SUNDAY'S SPECIAL SPOT - SALTA, ARGENTINA

Situated in the northwest of Argentina the city of Salta is perched at an elevation of 1152 m (3780 feet) above sea level. Historic colonial buildings with a Spanish influence date back several centuries. This is one of the main draws for tourism to the area. 



This amazing photograph is of the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco.

This photo is from Flickr and was taken and is owned by Domingo Leiva

Sasquatch Sighting!!

NATIONAL QUESTIONER HEADLINE:

Sources confirm that there has been a recent Sasquatch sighting in the Vancouver vicinity. In the late morning hours of Friday April 26, 2013 a civilian came across the furry, blue earmuff wearing creature. She was surprised to say the least. She was quoted describing her alarm: "Well I knew there was one in the area but to find a second one, well I was not expecting that, especially in my closet. Though, being one who adores this particular "breed" of Sasquatch I knew that he was inherently harmless". 

Our sources have substantiated that the both Sasquatches have been reunited and are cheerfully displaying their Vancouver Canucks flag while wishing the awesome hockey team best of luck in the upcoming NHL playoffs.

As for the world-traveler and up-and-coming blogger Eeva, she now faces the decision of what to do with TWO Quatchis. Here is her story.

Quatchi's one and two together at last. So does this traveler bring one, the other...or both?? The puzzle remains to be solved.

Sunday's Special Spot - Saba

"Where do you live?" 
"The Bottom."

And you raise your eyebrows. The bottom of what? In actuality, The Bottom is the capital city of the tiny Caribbean island of Saba, a municipality of The Netherlands. Home to 500 of Saba's   1400 + residents, The Bottom is where the annual Saba Carnival is hosted. Surrounded by lush vegetation, an active volcano and superb diving, this quirky named city is a jumping off point for the rest of the island.

The Bottom, capital city of Saba, Netherland Antilles

What a lush place this minute island is. 

This photo was taken from Wikimedia Commons and the image credits go to Simon Wong

The Appeal of...Part V

This next expanse is unique in that it is not only a continent but a  country as well. Yep, I am going to give my insight on a place I know I already love: Australia.


Since this continent is one vast country I will list where I will wander within it. As I stated above, I already know I will love this land. I could include other countries in the "Oceania" region, however, I am not making plans to visit them. With that, let us head to Oz.





The Appeal Of:

Darwin:  

The capital city of Oz's Northern Territory, this arid city is rich in history. And it is a stone's throw from Indonesia so it makes a sensible entry point.

Broome:

Beaches!! Camels!! Pearls!! Strikes me as fun playground and backpacker haven.

Perth:

I like the west coast of Canada so I will check out the west coast of Australia. I believe Shark Bay is in the vicinity (or at least Perth is a good starting point to trek there). 

Uluru:

I am not sure I will make it near the centre of Oz or not. I hope I can as images of Uluru (Ayer's Rock) are sheer beauty to me as the world's largest monolith and revered sacred place of  the Aboriginals. 

Melbourne:  

Kinda sounds like Vancouver......

Sydney:

The main reason is to visit a few friends in the area. And to see the Sydney Opera House. That is a cool building.

I can not pinpoint what draws me to Australia oh-so-badly. I have wanted to explore (and live) there for years. There is no single BIG reason and my descriptions above are mediocre at best. Yet I know I must visit. That is the real appeal of Australia - to just follow my desire.

Five down, one more to go....finally, South America!

SUNDAY'S SPECIAL SPOT - BERLIN

Some structures remain the same over the years while other change, figuratively speaking. Today's city has one of those monuments.  Constructed between 1788 and 1791, Berlin's Brandenburg Gate was originally erected as a city gate and represented peace. Years passed as did governments and rulers. Since then the gate has symbolized triumph, victory, militarism, division and now freedom and the re-unification of Berlin and Germany.

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany

Brandenburg Gate, which in was closed off in 1961 as part of the Berlin Wall that separated West Berlin from communist East Berlin was opened after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In 2001 the gate was renovated and restored to it's original glory.

