Curonian Spit

Curonian Spit UNESCO World Heritage Site

Curonian Spit Overview

From the Curonian Spit World Heritage inscription:

The Curonian Spit is a unique and vulnerable, sandy and wooded cultural landscape on a coastal spit which features small Curonian lagoon settlements. The Spit was formed by the sea, wind and human activity and continues to be shaped by them. Rich with an abundance of unique natural and cultural features, it has retained its social and cultural importance. Local communities adapted to the changes in the natural environment in order to survive. This interaction between humans and nature shaped the Curonian Spit cultural landscape.

The Curonian Spit is perhaps the top natural attraction in Lithuania and one of the top attractions in the Baltic Region. I visited the Curonian Spit on a G Adventures tour of the Baltic States.

Most of the information in this article will pertain to visiting the Lithuanian side of the Curonian Spit, however, half of the spit is shared with Russia. The Lithuanian side is much easier for most tourists to visit unless you have gone through the process of getting a Russian visa. This article will deal mostly with the Lithuanian side.

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Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Overview

Great Basin National Park is one of 60 sites in the United States with a national park designation, and one of 4 National Park Service Sites in Nevada.

Its name is derived from its location in the Great Basin which consists of most of the state of Nevada, western Utah, and parts of southern Oregon.

While not one of the best-known parks in the US, it is one of the better parks, even if it can be somewhat hard to reach.

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2018: A Year in Photography

2018: A Year in Photography

2018 was a pretty busy year for me. I set foot in 24 countries, visited a whopping 42 new UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and over 20 National Park Service Sites in the US.

On the photography front, I was named Photographer of the Year for a fourth time by the Central States chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers, won seven NATJA Awards, and was named Best Travel Photography Blog at the TBCAsia Awards in Sri Lanka.

You can also check out my year-end photo essays for 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.

As always, I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I did taking them!

Image at the top of the page is of the Jungfrau Express, Switzerland.

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January 2019 Desktop Wallpaper

This month’s image was taken in the Plaza Mayor in Trujillo, Spain Tablets | iPhone 6/7/8 | iPhone 6/7/8 Plus | iPhone X Most Desktops (will adjust for size) | Large High-Resolution Format

Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe

Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe, World Heritage Site, Spain

Overview

From the Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe World Heritage inscription:

The monastery is an outstanding repository of four centuries of Spanish religious architecture. It symbolizes two significant events in world history that occurred in 1492: the Reconquest of the Iberian peninsula by the Catholic Kings and Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. Its famous statue of the Virgin became a powerful symbol of the Christianization of much of the New World.

The Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe is located in the town of Guadalupe in the Spanish Region of Extremadura. It is one of the most important religious destinations in Spain and was a vital place in the history of Spanish exploration and conquest of the Americas, as well as to the political history of Spain.

The site is a popular religious and tourist destination for Spanish tourists, but relatively unknown to international travelers. About 80% of the visitors to the site are from Spain.

Guadalupe is the namesake of many other Guadalupes around the world, mostly in Latin American countries.

The monastery is still an active monastery with monks and daily services, although the number of monks living here is much smaller than what it was in the past.

In 1993 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the many World Heritage Sites in Spain.

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This Week in Travel – Episode 244

This Week in Travel - Episode 244

This week I am joined by Jen Leo are joined by our guest author Francis Tapon from francistapon.com, and host of the WanderLearn Podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts This Week’s News: The Points Guy Awards Picks of the week: Gary – Extremadura Region of Spain Jen – Wandervan. Off-Grid Adventure Vans. Francis – Sudan. Cryptocurrency.

Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey

Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey

Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey Overview

From the World Heritage inscription:

The site is located along the Weser River on the outskirts of Höxter where the Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey were erected between AD 822 and 885 in a largely preserved rural setting. The Westwork is the only standing structure that dates back to the Carolingian era, while the original imperial abbey complex is preserved as archaeological remains that are only partially excavated. The Westwork of Corvey uniquely illustrates one of the most important Carolingian architectural expressions. It is a genuine creation of this period, and its architectural articulation and decoration clearly illustrate the role played within the Frankish empire by imperial monasteries in securing territorial control and administration, as well as the propagation of Christianity and the Carolingian cultural and political order throughout Europe.

Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey is an UNESCO World Heritage Site in Germany. It was added to the World Heritage List in 2014 at the World Heritage Convention held in Doha, Qatar.

The site dates back to the reign of Emperor Charlemagne in the 9th century and was built as a monastery and spiritual center.

Today the site near the German city of Höxter is a popular cultural tourist attraction and museum.

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