The Hot Tub

I'm digging this place :)!  This is the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa located in southwest Iceland.   It's an amazing by product of the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power plant.  The rich wonderful waters are filled with minerals including silica and sulfur.  Apparently the waters are quite healing.  The temperature hovers around 104 degrees year round, regardless if the temperature is freezing outside.  While at the spa, one can enjoy silica mud baths, relaxing and floating, tucking yourself under a café or even sitting under a waterfall. 

 

 

Glass Bottom Bridge

One must appreciate China for their ability to make terrifying tourist attractions :).  This it China's newest.. a glass bottom suspension bridge of Pingjiang county in the Hunan province.  If you look below your feet, it's about a 600 feet drop.   It that doesn't cause enough anxiety,  then maybe the fact that it sways in the wind might get your heart beating faster.   The bridge is staffed and on occasion, the workers must hoax frozen and fear stricken tourist to finish their walk to the other side.

 

Tree of Life

This is the Tree of Life (Shajarat-al-Hayat) located near Jebel Dukhan Bahrain.  It's 400 years old and stands about 32 feet tall.  This Prosopis cineraria tree is extremely well adapted to living in an extremely arid environment, the desert.   This type of tree has one of the world's deepest root system.  The tree has become quite the tourist destination in the area with about 50,000 curious visitors each year.  Unfortunately,  it's being damaged by carvings and graffiti. The tree has an unknown history, but ancient artifacts found near the tree have lead archeologists to believe the tree was used in religious ceremonies of the Divmun civilization.

 

Giant's Footprint?

This is a small strange spot, but all the same, strange.  It's the Giant Footprint of Mpuluzi, South Africa.  The base can be found in a group of rock at the top of a natural mound in the earth.  What makes this footprint so unique is that it is a FOOTPRINT :)!   A six toed footprint that apparently looks  quite convincing of being the footprint of a ancient giant.  The print is about 4 feet tall and is embedded in granite.   Unfortunately,  granite isn't a sedimentary rock and isn't normally "mud" allowing for footprints.  Granite is an igneous rock which becomes solid as crystals form when a previously hot molten magma cools down.  Think a footprint could survive this process.   Even so, some  creationists, scientists and so forth are convinced this is an actual giants footprints.  Who knows :).. 

Gold 2 GO!

Gold to Go is a product brand made by the TG Gold Super Market corporation designed to dispense items made from solid gold from automated banking vending machines.  The first of these machines was placed int he lobby of the Emirates Palace hotel loced in the UAE.   Today there are more than twenty of these machines, even one located in Boca Raton, Florida.   They dispense up to 320 items made of gold including 10 gram gold bars and custom gold coins.  The vending machines are smart and update their prices to market value every 10 minutes :)!

Psychedelic Cave

The amazing and psychedelic Reed Flute Cave is located in Guilin, Guangxi, China.  This amazing cave formed of limestone is only about 180 million years old.  The cave is now a major tourist attraction and has been fitted with psychedelic lighting to make this a very unique experience.  The cave has inscriptions dating back to 792 AD in the Tan Dynasty, so this cave has been an attraction for a very long time. The cave was rediscovered in 1940s by refugees fleeing from Japanese troops.

Nature's Pool

The Hamilton Pool Preserve is located just outside of Austin, Texas (about 23 miles).  The pool was created when the dome of an underground river collapsed due to massive erosion over thousands of years.  Since the 1960s, the pool has been a popular swimming hole for local residents.   The perserve consists of 232 acres of protected natural habit including the pool that has a 50 foot waterfalls making it even more spectacular. The pool is surrounded by  large slabs of limestone and stalactites grow down from the ceiling.  The cave also is home to moss, ferns and cliff swallows.

Dubbed most Beautiful

Rua Goncalo De Darvalho, located in Porto Alegre, Brazil is  home to "the most beautiful street in the world"!   The street is flaked on either side with Rosewood trees growing up to seven stories high. The trees were planted in the 1930s by employees of German origin who worked in a brewery in the neighborhood.  Today there are well over 100 massive green trees in the heart of the city.  City projects to expand the road have threatened the future of the trees, however various groups came together to protect this tunnel of green and won... thank goodness!  All city streets should be this wonderful.. no?

Cursed Island

This is the Island of Gaiola (Isola La Gaiola Island) located in the Gulf of Naples, Italy.  The island has an villa on one side while the other is left in it's natural state .  The island appears to be quite beautiful, but locals warn that looks can be deceiving.  Apparently the island  is cursed and tales of death and misfortune surround the island.  In the early 1900s, the island was inhabited by a hermit known to locals as "The Wizard". The island has had several owners, but unfortunately, many of them have seen misfortune and untimely deaths.  One being Hans Braun who was found murdered and wrapped in a rug on the island.  The next owner, Otto Grunback, died of a heart attack on the island.  Another owner, Maurice-Yves Sandoz, committed suicide in a mental hospital.  Baron Karl Paul Langheim, went into financial ruin.  Giaanni Agnelli's, yet another owner, son committed suicide, then his newphew died of a rare cancer at age 33.  Paul Getty's (of course another owner) son was kidnapped after buying the property.  The final owner Gianpanssquale Grappone was sent to jail after his insurance company failed. Today, the island abandoned and I understand why :).  Not sure if I would want to step foot in this island..

 

Fishing Fued

Migingo Island located off the coast of Kampala, Uganda is a tiny soccer field sized island made of about 100 homes with an estimated population of 200.  It's on Lake Victoria and acts as a impasse between Uganda and Kenya.  The island homes are simple shacks made of corrugated iron sheets, but don't let that fool you.  This island docking station is a lucrative fishing point on the lake, leaving Uganda and Kenya disupting which country actually owns the island. The Ugandans believed strongly that owned the island and charged Kenyans higher taxes for fishing from the island.  Kenyans and Ugandans weren't happy with the situation, but in 2009,  the situation resolved and the it was officially declared that the island belongs to KENYA.  So there it is..  a cute little island with a big history of dispute almost leading to war.  This seems to be a common thread with many small islands. What amazes me is it that it takes 4 to 6 hours to get to shore from this little island, depending on if you are heading to Uganda or Kenya. 

  

 

 

One Grandchild Only

Shanghai soul searching :)!  This is the ultra modern city of Shanghai, China's best low tech dating service as  desperate Chinese parents go soul mate searching for their unmarried 20-30 something  children.  As China has been living under the 'one child per couple' law for decades, many families find it a priority to find their only child a good spouse.... to assure they will have grandchildren.  The ads found in People's Square park share the potential mate's age, height, job, salary, horoscope, education and so fourth.  The area is packed with potential suitors, but many of the faces posted have no idea their parents took the initiative to find them a spouse :).  Can't find the success rate online, but I'm guessing it's a bit of a challenge.