1 .Sightseeing in Croatia

If it's a holiday in the sun you're after, a trip to Croatia will certainly suffice. Situated on the Adriatic Sea, Croatia's rocky coastline is intriguing and beautiful, making it a prime spot to get some sun while enjoying exceptional scenery.

It's not only the coast that makes Croatia a good sun holiday destination, with the rolling hills in the north and northeast, and the thick forests of the mountains in Lika and Gorski Kotar providing a good contrast to the beach summer holiday stereotype.

When you're in the mood for a bit of sightseeing, Croatia boasts eight National Parks and seven World Heritage Sites, ensuring you'll never be short of something to do.

2. Sun and Culture in Cyprus

Cyprus is a culturally rich sun holiday destination, where lazy days spent on the beach can be coupled with fascinating cultural excursions. Choirokoita is possibly the best preserved site of prehistoric settlement in the Eastern Mediterranean, where you can sneak a peak into an ancient civilisation. Wander through Roman villas where floor mosaics depict mythological scenes, and pay a visit to the underground tombs of kings.

A wide variety of beaches are, of course, readily at your disposal. Pick a beach to suit your mood, from secluded bays to stretching sandy coastlines or rocky coves.

3. The Miniature Continent of Gran Canaria

One of the seven Canary Islands, Gran Canaria is a 'miniature continent' in its own right, with a variety of landscapes and climates despite its small size. A holiday in the sun is virtually a permanent possibility on this island, with average temperatures being 20Ú even in winter.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital city, is known for its vibrant nightlife, as well as miles and miles of beautiful beaches. For a quieter and more local experience, Agüines is a small traditional Canarian town, centred around its old church. Another worthwhile stop is Vecindario, a town predominantly inhabited by locals, with a weekly open air market selling local goods.

4. Volcanic Landscapes in Lanzarote

A truly unique sun holiday destination, Lanzarote's volcanic landscapes contrast rocky mountains and beautiful beaches. With volcanic eruptions as recent as 1824, large parts of the island have landscapes which look like something from another world. El Golfo is a volcanic crater filled by sea water made green by algae, creating a green lagoon surrounded by black sand banks.

The Timanfaya National Park is a must for anyone travelling in the region, where 100 volcanoes rose up and dramatically altered the landscape. This mountainous region is known the Montanas del Fuego (Fire Mountains), and the temperature just below the surface is between 400Ú and 600Ú. You will be sure to witness a demonstration of this heat by someone at the park, where a dry brush is thrown down a hole in the earth and instantly ignites.

In addition to the stark volcanic landscapes, golden, black and white sandy beaches line the coast, providing relaxing relief from exploring the inland wonders and creating a holiday in the sun with a difference.

5. A Taste of Turkey

Turkey marks the gateway between Europe and Asia, creating a blend of Eastern and Western cultures and traditions. Encircled by the sea on three sides, Turkey is a beautiful sun holiday destination. With the Aegean Sea in the West, the Black Sea in the North, the Mediterranean Sea in the South, and the Sea of Marmara situated inland, there is certainly no shortage of beach.

Exploring Turkey is an exciting endeavour, with the culture, music and food all displaying the blend of cultures making up this unique land. Enjoy delicious dining as you feast on simple dolmas, or enjoy the principle fish of Turkey, Hamsi, which is served in 41 different ways (including a dessert!). You can expect great-tasting food, interesting culture and beautiful scenery, making for a great holiday in the sun.

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Very much like the well known Inca and Aztec civilizations who rose to power at a later date, the Mayan belief system was based around their perception of time as being cyclical in nature. That the Maya were exceptional astronomers is without question, close observation was made of celestial and terrestrial cycles, and what they found was recorded in the form of calendars. Their application of this data to predict weather patterns was no doubt of great assistance in matters agricultural. Ceremony and ritual were also intimately associated with these findings, with a priest class who's role was to interpret the data/calendars and make prophecies that dictated the future actions of the empire. Would the future be a time of bounty or a time of strife? Are the heavens in a favourable position?

The Mayans being rather organized had several calendars, but it is the 'long count' calendar that has great importance. This calendar was the point of reference for any significant/historical social events. Indeed it is so well formed, our western calendar can be linked to it and this has allowed modern scholars to discover the now infamous date that lies so close on the horizon. Apparently for the first time in five thousand years the long count calendar finishes a cycle. In 2012.

Our understanding of the Mayan calendar is derived from the Mayan texts or codex', in particular the Dresden codex (named for the area in Germany in which it is stored). Measuring eight inches in height and eleven feet in length it is made from Amatl paper (fig-bark covered with a lime paste) this is then folded in the manner of an accordion.

Of all the surviving pre-Columbian texts, the largest amount of astronomical data is found in the Dresden codex, it also contains pictures. Very interesting pictures indeed. For example the last page of the Dresden codex appears to show the destruction of the earth by water with the Mayan Goddess Chac Chel pouring water from a jar and the great sky crocodile raining water from its mouth to drown the world.

Needless to say this portends annihilation by deluge. On the bright side it could be worse, say death by fire, I for one can swim but I am certainly not fire proof.

