide/south_america/ecuador/galapagos_islands/the_waved_albatros_galapagos_largest_sea_bird

These photographs were taken in July 2008.

ESPANOLA ISLAND, GALAPAGOS, ECUADOR

andresalvador

The archipelago is a little world within itself, or rather a satellite ...

Updated: Dec 18, 2009 1:48pm PST

SAQSAYWAMAN, PERU : One of the most imposing architectonic complexes inherited from the Inkan Society is precisely Saqsaywaman, which because of several of its qualities is considered as one of the best monuments that mankind built on the earth's surface. When the Spanish conquerors arrived first to these lands; they could not explain themselves how Peruvian "Indians" (ignorant, wild, without any ability of logical reasoning, one more animal species according to conquerors) could have built such a greatness. Their religious fanaticism led them to believe that all that was simply work of demons or malign spirits. Still today, many people believe in the inability of ancient Quechuas to create such a wonder, so they suggest that they were made by beings of some other worlds, extraterrestrial beings with superior technology that made all that possible. However, our history and archaeology demonstrate that those objects of admiration are an undeniable work of the Inkas, Quechuas, Andean people or however pre-Hispanic inhabitants of this corner of the world would be named.

The Saqsaywaman archaeological complex has an area of 3,000 hectares and is located North of Cusco and is controlled by the National Cultural Institute. 
Located 2km from the city. Together with the city of Cusco, this monumental complex is considered the first of the new seven wonders of the world. This huge construction was planned and built by Andean Man. The Incas called it the House of the Sun and the Spaniards called it a fortress because of its zig-zag shape and the 1536 revolution. The construction, which is made up of three platforms one on top of the other, was one of the most important religious complexes of its time.

Information taken from http://www.cusco.info and from   http://www.qosqo.com/qosqo/saqsaywa.htm,   http://www.perucontact.com/en/sugerencia/saqsaywaman.php,   http://www.delange.org/Sacsayhuaman/Sacsayhuaman.htm

Photos taken during our visit in July 2008.

SAQSAYWAMAN, PERU

andresalvador

One of the most imposing architectonic complexes inherited from the In ...

Updated: Dec 18, 2009 11:10am PST

MACHU PICCHU, PERU : Machu Picchu, "Old Mountain" or "The Lost City of the Incas" is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,400 meters (7,875 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Cusco. Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire.

It was built around the year 1450, but abandoned a hundred years later, at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Forgotten for centuries, the site was brought to worldwide attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction. It has recently come to light that the site may have been discovered and raided several years previously, in 1867 by a German businessman, Augusto Berns.[2] It was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. It is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu. In September of 2007, Peru and Yale University reached an agreement regarding the return of artifacts which Hiram Bingham had removed from Machu Picchu in the early 20th century. Currently, there are concerns about the impact of tourism on the site as it reached 400,000 visitors in 2003.

Information in this gallery description and photo captions are chosen from  http://en.wikipedia.org/; www.crystalinks.com/;  http://www.rediscovermachupicchu.com/;  http://www.sacredsites.com/americas/peru/machu_picchu.html;  www.go2peru.com/;  http://gorp.away.com/ and the book All Machu Picchu by Tierra Firme.

Please note that if you use the slide capability of the website the captions of each photograph will not show in the slide show.

Photos were taken during our trip to Machu Picchu on July 4 and 5, 2008

MACHU PICCHU, PERU

andresalvador

Machu Picchu, "Old Mountain" or "The Lost City of the Incas" is a pre- ...

Updated: Dec 18, 2009 10:54am PST

Auckland and surrounds : All photographs ©Nguyễn văn Tuấn

Auckland and surrounds

gillandtuan

All photographs ©Nguyễn văn Tuấn

Updated: Dec 18, 2009 2:34am PST

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