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The Pantanal is one of Brazil’s, if not the world’s, most spectacular regions. This long flood plain covers about 140,000 square miles, extending between two rivers in the Paraguay River Basin. Formed by the remains of an ancient in-land sea called Xaraes, the Pantanal is the bottom of a bowl with mountains on all sides. When it rains, the water runs down the mountains onto the Pantanal and forms the Paraguay River.
The Rhine Valley from Kaub to Boppard is often called the Loreley Valley. Here the river is at its narrowest, flows fastest, and the valley is at its steepest, with the most dramatic scenery and several castles. The whole stretch of the Rhine from Rüdesheim and Bingen to Koblenz and Lahnstein are a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.
Cádiz is the capital of the province that spans southward from the Sevilla plains and the western foothills of the Serranía de Ronda to claim the last sweep of the Mediterranean coast. And in February, when the country’s wildest celebration of Carnaval is at full throttle, Cádiz is the happiest place in Spain.
San José has been the capital of Costa Rica and the seat of its democratic government since 1823. Nestled high in the Central Valley (1,253 meters/3,770 feet), between green volcanic mountain ranges, the metropolitan city of about one million people is oriented east and west, surrounded by suburbs that cling to the gentle foothills. The nearby town of Escazú, southwest of the city off the autopista, is home to the largest population of North Americans living in Costa Rica, either full-time or part-time, and is consequently more upscale than San José’s downtown or other suburbs.
The Bahamas consists of approximately 700 islands and 2,000 islets, called cays (keys), which collectively make up the archipelago. Of these, only about 30 are inhabited. Some are little more than boulders that appear and disappear with the rise and fall of the ocean. Some are long and thin and stretch for many miles. Still others are home to thousands of busy people. The vast majority of the islands, however, are deserted, with pristine beaches and tropical forests that are untouched by humans.
If you have ever dreamed of Provence, it probably looked like Vincent Van Gogh’s wheat fields and cypress trees, stony white hills and starry nights, tumbling clouds in brilliant blue skies. These images have made this part of Provence so familiar that it has become a kind of collective fantasy. Van Gogh spent his last and most prolific years painting the fields, farmhouses (mas in Provençal) and people of this corner of Provence.
Berlin is the most interesting and diverse of all German cities. It is probably most famous for its division during the Cold War and seeing related sights such as the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and a few surviving pieces of the Berlin Wall are priorities for many visitors. Berlin has more than 170 museums covering all genres. After four decades of division, some collections are now again united into world-class presentations.
Visitors have been drawn to Florence’s architectural and artistic treasures for centuries – and for good reason. But, with an historical center of only half a square-mile, it can be hard to see the sights through the crowds. The throngs on the Duomo steps, the lines for the Uffizi and the jostling for photos on Piazzale Michelangelo all require a good dose of patience, especially under the blistering summer heat.
The Napa Valley is world-famous. It is one of the premier wine growing regions of the world, rivaling the likes of Bordeaux, France, if not in size, certainly in stature and notoriety. It is also practically synonymous with California wine, and with good reason. It has the greatest concentration of wineries in the US, with more than 300 of them packed into an area of just over 100 square miles, including some of the California’s oldest and grandest wine estates.
Kauai is Hawaii’s “Garden of Eden.” It was the locale of South Pacific, Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii. It is the tropical paradise people dream about, with lush valleys and towering green mountains, cascading waterfalls and freshwater lagoons, secluded beaches and wild gardens bursting forth in bunches of plumeria, hibiscus, anthuriums, orchids, ginger and birds of paradise. Kauai is also Hawaii’s oldest island, steeped in history and intertwined with Hawaii’s mythical little people, the menehune, more than any other island.