It is in a number of writings that date from the late 15th/early sixteenth century that the most specific information regarding 2012 calendar predictions can be found. Called Chilam Balam ("oracular priest" and "jaguar") this collection of only nine writings named after Yucatan townships appear to be a combination of both Mayan and Spanish beliefs. Consisting mainly of calendrics, astrology, history (both pre-Spanish and colonial) and herbal medicine

It is impossible to cover the Mayan civilization without paying mention to the remarkable and enigmatic figure of Lord Pacal Votan. Lord Pacal it is said, came from across the sea to the Yucatan peninsula from his homeland. A place called Valum Chivim, that was struck by catastrophe and sunk beneath the waves. Residing in the holy city of Palenque, he was a culture bearer and prophet to the ancient peoples of the Yucatan region in the 7th century a.d. A teacher of great wisdom who performed miracles of healing, understood mathematics and intriguingly was known as a magician of time, able to maneouver his way through dimensions. I'm sure modern day quantum physicists would love a chat with Lord Pacal Votan, regarding worm holes and string theory. Even with his death the mystery of Lord Pacal deepened, i refer of course to his remarkable and intricately carved sarcophagus lid. The mind boggles.

It is Lord Pacal Votans prophetic message that reverberates so poignantly at this point in human history. Lord Pacal speaks of the end of this World Age Cycle on December 21st, 2012 AD. As this date approaches, we are experiencing nothing less than the death throws of the old world dying and the birth pains of a new world being born.

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World's Blindness & Poet's Vigil

1) World's Blindness

Man can't seem to see

He's divided

The worlds in disarray;

All us little sheep--

Are now fast asleep

While Satan's on His way!

In the dead of night

He'll burn daylight:

Covered us with blindness;

When we do awake,

It will be too late

Lost somewhere in the stars!

#1376 6/24/06

2) Poet's Vigil

Poet, find your way

In the outward trail;

Quickly, please--today

Write, that man my read

Images deeply glowing

For time is short for all

In the global picture now.

#1375 6/24/06

Note: We have tough choices to make in the future, as this new century moves forward; no magic yet, just hopefully mature actions; we live in a world when hard fingerprints is the one that makes right and wrong legal, not that it is. When I was a kid, when someone said this was "Right, and this is wrong," I was expected to listen; now it is pushed under the rug. We seem to need the editorial pages of newspapers to tell us what's right and wrong, and in most cases the paper is only a view of unknowing, uncaring people putting something out there so they can make a buck, the "Herald Tribune," comes to mind, they got a lot of opinion, comments, they think is written in stone, when in essence, it is some kid green with life, and war, never been in one, never will telling us all what is right and wrong. They are hired because they can come up with fancy words, nice sentences, no common sense, but they can spell; God help us all.

In these two poems, "Poet's Vigil," for example, it should be noted, we as poets, parents, government officials, have a duty to show in words and actions, what is really happening, stretch out the rights and wrongs. And in the second poem "World's Blindness," it is no more than reading a daily international paper, traveling around the world and seeing what is happening: the devil is working overtime, as we play 'Blind Man's bluff."

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What do You Do When You Are Broke And The Earth Needs You?

It was around the time of the Solstice and I had various signs and synchronizations that I HAD to be on the island of the sun, known to the ancient natives that still run the Island as the Birth Place of the Sun.

This tribe is definitely a left behind collective of old Native American Consciousness and has Lumerian symbolic and methodology throughout their shamanic practices.

Even more so, there are fossilized 'human" bone that make up important structure in the temple. The pelvic bone of a woman is used as a shadow maker in one of the temples. As the suns rays get blocked by this structure at different times of the day and parts of the year the shadows make animal shapes on an alter table.

They are very sophisticated human healing technology as well as training grounds to plug into like a socket or outlet and charge yourself up with energy. The Technology is intense.

So What is With The Bone?

It was two days before the solstice and I was pretty, knowing I would need the money I had for when I got back and would start doing more paying work. I knew I would make money when I came back, I was coming out of a long service cycle connected with the birth of my daughter so it was good.

About that, I as well had yet to find a person to watch my daughter for me. But I had no tension, I knew it was all going to come together. And it did...

At the last minute my friend Marisol, who runs a massage center, got her English classes canceled and agreed to watch the baby. My other friend Selva had two tickets to Bolivia and was using her second with her boy friend who at the last minute couldn't go... so there I was, with all logic saying I should be working for money for my baby getting on a bus with less than $80 on my way to Bolivia. I might add for an American the Visa to enter Bolivia is $155 so my net value was like 1/2th the cost of the visa. I wasn't worried, my shamanic abilities had gotten me through much more difficult situations when the Earth was calling on me.

The first pass through the border went pretty well but for some reason the tickets got messed up. You have to travel from Cuzco to Puno and then in Puno you get on a new Bus to Copacabana in Bolivia. When we got to Puno for some reason I was put on a different bus than my friend Selva. I was like... "Okay"

So we went out to watch the sunrise over the magnificent Lake Titicaca before splitting up, sure to meet again once in Copacabana. We watched as the sun rose over the great expanse of the largest lake at the highest altitude in the world and I left Selva to Meditate on her own as my bus was scheduled to leave before her own.

The Bus to Bolivia was a completely different story than the bus to Puno... I went from being the only "foreigner" to looking like I might actually be the only Peruvian. This left me feeling a lot better about my chances of border crossing without any problems... I dressed in clothes I thought wouldn't stand out in to little or two big a way, jeans and a black jacket. I really needed to make this trip happen.

I actually had a third motive for making the trip, my visa for Peru had expired a few weeks before and I was thus illegal. Each day past your visa counts as $1 USD you have to pay when you leave the country. I was about 12 days over and again my total cash was about twenty bucks.

