Monday, April 28, 2008
Five Islands: New Zealand
Ah, the crown jewel. I probably keep Parker looking over every square mile of these two islands - at this point, he probably knows them as well as he does the geography of Florida.
What can I say about New Zealand? Simply that I think it is the single most perfect place on Earth, at least from every image, film travelouge, and book I have read. When I think of New Zealnd, I immediately think of Gonzo's solo in The Muppet Movie:
This looks familiar, vaguely familiar,
Almost unreal, yet, it's too soon to feel yet.
Close to my soul, and yet so far away.
I'm going to go back there someday.
Sun rises, night falls, sometimes the sky calls.
Is that a song there, and do I belong there?
I've never been there, but I know the way.
I'm going to go back there someday.
Come and go with me, it's more fun to share,
We'll both be completely at home in midair.
We're flyin', not walkin', on featherless wings.
We can hold onto love like invisible strings.
There's not a word yet for old friends who've just met.
Part heaven, part space, or have I found my place?
You can just visit, but I plan to stay.
I'm going to go back there someday.
I'm going to go back there someday.
Labels: Parker, Where in the World
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Five Islands: Reunion
The next island Parker and I explored on line was Reunion. This little gem in the Indian Ocean is comprised mainly of three massive volcanic craters, or cirques, one of which is active. I was intrigues by the remoteness of it all - many of the villages within these maze of valleys are inaccessible save by tortuous trails across cliff faces or by helicopter.
Photos by Ptorodellas and Manu Frankness
Labels: Parker, Where in the World
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Friday, January 18, 2008
Five Islands: The Andamans
The third set of islands that Parker and I looked over are the Maldives. From high above the ocean, the Maldives appear as tiny circles of blue spread like a necklace across the middle of the Indian Ocean. On closer view, you see they are in fact coral atolls, stretching for hundreds of miles across the sea.
The Maldives as seen from space (photo courtesy NASA)
A closer view (photo by The Kosovar.
The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in terms of population. Of its roughly 1100 islands, only 200 are inhabited. It is also the smallest predominantly Muslim nation in the world.
Tourism is the primary economy of the islands, renowned for their crystal clear waters and spectacular diving opportunities. Most resorts feature individual huts suspended over the atolls and connected by walkways (Photo of resort by Andy Morris
The only island that belies this idyllic back-to-nature setting is the capital of the Maldive, Male, which covers its island from shore to shore and must be concerned with the idea of a rising sea level every day (Photo by Shahee Ilyas:
It looks like a very gorgeous place to visit, though I think the only way to really appreciate it would be to be SCUBA certified.
It also looks as though cultural norms on the island are changing, due in no small part to the key role of the tourist. In the wake of a bombing in December, the Maldive government is severely restricting foreign clerics from entering the islands, and is banning the head-to-toe clothing required of all females (there already was an exception for women working in the tourist resorts). It will be interesting to see whether religious or economic concerns will determine policy in the islands over the next few decades.
Labels: Parker, Where in the World
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Friday, December 28, 2007
Five Islands: Madeira
Here is the second entry in Parker's and my review of islands of the world that we would like to visit:
One of the most unique features of the island are the levadas, a series of stone aqueducts and tunnels created by the original Portuguese settlers to bring water from the north side of the island to the south. These stone troughs are often wide enough to allow for hiking along the edge. In some places the levadas are in level territory, but in others the aqueducts go high into the mountains, and walking them becomes a delicate balancing act, particularly is one suffers from vertigo. I'd like to think I could walk on one of these, but if the photos I've seen are any indication, some of them are probably a little too agoraphobia-inducing for my tastes.
The New Years' fireworks celebration holds the Guinness Record for being the world's largest. Parker is eager to see that, as am I.
Labels: Homeschooling, Parker, Sheer Awesome, Where in the World
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Saturday, November 17, 2007
Five Islands: Socotra
Parker and I love to explore Google Earth. It's an excellent way to explore the world and get children to see the distances between places, and its inclusion of photos from Panoramio allow them to see exactly what its like in other parts of the world by looking at photos of everyday life taken by normal people. Parker and I especially like to look at the islands around the world, and we've found five that especially capture our interest.
First on our list is the tiny island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, located between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian penisnsula. Socotra is known as the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean, given its diversity of animal life and relative isolation from the rest of Africa. The last time Socotra was part of a continental land mass was 6 million years ago when it was part of Gondwana. Many of the plants of Socotra are found nowhere else on Earth, including the fantastic dragon's blood tree. The red sap of the tree was sought after in ancient times as a medicine and dye. Today it drives a nascent ecotourism industry in this country, which until recently was only accessible by boat during the non-monsoon season.Labels: And We Are Rather Puny, Parker, Where in the World
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Monday, November 05, 2007
And this is Earth
Blogger has introduced a new toy called Blogger Play. It's a continually refreshing slide show that pulls images uploaded to blogger account in real time. Users can control the speed at which the images crawl and by clicking on an image can open the corresponding blog. The sheer variety of images and graphics uploaded around the world creates a candid and broad view of how the average person (with access to a computer, that is) sees the world. It's incredibly addictive.Labels: And We Are Rather Puny, Fun on the Web, Unbridled Hope for the Future, Where in the World
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Monday, September 17, 2007
Carcassone
Parker and I explored via Google Earth the town of Carcassonne in Southern France. One of the few fortified towns of Europe to never be conquered, it was restored in 1853 by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, and became a World Heritage Site in 1997.
It is one of the most intact examples of a medieval town in Europe today, and one can't help but fall in love with it on first sight. if we ever get back to the Continent, it will definitely be on the itinerary. Although Parker is endlessly fascinated by castles, most castles in Europe today are in some sort of decay or disorder - eventually they were breached, and conservation efforts there are more inclined to preserve it as it is rather than to restore it. Carcassonne would give Parker a better understanding of what architecture and life was in that time more than the crumbling masonry of most of the fortresses of the age.
Labels: Homeschooling, Parker, Sheer Awesome, Where in the World
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