Cathedral Saint Alexandar Nevski in Sofia, Bulgaria

Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

Cruise ships pull into the Bay of Kotor and offload thousands of tourists into the small town.  Tourism is a mixed blessing as it brings outside money to the area, yet the cruise ships are unsightly, loud, pollute, and the added tourists create congestion and more waste in the town.  

Gas station toilet in Morin, Kukës, Albania

 Ulcinj, Montenegro

Near Budva, Montenegro

Sveti Stefan, Montenegro

Family vineyard in the mountains of Montenegro

Beach in Svētciems, Latvia

Love locks on a pedestrian bridge in Riga, Latvia

Central Latvia

Coastal wildlife refuge - Parnu Bay in the Gulf of Riga, essentially the Baltic Sea

Riga, Latvia

Much of the drive from Tallinn to Riga was lined with walls of stick straight trees. I went out hiking and the ground reminded me of the peat moss in Alaska - the flies were bad but at least there were no mosquitos

​Tallinn, Estonia - Gargoyle downspout. Interesting fact I learned when I was living in D.C. that the name gargoyle is from the sound water makes when it is going down and out of them - gargle, gargle, gargle

Street scene in Old Town Tallinn

​Outside of Old Town, Tallinn is very modern

Tallinn, Estonia - a woman walking outside a modernly designed shopping mall 

Riga, Latvia - Rooftop bars are very popular in the summer throughout the Baltics and Scandinavia

I had this obnoxiously purple beet soup throughout this region and it was amazing every time.

Belarus, small wooden foot bridges crossing the drainage ditch along a rural road.  My best guess is that people use them to gather wood from the forest to use for heating their homes.

Stockholm, Sweden - cathedral in old town

Malmo, Sweden - the turning torso tower.

Nyhavn, Copenhagen, Denmark

Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral - ​Reykjavik, Iceland

Found a palm tree in Stockholm, Sweden

Basalt formations at Giant's Causeway - N. Ireland, these formed from volcanic fissure eruption and cracked in hexagonal shapes, there are roughly 40,000 of these columns here in Giant's Causeway.

Basalt formations along the southern coast of Iceland; like in Ireland, these were formed from lava cooling and cracking into these geometric shapes.  

Black sand beach, Iceland

Copenhagen, Denmark - during the warm months people gather at the water's edge whether or not there's a traditional beach.

Helsinki, Finland - people gather at a boat dock as they would a beach

Helsinki, Finland - people flock to this floating dock

Wheelchair ramp in Helsinki, Finland, while I never saw a wheelchair on it I did see people using the ramp bikes​

Vassa, Finland - Taking off at 2:01am - notice how light it is... Vassa is 63 degrees north so just south of the Arctic Circle 

Christiania (Freetown Christiania); in Copenhagen, Denmark is an international commune of around 850 to 1,000 residents. It used to be self-regulated by those squatting there; however, now Danish laws apply to Christiania.

Derry, N. Ireland - the site of the "Troubles" ... Bloody Sunday was here in 1972 and now there are murals on many of the buildings.

Dublin, Ireland - shades of Irish greens are everywhere - even in the cities.

Sea cliffs in Northern Ireland 

Sea cliffs in Iceland

Iceland has roughly 80,000 horses and with a total population of 300,000 people that's more than one horse to every four people.  

Northern Greenland over the Arctic Ocean.  Geographically Greenland is considered to be a part of North America; and is politically aligned to Denmark and identifies with a Northern European lifestyle.

near Snaefellsjokull, Iceland - the landscape is distinctive and boasts waterfalls around every turn.

A lot of parallels to popular fonts, packaging and colors to US companies.

London, U.K. - children are not a barrier to travel, in fact, I find it easier to travel with children than to stay at home with them.  I travel frequently with my young boys (oftentimes alone) and they help me to see the world from a different perspective.  I will continue to feed their young and curious minds with places around the world. 

Annecy, France - while most people go to France to see Paris, I highly encourage visiting the smaller towns and villages to get a more thorough bath in French culture.  Here fresh flowers line the walkways throughout the entire town.

Colmar, France - this small French town is near the German border and the architecture resembles that of Germany more than French.  

McDonald's in Freiburg, Germany.  

Innsbruck, Austria - view over the train station with a green roof and in the distance is the old Olympic ski jump venue (1976)

Arguably one of the best ways to see Europe is by train.  The continent is so interconnected by railway and it is an easy and relaxing way to see the many countries of Europe.

Lyon, France - similar vibe as in Switzerland on a Friday afternoon.  People gathering along the shore of the Sabine River (tributary of the Rhone) enjoying wine, beer, and various snacks such as bread, cheese and meats.  Life expectancy in France is 82.23.  ​The countries with the highest life expectancies, including France, Japan and Denmark, all provide free healthcare and free education.

Ghent, Belgium - the bike culture throughout Europe is very apparent

Amsterdam, The Netherlands. There are 12 Administrative Provinces in The Netherlands and two of them contain the name Holland (North and South Holland); Amsterdam is in Noord Holland.

Houses in rural France near the Swiss border - I took this shot for because of the cat in the upper window

Rapeseed fields near ​Liechtenstein

Public toilet in Amsterdam - would you use this?

Houseboat in Amsterdam - a lot of people live in boats on the canals; there are also a lot available as Airbnb rentals if you want a unique place to stay.

Red Light District in Amsterdam - prostitution is legal in The Netherlands but not on the streets. That's why prostitutes stand up behind a window and have their own room. The name of "Red Light District" comes from the red neon lights that highlight the 300 windows where women are working; it is a regulated industry and workers pay taxes.

Locarno, Switzerland.  This southern Swiss town sits adjacent to the border of Italy and while it was snowing this day there are plenty of palm trees dotting the lake.  

Lugano, Switzerland - a lot of trees are pruned back this way across Europe, I've even seen this done in South America - notably Colonia, Uruguay, which has a Portuguese influence.

