19 Incredible Photos of the Canary Islands

La Graciosa on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands

During my more than a decade of traveling the world, I had the pleasure of visiting and photographing Spain’s incredible Canary Islands. Located off the coast of Africa, the volcanic chain of islands is a Spanish province with a history dating back to the colonization of the Americas. Over the course of my visit, I …

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My 10 Favorite Historical Sites

This the fourth installment in a series for my 4th Travelversay Celebration. This was an extremely difficult list to compile. How do you evaluate how historic something is? Where do you put the boundries around it. Most European and Asian capitals have a very deep history, so trying to pick and choose was hard. The …

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Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey

Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey

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 …

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Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral UNESCO World Heritage Site, Germany

From the Cologne Cathedral World Heritage inscription: Cologne Cathedral, constructed over more than six centuries, has an exceptional intrinsic value and contains artistic masterpieces. It is a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe. Christians met for worship in a private house in Roman Cologne near the …

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Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna

UNESCO World Heritage Site #242: Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna

From the World Heritage inscription: The early Christian religious monuments in Ravenna are of outstanding significance by virtue of the supreme artistry of the mosaic art that they contain, and also because of the crucial evidence that they provide of artistic and religious relationships and contacts at an important period of European cultural history. In …

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Yaxha Mayan Ruins & Karl ‘The Screw’

I met Karl in Flores, Guatemala, a small island town in the middle of Lake Petén. He was a massive man, tanned and with a thick head of white hair and matching beard. I wouldn’t have guessed it, but he was 72 years old. He had a heavy German accent, but it turned out that …

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Gary’s Big German World Heritage Adventure

Starting Monday, March 11 I will spend 2-weeks driving around Germany with the goal of exploring 28 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Germany, 27 of which I have not previously visited.* I am excited to be doing this trip for several reasons. I love road trips because there is a freedom you have when driving …

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Old Town of Corfu

Old Town of Corfu UNESCO World Heritage Site, Greece

From the World Heritage inscription the Old Town of Corfu: Corfu, the first of the Ionian Islands encountered at the entrance to the Adriatic, was annexed to Greece by a group of Eretrians (775-750 BCE). In 734 BCE the Corinthians founded a colony known as Kerkyra to the south of where the Old Town now …

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Day 25, West Africa Cruise – Dakar, Senegal

Latitude: 14° 41.7956’ N Longitude: 17° 27.9840’ W In Senegal, we were given two different options. The first was to visit the Bandia Reserve and have lunch at the Pink Lake. The second option was a tour of the city and a trip to Goree Island. As Goree Island is a UNESCO World Heritage site, …

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