Mesa Verde is another really under-appreciated national park. While it is one of the first national parks in the U.S., it’s a cultural attraction, not a natural one. In fact, North America is seriously lacking in ancient structures (due do the nomadic nature of the original inhabitants), and Mesa Verde is one of the finest. …
From the World Heritage inscription for Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville: Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), author of the American Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States, was also a talented architect of neoclassical buildings. He designed Monticello (1769–1809), his plantation home, and his ideal ‘academical village’ (1817–26), which is still …
The Canary Islands are a unique part of Spain. Geographically part of Africa and politically part of Europe, this small island chain is unlike anywhere where else in Spain or the EU. In addition to being different from the rest of Spain, the islands are all different from each other as well—sometimes having radically different …
Spain is a country that needs no introduction to the world on why visit—north to south the country has long attracted visitors keen to hike in the Pyrenees and explore Asturia, experience the cosmopolitan charm of Barcelona and the otherworldly landscapes in the Canary Islands. And through it all—travelers and locals enjoy world-class tapas, seafood, …
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 …
From the World Heritage inscription: Joya de Cerén is remarkable by virtue of the completeness of the evidence that it provides of everyday life in a Mesoamerican farming community of the 6th century AD, which is without parallel in this cultural region. It was a pre-Hispanic farming community that, like Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy, …
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 …
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 …
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 …