Germany - Teenagers hanging out on top of a pedestrian bridge over a road and train tracks

Insect in Switzerland - the back looks like a tribal mask; invasive species?

Camogli, Italy - haven't heard of it, neither have most; it is on the other side of the peninsula from Portofino - equally as impressive and less expensive. 

Southern Italy - people take advantage of the beach daily.

Santorini, Greece - tourism is the largest industry, followed by agriculture (there are several wineries).  These popular Greek islands (Mykonos, Santorini and Crete) are starting to limit tourists due to supply and waste issues.

Lisbon, Portugal - equally as impressive as the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

Genoa, Italy - statue of Christopher Columbus, while he often sailed from Portugal he was born in Genoa.

Genoa, Italy

Seville, Spain - rooftop views full of cathedrals, palm trees and even a bull-fighitng ring.

Cadiz, Spain - these small coastal villages still rely heavily on the fishing industry.

Santorini, Greece - the blue and white combination of the architecture compliments the colors of the Greek flag and the preexisting colors in the islands became the strongest trademark of the Cycladic Islands.  Since 1974, all new houses have had to be painted white

Athens, Greece - while there is a lot to see and do in Athens, I tell people that you can see all the popular attractions in a day (Acropolis, Parthenon, Temple of Zeus, etc...)

Southern Italy - it is very common to see clothes hanging outside of windows as most do not have dryers.

Seville, Spain - the Three Kings Parade is popular on January 6 every year.  Here the children ride on the floats and throw candy to the adults (most of it remains in the street). ​It is not Santa Claus who brings gifts on Christmas Day. The tradition here in Spain is that Los Reyes Magos, known as the Three Wise Men or the Three Kings in English, bring Spanish children their gifts on the Day of the Epiphany, January 6th.

Street scene in southern Spain - orange trees and tiled buildings

Over the Azores - pilots' view.

Tatra Mountains in Poland, follow the snow path over the mountains and that is the border of Slovakia.  This is considered Eastern or even Central Europe.  I was in Krakow and took the short drive south to these mountains and it was well worth it, crystal clear water, and once past the main view of the mountain I had the place to myself.

Thamel, Kathmandu - children playing on a side street with make shift toys (mostly trash).

Dusk in Khatmandu

​Street food - vegetarian pancake

Thamel, Kathmandu - so many shop workers have beds in their shops.

Kathmandu - many buildings have poles supporting the structure - way too many to feel safe.

Traffic in South Asia is some of the worst I've seen. Very few if any stoplights or traffic signs, very little traffic control (only the major roads and that limited), people, cars, trucks, mopeds, bicycles, tuk-tuks, dogs and even cattle share the streets.

Brick by brick - the man at the top was bringing bricks up one at a time on a rope and cementing them into place, a man below was helping. 

Cattle and dogs wandering around an outdoor market

Colorful potato pasta

Rural Nepal - sometimes people place baskets over chicks to keep them safe from overhead predators; the wingspan of this Griffon was more than 6 feet (nearly 2 meters)

Family outside their house in a small village near Dhampus 

Corn drying inside their kitchen, small attic, and outside windows.

Drying clothes in a rural village in the Annapurna region of Nepal.

Funeral; they burn the body and then spread the ashes into the river. The Ganges River is the most holy and in in Varanasi, India it is the holiest area as that is where the river bends back north and there are many of these pyres burning and dumped into the river every day.  Imagine what this does to the ecosystem of the river, also imaging how much land is saved by not burying all these bodies as in Christian religious burials.

Pokhara, Nepal - has a humid subtropical climate at 827 meters (2,700 feet); there are three snow-capped 8,000m (26,000+ feet) peaks you can see in the far background.

Rural Nepal in the Annapurna Region

The valley in rural Nepal floods every spring and often times it causes major damage

No one told us about the leeches in Nepal; these aren't from blisters, rather wounds from leeches. They latch onto your shoes, up to and into your socks, hundreds of leeches on us simply walking through the forest and grass. 

A woman walks through an alley while on her smartphone.  Cell technology is very apparent even in the roughest parts of this realm.

Even in floating water villages like this in Dal Lake, India - people have cell phones (Photo by: Luke Baltrusch)

Makeshift housing in Mumbai, India (AKA the slums of Mumbai) ​(Photo by my colleague: Luke Baltrusch)

Street children in Chennai, India ​(Photo by my colleague: Luke Baltrusch)

 Karni Mata Temple - the Rat Temple in Rajasthan, India (Photo by my colleague: Luke Baltrusch)

​Trekking in the mountains, very close to Pakistan – on the other side of the mountains (maybe 50 miles) is where they captured Bin Laden. ​(Photo by my colleague: Luke Baltrusch)

Kashmir Valley ​(Photo by my colleague: Luke Baltrusch)

Butcher shop in Srinagar, India ​(Photo by my colleague: Luke Baltrusch)

India - This is Lalu's garden; this is his wife in their 'kitchen' cooking up some fresh chapatti and greens ​(Photo by my colleague: Luke Baltrusch)

Always a good laugh looking at the menus; this was at a Chinese restaurant in Pokhara, Nepal

Sample of just how many pigeons are in the city of Kathmandu

A photographic technique I like to employ to bring the subject to the forefront and into focus - oftentimes the background can be distracting:    Same photo just removing light from the background thus rendering it black.

A man working at a motorcycle repair shop in central Kathmandu

Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia - sunrise at the train station.  This train runs from St. Petersburg to Beijing.

Small village just across the border from Eastern Russia into Mongolia.  Notice the bright blue paint around the windows (and doors), I was told that they do this to protect themselves from evil spirits entering the house.  There is a gradual transition from Mongolian to Russian, even place names such as Ulan Ude, Russia, resemble place names in Mongolia, remnants of a once powerful and expansive Mongolian empire.  

Mongolia - common site on the streets of Ulaan Baatar

Drainage ditches in Ulaan Baatar – this capital and Mongolia's most populous city, is a lot like this.

