Tag: virtual travel

Sword Lake (Part  2: A Short Story)

A greenish figure flashed though some bushes and propelled itself across the path and into the water with a splash.  Charlie and Violet laughed as they ran along the same path towards the spot where the frog had leaped into the waters of Hoan Kiem Lake.  They peered into the water. 

“Where did he go?” Charlie huffed, as he caught his breath.

Violet shrugged, “I can’t see him.   Let’s keep going!” 

The two took off again, passing massive, palm-like leaves and towards a great red bridge, which led across the lake.  They reached a stone archway serving as an entrance-way to the bridge and waited.  They were on a family vacation and did not want to loose their parents in the crowds.  After crossing the bridge with their parents, Charlie and Violet wandered around the little island in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake.  They were fascinated with the different plants and trees they found, and with the temple which lay on the island.  

While near the edge of the island, Violet started, “Look!” she cried, pointing to the water.

The two stared at the water’s edge.  There, floating at the surface and gazing at them, was a great, golden turtle.  Speechless, they continued to stare. 

The turtle slowly nodded for them to come closer.  It looked at them and then turned its head towards its great shell.  

“I think that it wants us to climb onto his back.”  Charlie whispered.

Violet nodded solemnly.  The two carefully climbed upon the back of the great turtle.  Its beautiful shell had an intricate design of shapes and symbols, but what stood out most to the children, was the sword which it had strapped to its shell.  

“Hold on to the sword.”  The turtle said, its head turned slightly back.  “You will be safe.”

The children hung on tightly, taking a deep breath as the turtle dove beneath the surface of the lake.  The water was surprisingly clear, and the sunlight danced along the sandy bottom of the lake which sloped quickly downward towards the lake’s centre.  The great turtle continued to swim downwards, and soon, a great, golden castle began to appear in front of them.  The turtle turned its head back as if to say, “Welcome to my home.”  

He swam in and around the great castle, showing them beautiful turrets and grand halls.  The children found that they were somehow able to hold their breath the entire time without difficulty.  The turtle showed them the breathtaking architecture of his palace in detail, touring each room, and swimming all around the outside of the castle and its courtyard.  

Finally, the turtle turned back to them again and looked up towards the surface of the water.  The children nodded, still holding tight to the sword, strapped to the turtle’s back.  Quickly, the turtle glided towards the surface, and the children looked back to get a glimpse of the beautiful castle one last time.  

Breaking the surface, the three were bathed in the oranges, reds, and pinks of sunset.  The turtle’s back was a brilliant canvas of colour in the fading light of the day.  As they looked around in awe at the beauty of the lake, the turtle slowly paddled towards the little island and let the children off at its shore.  

“Thank you!” Both children whispered.  The turtle simply nodded, and it looked almost as if he were smiling.  A moment later, he noiselessly slipped below the surface of the water and was gone. 

Sword Lake – Part 1 A Place of Beauty and Legend

(Image from: https://www.lifeofpix.com/photo/3-hoan-kiem-lake-ngoc-son-temple-hanoi-jpg/)

You stand at the edge of a lake.  It is just shy of 6:00am and the air is warm and damp. The sound of bird songs intermingle with the rustle of leaves as a breeze passes by.  Tortoises slip into the water of the lake, causing faint splashing sounds.  The beautiful scene is pinnacled by the sight of a lone tower which sits on a small bit of land in the lake.  The tower is stone and has two sorts of main stories, each dotted with three, large arch-like windows.  On top of these stories are two smaller sorts of stories. From where you stand, the sun is rising directly behind the tower, creating a breath-taking glowing effect as it slowly rises to become the backdrop to the tip of the tower. 

This is perhaps a taste of what you would experience if you were to visit Hoan Kiem Lake in Vietnam.  This legendary lake is a beautiful part of Vietnam, holding great cultural significance for the Vietnamese.  This lake has also been named “Sword Lake” and is found in Hanoi, which is the capital of Vietnam.  

(Image From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/150446839@N04/39871985450)

Not only does this lake have the beautiful aforementioned tower, Turtle Tower, but it also has a temple, called Ngoc Son Temple.  I feel that one of the most iconic features of this temple is the long red bridge which creates a pathway to it.  This lake has other stunning visual features, such as its green hue; which can range in shade, to the beautiful church, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, at its west bank.