When I got to the Peruvian Side of the border I managed to work the situation, Shaman Style. There was a clearly tourist girl in the line a couple of people ahead of me. She didn't speak Spanish but she was having problems due to her thinking her visa was 90 days... but it was actually only 30. She therefore owed about $45 dollars to leave the country.

Since she wasn't speaking and the border patrol officials weren't speaking any English I took advantage of the situation to not only get ahead quite a few people in line but also make myself look like a good Samaritan in front of the border control.

The tactic worked Quite Well.

I succeeded in making the agents feel like they had done a good job in getting their country money by explaining to the girl where she had to go to pay the $45 and what they were actually talking about. The whole situation, with me translating took about 15 minutes and after I just made myself next in line... the agent hardly even looked at my passport as he stamped it, officially signing me out of the country. The first phase, avoiding paying the $12 of my $20 of late visa fees was successfully avoided.

We were then all advised to walk across the border and do what we had to do on the Bolivian side of immigrations... and then we would be let back on the bus. I have learned, through experience, that the best way to break law is to casually break the law in front of the law men like you were doing nothing wrong.

So once on the Bolivian side I followed the masses towards the control check point, veered off to the money exchange spot, exchanged some money and then linked back in with the first people leaving the check point after getting their papers stamped. I then hung out talking with two people, sitting right in front of the Bolivian Military Border Police Headquarters. Casually talking about the Island of the sun and how lucky the people were to be heading towards there for the solstice.

Soon enough of our bus had gone through customs that they opened the doors to let people back in. I made another loop around the vicinity to buy some crackers and got back on the bus. 15 minutes later we were heading off to Copacabana.

Once in Copacabana I was looking for my friend without success. I still had my $20 so I bought the $5 ticket to the island of the sun and about $5 of food. I knew I would be there two or three days and would then have to get a bus ticket back so I was doing it all based on pure faith.

FAITH IS POWERFUL.

On the hour boat ride to the island I managed to talk up a group of 4 people who were meeting the island for the first time themselves about the solstice and the importance of the work that needed to be done with it and how they could get involved if they wanted. I gave them enough information for them to rightfully be very excited about the timing the just managed to be going to The Island of the Sun. Two of them didn't even know it was the Solstice and none of them knew it was used by the Inca and Pre-Inca Empire for very important Solstice ceremonies.

I ended up hanging with them the first day, checking out a small portion of the island and graciously accepting their invitation to food and drink. During this time I had seen my friend Selva on the Island and she had gotten a cheap room at a hostel with an amazing view... well basically the entire island was an amazing view... but this one faced the rising sun so it seemed fit for the winter solstice, the birth of the new sun and new year in the birth place of the sun.

She paid for her room and the guy put my bag in a cheaper room under hers. We then went and decided to relax for the afternoon. It was the day before the solstice and I knew I would be up at 4 am the latest the next day so I was cool for relaxing.

As we were heading back to the hostel I saw the group of four I had been talking with on the boat. I decided to join them for diner, hey they invited me. Selva said she was tired and wanted to head back to the Hostel.

Diner turned into a few drinks and about 2 hours waiting for the food. By the time we had finished eating and talking it was well past midnight. On an island of such small population and tourism based around the ruins and spirituality... Everything was shut down.

I wasn't exactly sure what to do so I headed back to the Hostel Selva was at. The place was completely black but my room was open and my bags still there. No one seemed around and though I hadn't paid yet, I needed a place to sleep. I immediately feel into a deep sleep.

At probably quarter to four in the morning I woke up sharply. I had heard there was a temple of the sun on the south eastern side of the island and though I had not found it the day before, which would have been smart, I went out with a determination to begin the New Fire Ceremony for right before Sunrise in this Temple. Unfortunately I was mal informed and the Temple of the sun was actually on the completely other end of the Island but it made for some interesting events.

I found myself again, jumping 6 foot ledges in the dark, climbing walls to unknown property trying to find where I had thought I was told this temple was located. I continued for an hour and a half without any luck and the best place I found that most resembled a temple was actually someone's house. As I knew Sunrise was approaching I decided to just head down to the beach and get myself on the most eastern part of the island to do the fire... as I knew it had to be done with the rising sun.

Getting there I ended up finding an amazing cave which 'coincidentally' was basically directly below the mountain top where the natives did there fire ceremony to the rising solstice sun. I found this out later when I met with the four people who had listened to my wisdom on the boat and my advice about how they should do a fire ceremony for the rising solstice sun.

They had gone to the mountain top where I had showed them and linked up with a group of natives performing their ceremony and had a great time. As my purpose is to actually destroy all old methods of doing things to make space for new consciousness to enter our global collective I was being guided to avoid all the native ceremonies with all the works I was doing. I wasn't specifically intending it but I was following my heart intuition and like always with intuition... you understand the meaning and logic behind it afterward.

After I finished my fire ceremony I managed to climb up the mountain and end up right in the backyard of the Hostel I stayed at. No one seemed around so I quietly made my bed, gathered my things and left. I didn't feel too bad about not paying as I was there solely for the purpose of doing direct work for the Great Earth Mother.

In the Next addition I'll out line how to perform works for the earth to give her back energy that we as humans have been taking for too long and too much without the proper giving to match the taking.

