Author: Ms. R.

Deep in the cradle of civilization, you can still find traces of our ancient ancestors. Lesotho’s amazing Ha Baroana site is only an hour’s drive from the capital of Maseru, and on the far side of the Liphiring River, tucked inconspicuously beneath a black-and-tan cave, sit a remarkably preserved stretch of paintings. The walls of Ha Baroana, which translates as “home of the bushmen,” are decorated with paintings of animals like leopards, lions, antelope, cranes, and guinea fowls, as……

Read More

The cave under a rock overhang in Mitchell River National Park is a significant place for the Gunaikurnai people, the traditional owners of the land. It’s called the Den of Nargun, with the Nargun being a fierce half-human, half-rock creature who lives in the cave. The Nargun is said to have the power to turn spears or boomerangs back so they hit their owner. It also has a reputation for luring travelers into its den. The Gunaikurnai tell of the Nargun……

Read More

Plaça del Rei (meaning “King’s Square” in Catalan) is one of the most charming places in Barcelona. However, this emblematic place hides a bloody past—it once housed the prisons of the Spanish Inquisition. Today, a coat of arms in stone is still preserved. In the Middle Ages, a number of important buildings were established here: the Royal Palace, the Chapel Saint Àgata, and the seven-story King Martí Tower, the highest in medieval Barcelona. In the Inquisition’s old prisons (outbuildings……

Read More

Right off of the Santa Clara University campus sits a small building. Its red roof tiles and white adobe walls are fairly typical for the area. But this is no Spanish Revival homage to California‘s past. This edifice, now the Santa Clara Women’s Club, dates back to when Spain ruled Northern California. The nearby University grounds are home to the Santa Clara Mission, one of the 17 sites across California established by Spanish monks in order to convert Native……

Read More

The Winter Mausoleum in Pittsburgh‘s Allegheny Cemetery is an interesting resting place, particularly memorable for the twin sphinxes that guard the tomb. This is the grave of Emil Winter, an industrialist and banker who made his fortune in the Pittsburgh steel industry at the turn of the 20th century. Winter had the mausoleum built in 1930. Its design is almost identical to that of F.W. Woolworth’s mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. Both tombs were the work of John Russell……

Read More

In a remote rainforest near the border of Nigeria and Cameroon, seven streams tumble over steep cliffs to form the Agbokim waterfall. During the rainy season, the rushing falls create a thunderous sound and sometimes, for those who are lucky enough to see them, rainbows. Agbokim waterfall is situated in Etung local government area of Cross River State, about 17 kilometers (10 miles) from the small town of Ikom. Agbokim waterfall is most significant for its multiple adjoining streams,……

Read More

Hidden within the woodland of Thurstaston Common is a mysterious red sandstone landmark known as Thor’s Rock. The rock has been the subject of much mystery and fascination for many generations, reached by following winding footpaths through the gorse and birch woodland on the common. The rock is around 30 feet in height and can be accessed via a series of eroded channels and gullies. The softness of the sandstone is revealed by the numerous visitors who have carved……

Read More

Scotland‘s National Museum of Flight, located in the former Royal Air Force base of East Fortune, was the departure point for the first return flight across the Atlantic. The R34 airship was the first to complete an east-west flight across this ocean, as earlier attempts (both with scales and non-stop), succeeded by flying west-east, from North America to Europe. R34 was a rigid airship, unlike the airplane flown by Alcock and Brown used for the first non-stop transatlantic flight……

Read More