BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR

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HERE'S TO 2015
FILLED WITH TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE!!!




YEAR IN PHOTOS 2014


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The Chilean Forest: Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park and the Petrohué River/Falls

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Our drive takes us along the stretch of the road sandwiched between the tranquil Lake Llanquihue set against the looming Osorno Volcano and miles of green valley dotted by farm animals, walled by spring flowers (yellow lupines), and bordered by the Andean Mountain, which rolls and soars in lush waves.  We are heading towards Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park for a walk around the Petrohué Falls. Since leaving Puerto Varas , our guide keeps looking out the window from the motor coach to check if the cloud hanging over the tip of the Osorno Volcano has dissipated.  She wanted to show us the ' breathtaking view of the Osorno Volcano ' advertised in the tour brochure, I guess.  But even screened by clouds, I see in astonishing detail the overwhelming beauty of nature that it excites my awareness. Mirrored in the clear waters of Lake Llanquihue, one of Chile’s largest lakes, are the reflections of the clouds and snow that cover the Osorno Volcano.  T
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The Amazon, Part 1: The Riverboat and the Hoatzin Birds

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Overwhelmed by thousands of images and impressions, I could not find enough words to describe the five days I spent in the Amazon.    Words could not paint the picture of the vastness of the Amazon River, the changing color of the sky, the thousand trees and plants, and the sounds from secret places I had never known.   This trip made me understand the true meaning of the Asian proverb I read in the frontispiece of Patricia Schultz’s book, “1,000 Places to See Before You Die” – Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.   Day 1 It was raining when our plane touched down at CF Secada Vignetta Airport in Iquitos, the heart of the Amazon jungle.   The rusting plane sitting off the runway caught my eye. The rain and the rusting plane were a subtle reminder we were in the Amazon jungle indeed – a rugged place.    Our naturalist-guide, named Vics, was waiting for us at the airport.   He did not give us a formal introduction and welcome until we got on the bus
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 Auschwitz (Repost) "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana Auschwitz I - The Main Camp In 1940 Himmler, the head of SS ordered a former garrison site in the town of Oswiecin (Auschwitz in German) to be taken over and held as a concentration camp. The camp has been left almost untouched, just like it was when the Nazi left in January 1945. Like most visitors to Auschwitz, I joined an organized tour group. After meeting our guide and collecting our audio set, we headed to the gate, the main entrance to the camp. The mood was subdued as we entered the main gate that read “Arbeit Macht Frei” which means “Work will make you free.” Our guide’s voice began to tremble as she described how the prisoners thought they were going to labor camps, but in reality, the camp was designed for mass extermination. We walked through the tree-lined street between rows of brick buildings reminiscent of a college campus to see the original barrack buildin
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