This photo is from Wikimedia Commons. It was taken and is owned by Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de 

My "Traveling Companion"

There are a number of (travel) blogs that I follow and among them I was happy to discover that some authors travel with a "companion". As a matter of fact, I know of several friends who do the same. I was pleased to learn this as I decided, quite some time ago, to do that exact thing. It's nice too know that there are others who have a mascot too. 


So who will be my buddy when I go RTWing, you ask? Well he is a furry, hockey loving, blue earmuff wearing, camera toting Sasquatch ! Back in February 2010, during the Vancouver Winter Olympic games, my BFF gave me a key-chain with one of the three Olympic mascot attached: Quatchi. He loves hockey - need I say more? Additionally, we make a good pair since he enjoys traveling and meeting new people. Oh and food. We're a travel match made in heaven. Although I have not traveled with Quatchi yet, I intend to tote him along on my summer trips to visit family as a starting point.




I realized as I was penning this post that I should find Quatchi (tucked safely away in my rucksack along with all my travel gear) and have a fun photo op! Especially since the night before I learned that a fellow Couch Surfer also traveled with her Quatchi key-chain. I was spurred on to finish this blog post and snap some adorable pictures. I dug into my closest and hoisted my trusty bag onto my bed. My kitten was intrigued by a new place to sit in as I hastily pulled items and threw them around. Uh...where was Quatchi?! He was not there! I sifted through everything strewn about my  bed. He was nowhere to be found. I checked the junk drawer, silently scolding myself for putting this special key-chain in such a place. Nope! Not there either. Where is Quatchi?! I check every known place he could be. HE'S MISSING!!! What now? I must of inadvertently put him in the "toss/donate" pile when I moved in the fall. Replacing a 2012 Winter Olympic mascot key-chain was not that simple, I suspected. They were only available for a short time and in limited numbers. Three years later there can not be a store carrying them. Hmmmm...but this is the 21st century. The Internet to the rescue, specifically E-Bay. Not only do I find an unused Quatchi key-chain with tags still attached, he is being sold locally! I placed my order and picked him up days later. Easy-peasy! Gotta love the Internet!

So here is my "new" traveling companion. Piper was interested in him but I was afraid he might become her new toy so I had to remove him from her little paws. Quatchi's first trip will be to Ontario when I visit my family in the upcoming months. I anticipate the day when Quatchi and I will begin our epic journey!  Onward ho!

SUNDAY'S SPECIAL SPOT - TIMBUKTU

The use of  exaggeration in our vernacular carries some interest. In trying to make a point we often use words incorrectly: "I'm so far behind I'll have reports coming out my yin yang". Since when is "yin yang" a part of, well I don't know what? Or we combine words that express the magnitude of something: "It cost like, a bazillion dollars". That is not a number. Then there is the reference to some imaginary far off place: "That's across town. It's like going from here to Timbuktu".  So where would this hypothetical place be anyways? But there IS a place called Timbuktu! And that is locale for today's photos.

Timbuktu is a city in the West African country of Mali, situated on the edge of the Sahara Desert, north of the Niger River. Maintaining a permanent settlement in the 12th century, Timbuktu has seen its share of prosperity, empires, wars, educational affluence, colonialism, and independence. Despite its storied past, sadly Timbuktu is one of the poorest areas in the world. 

Today I am posting two photos since I could not choose between them. The photographer is very skilled and I recommend that you follow the credits link below or click the photos themselves to see some of his fabulous work. This is not a referral or anything like that, I just really like his photos and hope you do as well.

This is a view of Timbuktu near its market.

This is Sankore Mosque/Madrasah, one of three such ancient centres of learning and their designated mosques found in Timbuktu.

Recently, the city has seen more turmoil and pain with rebellions and a military coup. These events have damaged parts this UNESCO World Heritage Site and even worse, has had human casualties. 

Both photos are from Flickr and are owned and copyrighted by rajarajaraja