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Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan

Bruce — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 05:55:20 +0000

In September through October 2005 we joined a whistle-stop group tour of three Middle-Eastern countries: Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. Sat 17 We arrived in Beirut to a 27-degree welcome, enticing us to remove our UK-donned fleeces. Distant explosions were thankfully fireworks but this is not a ready assumption: a car bomb had exploded the night before our arrival. Zyad, our tour leader, escorted us to a small bus for transfer to the hotel. It was night when we arrived, and the cityscape looked not unlike a Turkish city but for the Arabic script mingled with the English and occasional French. Hotel Berkley was near the centre of town. The bus door opened to the distinct smell of sewage—not all together in keeping with the 6 stars above the hotel name. The man on reception told us, however, this was actually a 7 star hotel. With a cold beer on arrival, 2 bedrooms, bathroom, lounge and kitchen we weren't disappointed, but rather thankful it wasn't the 2 or 3 star (local rating) accommodation we had been expecting... Pigeon Rocks, Beirut Sun 18 The morning began with a city tour, initially by bus past the site where Ex-PM Hariri was killed in a car bomb. Adjacent to the Corniche in the Raouche area are the Pigeon Rocks. On foot we passed a number of fine-looking buildings that would not be out of place in any European city. Indeed, partly because of the familiar advertising brands, Beirut looks rather westernized. There were signs of the civil war (a ...

The desert landscapes of Namibia

Bruce — Tue, 20 Apr 2004 06:58:23 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

If you like deserts, you'll like Namibia. There is enormous beauty in the dry, open landscapes that attest to the fact that here, less is more... Namibia is a very dry country in south-west Africa. In 2002 we camped at Sesriem in the Namib desert, surrounded by dry grassland that was interrupted by the dark and eery shapes of dormant trees: Treeforms One of these stumps had a distinctly demonic appearance: Demon in the wood From Sesriem tourists drive to Dune 45 to climb it and watch the sunrise. One of the last up I was first down, retracing our steps, and the sight of so many foot prints next to the undisturbed ripples made me feel momentarily sorry for having spoiled the beautiful patterns in the sand: Impact Still low over the dunes, the rising sun stretched our shadows across the sand, making for a somewhat comical sight as our disproportionately long legs descended the ridge of the dune as though we walked on stilts: Sandwalkers At the base of Dune 45 a dead tree took on human form as it was illuminated by the sunrise: Reclining nude At Elim Dune, also near Sesriem, the wind has sculpted a perfect curve. The smooth oxidized sand contrasts with the pallor and texture of the sun-baked grass: Perfect curve At Elim Dune the combination of sand, wind, and setting sun had created a serrated edge that would soon be destroyed by a dozen pairs of feet and backsides as we took up a position from which to watch the landscape change colour in the ...

Hot and cold in Chile

Bruce — Thu, 22 Jan 2004 09:30:46 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Ever considered a holiday in Chile? This long but thin slice of South America is a land of contrast and a fantastic playground for budding landscape photographers... In November 2003 we visited Chile, including the Atacama desert in the north, and Patagonia in the south. Hot and cold. Dry and wet. Fire and ice. Here are three photos from each region to illustrate the flavour of these differing landscapes. Mars? (Atacama) This was not ripped from the NASA Martian image archive! When visiting the Atacama desert in Chile's northern region a traditional tourist activity is to watch the sunset from one of the high dunes. The Andes turn a wonderful shade of red in the last rays of the sun. Moonrise at sunset (Atacama) We were fortunate enough to witness the rise of a full moon as it appeared from behind the volcano. Volcan Licancabur rises to 5916m. The strip of green in the bottom right is San Pedro de Atacama, the "hub" of desert excursions—and human survival. El Tatio Geysers at dawn (Atacama) A popular excursion from San Pedro de Atacama involves getting up in the very early hours and driving higher into the desert to arrive at El Tatio for sunrise. Because of the altitude it is very cold overnight, such that the geysers here freeze over. As the first rays of the sun hit the landscape the geysers defrost and erupt. I would have enjoyed the spectacle more myself, but for the dizziness, nausea, and headache of altitude sickness. It was otherworldly: tourists wandering ...