(Image From: https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/saint-joseph-cathedral-hanoi-vietnam.html)

Personally, I find the legend associated with Hoan Kiem Lake its most intriguing feature.  The legend centres around a successful ruler named Le Loi who lived in the 15th century.  Le Loi, whose dynasty lasted over three centuries, found the blade of a magical sword and later, its hilt.  Completed, this sword gave Le Loi incredible strength and size, and aided him in the defeat of the Chinese people who had been attacking Vietnam at the time.  Soon after, Le Loi went to Hoan Kiem Lake where a great golden turtle deity named Kim Qui requested the return of the sword.  Le Loi gave it to Kim Qui and the turtle disappeared deep into the lake with it.  Kim Qui has not been know to ever make a reappearance, but is memorialized by Turtle Tower which resides in the centre of the lake from which this fascinating legend originates.  

Hon Kiem Lake is quite important to the people of Vietnam. Its Turtle Tower is a  historical and symbolic building, which is over a century old and is representative of sentiments such as unification and patriotism.  The legend of the lake itself is very widespread in Vietnam, demonstrating its importance to the society.  

The beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake is truly a place for appreciation and imagination.  It is a captivating place for both the people of Vietnam and those visiting, providing a place of deep history and story-telling for all.  

The Lighthouses, the Wizard, and the Rocks

An Exploration of the Carnac Stones in France

Visualize an immense stretch of French countryside in which stand several thousand stones standing like soldiers stretching out for more than two miles.  This is what one can experience when visiting Brittany, France, where the Carnac Stones stand. 

This amazingly unique prehistoric site has several different types of stones, including stone tombs, burial mounds, and standing stones.  These stones have not always been in one spot since their original placement, however.  Over the years, people living nearby the Carnac Stones have moved the stones from their original placements for various uses including building houses and a lighthouse! (Bisous des Caribous, 2021) As an aside, there are actually 148 lighthouses in Brittany, France, where, the people of France claim, one can find the ‘end of the world’. (Zaraska, 2013)

The mystery of what the stones meant or stood for stayed a complete enigma for many years, until 2004, when a long-lost science called Geoglyphology was regained by society and was able to be used to unravel the meaning of the Carnac stones. (Pegu, 2020)  It is now known that geoglyphs, such as Carnac, were used as boundary delineators for the people groups who constructed the geoglyphs.  Interestingly, pyramids were also used for this purpose.  (Faram, 2018)  Carnac is a unique geoglyph site.  To read more on how this site is unique from other geoglyph sites, check out this article! https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/carnac-stones-enigma-solved-ancient-science-0010311  As another interesting side note, this article also briefly discusses the contemporary nature of the Carnac Stones and Stonehenge, stating that “The cultures which created Stonehenge and Carnac were related.” (Faram, 2018)

After searching around for interesting facts about Carnac, I decided to try to find a virtual video tour of the Carnac stones, and stumbled across a wonderful video that shows the grandiose nature of Carnac Stones!  I find it quite enjoyable to watch, albeit a tad lengthy.  It is exciting to be able to see the amazing site from this unique perspective.  Click the link to watch this video!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoQYMA3_kB8

The most interesting information that I read about the Carnac Stones, however, was one of the legends told about them.  The legends states that the stones are actually soldiers who were transformed into stones.  Some even say that it was Merlin (the wizard from the legends of King Arthur) who turned the soldiers to stone.  I absolutely love when a place has a legend or story attached to it!  To me it adds an aspect of mystery and awe.  Legends and myths just seem to add a layer of depth and history to a spot.

            I hope you enjoyed my short exploration of the Carnac Stones!  In my next blog post, I will be writing a short fictional story about the Carnac Stones!  I hope you join me on that adventure as well! 