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Chile -more than twice the size of Arizona- is the home of beautiful girls : Daniela Benavente, Marianne Muller, Margot Montt, Lucia Santa Cruz, Kenita Larrain, Jenny Purtho Arap, Daniela Campos and Cecilia Bolocco. Already a folk hero in Chile, Cecilia Bolocco
became a legend when she won the Miss Universe pageant in 1987.Since 1990, Cecilia has been called "the most famous Miss Universe in the world". She has won the hearts of pageant fans from Mexico to Santiago. Who is she really?

Along with the writer Gabriela Mistral (Nobel Prize for Literature 1945), she's one of the most admired women in Chile. The second of four children in a working-class family of European descent, Cecilia Carolina Bolocco Fonck was born on May 19, 1965 to Enzo and Rose Marie Fonck de Bolocco. She studied civil engineering at the University of Santiago and then studied costume design at INCA-CEA Institute.

Renowned for her diplomatic skills and culture, Cecilia developed a passion for dance at very early age and became a professional dancer, winning many titles. She never lost her love for dancing. Her colleagues found her to be energetic and cooperative.

In the mid-1980s, she also worked as a professional model for magazines. Cecilia was one of Chile's most popular fashion models. She was approached by a Chilean journalist, who advised her to take up modelling. During this period of time, she suffered a tragedy when her brother Rodrigo died suddenly. This was a terrible experience for her, which marked she for ever.

On April 20, 1987 Cecilia was elected Miss Chile Universe in Santiago, succeeding Mariana Villasante, one of the most beautiful girls from South America. Like Barbara Palacios Teyde (Miss Venezuela and Miss South America-Universe), Christy Fichtner (Miss USA and Miss Texas) and Susanna Huckstep (Miss Italy and Miss Photogenic), Mariana was one of the favourites to win the Miss Universe title in Panama City.

Unlike Claudia van Sint Jan (Miss Chile 1985) and Mariana, Miss Chile 1987 competed at the Miss South America. Many of the delegates in each contest went on to their year's Miss Universe pageant. Before winning the Miss Universe pageant, Barbara Palacios, Miss Venezuela, won the Miss South America title in 1986. Unfortunately, Cecilia did not qualify for the semi-finals at the 1987 Miss South America in Cartagena, Colombia.Curiously, she also did not win any award. Patricia Arce Rocabado (Miss Bolivia) was Miss Photogenic and Maria Victoria Zangaro (Miss Uruguay) was Miss Congeniality.Then, she immediately travelled to Singapore City to take part in Miss Universe pageant.

On May 26, 1987 Cecilia was crowned Miss Universe in Singapore City. There were celebrations for Chile -from Arica to Chiloe-,after Cecilia Bolocco won the title. The 35th Miss Universe began with a spectacular opening ceremony at World Trade Center in front of thousands of spectators from Asia and other countries.Singapore is the smallest country ever to hold the Miss Universe pageant, with a size of 270 sq mi and a population of 4.5 million people. Egypt made its first appearance as a participating country at the Miss Universe. Miss Honduras, Francia Tatiana Reyes, had taken the award of Miss Amity and Miss Brazil, Jacqueline Ribeiro Meirelles, won the Best National Costume title.

For many reasons, Miss Colombia, Maria Patricia Lopez Ruiz, was considered to have a good chance to win the title.Patricia had won two international awards: Miss South America and Miss Photogenic.

There were 12 judges: Deborah Carthy-Deu (former Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Universe), Neil Hickey (American journalist), Jose Greco (Spanish dancer), David Niven Jr (American actor), Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (American actress and singer), Chu San Goh (choreographer from Asia), Peter Graves (American film and television actor), Paul-Louis Orrier (French fashion designer), Arnold Kopelson (American film producer), Nancy Dussault (American singer and actress), Yue-Sai Kan (Chinese-American entrepreneur), Isabel Sanford (American actress).

Unlike other Miss Universes from Latin America -Norma Beatriz Nolan, Barbara Palacios, Dayanara Torres, Amelia Vega-, Miss Chile 1987 did not have the support of judges from Latin America. Deborah Carthy-Deu had given her support to Laurie Tamara Simpson Rivera (Miss Puerto Rico 1987). Some countries have been benefited by having many judges. In the past century; Venezuela has had many judges in Miss Universe: Carolina Herrera (fashion designer/ 1984 & 1997), Irene Saez Conde (Miss Universe/ 1983 & 1995), Maria Conchita Alonso Bustillo (singer & actress/ 1993 & 1998), Lupita Ferrer (actress/1986), Jose Luis Rodriguez (singer/ 1991) and Barbara Palacios (Miss Universe/ 1988).

Certainly, Cecilia had won the title and the special admiration of the Asian public. The audience had all eyes on Chilean Cecilia. It was the first appearance for Chile in the finals. She wore a spectacular white gown designed by Ruben Campos.

From 1990 to 2005, she was an internationally famous Latin American entertainer. Cecilia is a two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and producer.In 1993, Cecilia Bolocco was one of the hots at the Miss Universe in Mexico City. She said: "Really gives me great pride to be here..." Three years later, she was one of the members of the panel of judges of Miss Universe in Las Vegas, USA.

Until their separation in April 2007, Bolocco lived with her husband, Carlos Menem -ex president of Argentina-, whom she married in 2001,and their son, Maximo Saul Menem Bolocco, who was born in 2003, in Santiago (Chile). She met Menem in 1999 when she was a successful journalist After the marriage broke up, Cecilia became a fashion designer.

