Whale Watching in Monterey, California

It's no closely guarded secret that the region surrounding Monterey and Santa Cruz has the longest season for whale watching in all of California. In fact, whale watching in these parts more or less goes on all year round. No matter what time you decide to watch for whales, you will most likely see one or even more whale species migrating or feeding in the bay. What you can't see is what attracts the whales to these parts. The underwater canyons run below the waves, and this area makes for some rich... keep reading

An Astonishing Egyptian Temple in...Madrid??

During my first visit to Madrid way back in 1978, strolling out near my family’s hotel near Plaza de España, I was gobsmacked to suddenly spy, of all things, an ancient Egyptian temple – right on downtown Calle Ferraz, on a platform in a reflecting pool of a park near the Oriente Royal Palace, called Parque del Oeste. The Temple of Debod is a small structure (just 39 by 49 feet/12 by 15 metres) with three chunky stone gateways leading up to it, dating back to the 2nd century BC, dedicated to Isis (the Egyptian goddess, not the terrorist “caliphate”) as well as the king of the ancient Egyptian gods, Amon-Ra. So how in the name of Anubis and Osiris, you might wonder, did it end up in Spain? Therein lies a wee bit of a tale...  keep reading

photos |   unmillonedeelefantes, Matt Trommer,