Until next time! <3

Em

References:

Bisous des Caribous, 2021. http://www.bisousdescaribous.com/2021/04/10-interesting-facts-about-carnac.html

Faram, 2018. https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/carnac-stones-enigma-solved-ancient-science-0010311

Pegu, 2020. https://www.villanovo.com/magazine/the-mysterious-carnac-stones-in-brittany

Zaraska, 2013. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/in-brittany-lighthouses-oysters-ancient-stones–and-the-end-of-the-world/2013/10/31/325cd5dc-3cca-11e3-b7ba-503fb5822c3e_story.html

Pictures:

Carnac stone pictures:

https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/carnac-stones

Lighthouse picture:

https://www.needpix.com/photo/1173194/brittany-lighthouse

Travelling Around the World – My Final Week

Week five is here! It has been five weeks of virtual travelling, and I have seen so many amazing new places! This week’s plan was as follows:

Week 5: “Travel” to Peru and Brazil 

Challenges:

  • Virtually visit one tourist attraction/interesting spot each day!
  • Choose what you think is the most beautiful spot in both Peru and Brazil. 

Now, to be perfectly honest, I never did very well with the “visit one tourist attraction/interesting spot each day”, much to my chagrin. However, like last week, I did virtually “visit” seven tourist spots, just not on different days of the week.

The first place I decided to “visit” was Machu Picchu in Peru. These gorgeous ruins make a breathtaking scene laying in the Andes Mountains three hundred meters above the Urubamba River. Something that I found was very interesting about Machu Picchu is that there is a secret temple nearby. This temple is called Temple of the Moon, and it was built on Huayna Picchu.

To get to this secret temple, one must traverse the ‘Stairs of death of Huayna Picchu’. There are 183 meters of these steep, cliff-side steps which one must use in order to reach the Temple of the Moon.

The next place I decided to visit was Ica and the Sand Dunes at Huacachina. Here, there is a beautiful resort built in an oasis surrounded by massive sand dunes. Visitors to this resort can enjoy sand boarding or riding in dune buggies in the giant sand dunes nearby.

The third place I decided to travel to was Barranco. This city drew my attention immediately, with its bright colours and beautiful foliage! It is a very artsy-looking city, complete with street art, coffee shops, and picturesque streets.

One of the most interesting places that I visited virtually was the Puente de Los Suspiros, or Bridge of Sighs. Here it is said that if one makes a wish and holds one’s breath the entire way across the bridge, that your wish will come true!

After Barranco, I headed over to another stunningly colourful city – Pelourinho in Brazil. This beautiful city is full of historical buildings, including some lovely churches and monasteries.

I also decided to visit the city of Ipanema on the “same day” since it looked so beautiful with its white beaches, as well as fascinating-looking rocky mountains in the background. The pictures of this beach are absolutely stunning, and were fun to peruse!

The next place I visited was Fernando de Noronha in Brazil. This beautiful archipelago is composed of twenty-one islands/islets, and is found 354 km off the Brazilian shore. I found the colour of the water particularly stunning. The bright blues of the ocean contrast very nicely with the dark, rocky islands that dot the Atlantic’s waters.

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park was next up on my virtual tour through Brazil. This spot is truly such an amazing-looking area. Its soft-looking white sands stretch far even as they surround azure pools of rain water.

My final final destination for this “trip” was Bonita, Brazil. Freshwater there has beautiful tropical fish, which greatly interested me, as I feel like it would be so interesting to get a close look at tropical fish! Also, I found a cave in Bonita, Gruta do Lago Azul, very fascinating, as it is more than two hundred feet deep, and looks amazing! A very interesting fact about this cave is that it has prehistoric fossils in it!

As for the second travel challenge, the most beautiful spot I found in Peru was Cordillera Blanca. This beautiful collection of mountains and valleys caught my attention immediately, and I quickly decided that this was the most beautiful spot that I had seen in Peru on my “travels”.

The most beautiful spot I found in Brazil was Iguaçu Falls. The breathtaking group of 247 waterfalls most definitely immediately qualified for the most beautiful spot that I saw in Brazil during my virtual travels!

I am so glad to have been able to travel the world virtually throughout these last five weeks! I sincerely hope you have had a wonderful time following (and hopefully travelling!) along with me over these last several weeks!

Week 4 – My Adventures in Ireland and Russia.

Week four has come and gone already! The round the world trip is nearly complete, but not without a few more adventures around the corner.

My itinerary for week four was:

Week 4: “Travel” to Ireland and Russia 

Challenges:

  • Virtually visit one tourist attraction/interesting spot each day!
  • Virtually find the perfect spot to have a picnic in Ireland!
  • Virtually find the most interesting-looking building in Russia! 