Cecilia Bolocco has emerged as a popular youth icon and, the Chile's sweetheart, with her every move followed by millions across Chile. She currently resides in Santiago.

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Beautiful city of Barcelona, capital of Catalonia (a Spain's province), is situated on on the shore of the Mediterranean sea and bordered at either end by 2 river deltas. Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after its capital city Madrid. Barcelona has a population of 1.5 million, over 4 million including suburbs. The varied, eventful history of the city dates back 4,000 years to the first settlements by ancient farmers. Later it became a Roman colony, the Visigoth's capital city, then it came under Moorish rule. It went through sieges, destructions and occupations, finally to become an autonomous democracy 1975. The city has always played an important role in political and cultural life of Spain and it is well reflected in the variety and quality of historical buildings, museums, many other tourist attractions. Today Barcelona is one of the most diverse european cities with unique culture and rich traditions. You can find here a formidable balance of the traditional things and the avant-garde. A cosmopolitan metropolis, Barcelona affords visitors a warm and sincere welcome, being aknowledged worldwide as one of the best tourist-friendly cities in Europe.Barcelona's organisation of the 1992 Olympics provided regeneration of this dynamic city, gave a fresh start to its infrastructure development.

WHAT TO SEE AND WHERE:

POINTS OF INTEREST - La Rambla is a tree-lined pedestrian boulevard packed with buskers, living statues, mimes and itinerant salespeople selling everything from lottery tickets to jewellery. Pavement cafes and stands selling craftwork, street performers surrounded by curious onlookers, a noisy bird market, Palau de la Virreina, a grand 18th-century rococo mansion, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the famous 19th-century opera house- these are all colourful parts of La Rambla's mosaic. La Rambla ends at the lofty Monument a Colom (Monument to Columbus) and the harbour.

Barri Gotic - also known as Gothic Quarter, it is the old part of the city. Picasso lived and worked in Barri Gotic from 1895 to 1904 and Joan Miro was born and lived here during his youth. Gothic Quarter is situated on the right hand side of the La Rambla, it contains a concentration of medieval tall Gothic buildings (14-15th century) on narrow cobbled streets and now is home to much of the city's nightlife.

La Sagrada Familia - La Sagrada Familia is one of the most famous and magnificent among Barcelona's landmarks. The life's work of Barcelona's famous architect, Antoni Gaudi, the magnificent spires of the unfinished cathedral imprint themselves boldly against the sky with swelling outlines inspired by the holy mountain Montserrat. Above each facade there are four towers, 12 in total, which are dedicated to the Apostles. The tower in the center, the tallest of all at 170 m., is dedicated to Jesus Christ. Around these there are the towers of the four Evangelists, and the tower over the apse is dedicated to the Virgin. They are encrusted with a tangle of sculptures that seem to breathe life into the stone. Gaudi died in 1926 before his masterwork was completed, and since then, controversy has continually dogged the building program. Nevertheless, the southwestern (Passion) facade, is almost done, and the nave, begun in 1978, is progressing.

La Pedrera - Casa Mila (Mila House) is an apartment building, the last example of Gaudi's civil architecture.It is one of his finest and most ambitious creations, extraordinarily innovative in its functional, constructive, and ornamental aspects. Visitors can tour the building and go up to the roof, where they can see spectacular views of Barcelona. One floor below the roof is a modest museum dedicated to Gaudi's work.
Montjuic - the largest open space in the city, its main attractions are the Olympic installations, the Spanish Village and the hilltop fortress. Montjuic, the hill overlooking the city centre from the southwest, is home to some fine art galleries, leisure attractions, soothing parks and the main group of 1992 Olympic sites. Montjuic is covered in ornamental gardens with water features and is the most popular destination in Barcelona on Sundays.

Tibidabo - is the highest hill in the wooded range that forms the backdrop to Barcelona. It has amazing views of the whole of Barcelona, a stunning cathedral, and a family fun park Parc d'Atraccions with old-style rides offering breathtaking views. A glass lift at the park goes 115m (383 ft) up to a visitors' observation area at Torre de Collserola telecommunications tower.

Modernisme - spectacular modernista architectural creations dotted around the city by famous Antoni Gaudi and his contemporaries.

Camp Nou - home of F.C. Barcelona, one of Europe's leading soccer teams, with capacity of almost 100,000 spectators.

The Seu Cathedral - Built in medieval times on the site of a Roman temple, La Seu is one of the great Gothic buildings in Spain.

Parc de la Ciutadella - Barcelona's favourite park and a Sunday afternoon rendezvous for families, friends and ducks

The Sardana - traditional Catalan dance, performed outside the cathedral and at national festivals, with everyone encouraged to join in.

MUSEUMS - The Barbier-Mueller Museum of Pre-Columbian Art -the only museum in Europe devoted exclusively to Pre-Columbian cultures. Housed in a gothic palace, its collection is one of the finest of its kind and gives visitors an insight into the rich world of the earliest cultures on the American continent. This tiny museum contains one hundred pieces, including wood and stone sculptures, ceramics, tapestries, jade, often found in international exhibitions and prestige publications. The exhibits represented the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, Chavin, Mochica and Inca civilisations.

