A Few “Lesser Known and Obscure” Facts I Learned While Visiting Spain, Morocco and the Rock of Gibraltar

Bottom line: Travel is the salt and pepper of life.

Janet, my wife, and I enjoyed our most recent trip, an ocean cruise, to parts of these three countries. Perhaps, the following facts will encourage you to consider a visit to parts of our marvelous planet ... the only one we've got.

Janet and I pose during a two-seater

camel ride on Lanzarote Island.

We first flew to Las Palmas De La Gran Canaria, the largest city on the island Gran Canaria, where we boarded the Seabourn Quest.

The Seabourn Quest (foreground).

1) The Canary archipelago lies about 93 miles off the northwestern coast of Africa and 840 miles from continental Europe (Spain proper). They're governed by Spain, having been"adopted"in 1493. If any blame is to be laid regarding that latter development, I'd point my finger at Columbus, if for no other reason than timing and his encouragement to "sail the seas." (He stopped there for ship repairs in 1492 on his voyage to North America.)

2) The name Canary Islands isn't derived from birds of any sort. Instead, the name comes from Berber shepherd dogs used to control sheep and/or goats. Think Spanish variation of "canine."

3) Volcanic in origin, like the Hawaiian and Galapagos Island archipelagoes, the Canary Islands offer a pristine beauty (except perhaps crowded Santa Cruz de Tenerife). However, the islands are dry like the Galapagos, which, by the way, makes them unsuitable to raise cattle per the lack of sufficient quantities of naturally growing grass.

A small view of the beautiful

volcanic terrain of Lanzarote.

4) The first European desalination plant was built on Lanzarote in 1964 to supplement the meager rain water. The desal water helps wet the whistles of residents and some two million visitors each year.

5) Camels were introduced to Lanzarote in the mid-1800's since they handle the dry conditions better than horses. But since mechanization arrived, I suspect they're only used now to grab a tourist buck or two.

Without hesitation, we opted to take a "two-seater" camel ride, along with most others in our group.

Herky-jerky two-seater

camel ride on Lanzarote.

6) With a little help, grape vines produce fruit on Lanzarote. The vines there were untouched by Phylloxera—the disease which whipped out continental European vines in the mid-late 1800's—and so weren't replaced by American vines from California.

Grape vines are protected from

strong north wind with local

lava rock walls. (They appear

to have been dusted for pests.)

7) Lanzarote boasts the longest lava tube in the world at almost five miles (three-and-three-quarters above sea level and one-and-one-quarter below).

A portion of the exposed lava

tube has been turned into

at tourist attraction.

And another portion is used

for music concerts due

to the acoustic qualities!

8) The movie "Casablanca" WAS NOT filmed in Casablanca, but instead in Tangiers. That's Hollywood for you!

9) The term "tangerine" originally referred to oranges from Tangiers and its surrounds.

10) The Rock of Gibraltar, the southern most tip of continental Europe, is part of the United Kingdom, ceded three times to Britain by Spain. We were informed that Spain currently lusts over Gibraltar, however vestiges of Spanish colonialism persist in Morocco, an irony difficult to miss. (More on that below.)

A view of Gibraltar Rock, one

"Pillar of Hercules," from an

observation deck near the tram.

The second pillar of Hercules

in Morocco, across the

Gibraltar Strait.

11) As part of the defense of Gibraltar in 1787, Lt. General Shrapnel of the British Army, utilized exploding shells. And his name stuck!

12) Gibraltar boasts the shortest land border in the world at approx. one mile.

13) Melilla is one of two Spanish enclaves in Morocco. (The other is Ceuta.) As such it has a highly guarded border to dissuade uncontrolled immigration into the European Union.

A sunset on the Mediterranean

from our cruise ship Seabourn Quest.

Walk in beauty, fellow earthlings.

A Few “Lesser Known and Obscure” Facts I Learned While Visiting Singapore, Indonesia & Australia

Bottom line: Nothing ventured ... nothing gained.

Janet, my wife, and I enjoyed our recent trip to these three countries and wished we could’ve continued on. Perhaps, these facts will encourage you to consider a visit to one or more of them.

1) Located at the southern tip on Malaysia, and only 85 miles north of the equator, Singapore, clean and modern, is a forested city and island nation (hot and humid while we were there).

A limited view of Singapore's

waterfront from Gardens by the Bay.

2) Singapore is one of two cities, the other Rio de Janeiro, to have a rain forest within it’s city limits, though it is modern and clean.

Noah’s Ark found in Singapore?

3) The second largest exporter of used cars, behind Japan, Singapore heavily taxes vehicles after ten years, which encourages purchase of new cars. That’s one way to cut down on gas consumption and pollution!