​Yurt - this circular tent is a way the nomads survive in the high plains of Mongolia and even in the Gobi Desert, this one happened to be in the outskirts of town.

Central square in Ulaan Baatar, notice the traffic on the right.

Border crossings are always interesting from country to country.  On the Siberian railway from Mongolia to China the railway track gauges are smaller so the wheels need to be changed and each car is lifted separately.  You have to wait outside the train during this fix and it adds about 4 hours to the border crossing.  Crossing from Russia to Mongolia the border crossing took about 6 hours and there were no adjustments to the trail wheels, it just took them that much longer.

North Korea / South Korea border.  ​This is a statue that is outside the DMZ - ​I went underneath North Korea about 30 meters in a tunnel but didn't officially enter the country.   What does this sculpture say to you?  

Seoul, South Korea - the Han River flows through the city and there is a nice walkway on both sides. 

Seoul - I took this photo in 2008 and Starbucks (and other large US corporations) continue to spread around the globe.

Tokyo, Japan - and the line is out the door of this Wendy's

Tokyo, Japan - there is a large vending machine culture where you can buy everything from underwear, coffee, cheeseburgers, condoms, pregnancy tests, cigarettes, etc...

Street Market in Seoul, South Korea.

​Restaurant bathroom in rural China.

Beijing, China - far corner inside the Forbidden City (not what is usually shown in the advertisements)

Front of the Forbidden City adjacent to Tiananmen Square - very common to see large portraits of leaders throughout East and Southeast Asia.  Also a lot of umbrellas, for the sun (in addition to rain).

Great Wall - this is the newly refurbished wall where tourists go, I was here early before it became overly crowded

Great Wall - this is near Jinshanling and Simatai (not as popular for tourists, but I enjoyed it far more)

​Tokyo (view from my hotel) - part of a green movement; covering rooftops with flora

​Night Market in Beijing China - I had Scorpion, Seahorse, and Snake this night, what would you like to try?

​Long-tail boat in Phi Phi, Thailand.  Some of the most beautiful water I've seen and great diving!!  These boats put a lot of pollution into the water – should they continue to be allowed in this area?

Karst formations near Phi Phi, Thailand; same formations that make up Halong Bay in Vietnam.

Karst formations seen from the beach in Krabi, Thailand

​Singapore Customs gave this stamp to me as I entered the country - Thailand has the same "death to drug traffickers" provision.

Hut in rural Laos

Arguably the best way to see SE Asia.

Borneo - girls riding in the back of a truck in Sabah - (This certainly wouldn't fly in the USA with all the seatbelt laws).

Luang Prabang, Laos - boat taxi's on the Mekong River.

Malaysia - agriculture in Sabah, Borneo... in a lot of areas in the world they still work the land by hand.

​So many Chameleons, everywhere

​Millipede I encountered while hiking up to Mt. Kinabalu in Malaysia

Praying Mantis just hanging out on the bathroom wall above the urinal in the airport at Luang Prabang, Laos

Kuang Si Falls, Laos 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - my first encounter with a century egg; would you try one?

Laos - another encounter with century eggs (they are the pink ones in the front) sitting out in the early morning heat.

Luang Prabang, Laos - street scene

Singapore - fish spa where fish ate the dead skin off my legs (they have full body treatments but I had a hard time doing just my legs - it tickled so much I couldn't stop laughing - the locals must have thought I was mental

Chinatown in Bangkok - amazing street food and an overall better vibe than Khao San Road (where a lot of tourists go).  Khao San Road is like the Cancun of Mexico, very pumped up for tourists (including prices) and you can buy pretty much anything there from Fake IDs (including US driver's licenses), odd herbal remedies like Shark Fin, I even saw a girl peddling laughing gas.  

Pressed Pig Face in Bangkok - I was interested in tasting this but didn't want to buy the entire face just for a taste.

Rambutan stand in Bangkok

Basket of peppers and lime peels out on a families patio. 

Some of the best desserts throughout SE Asia

Pimped-out motorized Tuk Tuk, preferred mode of transport in Bangkok.

Family eating breakfast (hot noodles) outside a 7-Eleven in Bangkok.

Inle Lake, Myanmar - man smoking cigarette on his fishing boat (photo by my colleague Gary Giss)

House on Inle Lake, Myanmar (photo by my colleague Gary Giss)

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia - outdoor market adjacent to the South China Sea.

New Zealand - vast difference in water levels due to the tidal shift - the largest tidal shift in the world is Canada's Bay of Fundy

The south island of New Zealand, I could walk more than a quarter mile in ankle deep water before it started to get deeper.

Story Bridge spanning the Brisbane River.  The Brisbane River weaves throughout the city and is the heart of the city and plays a big part in economy and lifestyle. 

Economic and population growth in the Austral Realm has been constant over the past few decades and continues to boom.  The CBD in Brisbane, Australia continues to expand.

​New Zealand - eels, a lot of eels - I picked up some ground beef in the shop next door to feed them and they swarmed me.

​New Zealand - Soil on top of rock – remnants of an earthquake, I was about two hours from Christchurch when the large Earthquake hit in 2011; this was from a previous earthquake.  

Near Wellington, NZ - This is a hiking path through trees that gave inspiration for the Ent Trees from Lord of the Rings 

Found this Mario Bros. Mushroom while hiking through the ’Ent’ Forest.  New Zealand is arguably a safer place to hike as it has no poisonous snakes whereas Australia has many venomous snakes.

Abel Tasman National Park - one of the best running trails I've seen (north part of the south island).

Homeless people are seldom seen in this realm though there are a lot of wanderers and gypsies.  This is a photo of Ben Hana - A.K.A. Blanket Man, such a stable figure in Wellington he acquired a moniker, he has since passed away.  

I found it odd that pet food has it's own fridge/cooler section of the grocery.  It boldly states on the package "Not for human consumption"

​Do you think Bed, Bath, and Beyond would have a problem with this store?

Minyon Cliffs, New South Wales, Australia.  ​Normally there is a waterfall cascading 100m over the edge down to the canyon, but with the record drought and heat it is bone dry. Thankfully no fires here.

