Los Roques, Venezuela

Few places on the planet can offer human eyes such an extraordinary and singular beauty as that of Archipelago Los Roques National Park.
An air view allows us to enjoy the varied range of blue tonalities of its crystal clear waters, only altered by the white sands and the deep green of the mangrove swamps which are present in the keys. Under the water the contrast of white sand with the green of the marine herbs and the various colors and shapes of the coral reef can be easily seen. Los Roques is describes quite well with this singular setting pointing out that: The factor which gives Los Roques its characteristic seal is the brightness. 

The second one is the clarity of the blending of colors: the intense and pure blue of its deep waters; the blinding white of sand beaches; the intense green of mangrove swamps. There are no mild or stumped transitions. Over the sandy bottom the crystal clear transparency of the water is very bright, over the vegetable prairies it is opaque, dark.The existence of numerous keys provides a variety of marine settings which go from sand beaches, rock beaches with strong surf, bays with still water, coastal reef or barrier, mangrove swamp areas, lagoons and salt mines, among others. There is no doubt that the marine setting of Los Roques is one of the most beautiful and special of the Caribbean and of the world and that its coral reefs are among the best preserved. The archipelago is protected by two reef barriers: One that goes from north to south by some 24 kilometers and protects the archipelago from eastern currents and a second barrier that runs some 32 kilometers from east to west.Los Roques is located 156 kilometers north of Venezuela's central coast, between 11°43' and 11°58' latitude north and 66° 53' and 66° 57' longitude west. The entire park has an area 2.251 KM2 spreading 46 kilometers from east to west and 26.6 kilometers from north to south. Los Roques is made up of 1075 keys of old coral origin, and thousands sand bars, all peacefully arranged in a oval shape around a shallow central lagoon.

Source: http://www.los-roques.com/

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Perito Moreno Glacier, Patagonia, Argentina

Perito Moreno Glacier: the eighth wonder of the world

The Perito Moreno glacier is considered the eighth wonder of the world because of the spectacular view it offers.

The imposing mass of ice surrounded by endless forests and mountains is a spectacle that few want to miss. In fact, this place is, along with Puerto Madryn(Chubut) and Iguazu (Misiones), one of the most visited places in the country by foreigners and argentinian tourism.

You can reach the Glacier by land or by alternating phases of navigation on the route. If the visitor comes with his own vehicle, must travel about 80 km along Provincial Route No. 15 from El Calafate, it takes an hour and a half.

The Perito Moreno is one of the many glaciers that form the Los Glaciares National Park. All form the Patagonian Continental Ice (17,000-kilometers long) which is one of the most drinking water supplies in the world. Is that 90% of the world's freshwater is found in glacial areas and after Antarctica and Greenland, is this region of Argentina.

It extends between 47 º and 51 º south latitur, reaches the Chilean fjords and in the east to the Argentine lakes. The Northern Ice Cap is located entirely in the neighboring Republic of Chile, whereas the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap is shared between the two nations.

This spring all the glaciers in the National Park, among which the glacier Perito Moreno is the most important. Visitors can get close to 300 or 400 meters from the glacial tongues or take a walk on ice or"minitrekking".

Surrounded by snow-capped peaks and forests of lengas and ñires, these ice cover about 195 km2, ie over the surface of the Federal Capital, which is in a distance of 2,800 km.

A halo of infinite peace on the wilderness, makes it very attractive for those who want to enjoy the fresh air and the sound of silence. Sound that disrupts only the movement of the glacier, which constantly gives the lake Argentino huge blocks of ice. These when detach from the socket ablation, fall into the Icebergs Channel producing a deep, shuddering noise.

Source: http://www.patagonia.com.ar/El+Calafate/523E_Perito+Moreno+Glacier%3A+the+eighth+wonder+of+the+world.html

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Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Iceland

Seljalandsfoss was a conspicuous waterfall that we immediately noticed while driving along the Ring Road. It was for this reason that we weren't surprised to see it also very popular with tour buses as well as people who were self touring like us. While there were many waterfalls that were tall (this one was said to be 60m), I believe the claim to fame with this one was that we were able to go behind it on a well-developed loop trail. Thus, we were literally able to photograph it from every angle imaginable.

During our visit in early July 2007, there were many wildflowers in bloom all over the grass that seemed to thrive off the waterfall's mist. The cliff itself was said to be where the former coastline of Iceland was. In fact, the escarpment seemed to curve around and stretch throughout much of Southern Iceland, and it might include the cliff responsible for Skogafossfurther to the east.

Our visit to the falls was a leisurely stroll taking one hour. We made plenty of stops and really took our time so conceivably, you could make a visit here in as little as 15-30 minutes if you happened to be on a schedule or on a tour with a packed itinerary. During the leisurely stroll, there was still enough volume in the water to produce some mist that was blasting towards the loop trail going into the waterfall's overhanging backside. I'd have to believe that the mist was continuing the cutting action that would keep growing the depth of the alcove behind the falls and eventually cause the location of the falls to gradually "move backwards."

Now since this waterfall was quite popular (we could tell by how often tour buses would stop here), we were practically guaranteed to be sharing it with other people. However, if the weather was good (it wasn't cooperating during our three days in the Skogar area), we could've waited until late afternoon or even sunset to take some very moody photos from behind the falls or at least watch it glow against the cliffs it'd fall over.

Finally, nearby this waterfall were other smaller waterfalls includingGljúfurárfoss, which we could literally walk to from Seljalandsfoss. We have a separate writeup for that one since it was a bit eccentric.

In a bit of trivia, I looked up my Icelandic dictionary to see what the name of this waterfall meant, and it said that "seljalandi" meant "seller". So does that mean that this is the "Seller's Falls"?

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