Seven Locations that Left Me in Awe of Earth
In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to make my own little list and draw attention to some of the most naturally wonderful, fascinating, bizarre, and breath-taking places that I have found throughout my travels, all thanks to Mother Earth and Mother Earth alone. Though I have a lot to see, having visited only 13 of the world's 196 countries, here are some of the best natural sites I have been to thus far.
7. Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador
Though Mitad del Mundo, or Middle of the World, does not feature much in terms of scenic natural wonder (except, of course, the rolling green mountains) it does have some of the most fascinating scientific natural wonder that I have ever seen first-hand. We've all heard about how a toilet will flush counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, but I'm sure few have seen proof of that consecutively. Mitad del Mundo, located at Earth's 0-0'0" latitude line, features a six-inch-thick painted line across the ground, where, on one side it is the Southern Hemisphere, and on the other side it is the Northern Hemisphere. Here, our tour guide showed us with a prop sink how water flows counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, and straight down in no turning direction on top of the line. We were also challenged with other activities, like balancing an egg on a nail, and unsuccessully trying to walk in a straight line on the 0-0'0" latitude line with no center of balance.
6. Slope Point, New Zealand
This one all started a few months prior to my departure for New Zealand, when a Facebook friend tagged me in a picture of what looked to be a bunch of blown over, dead trees. Upon opening the article, it offered the explanation that on the southernmost tip of New Zealand's South Island "the airstreams loop the vast circumpolar Southern Ocean unobstructed for 2000 miles and then they smash into land. Here, they are so persistent and so violent that the trees are perpetually warped and twisted into crooked, windswept shapes" (kuriositas.com). Though Slope Point is not home to any people, it is home to hundreds of sheep (similar to the rest of the country, with an estimate of 20 sheep for every person). This is made evident, as the only way to reach Slope Point is by a 20 minute walk through a sheep enclosure, trying to dodge all the poop that you can (it's not quite a hike, but I hope you brought your boots!) This ultimately leads to the point itself, where only a signpost, showing the distance to the Equator and the South Pole, stands above the eroded cliffs to the Pacific Ocean.
(For more, visit my post Queenstown, Milford Sound, & Slope Point)
5. The Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Everyone is familiar with that big reef that lies off of the western coast of Australia. My short stay in Australia came only a short time after an undertow scare in Lake Michigan (and a number of other water incidents to follow, including having my leg slashed open by a rock in the ocean) that left me terrified of open water, but I was going to be damned if I didn't take the opportunity to see the Great Barrier Reef while I was in Australia. "The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres (1,400 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi)" (Wikipedia). Unfortunately, on the day we booked, the water was pretty stormy, so I only snorkeled the reef for about five minutes before convincing myself I'd drown if I didn't leave the water immediately. This timeframe was not too short for me to cut my knee on a rock. Fortunately, I did get the opportunity on this same excursion to scuba dive in the reef! And this even came with my very own scuba instructor that I would deny anyone else access to, as I remained arm-in-arm with her for the entire dive. This, in addition to the essential impossibility of drowning with an air tank, left me at ease of being in the water. Where else can you swim among thousands of diverse corals, a giant clam, and sea critters that react to your touch? (Not to worry, we were given permission to touch these.) Though not much can compare to the reef itself, the rocky, three hour boat ride to shore, where one of the two engines blew and a majority of the passengers were left seasick and vomitting, also proved to be interesting. But hey, they offered unlimited wine for the inconvenience.
(For more, visit my post Australia, Part II)
4. Tongariro Alpine Crossing, New Zealand
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a 12.1 mile hike in Tongariro National Park, located in New Zealand's North Island. Having seen a big chunk of the dominantly green country, the sandy and volcanic Tongariro Crossing proved to be a significant change in geography, and was also diverse within itself. The crossing passes over the volcanic terrain of the multi-cratered active volcano Mount Tongariro, as well as past the base of Mount Ngauruhoe (made famous as the stand-in for Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), which we chose to take a trip to the top of, tacking an additional three hours to our day. The crossing offers other natural wonders, including a crater lake, hot springs, and the Emerald Lakes, whose brilliant colours are partly caused by dissolved minerals, washed down from the thermal area of nearby Red Crater (teara.govt.nz).
(For more, visit my post Climbing LotR's Mount Doom)
3. The Amazon, Peru
A location I would not recommend for to faint of heart (or stomach), the Peruvian Amazon Jungle sits along the world's largest river by discharge of water, the Amazon River. This region of Peru is probably the most unique place I have been, which was made evident within a few hours of arriving when I was offered a giant maggot at a riverside food market. This cultural hub allowed me to try things I never thought I would, including fishing for (and later eating) piranhas, watching someone dig a Goliath bird-eating tarantula (the largest and one of the deadliest spiders in the world) out of a hole, walking through canopies of spiderwebs FULL of spiders, trying the tree bark-based spiritual hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca, seeing pink river dolphins swim playfully alongside our boat, and listening to the calls of jungle animals and insects as I drifted off to sleep. Despite getting sick multiple times in my three days here, it certainly is a place that I would consider special and remarkable.
(For more, visit my post Machu Picchu & the Peruvian Amazon)
2. San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
San Pedro de Atacama is a small, remote city in Northern Chile's Atacama Desert. Famous for being the driest non-polar desert in the world, Atacama features geographic elegance from geysers, hot springs, salt flats, volcanos, lagoons, and a landscape so similar to Mars that NASA uses the desert to test rovers. Atacama is a place that I am blessed to have seen once, but will be happy to never return to because of its harsh conditions and my sensitive skin, which I could feel stretch and crack over my bones with any slight movement.
(For more, visit my post Visiting the Driest Place on Earth)
1. The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Number one on my list is a place that I dreamt of going ever since Biology II in high school. Charles Darwin remains my favorite historical figure to this day, and the Galapagos Islands are where he formed his theory of evolution. I was interested in the animals in Galapagos, which are almost exclusively endemic. These are animals that evolved without the fear of being hunted by humans and are therefore unaffected by their presence and don't mind being around them. Every other location on this list is a very specific location, but when challenged to choose just one location within Galapagos, I couldn't. The animals were only the tip of the iceberg. I had never considered the fact that these islands are purely volcanic and therefore have stark differences in their vegetation than any place I had ever visited. The ocean is crystal clear and turquoise with beaches that have only the finest, whitest sand. The Galapagos Islands gave me the unique opportunity to live among animals the way that we were meant to... undisturbed. For my whole life, I have had a deep love for Mother Earth, but I have never appreciated her more than I did during my ten-day stay in the Galapagos Islands.