Byron Bay, one of many beaches along the Gold Coast of Australia.

Traffic on the M-1 to the beaches.  While the beaches are a popular destination, especially during the holidays.  Traffic to the beach on the M-1; what should have taken about 2 hours, took nearly 4.

With the expansive amount of shoreline and beaches it is always possible to get a quiet and serene place all to yourself. 

Antarctica has some of the most impressive mountains I've seen.

The vast majority of travel here is done during their summer (November through February). During this time the sun doesn't really set, and once past the 66th parallel it is constantly light.

Penguins are only one of many different types of bird species, there are Chinstrap Penguins on the Shetland Islands.

An Albatross wingspan can reach more than 11-feet across and they stay at sea for several years at a time before returning to land.

The Black Guillemot resembles a stealth fighter jet. 

By taking kayaks and zodiac boats you can get surprised by a whale or two.

In the background is the type of vessel you are on to get to this part of the world.  Traffic is limited so you don't see other boats in a harbor at a time.  It is a very eco-friendly continent with strict rules about landings and prevention of cross-contamination and pollution.

During the summer months the snow retreats a lot and reveals a lot of the land surface, especially along the coastline.

So many impressive glaciers and snow formations

There are some structures dotted along the coast line - this is a shed with the semblance of the Argentinian flag. 

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This port area, which I didn't have anything to do with thankfully, was FULL of people!

​Boat Dock in Ghana – close up of boats in another area below:

Plains of Northern Kenya

​It's not Dune 45 (most photographed dune in the world), but it looks nice - Namib Desert.

Little girl outside a container house in the Township of Langa - two families share this one container; there are several containers in this row; Cape Town South Africa.

​Cape Town, South Africa: This is the middle-class apartment where the 16 families live. South Africa is made up of 84% black, 8% white and 8% people of color (mixed race, middle eastern, etc...) Black is definitely the majority here yet live in the most poverty.

Cape Town, South Africa: I took this photo in a middle-class area of Langa, I'm standing adjacent to a bed where the grandmother sleeps - the bed to the left is for a husband, wife and their two kids - the bed on the right is for a husband, wife and their child. At night they pull a mattress out from under their bed for the kids to sleep on.

Shower that is used by 16 families - (cold water only);  the lone toilet that is used by 16 families; the kitchen, dining & social area for the 16 families - I am standing adjacent to another table. Notice the small sink in the corner. At night the teenagers pull mattresses out and sleep on this floor - doors lock at 11pm and open at 5am. 

Washing Clothes; collecting fresh water in the Langa Township (200,000 people live in this township) - Cape Town, South Africa

Toddlers playing in Langa Township

The rare two-story shack in Gugulethu Township (500,000 people live in shacks in this township).

Boy playing with tire in front of a car wash in Nyanga Township (around 1,000,000 people live in this township).  

​Cote D’Ivoire – children play this game of rolling tires with a stick – it is fairly common throughout Africa

Guinea Bissau – boy carrying rocks on his head

Boy in Cote D’Ivoire – he was lucky enough to have flip-flops, most his age didn’t have any footwear; his stomach was abnormally distended but didn’t have to do with malnutrition.

Cote D’Ivoire – girl fetching water 

​Khayelitsha Township (1.5 million people live in shacks here)

Two sides of Sierra Leone - do you think one affects the other?

Zanzibar - guy sleeping on the grass.  But really, notice the architecture of the buildings – can you see remnants of imperialism?

Swakopmund, Namibia. Germantown, in Africa - you can certainly see signs of imperialism here.

​Between Lusaka and Livingstone, Zambia - I saw huts virtually everywhere in Africa. 

​These “beehive” huts in Swaziland (now Eswatini) are similar but different to those in Zambia. 

Children playing in rural Swaziland; I put the tree in focus in this shot but a better shot of this type of tree (below) is all over in this area.

Imagine running blindly into a tree with these thorns...

Swaziland - boy kicking a make-shift ball made out of a bag of plastic bags.  

Inside a school in Gambia

Inside a school in South Africa

The only thing on the counter at the border (Customs and Passport Control).  Roughly 30 percent of people in South Africa have HIV and Swaziland has the world’s highest at 32 percent coupled with the world’s highest death rate from AIDS giving Swaziland one of the world’s lowest average life expectancy. 

Near Danakil Depression, Ethiopia - this is a coffee shop in a village where I stayed.

​Inside the coffee shop.

​Market scene in Liberia

​Liberia – common street scene

​Bus in Gambia

​Sierra Leone – typical road – trucks and busses carry these portable tracks to be able to make it through muddy spots and steep hills.

Road in rural South Africa - it is very common to see people walking along the side of the road and hitching rides.  Notice the speed limit of 100 (62 mph) people do go this fast on these roads which is scary.

South Africa near Addo Elephant Park; roads like this are used for safaris.

Cote D’Ivoire – Housing (left) above the Market (right)

​Guinea Bissau – not so fresh water flowing through town

​Ghana – sign on the beach

Grocery in rural Swaziland near the border of Mozambique.  I went in and tried to buy a Coke and they didn't have one, they had barely anything so I bought some candy and gave the little girl behind the counter a large bill (knowing she wouldn't have change) and left.  

​Sheep heads - they eat what they can off of the head - we were told the cheek is the most prized piece of the head; people selling sheep heads out of the back of their truck in another township of Cape Town.  

Cape Agulhas- Southern Most Tip of Africa where the Indian and Atlantic Ocean "meet"

Cape Agulhas- Southern Most Tip of Africa - it was worth the extra drive to see this.

For this particular road trip around the southern tip of Africa I rented a car in Johannesburg and the car they rented me had very little tread - we drove nearly 2,000 miles (3,200km) with bad tires - this wouldn't be legal in most places to rent a car with bad tires.

 People bungee from this bridge high above the Zambezi River – Zimbabwe is on one side; Zambia the other.
I chose to bungee from a strikingly similar bridge – Bloukrans Bridge (center) – the world’s highest bungee from a bridge.