Palau de la Musica Catalana - one of the world's most extraordinary music halls, it is a Barcelona landmark. From its polychrome ceramic ticket windows on the Carrer de Sant Pere Mes Alt side to its overhead busts of Palestrina, Bach, Beethoven, and Wagner, the Palau is the flagship of Barcelona's Moderniste architecture.

Museu Picasso - is Barcelona's most visited museum. 3,500 exhibits make up the permanent collection. Picasso spent several years (1901-06) in Barcelona, and this collection, is particularly strong on his early work. Displays include childhood sketches, pictures from the beautiful Rose and Blue periods, and the famous 1950s Cubist variations on Velazquez's Las Meninas (Ladies-in-Waiting).

Gaudi Casa-Museu - Gaudi lived in this pink, Alice-in-Wonderland house from 1906 to 1926, which now houses a museum of Gaudi-designed furniture, decorations, drawings, and portraits and busts of the architect.
Fundacio Miro - it was a gift from the famous artist Joan Miro to his native city. The museum opened in 1975, and now it is one of Barcelona's most exciting showcases of contemporary art.

BEACHES - One of Barcelona's greatest draws is undeniably its beautiful beaches. Beside world-famous Costa Brava and Costa Dorada which are within 1-hr drive time from Barcelona, there are also several nice beaches over 4 km long within the city boundaries, we will list just several of them here: Nova Icaria- Closest to the Olympic marina, always crowded, this wide swathe of rough golden sand is great for food goers. There are three perfect beach bars and two very popular restaurants on the promenade (Mango and Chiringuito de Moncho) and countless bars and restaurants are just a short stroll away. Bogatell- This beach is twice the length of adjoining Nova Icaria and fringed by a stretch of stone walkway perfect for jogging, roller blading and cycling. Three large informal restaurants on the promenade. Mar Bella (Metro Ciutadella Vila Olimpica, plus 20-minute walk)- Barcelona's only naturist beach close to a peaceful park - good for a picnic or siesta under the trees. Barceloneta- wide and long, a traditional and popular stretch with locals, crowded, noisy and very jolly.

WHEN TO GO, WEATHER: The best times to visit Barcelona are late spring and early autumn, when the weather is still comfortably warm, around 21-25°C. Summers are usually hot and humid, with temperatures averaging +30 (+ 86 Fahrenheit). Especially avoid the "dead" month of August, when many shops, bars and restaurants close for the month as many local inhabitants head out of the city. Winters are cool with average daytime temperatures around +12 C (+59 Fahrenheit), occasionally rainy.

GETTING THERE AND AROUND: By a direct flight to Barcelona, or through Madrid or via another large European city from almost any major airports in the world. The highest fares are from May to September, the lowest in March-April, October-November and December to February (excluding Christmas and New Year when prices are hiked up). Note also that flying on weekends may increase your ticket cost. If traveling to Barcelona from within Europe you can also chose train, bus or car, though these take much longer than a plane and often work out no cheaper. Many Mediterranean cruises include Barcelona as a port of call.

ACCOMODATIONS: We can offer you a range of choices. You can choose vacation rentals in Barcelona starting from $ 125 USD for a double room in a 4-star apartment hotel. Or you can opt for hotels from $ 65 USD for a double room in a 3-star hotel. Accomodation prices do not change much throughout the year due to the steady all-season flow of visitors to this extremely popular tourist city and surrounding resorts.

DINING: Besides restaurants you can eat at bars where you would have a succession of tapas (small snacks- three or four chunks of fish, meat or vegetables, or salad, which traditionally used to be served up free with a drink) or raciones (larger ones). The bar option can be a lot more interesting, allowing you to do the rounds and sample local specialities. Generally, the average cost for a meal consisting of two dishes and dessert would come to about 25 Euros. Travellers on an extremely limited budget can do well for themselves by using the excellent markets, bakeries and delis and filling up on sandwiches and snacks. Decent restaurants and cafes are easily found all over the city, though you'll probably do most of your eating where you do most of your sightseeing, in the old town, particularly around La Rambla and in the Barri Gotic. Look for the best and most authentic seafood restaurants in Barceloneta, a seaside neighbourhood. Gothic Quarter neighbourhood is home to some of the oldest and most traditional restaurants in the city. Gracia is a very popular area among young people during the weekend, it leads the way in terms of exotic restaurants (Lebanese, Egyptian, Thai etc.).

TRANSPORT: Barcelona has excellent transport system comprising the metro (subway), buses, trains and a network of funiculars and cable cars. You can find a link to transport maps at the end of our guide. On all the city's public transport you can buy a single ticket every time you ride, but even over only a couple of days it's cheaper to buy a targeta - a discount ticket strip. The T-10 targeta is valid for ten separate journeys on the metro, buses and trains. These tickets can be used by more than one person at a time. The metro is the quickest way of getting around Barcelona. For black-and-yellow taxis there is a minimum charge of $ 2 euro. You'll obviously have a great deal more freedom if you rent a car . Major roads throughout the city are generally good, and traffic is generally well behaved, though Spain does have one of the highest incidences of traffic accidents in Europe. It also has some of the lowest fuel prices on the continent.