Unfortunately, the visiting one tourist attraction/interesting spot each day became more of a “visit seven tourist attraction in one day” sort of excursion. (Thankfully this is a virtual trip, otherwise I would be exhausted!)

The first place I decided to visit virtually was Russia. In fact, I “headed” straight to Moscow, where I “visited” the stunning Saint Basil’s Cathedral. This beautifully unique building was commissioned to be built by Ivan the Terrible in 1555 to 1561. The architecture of this building is quite interesting. There really are not any other buildings like this bonfire-shaped cathedral.

Next I “travelled” to Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As soon as I found out that Hermitage Museum was in Saint Petersburg, I was so excited, because one of the composers (Igor Stravinsky) I had studied for my music class last year lived there for a time. I was really drawn to this museum because of the beautiful exterior of the building. It is so ornate, and the colour is so unique that I instantly wanted to know more about it! The Hermitage Museum actually has a website that offers virtual visits, which I thought was very useful considering that one cannot easily travel right now. (If you are interested in seeing more of the Hermitage Museum, use the link provided to take a virtual tour of the museum: https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/panorama/virtual_visit/panoramas-m-1/?lng=en)

The Valley of Geysers in Russia was next on the tour. This Russian natural wonder is the second largest geyser field in the world. The valley contains around ninety geysers and is about six kilometres in length. While “visiting”, I looked at many pictures of the valley, and enjoyed the amazing-looking geysers. The Valley of Geysers was definitely worth the “visit”!

Next, I visited The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. These awe-inspiring cliffs are a popular tourist attraction, and some of these amazing rock formations rise 214 meters into the air! Again, similar to the Hermitage Museum, this tourist attraction has a virtual tour available on their website, which can be found by using the following link: https://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/google-360-inside-tour/.

From the Cliffs of Moher, I decided to explore some of the ruins of Ireland. I skimmed past several ruins, until I finally found some that caught my eye – the ruins in Skellig Michael, County Kerry. This stunning island has some fascinating ruins on it, which are definitely worth a visit! The vibrant green of the grass is a magnificently stark contrast to the rock of the island and the ruins that are built on the island. A fun fact about this island is that it is the very island that was used as a film site in Star Wars Episode VII “The Force Awakens”. In fact, as I was virtually exploring the island, I thought it looked very similar to the island depicted in the Star Wars movie, so I looked it up, and sure enough, it was the island!

As an adventurous and exploration-loving extrovert, this next location is right up my alley! Grafton Street, Dublin is a busy spot full of different shops and streets to explore. From watching street performances to shopping to simply grabbing a coffee, Grafton Street has no shortage of adventures to offer!

Of course, what would a trip to Ireland be without visiting a castle or two? I decided to “visit” Bunratty Castle. Bunratty Castle is a medieval castle which was built in the fifteenth century. This beautiful castle now hosts themed banquets, which sounds like so much fun, and a great way to bring history to life in a fun way!

As for the finding perfect picnic spot in Ireland for the “travel challenge”, I decided on Glendalough. Not only is this spot rich in history and beauty, but it is said to be a good picnic spot, having lots of lovely country/forest areas to enjoy. There are many fascinating spots to enjoy and explore in Glendalough.

For the most interesting-looking building in Russia, I was torn between the Hermitage Museum and Saint Basil’s Cathedral. I personally find the Hermitage Museum more stunning, but the architecture of Saint Basil’s Cathedral is so unique and incredible! In the end, I decided to choose Saint Basil’s Cathedral, but it is a hard choice!

I thoroughly enjoyed my “travels” this week! In fact, this was one of my favourite travelling weeks so far. I saw so many stunning sites as I virtually travelled through Russia and Ireland. I am so excited to see what surprises and adventures the fifth and final week of my world travels holds!

My Travels – Week 3

I will admit, one of the “travelling challenges” did not go so well this week. For week three the “travel” itinerary was as follows:

Week 3:  “Travel” to Egypt and Morocco 

Challenges:

  • Virtually visit a one tourist attraction/interesting spot each day!
  • Pick out the top three most interesting things you saw on your “travels”.

I did pick out the top three most interesting things I saw while I virtually travelled in Egypt and Morocco, but I did not visit a tourist attraction/interesting spot each day. (My travelling was sporadic at best this week, unfortunately!)