​This Impala looks as if it narrowly escaped a lion by the looks of the recent gash on her hip.

This young male lion was staring me straight in the eye as I shot this photo, his face was illuminated by the headlights.

​Guinea – chickens being sold at a market

​Gambia – smaller town outside of urban area

DRC: Congo -  throughout Africa vans are a major source of transportation. Like a local bus or taxi (this one was particularly full).

​Gabon - train station with operating service

​Libreville, Gabon – half man / half woman statue along the coastline breaking free from the chains of slavery.

​Cote D’Ivoire – plantains, a lot of plantains.

​Ghana – I can imagine the stories this woman has of living in Western Africa.

​Street food in Cote D’Ivoire

Street food in South Africa.

South Africa - many businesses operate out of spaces like this.

​Guinea – Fuel Station

Not all places in Africa are poor; these houses are in a beautiful area along the Southern coast of Africa. Knysna, Hermanus, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Jeffries Bay, etc... are all very beautiful and modern areas on the southern coast.

Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia - the Santorini of Africa.  It was a cloudy day but the white and blue color popped and normally on a sunny day the water in the back ground is as blue as the Caribbean.

The beaches of N. Tunisia, in front of the resorts they are all raked and clean, just off the property they looked like this - full of trash and seaweed.  

Monastir, Tunisia - this is the oldest Ribat (a fortified monastery or defensive structure, initially built on the fringes of conquered Muslim territories, serving both religious and military functions).  This reminded me so much of a sand castle.

Ethiopia near the border of Djibouti and Eritrea - hiking around fresh lava fields, Africa will split in half in roughly 100 million years along the Rift Valley, creating a new ocean and two separate continents.  ​

​They layers in the Simian Mountains in Ethiopia, some of the best I've seen.

Fresh fish market in the port city of Tangier, Morocco

Tangier, Morocco - this is how most people buy their spices 

Morocco - Would you buy this tongue?

​Near Danakil Depression, Ethiopia - this is a coffee shop in a village where I stayed.

​​Inside the coffee shop.

Similar to the Salt Flats in Utah, it looks like snow and eerily can feel like it at times but it is pure white salt.  Sunset here is unreal.  Though it is not an easy place to get to.  An hour flight north of Addis Ababa, then a six-hour drive on some very unforgiving roads.  ​

Danakil Depression in northern Ethiopia, the colors of this place are otherworldly and much more expansive than Yellowstone National Park in the USA.   ​

​Danakil Depression (-462 feet elevation) The salt resembles ice and there is water beneath the hard crust, it is 25% salinity so very easy to float, yet the crust if very sturdy, easy to drive vehicles.

Typical men and women's clothing throughout N. Africa; sign for Mosque dress code in the Middle East.

Istanbul, Turkey - the Blue Mosque at night

Many Mosque towers throughout this realm have speakers on them for the call to prayer - many times during the day and night one can hear chanting being blasted throughout the city.

People washing their feet prior to entering the Blue Mosque in Istanbul (it is proper etiquette to wash ones feet prior to going into the mosque - barefoot); in other mosques I've seen people wearing socks.

Istanbul, Turkey - men and women touching in public isn't very common in this realm but I did snap a photo of this couple holding hands crossing the road and rail tracks.  About four months prior there was a bombing here and the airport bombing happened about a month after.  

Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. - I then noticed the rules they had posted about photography.

As "American's" we were't the only one's taking shots inside the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque.

Tehran, Iran - Asadi Tower (the monument that the news often shows) a local said that an Iranian fighter pilot flew an F-16 through there. He was a part of the Anti-Revolution and was arrested and executed.

Persepolis, Iran - a lot of ancient history throughout this realm.

A once grand building in Ephesus, Turkey

​Darius I, Darius II, and Artaxerses I Tombs, Near Persepolis, Iran

Not the typical landscape one things of when you imagine Iran - shot during a hike to Babak Castle.

Sudan is in the transition zone between North Africa / Southwest Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa - the north in the Saharan Desert is Sudan and is mostly Muslim; South Sudan is more Christian.  

Wadi Halfa, Sudan, just south of the border of Egypt - Lake Nubia is in the background.  The border of Sudan juts north along the lake and most of the lake is in Egypt and is called Lake Nasser.

The Pyramids of Meroe in Sudan

House made of sticks in the Sahara Desert - Sudan

Old train station in the Sahara Desert - Sudan

Istanbul, Turkey - so many stray cats... like most realms there are a lot of stray dogs and cats but there seemed to be an overabundant amount of cats here. 

Morocco - Notice all the trash on the rooftop - their are several markets along the stairway in the background.

Ranch salad dressing as a drink, with a straw in it so you can suck it out (not mine as I don't like ranch).  

​Burj Khalifa - currently the tallest Building in the world - Dubai, UAE at 2,717 feet is about 1,000 feet taller than One World Trade Center in NYC.

View from the top of the Burj Khalifa: this is my friend Jesse's photo.  I would have gone to the observation deck at the top but it cost 500 Dirhams ($136.24), but if I would have went before 6:00pm it would have only been 350 AED or roughly $95 dollars. 

View of the construction from my hotel, this was all shallow water that is now built up to hold a large resort.  

Atlantis in Dubai (there is also one in the Bahamas) all of the land for this resort was reclaimed from the sea (taken from my hotel room).

Dubai, U.A.E. - notice the bridge in the background developed on the left, undeveloped on the right - as of now it is a bridge to no where; a lot of planning is going into infrastructure to build this city.

The United Arab Emirates is a very clean and sterile country, also very expensive - a coffee (plain, black and small coffee) was around $10.  I did walk around the city a bit and found some trash and areas that weren't as kept up but for the most part it is very well manicured. 

Istanbul, Turkey: and most areas of North Africa and Southwest Asia are deeply rooted in history and while they may not be as clean as countries such as U.A.E. Oman, Qatar, etc... there is a charm with the older architecture, smaller cobblestone roads, and walkability of the cities.