SHOPPING: Barcelona, one of the most stylish cities in Europe offers great shopping, from designer clothes and accessories to household items. You will find the city to be quite cheap for a lot of items, especially if you coincide with the annual sales ( rebaixes in Spanish) lasting from mid-January until the end of February, and throughout July and August. The best shopping areas in Barcelona are the old streets off the upper part of the Ramblas. Souvenirs include ceramics, which are widely sold in the streets around the cathedral; leather goods; city's delicatessens, particularly cooked Catalan meats and sausages; a porron (the long-spouted glass drinking jar); CDs and tapes of Catalan rock and pop, sardana music, Spanish rock or flamenco. If you're looking for original gift ideas, some of the best hunting can be found in the shops of any of the city's museums, where you'll find reasonably priced and unique examples of Catalan disseny (graphic), and other original items ranging from postcards to replica works of art.

We wish you a nice and safe trip!

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Buying flower bulbs to plant and grow is an exciting experience that begins in the fall and continues through the spring. Dutch flowering bulbs are usually delivered to American ports by the month of September for fall planting. Major Dutch bulbs offerings include Dutch Amaryllis and African Amaryllis; daffodil bulbs and the famous, Tulip bulbs.

Amaryllis flower bulbs grow the showiest blooms and are pre-cooled to force fast flowering in 3 weeks after containerizing. Dutch bulb importers of Amaryllis offer a larger variety of selections and more bulbs to tempt the buyers. The African growers of Amaryllis bulbs appear to be enslaved to the Dutch Amaryllis importers distribution network, however, the African flowers that emerge on the Amaryllis stems are superior in many respects to the Dutch Amaryllis. The African Amaryllis blooms appear to offer clearer colors, more compact flower stalks, leaves that grow as the flowers appear, and more numerous flower stalks and grow from smaller bulbs. The large array of bloom colors from amaryllis includes red, pink, lavender, orange, yellow, white, green, maroon, red stripe, white stripe, pink stripe, and bi-color. Double numbers of petals on Amaryllis flowers are fast growing to be very popular choices to buy, since the petal count is increased to 12, instead of 6 that grow on most Amaryllis bulb flower stems, looking very similar to a huge carnation flower.

Daffodil flower bulbs are important Dutch bulbs for fall planting, because of their reasonable market cost, the ease of planting, and the growing of flower stalks in the Spring in various colors of yellow, white, orange, and the rare pink daffodil. Daffodil bulbs are easy to naturalize to bloom again every year.

Tulip bulbs are a native flowering plant of Turkey, but long ago tulips were hybridized on a large commercial scale by Dutch bulb growers. The cost of Dutch tulips has not always been inexpensive to buy, but tulip buyers today still love the spring flower colors of red, pink, orange, yellow, blue, purple, white, and bi-color. Cities and government organizations anxiously buy tulip bulbs in huge numbers during winter seasons to grow in beautiful landscape displays for the Spring.

The Canna lily rhizome has been long considered to be tropical in nature, with very little cold hardy resistance. The early American botanist and explorer, William Bartram, wrote in his book, Travels, in 1773, the discovery of Canna indica in Alabama near Mobile, "Canna indica is surprising in luxuriance, presenting a glorious show, the stem rises six, seven, and nine feet high, terminating upwards with spikes of scarlet flowers." Bartram also discovered the native Canna flaccida, growing near Fort Frederica, Georgia, located on the Island of St Simon's. Canna lily colors are broad, red, white, pink, lavender, orange, yellow, speckled, bi-color and others. Some Canna flower growers plant cannas with variegated leaf forms that are striped with red, green, yellow, white, and pink. Dutch distributors of canna rhizomes still flood retail box store, garden centers with "Victorian-age" canna bulbs of poor quality; varieties that had declined, "run out", 50 years ago, and they should have been discontinued and not presented to buyers at a garden center nursery.

Ginger lily rhizomes grow flowers with fragile, delicate blossoms - many looking like miniature orchid flowers. The foliage of Ginger lilies is interestingly variable, growing in colors of green, yellow, maroon, and stripes of yellow or white. Interest in planting ginger lilies has surged in 20 years, because of the realization that many ginger lilies are cold hardy, surviving temperatures as cold as zero degrees F. The foliage and the flowers are pleasantly aromatic.

Daylilies are actually not bulbs but rhizomes, but are sold extensively as daylily bulbs. Thousands of named varieties of Daylily bulbs have been easily hybridized by legions of backyard gardeners and the selection improvement and flower quality is absolutely astonishing. The improvement has resulted in growing double flower daylily, miniature daylily, cold hardy daylilies, and compact clumping or large clumping daylily plants. It is staggering to realize all these many colors - red, white, yellow, orange, purple, pink, and bi-color originated from an original native plant -a seedy, yellow daylily growing wild on the forest edge.

Crinum Lily bulbs offer to an adventurous hobbiest or gardener an antique garden bulb selection that has been reintroduced as improved crinum clones by the brilliant inductiveness of chemist, Lester Hannibal of Fair Oaks, California. Lester Hannibal back crossed and intercrossed many native crinum lily species to offer the gardener an excellent, cold hardy crinum, an "interspecific hybrid", that can be grown as far North as Philadelphia, PA, zone 6, and to survive intense freezes of below zero temperatures. Many of Lester Hannibal's crinum flower hybrids were a re-creation of obsolete but popular commercial crosses that were made by Cecil Houdyshel in the 1930's, but largely improved upon from the original "Powellii" forms with clear, white and pink colors, an increase in the number of flowers in the umbel, extended flowering periods, an eliminatio of drooping flowers, an intensification of fragrance and early flowering after sprouting from the germination of the seed. The "milk and wine" crinum lilies were named, because the flowers were white (milk) and wine striped colors. Crinum colors are burgundy, red, pink, white, greenish-yellow, and orange. Crinum bulbs increase by growing into clumps of multiple offsets from the central mother bulb, or by planting the seed of some cultivars or species.