I did enjoy the virtual travelling I did do, however. Both Egypt and Morocco were stunning places to “visit”. The top three most interesting things I saw were:

1) Oudaias Kasbah in Morocco

This neighbourhood is absolutely stunning, and I thoroughly enjoyed looked at the beautiful pictures of this place. My favourite parts of this area of Morocco are the vibrant, blue walls and unique-looking doors!

2) The White Desert in Egypt

This unique Egyptian desert amazed me. It is comprised of large, white chalk mountains that give the effect of winter snow! (I absolutely love the snow, so I loved this desert from the moment I saw it!)

3) Abydos Temple in Egypt

This temple is truly breathtaking, with its large pillars and fascinating hieroglyphics. This three-level temple is made from limestone, and was built for the Egyptian god, Osiris. The temple is also unique in that it contains at least seven sanctuaries built for Osiris, Isis, Horus, Ptah, Re-Harakhte, Amun, and Pharaoh Seti I.

Another place that I found particularly interesting while I was “travelling” was Fes el Bali. This city is definitely an interesting place to see, and the tanneries are especially unique locations to visit while there.

Yet another very interesting spot that I found in my “travels” was the Thistlegorm Dive Site in Egypt. Found in the Red Sea, this dive sight contains a shipwreck from World War II. The ship in question was an English ship called the Thistlegorm which sunk in 1941.

Of course, one’s visit to Egypt cannot be complete without a trip to the pyramids of Giza – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This magnificent site does not disappoint. From the great Sphinx to the massive pyramids themselves, this historical site is well worth “visiting”!

As always, I loved the opportunity to virtually visit these spectacular places, and hope you had a wonderful time virtually travelling this week as well!

“Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop

My travels – Week 2

Well, here I am! Week two of travelling around the world virtually!

In case you – like myself – you forgot what exactly Week Two was supposed to entail, here is the travel layout that I laid out in my post a couple of weeks ago:

Week 2: “Travel” to Petra, Jordan and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Challenges:

  • Find out one really unique fact about Petra. 
  • Pick out your favourite watery creature that you saw while “diving” at the Great Barrier Reef.

On Saturday, I posted a poll on my Instagram to see which destination I should travel to first for week two of my travels. After leaving it to the voters for a time, I came back to find that I was destined to travel to the Great Barrier Reef first! I saw beautiful coral and fish in some amazing underwater pictures, and even got an underwater tour courtesy of a turtle with a camera attached to him! My favourite part of my travels that day was definitely seeing the ocean through the eyes of a turtle – it was truly a unique experience! On Monday, I found myself discovering the different sea creatures of the Great Barrier Reef. I was trying to find my favourite “watery creature” to complete the Travel Challenge for the Great Barrier Reef. Finally, I found the perfect creature – the Mantis Shrimp! This little guy is so intense! At only ten centimetres longs, the Mantis Shrimp does not seem intimidating at first, but do not underestimate them – they are powerful predators!

To find out more about these amazing creatures, check out this link:

https://www.barrierreef.org/the-reef/animals/mantis-shrimp?fbclid=IwAR2rxipyf1QWT3cSrtZwnCKt6TuZpzVr6tP9TbNfTVbMY2YsACyPIFi4ek8

Tuesday, I “travelled” to Petra, Jordan. I was especially excited about exploring this fascinating city, because ever since I first saw pictures of the Rose City, I wanted to visit it! I found it so intriguing and mysterious, and wanted to know more. My virtual expedition gave me just such a chance. On both Tuesday and Wednesday, I saw some spectacular pictures of Petra. Today, I read up on some of Petra’s history, as well as some different facts about Petra, Jordan. To complete my other Travel Challenge, I found a unique fact about Petra, which was that the city is 85% unexplored by archeologists! I found this fascinating, and think that it makes this the Rose City seemingly all the more mysterious! I also went on a virtual tour of Petra, which was also really interesting. Not only was it a virtual 360 tour, but it was an aerial tour as well, which I found gave a really amazing perspective to the city.

I had fun exploring both The Great Barrier Reef and Petra, Jordan this week! Although very different places, both of these tourist locations had very unique and spectacular sights to see and adventures to offer. I cannot wait to see what I will discover during next week’s “travels”!