Iquitos, Peru - houses on the Amazon River 

​Market in Monserrate, Colombia 

I photographed this man in smoking in central Bogota, Colombia in 2010 (left), ended up watching No Reservations (with Anthony Bourdain) years later and saw the same man with cigarette in hand (filmed 2008)

​McDonalds in Bogota, Colombia - this one only sells McDonalds desserts (no burgers or fries)

KFC in Medellin, Colombia - here is another walk-up dessert bar - you can only buy desserts here - no chicken.  

​Colombia is known for it's coffee; this is a portable 'coffee shop' of all the places I went for coffee all I could find was Juan Valdez (they must export all of their premium coffee, otherwise Juan Valdez must have a monopoly on coffee sales in Colombia).

Buenos Aires, Argentina - Inside a restaurant in Argentina - you think this would entice people into the USA to stop in for a bite?

​Colonia, Uruguay – like Cuba there are a lot of classic cars in this quaint village along the Rio de la Plata.  This is a restaurant where you can sit and eat in an old car just like this one, minus the plants growing inside. 

​Drainage system in Georgetown, Guyana - notice how each house drains into a public 'above ground' sewer.  Their fresh water is kept in the large black barrels.

 
Georgetown, Guyana.  A lot of houses built adjacent to one another were literally night and day.  The same goes with religions there (Mosques, are built next to Churches which are built next to Temples and based on my conversations with the locals there is no religious conflict - why can't more of the world use this as an example?)

Public beach in Guyana - definitely don't want to go there for the beaches - a good reason is that the sewage referenced before empties near here.

Lima, Peru - this is not a pet store, it is a fresh food market.

 ​More of the fresh market in Lima; it isn’t refrigerated in here and it’s rather warm.

​Iquitos, Peru (largest city in the Peruvian Amazon) - you think the streets in your town need fixing....

​This little boy was sitting on the street drinking juice out of a bag in Iquitos, Peru.

​I snapped this photo as I walked by an open door of someone's house in the rural Amazon in Peru - I was surprised that nearly all the houses had TV with dishes attached (somehow) to their houses.  

Kayaking ​in the Seven Lakes District, Argentina 

People live here in the mountains on the border of Argentina and Chile – it’s called Refugio Frey and it is roughly a 6-hour hike to get here (about 4 hours to get down).  I was surprised to see a cabin here in such a remote location and even more surprised that they sold us a pizza and beer. 

Market in Cusco, Peru, this is the cheese aisle –reminiscent of the market in Lima.

Juice anyone – this was a very popular juice stand outside the market in Cusco, right out of a bucket on the street.

​Kids all over Central and South America have bags of juice with a straw.  I suppose they might find it unusual to see kids with juice boxes in the USA.

Valdivia, Chile – a businessman in a suit is shopping here at a fresh fish market near the water.

All the scraps are taken care of as they are thrown over the dock by the Chilean Seals (Sea Lions).

​Some of the best works of graffiti (street art) I’ve seen is in Argentina, also a lot of public displays of affection – you just don’t see people making out in the USA as I see in Central and South America.

​This woman was selling water at Ollantaytambo, Peru with her son on her back – I see children accompanying their mother often throughout South America.  The girl on the right (eating a snack out of a rock on the side of the road) was with her mother who was working at a juice stand in the mountain area of Pisac, Peru

Driving across the mountain pass between Chile and Argentina – each photo was taken only 2 hours apart – such drastic change in climate in such a short distance.

​No cars and a lot of walking people improvise – a lot of carrying heavy things

Being outside in the elements all day shows particularly with the elderly and how weathered they are in the face. This woman’s fingernails and toenails show a hard life – I saw much worse than this but didn’t take pictures

I saw men sleeping everywhere on benches, in the park at bus stops, seems to be a common practice to catch some sleep whenever possible.

Hiking up to the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro; many cities throughout Latin America have statues of Jesus perched on a high point overlooking the city.

The view of Rio from Christ the Redeemer Statue - Copacabana Beach is to the left; Ipanema Beach is to the right.

Town center in Antigua, Guatemala

​My first meal in Guatemala – sitting on the steps adjacent to the shot above, which I took after eating this plate of food (cost $2)

Guatemala: two brothers on horseback checking the family coffee crops; I hiked this same trail 7 months later and saw them working hard in the field.

Belize: slash and burning the forest and other vegetation to make room for agriculture

Pickup-trucks usually have someone riding in the back (95% of the time) first photo in Nicaragua, second in Guatemala. It beats the alternative to a packed public bus in Guatemala City (third photo) or a family on a moped (I've seen as many as five on a moped in Central America and throughout South Asia).

Common sight throughout Central America is bicycle, horse, or horse with cart, this was taken in Nicaragua.

Original Stand-up paddle boarding like this fisherman on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

Washing clothes by hand in a stream in rural Guatemala

Breakfast view while camping and hiking the third highest peak in Central America (Acatenango)  in Guatemala

Eruption at night. Camping here was a big rush.  For perspective on size see the photo of two people on the right.

​Imagine if these were introduced to your backyard – invasive species

Young and Old: Snapshots of young boys on a street corner and an old woman a couple blocks away.

​Mayan Ruins in Yaxha’ (Haven’t heard of it? Neither has anyone else that’s why it is so empty and we had the place to ourselves – snapped this photo of my buddy experiencing the ruins, rather than just seeing them as you would among other tourists in popular places).

Nicaragua is popular for surfing as you can see from this wave in San Juan del Sur

​This was a child in a wooden crib with wooden floor outside a market in Nicaragua. His mother was working behind the counter as he sat outside here.

Families hanging out on the side of the road on a Sunday (Guatemala)

Mosquito netting was common in the nicer rooms throughout Central America.

​Drove across Guatemala to the east coast of Belize (Belize City) the country was underwhelming and not what I expected, the islands are nice off Belize but the mainland is very poor and can be dangerous; I did find this nice fruit stand in Belize City the morning I flew out.

