Day 37 – Not for the Faint of Heart!

Switching gears from water wonders to mountains today- I’ll be talking about Mount Everest. Another one of the seven natural wonders, this mountain is the highest mountain on earth- with a peak at 29,029 feet. (It’s not the tallest mountain from base to peak, but it is the highest spot on earth). Mount Everest is located in the Himalayas between Nepal and Tibet.

Mount Everest is probably most famous for the difficult trek to its summit. The climb is no joke, and over 200 people have died attempting it. The climb to base camp itself takes up to 10 days, and climbers who want to summit Mount Everest spend six weeks there just to acclimate to the thin air. The climb is expensive, too- climbing permits alone are $25,000, not to mention numerous other expenses.

Mount Everest is one natural wonder I’m not sure I would actually want to go see. I have no interest in climbing it (not to mention it would take a lot of training to get me to the point where that was a possibility, if I even could get to that point!). You can see the Mountain by a guided air tour, which is obviously a much more accessible option. From the pictures below, you can see that the mountain is beautiful. However, with so many beautiful mountains in the world, is Everest worth the cost and hassle to see this particular mountain? (Even if it’s the “easy” way, by air). I’m not sure. I could also skydive Mount Everest for the low price of $25,000… tempting! (http://www.everest-skydive.com/everest-skydive/).

Whether or not I ever make it to Everest, looking pictures of this majestic peak is a treat in itself!

Read more about Mount Everest here: http://sevennaturalwonders.org/the-original/mount-everest/; here: http://business.time.com/2012/01/23/the-economics-of-everest/; and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everest;

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 36 – Another Water Wonder

Continuing on with both the water and seven wonders of the natural world theme, I’m going to talk about Victoria Falls today. Who doesn’t love a good waterfall? Honestly, I think if someone doesn’t like waterfalls there is something wrong with them!

Victoria Falls, located in Africa on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, is the largest waterfall in the world based on width and height. The falls measure a mile wide and 360 feet high. Explorer David Livingstone named it Victoria Falls after Queen Victoria, but the locals called it Mosi-oa-Tunya, which means “smoke that thunders.”

Many consider an air tour to be the most impressive way to view the falls. I love flying, so a helicopter ride over the falls would be just my cup of tea. As a bonus, those taking a flight tour of the falls often see African wildlife on their tour as well. (Elephants, anyone?!) Another option for viewing the falls would be to hike one of the many trails available to visitors. This sounds like a great adventure as well!

When I do finally make it to Africa, Victoria Falls is definitely on my must-see list! (Read more about Victoria Falls here: http://sevennaturalwonders.org/the-original/victoria-falls/).

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 35 – Great Barrier Reef: Because How Could I Not?

Continuing on a bit with the water theme I seem to have started, I decided to mention the Great Barrier Reef today. Because, honestly, on a list of natural wonders/natural beauty, how could I not include it? It’s commonly called one of the seven wonders of the natural world. (By the way, so are the northern lights, which I didn’t even realize when I was writing about them the other day!) This makes me think that traveling to all of the seven wonders of the natural world would be a fun goal. I’m already aiming to travel to all seven continents. Yes- even Antarctica! So far I’ve been to four: North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Perhaps someday I can check Australia off of that list by making a trip to see the Great Barrier Reef!

The Great Barrier Reef is located in the Coral Sea near Queensland Australia. It is impressive for a number of reasons: it’s the only natural wonder visible and recognizable from outer space, it’s the largest coral reef in the world, and the largest, individual formation created by living organisms in the world! It spans over 1600 miles and consists of over 2900 separate reefs. In other words, they don’t call it “Great” for nothing! Read more about the Great Barrier Reef here: http://sevennaturalwonders.org/the-original/great-barrier-reef/.

Scuba and snorkeling are the best ways to see the Great Barrier Reef. I’ve never been scuba diving, but I want to try it someday. (Although I have a little bit of an irrational fear of sharks. And jellyfish. Oh my god I’m terrified of jellyfish! You’d think since I skydive I could handle scuba diving, too!) I know literally nothing about scuba diving right now except that it allows you to go deeper than and stay underwater longer than snorkeling. Have you ever been scuba diving? If so, where? Dreaming about scuba diving at this beautiful natural wonder was definitely a good way to relax during my morning coffee today!

The Great Barrier Reef as viewed beneath the surface!

 

View of the Great Barrier Reef from Above!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 34 – Central America's Deepest Lake!

Thinking about the World’s most beautiful lakes yesterday reminded me of a beautiful lake I’ve been to but would like to visit again someday: Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. In the summer of 2011, I spent two weeks living with a family in Antigua, Guatemala and studying Spanish. On the weekend, I made the trek out to Lake Atitlán and spent a few days learning about the Lake and the local culture and people.

Lake Atitlán has been called one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. It is a very large lake, and the deepest lake in Central America. It’s flanked by volcanoes, and its surrounding land is populated by Mayan villages. There is no road surrounding the lake and connecting these villages. Many of them are only reachable by boat. The small bed and breakfast I stayed at was only accessible by boat, and I spent a whole day boating around the island with a group of new friends. Although solo travel can get a little lonely, it can also be a great way to meet new friends- Guatemala was no exception! (You can read more about Lake Atitlán on its Wikipedia page: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Atitl%C3%A1n). Here are a few pictures from my trip, although pictures, especially my amateur ones on a point-and-shoot camera, definitely do not do this lake justice!

