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talkpoliticsToday's question, should you choose to take the challenge, is to tell us which was the most awesome place you have recently been to. And what was so impressive about it.
You know the exercise. Put a picture and share a memory!
Mine:
The so called Wild Coast in South Africa stretches along the Eastern Cape province's coastline. As its name suggests this strip of coastline, which reaches from the Mtamvuna River in the north to the Great Kei River in the south, is an untamed wilderness. It offers incredible views of the dramatic coastline, jagged cliffs, sheltered bays, wild beaches and rolling hills and valleys, dolphins, horseback and hiking trails, cosy hotels, golf, gambling, mystical history, Xhosa heritage and the amazing Hole-in-the-Wall:
Your turn, fellows!
You know the exercise. Put a picture and share a memory!
Mine:
The so called Wild Coast in South Africa stretches along the Eastern Cape province's coastline. As its name suggests this strip of coastline, which reaches from the Mtamvuna River in the north to the Great Kei River in the south, is an untamed wilderness. It offers incredible views of the dramatic coastline, jagged cliffs, sheltered bays, wild beaches and rolling hills and valleys, dolphins, horseback and hiking trails, cosy hotels, golf, gambling, mystical history, Xhosa heritage and the amazing Hole-in-the-Wall:
Your turn, fellows!
(no subject)
Date: 14/6/13 13:44 (UTC)Flawless victory!
Date: 14/6/13 16:32 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 14/6/13 14:14 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 14/6/13 14:24 (UTC)The Dalarna region in Central Sweden. Fave place for a retreat in the nature. The landscape says it all. Lakes, mountains, forests, flowers, and wildlife. A weekend over there and you'd have your batteries fully re-charged.
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Date: 14/6/13 14:42 (UTC)I just spent about 3 days in Oman on my 2nd visit last month, and I'm already utterly charmed by that place.
I loved how laid-back the atmosphere there is, compared to places like Riyadh, and definitely how simpler everything is, compared to places like Dubai. I had the opportunity to see the heart of the local community, the Dark Market, or Al Dhalam Souq in Muttrah. The Qaboos Grand Mosque might be considered *the* major landmark in Muscat, but the souq is something entirely different. Traditional narrow alleys squeezed between hundreds of shops crammed with all sorts of stuff, from gold and silver and seafood to strange clothes and incense burners, to those legendary Khanjar daggers that all men so proudly display on their waists.
All in all, I must say Oman is a place to love. There's a sense of ancient history floating in the air, and going hand in hand with this new striving for the modern that has come with Sultan Qaboos, and his touch on everything can be felt everywhere, even in the way people interact with each other. Or maybe I'm getting things backwards and he himself is the product of this calm, confident mentality that must have existed among the locals since time immemorial.
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Date: 14/6/13 15:25 (UTC)PS. http://boingboing.net/2013/06/13/how-the-russians-pee-in-space.html
Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic
Date: 14/6/13 18:08 (UTC)more photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/essentialsaltes/tags/ossuary/)
Kind of obvious what's awesome about it. A church decorated in human bones. Urns, candelabra, garlands, chandeliers, tombs... all made of bones. Pictured here is the Schwarzenberg coat of arms, rendered in bones. The surrounding cemetery also has a lot of interesting graves.
It was also kind of a pleasant adventure getting out there, navigating the train system. Arguing with French girls about which train to take. Finding an ice-cold half-liter bottle of beer for about a buck, sipping it within sight of the ossuary on a hot summer's day.
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Date: 14/6/13 19:07 (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 15/6/13 06:04 (UTC)The raven picking out the eyeball is awesome :)
(no subject)
Date: 14/6/13 18:35 (UTC)(A close second is the dive spots along the wall off of the west coast of Grand Cayman, near where the sea floor drops off from just over 100 feet deep to a couple thousand. There's incredible variety of sealife and it's my favorite dive spot.)
(no subject)
Date: 14/6/13 19:15 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 14/6/13 19:49 (UTC)I could regale y'all with tons of photos of historic buildings from various small towns, though.
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Date: 14/6/13 21:20 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 15/6/13 01:56 (UTC)Yosemite National Park was pretty neat, I liked the falls, the valley and seeing the sequoia trees there
Also including this shot from Guntersville, Alabama because I'm sure not many people have seen something like this before. It's a Great Wall of coke machines
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Date: 16/6/13 04:31 (UTC)Badlands National Park, in South Dakota
A trail in the Olympic peninsula, Washington State
Rialto Beach, along the Pacific coast in Washington State
A state park in Idaho (just off the highway, I honestly can't remember its name)
(no subject)
Date: 16/6/13 07:17 (UTC)Will anyways!
(no subject)
Date: 16/6/13 11:29 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 16/6/13 11:46 (UTC)Badlands - Great views of rough, unique terrain. It's surprising, as much of South Dakota (as we drove from the East) seems more or less flat as you drive through it, but when you get to Badlands... there are a lot of great views as you drive throughout the park, with somewhat surprising elevation. (Not mountain level, but it's surprising how far some of the drops get.)
Olympic Peninsula - This was a hike my friends and I did to get to Marymere Falls. I don't think this was technically rainforest, but it was surprisingly lush. Everything was nice and green and clean. It was too cloudy to see some of the mountain peaks, but this was a good day trip.
Pacific Coast - To me, this was cool, as it was my first time seeing the Pacific Ocean. (Yeah, I need to travel more, I know.) It was raining, and the waves were crashing, and we walked along the beach a little, exploring and trying not to get too wet.
Idaho state park - This was one of the last things we saw on the trip (unfortunately) but I loved how placid and clean the lake looked. It seemed like it would be a good meditation spot. I was surprised at how scenic Idaho is.
(no subject)
Date: 16/6/13 07:32 (UTC)Crater Lake (http://hdwallpaper.ws/images/2012/09/-Crater-Crater-Lake-Fresh-New-Hd-Wallpaper--.jpg) Oregon.
Its a pretty neat place. Up the top of a mountain.
Lake Shasta. Many a memorial weekend were spent here on houseboats.
Columbia River Gorge between Washington and Oregon.
Man, I'm really missing Oregon. : (
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