“Fed up with French Polynesia”. Ever heard of the latest self-proclaimed Republic of Pakumotu ? In January, Moorea decided that they were “fed up with French Polynesia” and have broken away to form an independent state. While their status as an independent nation hasn’t been formalised, discussions are in progress.
If you're ever been to Northumberland and Cumbria in the north of England, you'll know what a beautiful part of the world it is. If you're lucky enough to be visiting it this Spring, stop by Hadrian's Wall on March 13th. On that night, the historic landmark that stretches 84 miles, from coast to coast, will be lit up with torches.
If you look closely at the striking landscape above, you'll see a ring. This space-age structure is the new Centro de Tecnificacion Deportiva, a giant circular building created by José María Sánchez García in Guijo de Granadilla, western Spain.
When most Westerners hear the word “Cholula” they probably think of hot sauce. It is, after all, one of Mexico’s finest food exports. The famous hot sauce was named after the ancient city of Cholula, which is Mexico’s oldest inhabited city, the former center of the Aztec empire, and the home of the famous pyramid of Cholula – otherwise known as the great temple of Quetzalcoatl, the largest man-made pyramid in the world.
Lord knows, in the City of Angels, we're used to looking heavenward and seeing explosions of color among the palm trees. In LA, billboards are everywhere, showcasing the latest CSI spin-offs, mega-blockbusters, or jeans. But right now, someone's playing tricks on us.
It's one of the highlights of the Pan-American Highway, an eerie hand reaching out of the desert, fingertips pointed at the sky. Like something out of Gulliver's Travels, La Mano del Desierto is in fact the creation of Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal, built in 1992 in the Atacama Desert.
On a mountain called Paranal in Chile, there stands a telescope, a Very Large Telescope (or VLT) to be precise. It's the world’s most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory, and is run by ESO, the European Southern Observatory. In order to accommodate workers in the largely inhospitable terrain of the Atacama Desert, ESO created the Paranal Residencia, also known as the ESO Hotel.
The Bug Dome is a fusion of nature with human nature. Built from bamboo, wood, gravel and recycled concrete on a derelict building site in Shenzhen, China, it's a work of art as well as a functional space.
Ever since the days of the popular television show Star Trek, outer space has been the final frontier. Man has conquered all other forms of travel, from high speed air travel to luxury ocean liners that travel around the world. But what’s going on in outer space? A lot.
As a director, actor and chairman of the Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford has never tried to hide his love for the environment. While he’s made several films with stunning backdrops, none is as fitting a tribute to the natural world as A River Runs Through It, which was released in 1992. The movie is based on the novella of the same name by Norman MacLean.
In these days of fuel efficiency, driving an RV might make you feel like you're wearing fur at a PETA convention. And yet, you don't want to stuff your camping gear into your Prius then spend hours setting up. The answer? A Teardrop.
We don’t need reminding of the beauty and power of glaciers and their floating companions, the icebergs. Even the smallest iceberg can be immense and cause havoc, as we all know with regards to the Titanic disaster.