4) Singapore hosts several great tourist attractions. We visited Gardens by the Bay and Botanical Gardens.

An elevated view of the Supertree

Grove at Singapore's Gardens

by the Bay.

We toured the Cloud Forest, also part of Gardens by the Bay, where we enjoyed the Avatar Experience.

The Pandoran Mountain

Banshee that greets visitors

to the Cloud Forest.

5) Singapore wants to strengthening it’s position as the hub of shipping (commerce) between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

6) The current largest super cargo ships can carry more than 24,000 TEUs (standard 20-foot shipping containers). Even larger ships are in planning or construction, and they’ll be able to load and unload in Singapore docks.

7) Street vendors of the past have been relocated to one of a number of Hawker Centers around the city, AKA food courts. We stayed in the heart of the financial district, where we discovered the nearby Hawker Center.

Hawker Center in the historic

Lau Pa Sat (wet market), reportedly

housing 200 vendors!

(I didn’t count them, however.)

8) With Asian food-selection galore, we enjoyed satay (BBQ skewers of shrimp, beef and chicken with peanut sauce) … and beer.

Janet takes a break from

enjoying our meal at the

Lau Pa Sat Hawker Center.

9) Having grown up in Kentucky, I confess my skepticism of some food choices, however.

Dessert made from

green beans?

(Yeah ... no!)

From Signapore, we flew to Bali, one of many of Indonesia’s islands.

10) Indonesia claims to have over 18,000 islands. Some may say more. Some may say less. But what’s a few thousand among friends?

11) Though other Indonesian islands are primarily Muslim, Bali is primarily Hindu.

12) The Balinese perform and enjoy magical and colorful reenactments of religious stories.

The gist? Two male gods

fight over a female god!

13) The Indonesian currency exchange rate is approximately 15,000 Rupiahs to US$1. Though I felt rich, I couldn’t keep track of exact prices in dollars. What’s a few Rupiahs here or there?

14) Balinese roads were generally clogged with traffic as the island, about the size of Delaware, has about 4.2 million inhabitants.

15) While there we visited their Monkey Forest, a great source of curiosity … for humans.

This resident was brushing

up on his/her tool making skills.

(A Shakespeare play

coming soon?)

We boarded a cruise ship in Bali and from there sailed east and south, destined for Sydney via Australia’s Sunshine Coast. However, still in Indonesian waters, we stopped at Lombok Island where we took a short bus ride to a beach, consumed a cocktail, then sailed onward to Rinca Island.

16) Komodo dragons currently occupy five islands, though only Komodo Island is inhabited by humans. Now and then, someone gets bitten. From 1972-2012 twenty-four attacks have been reported, five fatal.

17) Though Komodos can climb trees while young, they loose that ability as they grow in size and weight.

Two smaller Komodos fled

up a tree to avoid a larger one.

We sailed past East Timor before stopping in Darwin.

18) The name East Timor can be considered redundant, as Timor can be translated as “east.”

19) Aussies refer to Darwin, in Australia’s Northern Territory, as the “top end.”

20) Darwin was a frequent bombing target by the Japanese during World War II. As result, fuel storage tunnels were built underground, though not used a result of leakage.

This is one such storage

tunnel accessible to tourists.

21) BTW, in case you’ve ever wondered, QANTAS (airlines) is an acronym of Queensland And Northern Territories Aerial Services.

22) Did you know that there are more camels in Australia than in Egypt? So many that Australia exports camels to Saudi Arabia. You might ask, how did camles get to Australia? Before the arrival of motorized vehicles, camels were used to haul cargo across Australia’s outback. When motorized vehicles replaced them, some camels were set free to roam. Since then, they've multiplied in the desert like rabbits, I take it.

We stopped at Thursday Island, an area of significant past pearl harvesting, before continuing eastward through the Torres Straits.

A WWII gun emplacement at Green

Hill Fort on Thursday Island.

(Never used, I believe.)

23) Torres Strait is thought to have been a land bridge to Australia during previous ice ages when sea levels were lower. Hence, allowing the settlement of Australia by the Aboriginals. Now a shallow sea, its home to numerous corral reefs, which comprise the northern portion of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

A map of Torres Strait.

(Australia claims the islands

northward to the coast of Papua

New Guinea.)

24) The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living thing on earth, can be seen from space, and is comprised of some 3,000 individual reefs stretching 1,400 miles along Australia’s northeastern corner/coast.

We sailed on to Cairns, pronounced without the R, as in cans! Cairns serves as one of many jump-off point for reef snorkeling. However, since Janet and I snorkeled the reef a few years ago, we strolled around and sampled local beer within a few minutes walk from our docked ship.

Sampling "Mr. Wong," a

traditionally styled Hefeweizen

at Hemingway’s Brewery.