The beautiful water off the coast of Belize (where the tourists go) this was taken at Caye Caulker.

A bright yellow color of paint emphasizes the Spanish Colonial architecture of the church in the main square of Granada, Nicaragua.

Trinidad & Tobago - like most places in the world the rainforest in Central America is losing ground to human encroachment (untouched forest on the left and not far away you can see housing and a public landfill going into the forest).

​Miraflores lock on the Panama Canal – The Panama Canal has locks and is not an open waterway from Atlantic to Pacific

​​Apartment housing in Panama City; I saw a man burning a couch here but unfortunately I didn't capture it in a photo.

Mexico City - Soldiers raise a large flag in the Federal District, they do this ceremony every Sunday morning.

This is in central Mexico City - a large park in a huge urban area, such a nice reprieve for many people living in the city.

Mexico City - not that the large parks go without their share of homeless people.

Mexico City - the night before this street was packed (standing room only), I took this photo shortly after 6:00am and the street was nearly cleaned up.  

Tulum (East Coast) Riviera Maya, known as some of the best beaches in the world; however, Sargassum seaweed has increasingly started coating the beaches.  Data gathered over the past decade has revealed the likely cause of these seaweed invasions have been flourishing in nutrient rich environments caused from a combination of Saharan dust clouds, warming temperatures and the growing human nitrogen footprint.  Additionally, the influxes of the past decade seem to have originated along Brazil’s Atlantic coast, not in the Sargasso Sea. Large amounts of fertilizer flow into the Amazon River and then to the ocean from industrial agriculture.  Nutrients also pour into the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River from climate change-driven downpours that increase runoff.

Balandra Bay, Baja Sur (West Coast) - it is about waist deep in middle of this pristine bay, usually filled with tourists and the sand is white; however, there was a yacht that caught fire at the opening of the bay and spilled oil and fuel so much that this bay had been closed for months when I arrived.  Notice the dark settling in the sand and the black oil on the peninsula's on the left shoreline.  This is along the Sea of Cortez, often called the “Aquarium of the World,” the Sea of Cortez is one the most abundant and diverse underwater ecosystems on the planet.  

Ixtapa - just off the west coast there is an entirely different world than we see above the surface.  This school of fish surrounded me, literally thousands of fish and not one touched me as they swam around me. I heard Humpback Whales under water, they were probably within 1km, I also hovered above sea turtles the size of picnic tables. I highly recommend getting on the water and under the water.

Cenotes are abundant on the Yucatan Peninsula. A Cenote refers to an underground chamber or cave which contains permanent water. In other words, it is a natural sinkhole where the ceiling of the cave (mostly made up of limestone) has collapsed. Cenotes come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. The most common types of cenotes are Cave, Semi-Open and Open Cenotes. Cave cenotes being the youngest and the open cenote being the oldest as it’s cave ceiling has fallen into itself.

Workers coming back from Sugar Cane fields in Chiapas State.

 Central Guadalajara - this place reminded me a bit of Rome with the music, culture, birds, and overall vibe.  Colonia Americana was voted the best neighborhood in the world (2022) and was about 3-miles walk from here.  Guadalajara is located in Jalisco State and is a major hub of manufacturing and distribution - for instance, the adjacent town is Tequila and you can see fields of Agave and do many tours of distilleries; liken it to wine country in Tuscany, Italy or Napa/Sonoma in the USA.  

Seafood is abundant in coastal Mexico; resembles the dish above in Antigua, Guatemala.  Fresh seafood done simply.

Zihuatanejo, locals and restauranteurs gather in the mornings to get the freshest catch.  

There's a distinct perimeter around Mexico City (neighborhood blocks to emptiness of the high plaines).  Notice the mountains, Mexico City is more than 7,000 feet elevation; much higher than Denver, and the sewer treatment plant in the foreground in the photo on the right. 

Before and after of Mayan ruins excavated in southern Mexico.  There are still a lot of structures that have not yet been cleared and restored throughout Guatemala and Mexico; it takes a considerable amount of time and money to archaeological work.

 

Havana, Cuba: so many vintage autos - I thought we would see maybe one in twenty cars that were vintage; but it was the other way around - vintage outnumber newer models.

​Community grocery store in Havana

​Nearly $400 US for this pack of freshly rolled cigars - no local Cuban could afford this.

​The money is interesting in Cuba - all foreigners purchase Convertible Pesos which end up equalling nearly 1:1 per US Dollar. One Convertible Peso CUC = 25 National Cuban Pesos, so basically we are charged 25 times that of the locals. We could not get National Pesos - I actually couldn't get my hands on one an entire week in Havana. 
We talked with several locals and the average wage is around $20 US per month - some more/some less - around 60 cents to $1 per day.   I thought we would encounter more beggars but the people were all very nice and embraced us as being from the USA.

My wife and son on Barcelona Street directly in sight of the Capitol Building - maybe 400 meters from the Cuban Capitol grounds... 

​Beauty is everywhere in Havana, one just has to look - Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis

Images of Che Guevara are all over in Havana - what is his significance in Middle America / the world?

​Socialism - today, tomorrow, always [propaganda like this is seen all over Cuba]

This goes to show how much we waste as Americans (I saw plastic bags hanging outside nearly every window as they wash and re-use them).  Also to note, China consumes roughly two billion plastic bags per day.

​This is the first county I have been to that didn't have Coca Cola - this is Cuba's National Cola.  There are also no McDonald's, Starbucks, etc...

I spotted this bus the last day I was in Havana in 2011; people in Cuba were very friendly to me being from the USA.  If the embargo is lifted and if travel is opened freely between the USA and Cuba it will change the look and feel here.

Moscow: Iconic image of St. Basil's Cathedral adjacent to Red Square.

​Moscow:  pay toilets adjacent to Red Square; notice the person at the end, yes that is her 'office' where you pay for using the toilet and you can buy gum, soda, chips, cigarettes, etc... (they are neatly displayed inside her stall)

McDonald's in Moscow, notice the mural above the sign.  What does this photo show about American corporations worldwide reach?