There was a huge algae bloom on the Lake the year I went, and the areas near the shoreline were often full of dead algae, which turned the water brown and smelled not so lovely. Depending on who you asked, this was either a normal cycle of algae blooms, or the result of overpopulation and climate change. I’ll leave that debate to others, but in this picture, if you look closely, you can see some of the streaks of algae near the shoreline.

Although I love traveling, and have been lucky enough to see some amazing places, there aren’t too many places that I would actually make a point of visiting again. This is because there are just so many places I want to see, and time and money are such limited resources. Lake Atitlán, however, is one location on the list of places worth a return visit. Perhaps when Baby Girl is old enough to understand and appreciate the Lake, I’ll take her there and she can enjoy boating around the lake between the different villages. For now, it’s nice to reminisce and look at old pictures of this beautiful lake!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 33 – A Goddess’ Broken Mirror

Today I want to talk about Wuhua Hai, or “Five Flower Lake,” in China. I found this lake on a list of the world’s most beautiful lakes, and I have to agree, judging by this picture, that it deserves a place on that list. (http://all-that-is-interesting.com/worlds-six-most-beautiful-lakes). The colors are beautiful!

This lake is located in Jiuzhaigon National Park, in China. It is part of 108 multicolored lakes which, according to legend, were created when an ancient goddess dropped a mirror from her lover and it broke into 108 pieces. Perhaps the coolest thing about this lake is that the floor of the lake is full of ancient tree trunks. You can see some of them in this picture:

I love water- oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds. There is something so calming about it, and it’s so intriguing how many different colors water can take on. This lake is definitely something I would like to see in person someday. The colors of the water against the colors of the trees are a great contrast!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 32 – A Paintbrush Across the Night Sky - The Northern Lights

When I think of natural beauty, one of the first things that comes to mind is the Northern Lights. I have actually seen these in person before, because I lived in Maine when I was young, and on rare occasions you could catch a glimpse of them. I was only about six or seven years old, so I don’t remember them that well. I do remember thinking they were really amazing (or awesome, or cool, or whatever the “it” word was back then).

Now that I am an adult, I would like to go see them again. However, I want to go somewhere farther north than Maine, and see them in their full magnificence. I found a list of places that are good for viewing the Northern Lights: http://www.fodors.com/news/photos/top-10-places-to-see-the-northern-lights#!1-intro. As you might expect, it includes very northern places like Alaska, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, and so forth.

In case you were wondering (I was), the Northern Lights are caused by collisions between gaseous particles in Earth’s atmosphere with electrically charged particles from the sun that enter Earth’s atmosphere (http://www.northernlightscentre.ca/northernlights.html). Pale green and pink are the most common colors, but red, yellow, green, blue, and violet have also been reported. Check out this picture of this beautiful display:

What do you think? Have you ever seen the Northern Lights? Is it something you would think is worth the trip to see?

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 31 – Month Two: Nature’s Artistry

After spending a month looking at different types of art man created, I thought looking at some natural beauty would be a nice segue from there. After all, there are some spectacular places in nature that even the most talented painter could never truly portray. Even photographs cannot do true justice to some of nature’s best masterpieces. Some things just have to be experienced. Take, for example, Glacier National Park in Montana. I took a road trip there in Summer of 2012. Since there is a gap of a few months between taking the bar exam and getting results, it’s customary to take a “bar trip” during that time. Kind of a last hurrah for those who have finished up law school and are leaving the flexible schedule of being a student behind. Many of my classmates took amazing trips to popular cities in Asia or Europe, but I was short on cash and was feeling the need for some peace and quiet. I decided to drive to a few National Parks, one of which was Glacier. Below is one picture from my trip, taken at the end of a hike on one of Glacier’s many trails. I love this picture, and looking at it always takes me back to that peaceful hike. As beautiful as this picture is, you really have to see this scenery in person to truly take it in.

However, since it’s just not possible to visit every beautiful place I want to go, reading about these places and seeing photographs of them really is the next best thing. We are lucky to live in a time where a few searches on Google can give us information and images of so many places. Learning about the natural beauty on our planet always amazes me, and I feel as though it’s stress relieving to look at photographs of the world’s natural wonders. So, I’m going to spend the next 30 days of morning coffee reflections learning more about some of nature’s art: the beautiful places in nature that take your breath away. Who knows, perhaps I will someday have a chance to travel to some of the places that make it on to my blog. Having some places to dream about is never a bad thing!

Also, this is a great time for me to write about this particular subject, because we are going on vacation in a few weeks to see the Grand Canyon and a few other National Parks. I’ve wanted to see the Grand Canyon for a very long time, so I’m very excited! Once we are on the road, I’ll share some pictures from our trip.

In the meantime, are there any places you have either seen or would like to see that you think are great examples of Nature’s artistry? I’ve been lucky enough to visit some really spectacular places, and I’d love to find more spectacular places to dream about visiting someday!

Here I am on another favorite trip, at the end of a hike up to Norway's Preikestolen, or "Pulpit Rock." 

Xoxo,

Diana