Author: Ms. R.

In good years, fall and winter thunderstorms drench the deserts east of the Mediterranean. In early spring, the soil cracks in some places, the swelling signs of desert truffles below. An age-old harvest begins. In the Middle East, humans have foraged these unique mushrooms for millennia, scanning broken earth for protein-rich knobs to eat, sell, or use in medicine. They haven’t stopped of late, despite the threat of kidnappings and landmines. For some inhabitants of these deserts, the truffles……

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This bronze statue of the now-extinct great auk overlooks the impressive sea cliffs where these birds once nested. The statue in the Reykjanes peninsula was created by the artist Todd McGrain. It is one of several works that he has done as part of his Lost Bird Project. The series includes sculptures of several extinct avian species, placed in the last location they were known to live. The statue stands about five feet tall and there is an information……

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The Lares hot springs in southern Peru are made up of outdoor pools surrounded by tall stone walls, grassy fields, and outdoor showers. The natural hot springs have been used by locals in practices that extend back to pre-Columbian civilizations. Lares is a small town in the Andes 40 miles north of Cusco. Getting there involves a rollercoaster of drive from Calca through breathtaking terraced mountains. A one-lane mountain pass winds erratically some 14,000 feet above the clouds. Streams……

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Night had fallen on Mahebourg, a bustling trade town on the southeast coast of Mauritius, when what would come to be called the “people’s factory zone” met for the first time. It was an enterprise born of necessity: A crisis was unfolding only a few miles offshore, in the pristine waters from which many of Mahebourg’s residents earn their livelihoods. That first August night, just a handful of locals showed up to rally around what seemed like a dubious……

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During the darkest parts of the winter, most locals dwell inside. But when the sun returns and the days get longer the ice road is a perfect spot to recharge the batteries. Sweden‘s Luleå archipelago formed during the last ice age, and is made up of a group of islands in the northern end of the Bay of Bothnia. The land is still rising, the city of Luleå was once moved to a new location on land emerging from the……

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Ruiguang Pagoda, also known as the Auspicious Lustre Pagoda, is the earliest pagoda built in what is now known as the Panmen Scenic Area of Suzhou. The pagoda was built in 247 CE during the reign of King Chiwu Sun Quan in honor of his mother. At the time of construction, the pagoda had 13 floors. During the succeeding dynasties, the pagoda was destroyed and rebuilt many times. It was reconstructed during the Song Dynasty, this time at a……

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