Moscow:  Domed architecture is abundant throughout the city.

Moscow:  Padlocks on a bridge over the Moscow River.  People do the same thing on the Ponte De Vecchio in Florence, Italy and other cities throughout Europe; I've also seen them in cities such as Buenos Aires in South America. 

Moscow:  A view of St. Basil's Cathedral from the far end of Red Square.  A lot of capitalism from street vendors to tour guides.  Would you be willing to try some street food in Moscow?

Moscow:  The subway in Moscow runs deep below the surface of the city - rumor has it that it was built that way to serve as a shelter during post-nuclear attack.  I've been on rapid transit systems (subways) all over the world and Moscow's is one of the most difficult to navigate.

Moscow:  Many dogs (often feral) wander around the city; here they are gathered in a park.

​Omsk:  taken from the Siberian Railway; graffiti, does this look similar or different to what you see where you live?

Yekaterinburg:  Yes, there was a chimpanzee on the train - they were from Kazakhstan.

Novosibirsk:  I decided to get off the train and spend some time in this city as it looked like a good stop on the map; there was no hotels/hostels so I ended up staying at a home-stay I found on-line in Moscow.   No one in the house spoke English; they had several cats and the house smelled of cabbage, onions and cigarette smoke - despite all that my hosts were very friendly and did the best they could.  Also, I arrived at night, could not figure out how to tell the cab driver to get to the address I had - they use a Cyrillic alphabet so I couldn't even write it down for him - luckily I found some college students who could read my English and tell him.  He dropped me off at the door and I had to figure out which room my host family was in - I was very lucky to find it.

​Novosibirsk:  mailboxes at the above complex - yes, they too must get junk mail.

Novosibirsk:  The track at the University made of several rubber mats.  There was a soccer game in progress when I walked through campus.

Irkutsk:  Kids are kids no matter where they grow up - or are they?

​Near Irkutsk:  people farming by hand.  Hard to imagine that they still do this (I took this photo in 2007 and I doubt much has changed since then)  Their homes are all wooden and drab but their windows are brilliantly light blue.  

Lake Baikal:  The world's deepest and oldest lake; I hiked a good portion of the day and it was amazing, imagine Lake Tahoe meets Switzerland.  The water was crystal clear and the mountains in the background were something out of a fairytale.  I want to go back but it is such an out of the way place (probably what hinders tourists keeping it fairly remote).

Have you ever heard the saying "don't judge someone until you walk a day in their shoes;" do you feel "Americans" are quick to place judgment, not only each other, but on foreign cultures? One has to have an openness about them to allow strangers to sleep next to them.  In the photo below is the guy I shared a train car with for four days (Yuri). He was from Tajikistan and couldn't speak English or Russian. He was such a nice guy as he had a buffet with him, he kept pulling food out of his bag and pushed it over to me, and in his very rough attempt at English said, "please." Over and over again I kept hearing please, please, please - he was so generous. But what surprised me most was that on day three he pulled a cooked game-hen out of aluminum foil and pushed it over to me and said, "please." I don't know how he cooked it, or rather how he kept it hot for three days? It was a nice respite from cucumber, tomato, and cheese sandwiches, tea, and pot-noodle (ramens) that I had over the past three days. Yes we shared that small table in our train car, and I took this photo from my bed across the table to Yuri's bed.

Kiev: St. Andrew's Cathedral 

Kiev: St. Andrew's Descent - this is a place where artisans sell their works, there are also a lot of antiques. 

Kiev: ​All over the city people were shoveling snow off rooftops

Kiev: ​Icicles are everywhere, likely why everyone is so intent of shoveling rooftops; Soviet-era buildings must not be insulated well

Kiev: ​Unlike big cities in the USA, pedestrians cross streets underground. There are almost always shops and vendors beneath every street intersection.

​Handicap access to below level street crossing; I would rather take my chances crossing a busy road than maneuver down this...

Kiev: ​World's deepest metro station - Arsenalna (105 meters) and the escalators are fast, really fast

Kiev: On my way to Arsenalna - unlike Moscow the subway system had ‘English’ in addition to Cyrillic so it was easier to navigate.  Two plastic tokens for the metro (each token is one ride system-wide) cost me roughly 25 cents.

Kiev: ​You know its cold when the pigeons are huddling up next to a metro vent to catch some warmer air.

Instead of strollers people use sleds to tote their kids, groceries, etc…  I saw the same thin in Norway.

Quite a few mobile espresso bars here in Kiev.

​Ukraine has been independent from Russia (USSR) since 1991 yet there are still a lot of Soviet era statues.

 Like Moscow, I saw packs of dogs wandering the streets in Kiev.

​This happened to me once when I lived in Minneapolis, though being plowed in is better than being towed.

​I couldn't get myself into this cafe to try one of these. Instead I had a Panini from a street vendor.  A friend of mine from Latvia translated this for me upon my return to the USA; it reads: “Without sausages and lard – life is not good!”

Bessarabskiy Market, ​nice fillet of the sheep’s skull; much better job than the sheep skulls I saw in Africa.

I saw a three wedding parties in my short time here. All the brides wore a special bridal jacket for the cold temps.  All of the couples placed flowers at the base of this memorial.

​St. Michael's golden-domed monastery; Mykhailivska Square; I was here at 11:30 am and it was packed inside for service (literally I barely fit inside the door to catch a glimpse).

Some of the best architecture I've seen - entire roof of this building is copper

​Cathedral at the Pechersk Lavra

​Kiev: People's Friendship Arch overlooking the Dnipro River. Not quite as big as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis but still rather large (notice the couple walking beneath the archway).

Golden Gate - originally constructed in 1024 this was the gateway to the ancient city fortress.  (Kiev recently celebrated its 1500 year anniversary!!)

Another ornate building near Pechersk Lavra; yes – the halos are real gold (they almost appear to be really glowing).