or
Where will you travel to on your summer hols?
I’ve always thought that I’m pretty knowledgeable when it comes to general knowledge. Especially travel knowledge. I already have what I call my water cooler list (‘bucket list’ is so 7 years ago).
I do have a ferpectly good reason for calling it my water cooler list. Here’s why – when I’m hanging about said water cooler, I always get to hear snippets about who’s been where; what it was like – you know, the usual gathering of the masses type confab. So, we got to talking about the destination.
HOD Mrs Furthingstoke’s dream (achieved) was the coast of Cornwall.
Bike messenger Mr Oogle stated that anywhere along the Tour de France route would be his idyll.
Mrs Tibbins said spelunking in Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico, in the States, whereupon I choked on my hot drink and Mr Oogle almost swallowed his tongue.
Meeker than the proverbial mouse IT person, Tad, just glared at us, so I’d imagine his water cooler to travel to list is more in line with the worlds of something like the Child of Light PS3 game.
So inspired was I about all this info, I went and tripped the Google fantastic, seeking those – perhaps lesser known? – but still magical destinations and immediately decided that my knowledge is sorely lacking.
Meteora Rock (pictured above) – These massive sandstone fingers seem to emerge as much from a dream as from the plains of Thessaly. Towering as high as 2,044 feet above the lush landscape below, the steep peaks of Meteora are a perfect setting for a secluded monastery.
Monks and nuns have called Meteora’s peaks and caverns home for centuries. Hermits scaled the daunting peaks as early as the 10th century and, according to legend, St. Athanasios Meteorites rode an eagle to the top in the 1300’s to found Great Meteoron, the largest of the region’s six secluded monasteries.
This on my list.
The Crack of Silfra – Travel to Iceland and you’ll find a most curious occurrence on the boundaries of the North American and European plates.
Adjacent to Lake Thingvalla, you’ll find Silfra Crack. Filled with crystal-clear, glacial meltwater, this narrow slit plunges 66 feet into the Earth. It makes for a rather chilly descent, but sight-seeking divers make the pilgrimage each year to dive between the continents. Experienced cave divers can explore depths of more than 148 feet by swimming into the Silfra cave system.
Visitors frequently describe the Silfra diving experience as one of floating weightlessly through space. The glacial waters filter through miles of volcanic rock before emptying into the crack.
This not on my list. All very beautiful and amazing and stuff – but a tad claustrophobic for me.
The Reflecting Desert (pictured above right) – Just consider the Bolivian Uyuni Salt Flats, or Salar de Uyuni, a 4,000-square-mile plane of what appear to be hexagonal tiles. This extraordinary high-altitude landscape stretches among the snow-peaked Andean mountains, and if you happen to visit during the rainy season, you’re in for quite a sight.
When the rains sweep down onto the Uyuni Salt Flats, the entire expanse becomes an immense reflecting pool. The water on the salt flats never reaches a depth of more than 15 centimetres, so it offers visitors the unique sensation of walking on the surface of a mirror — all amid a desolate silence.
The unique landmark is actually the remnant of a prehistoric lake and currently ranks as the largest salt flat in the world.
This on my list.
When I returned to the water cooler to share my finds, It seemed like I’d fallen into an episode of Dr. Who: –
… ‘We’ve no water in the water coolers’, says Tad, ‘so everybody’s most likely dehydrated’.
‘What?’ splutters HOD Mrs Furthingstoke, ‘what does that have to do with everyone not performing at their peak? Pure poppycock, I’m sure!’…
*sigh* Guess my water cooler list is my water cooler list.
