Our recent trip to Seattle brings to mind a concept that I never thought would confront me. How much or how little do we really know about a destination? Yes, I buy books, read all the web pages, and blogs, but mostly I like to rely on people who have “been there, done that.” In some cases, that person is YOU!!!
But here are some things I never thought about or realized, in my reading, my travel, or my many conversations with knowledgeable people like you.
Sweden has the most islands of any country, with 267,570. Marstand seems to be the “in” spot.
Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela has the most lightning per year, with 150 nights of lightning per year, 10 hours a day, and 280 times per hour. Thomas Edison would have a nightmare.
The village of Tamri in Morocco has goats in their argan berry trees.
I have always wanted to see the underground caves in Cappadocia, Turkey. The deepest are 279 feet below, and purportedly housed around 20,000 Christians who were trying to flee the Roman Empire.
Now, I like this. There are more wooden bourbon barrels in Kentucky than people, by over 2 million!!! And I loved their Maker’s Mark for my version of Mint Juleps served at our Kentucky Derby parties of the past.
I never knew that alligators and crocs co-existed in South Florida. But I do know that fried alligator tastes like chicken!
You probably have seen this before. In Japan, they make SQUARE watermelons that fit better in their smaller refrigerators. Let it be known that they taste the same, but the salt falls off rather easily!
The largest island nation in the world, Singapore, must import all of their food, as they have no farms, despite being a rich country. And food is relatively expensive there, compared to most SE Asian countries.
On my recent trip across Canada on the VIA Canadian Rail from Toronto to Vancouver, I did not realize it is the second largest country in the world. And they have 60% of the world’s natural lakes. I saw way too many!
The Sahara is not the driest place on earth. That designation belongs to, of all places, Ross Island in Antarctica. But I have been to the driest desert in the world, the Atacama in northern Chile. We even had our car die out, pushed it down a small hill, and jump started it! We were the only ones in the desert that day!!
Most of you, particular you former Catholics, know that Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. But Monaco, the second smallest, is the most densely populated, and has the most millionaires, and billionaires, per capita, in the world.
Some of you have driven the Pan American Highway, some 30,000 miles long, stretching from South America to Canada. But how many of you have been to the start (or is it the end?) of the highway in Quellon, Chile (or unofficially, Ushuaia, Argentina). Not much there, save for a small, inconspicuous sign.
So, I am sure you have some of your own. I would like to hear form you about those, and perhaps share them with other readers.
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