Sunset as we leave Cairns.

(Yes, the tug boat is

traveling backwards!)

Next came Townsville with its distinctive hill, which I wanted to ascend, though didn’t.

Leaving Townsville at sunset.

25) We anchored near Airlie Beach, located on one of the WhitSundays, a group of islands misnamed by Cook in 1770. The International Date Line not having been established yet, he unknowingly had arrived a day later! We cruised among a few of the white-sand-beach islands and pristine waters on a motorized catamaran.

(Twas difficult to get a good

selfie with background on

a fast moving boat!)

One of the Whitsunday Islands.

(Tilt your head to the right.

Remind you of any relatives?)

After our catamaran ride, we headed into Airlie Beach for some local fresh shrimp and assorted meats (you know, kangaroo, crocodile, wild boar and emu).

Next, when our ship stopped at Mooloolaba (Moo-loola-ba, pronounced /mululɑbə/ or moo-loo-lah-bah), we visited the Australian Zoo of Steve Irwin fame. Crikey!

26) We enjoyed the Australian Zoo’s “croc” show. I marvelled at crocodiles’ ability to hold their breath up to two hours, generally ... though as much as seven hours if inactive in cold water.

A demonstration of what

a croc will do for food.

27) We walked among kangaroos at the zoo. They can travel at 44 miles-an-hour for short distances, though cannot walk backwards. Those we encountered preferred to move very little, however. I suspect that they were well fed by visitors … and it was the hot part of the day when we visited.

This one’s posture suggested,

Don’t you dare touch my food!

From Airlie Beach we sailed to Newcastle, where we visited the Backbutt (pronounce black-but) Nature Preserve, which houses a number of indigenous animals.

A snoozing wombat.

The following morning, our cruise ship glided into Sydney Harbor before sunrise. Once docked, Janet and I disembarked, and headed home on a fourteen-hour flight.

A panoramic view of Sydney.

Walk in beauty, fellow earthling.

A Few “Lesser Known and Obscure” Facts I Learned While in Jordan, Egypt and Israel.

Bottom line: No where else is so much hoopla crammed into such a small area.

My wife and I recently completed a three-country visit to Jordan, Egypt and Jerusalem/Bethlehem (Israel) with Uniworld. We felt safe, and encountered no protests, uprisings or hostile action, though some of the merchant vendors in Egypt were on the more insistent side. We weathered blustery winds generally, and rain on two days! In hindsight, we were there during a sweet spot. We started in Amman, Jordan, then flew to Egypt, where we were when Ramadan commenced, and finally visited Israel/Jerusalem/Bethlehem prior to Passover. Since our departure, unfortunately, some disturbances have occurred in “the force.” We’re glad we traveled there, as we thoroughly enjoyed visiting well-know historical sites … ancient by American standards … and the company of other fellow travelers.

A few things I learned in Jordan, mostly from our guide, Mohannad (I hope I’ve spelled his name correctly):

1) “Yalla” in Arabic has various meanings. Depending upon context, it could mean, Let’s go, while “Yalla, yalla” means, Hurry up … but take your time. How’s that for a more polite way to say, Get the lead out!?

2) Bedouins—in Jordan there are many—are those individuals who choose a “nomadic” lifestyle, though not as a result of destitution. Some, wealthy by Jordanian standards, may move twice yearly to locations more favorable weather-wise, occupy permanent or semi-permanent structures, or simply move tents. Many have modern conveniences, such as cell phones, motor vehicles and electrical generators, as we observed when traveling the roads.

A Bedouin awaiting a tour

group wanting camel rides?

A Bedouin encampment.

3) Petra’s “Treasury” was a temple, though later people mistakenly believed a treasure had been hidden there.

Janet and I pose in front

of the Petra Treasury.

Our Uniworld tour group,

"Bus One," poses at the Treasury.

4) Wadi Rum, the desert region bordering southern Jordan, was a filming location for “The Martian,” as well as a number of other films, including “Lawrence of Arabia.”

Awesome views of Wadi Rum

awaited no matter where I looked.

A sunset view near Palmera Camp.

5) The Dead Sea lies 1,300 feet below sea level, and has a high salt content, which makes floating in it quite easy, but getting vertical while in it quite difficult. (Self-administered mud baths are free of charge.)

Janet and I float in the

Dead Sea like corks.

A contingent of our "Bus One"

tour group takes a Dead Sea

mud bath.

A few things I learned in Egypt, mostly from our guide, Ahmed:

6) The movie Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor, is an accurate representation of the famed Egyptian, though Liz’s eyes are the wrong color. (I’ll let you be the judge on that.)

7) The current Egyptian government (replacing the Muslim Brotherhood) embarked on a major construction program to relocate many of their poorer population to better housing. By doing so, they hope to alleviate, or disrupt and reduce, the root causes of religious/political radicalization.

8) Ancient Egyptians worshiped numerous gods and were accepting of each pharaoh's choice of which and how many to worship for the most part—though perhaps not when Tutankhamen ruled, though that’s a long story. As a result, the hieroglyphic record in their temples and tombs depict a plethora of gods, too many for me to keep track of as our guide, Ahmed, pointed them out and quizzed us. The stories told in their temples, intended to be seen by others, depict their prowess, power, strength, and favorable connection to their god(s), and should be considered more like political messages. Their way of saying, Keep me in power, I’ll protect you--an early version of, Vote for me. Sound familiar? Whereas, the stories told in their tombs weren’t intended to be seen by anyone after the tomb was closed. Oops, that hasn’t worked out so well for them! Instead, those messages were intended for their god(s) only … and should be considered gospel. (Pun intended.) By that I mean, those stories reflect what they really believed and how they wanted their god(s) to see them in their final and ever-lasting judgment.

Various Egyptians gods at

Komombo Temple. (Don't

ask me to name them!)

9) The ancient Egyptians considered the Nile’s west bank as the land of the dead, and thus their pyramids/tombs/graves were primarily located on the side of the “setting sun,” while the living did their thing on the east bank, the side of the “rising sun.” Temples, I’m not so sure about, but it stands to reason that many of those would be on the eastern side. (Note: before it got dammed, the Nile changed course now and then, though stayed within its flood plain.)

Aerial view of the Upper Nile

near Luxor. (Note the narrow

flood plain bordered by desert.)

10) The Suez Canal wasn’t the first waterway dug through Egypt’s sands. The pharaohs dug canals connecting the Nile to Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Our guide told us one connected Qena to the Red Sea, a distance of approximately one-hundred-twenty miles.

Ancient Egyptians likely contributed a considerable number of ideas/concepts to us:

11) Ever wonder where the term breakfast originated? Try this. Break fast, as in breaking a fast, which Muslims do every day during Ramadan when they eat their first meal of the day after sunset!

12) Ever wonder where the term, Holy cow, came from? The ancient Egyptians considered cows sacred, or at least some of them did.

A "Holy Cow" on display at

the Egyptian Museum in Cairo?

13) Our guide told us the ancient Egyptians originated the concept of infinity—though some would credit the Greeks … but then the Greeks ruled Egypt for a period of time, so who’s to say they didn’t expropriate the idea?

A hieroglyphic representation

(snake's double loop)

of the concept of infinity

at Esna Temple?

14) The “all-seeing eye,” of justice and/or healing, was the god Horus’ left eye, gouged out in a battle with Set (later renamed Seth by the Greeks). I suspect, this idea was passed on via the Free Masons to become the eyeball atop the pyramid on the US one-dollar bill!

A modern day representation of

Horus' all-seeing eye."

(Note: his left one to be exact.)

The Sphinx and Great Giza Pyramid.

(No blog about a trip to Egypt would

be complete without a photo

of one of these.)

A few things I learned in Israel/Jerusalem/Bethlehem, mostly from our guide, Eli (pronounced Ellie, and short for Elijah):

15) The Valley of the Shadow of Death, an otherwise small, nondescript valley in current day Jerusalem, served as the location for first-born male sacrifices in past times. Not long, deep, nor dark, it’s bisected by a curvy, two-lane paved street.

A view of the Valley of the Shadow

of Death from the Mount of Olives.

15) Israeli citizens cannot travel into Bethlehem, nor any other Palestinian Authority controlled area. We were transported from Jerusalem to Bethlehem through the “border checkpoint” by a driver who had permission by birth to cross between the two areas. And we had a different guide while in Bethlehem!

Queued at the checkpoint waiting

to exit Palestinian Authority controlled

Bethlehem. I did not dare exit the vehicle!

16) The Church of the Nativity, purported site of Jesus’ birth, is utilized by various religions/sects (Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, and Greek Orthodox Church, with minor Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox, and Syriac Orthodox rites) each taking turns to worship by appointment, of sorts.

17) Sites and locations across the entire region are in close proximity. I felt quite stunned that most locations of biblical reference (Christian) where within a few days walk, something difficult to comprehend until I saw it. (I had problems with Jordanian customs twice as result of carrying small binoculars! They’re quite touchy about people sneaking across the Jordanian/Israeli border.)

If you’re so moved to travel to those destinations, in part or all, I recommend utilizing a well-known travel company, such as Uniworld. An established company will be working with locals who are in the know about where to go … and where not to. And you may want to consider cooler months, while also avoiding tourist season.

Walk in beauty.