-Rare, Hard-To-Find Flower Bulbs of Merit- Many rare minor flower bulbs are unavailable to buy anywhere, except by possibly exchanging plants with collectors and hobbiest. The Amazon lily, Encharist grandiflora, blooms with six white, daffodil like petals, and a green or glowing yellow cup radiating from the center. This delicate flower can be remembered from days past for its wonderful charming fragrance. The Bird of Paradise is known for the two tropical forms, the Strelizia reginae, the most common: brilliantly colored flowers with orange, red, and blue glaring blossoms; and the Strelizia nicholae that grows large, showy, white flowers. The Blood Lily, Scadoxus mutliflorus, forms baby-head sized globular flowers with red filamented petals and radiate fragile threads of red that are affixed to the to the center of the bloom, great for container culture. The Red Butterfly lily, Odontonema strictum, won the perennial plant award of the year in Florida in the year 2000, and butterflies and hummingbirds flock to visit the fiery red spikes, beginning in mid-August and continuing until the first hard freeze. The Calla lily, Calla palustrus, has been hybridized with many other Calla lily species to grow into many splendid colors, but the new hybrids are not as popular as the white, fragrant, winter-blooming, Calla aethiopica; and the yellow calla, Calla aethiopica. Clivia lilies, Clivia minata, are choice heavy shade-requiring plants that produce gigantic clusters of orange flowers, cup shaped, with a yellow throat, and often will re-bloom two or three times from large bulbs.

The Gloriosa lilies, Gloriosa rothschildiana, a climbing vine that clothes itself with recurved, star-like flowers that are favored and admired by florists and flower arrangers, because the blooms last so well. The Inca Lily, Alstomeria aurantiaca, has become naturalized in America, as an escaped bulb from the tropical jungles of Peru. The Alstromeria flowers last well as a cut-flower, and waxy, greenish-red funnels begin blooming vigorously in the spring. Lycoris are a charming group of flower bulbs that called "Spider Lily", and they bloom in floral colors of pink, yellow, white, and red, Lycoris radiata, which is the most widely grown. The Pineapple Lily, Eucomis bicolor, grows into flowers that are shaped like miniature pineapple fruits in colors of white and rusty-red. Scilla flower bulbs are grown in large numbers as bedding plants, many Dutch varieties are small and make good cut flowers, but the best cold hardy Scilla is the Scilla peruviana that forms and grows into glowing, purplish-blue flowers that either grow as well as bedding plants, or containerized plants. Voodoo lilies, Amorphophallus bulbifer, are strange and bazaar leafy bulbous plants, both in leaf and flower, with a suggestive look of snakes, cobras, and other vermin that may be lurking beneath the leopard-spotted menacing leaves. Zephyranthes are called "rain lilies", and softly bloom in colors of pink, Zephyranthes grandiflora; yellow, Zephyranthes citrina; white, Zephyranthes atamasco; and a mind-numbing number of Zephyranthes bulb mongrels that are distributed by a retired breeder in San Antonio, Texas, who apparently has nothing better to do, than paralyze all the worlds earnest taxonomists into the task of assembling the records of his Mexican-American bulb-children lineage into a staggering Encyclopedia publication.

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London
The UK's capital city has long been the "jewel in the crown" of the UK tourism Industry. The city is located on the majestic River Thames and there is so much to see in the city. This bustling city is well served by the underground tube stations so it is very easy to get from place to place, and discover the gems of the city which range from the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Big Ben, London Tower Bridge to Westminster Abbey and the British Museum!

London is a world centre for music, shopping, theatre, drama, literature and culture and if museums, theatre and drama are your thing, you are spoilt for choice here! You could take in a play at the National Theatre or visit the Tate Modern Gallery. Or visit the London Eye or take a boat trip on the River Thames! Or shop at Oxford Street or Regent Street! Whatever you decide to do a visit to London is a place you will always remember.

Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and is the seat of the Scottish Parliament. Being a University City, Edinburgh has over 60,000 students and attracts around 13 million visitors a year! You can find some of the most wonderful buildings of the British Isles here, including the 1,000-year-old Edinburgh Castle. The city is home to one of the most enchanting and exciting arts festivals in the world - The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Indeed the period from July to September is Festival Time in the city, with the Arts, Jazz and Blues Festival and the International Film Festival all taking place. The street Festival celebrating the New Year is called Hogmanay, and this is a party to beat all parties!

Edinburgh is not just about Festivals, for a bit of culture visit the Scotland Museum and the National Gallery of Scotland to name but two. You could also pay a visit to the mountain called "Arthur's Seat", which is an extinct volcano located right in the middle of the city!

Manchester
The Manchester area was originally one of the centres of Britain's Industrial Revolution, once being the cotton producing capital of the world. The city is home to plenty of museums, art galleries, theatres and libraries as well as wonderful architecture. In 1996 the city centre was ripped apart after an IRA bomb which led to major urban redevelopment in the city centre, leading to a modern, and cosmopolitan city centre famed for its shopping!

Manchester is famed for its popular music scene, and many famous musical groups from the Hollies and the Smiths to the Stone Roses and Oasis hailed from the area. There are plenty of popular clubs to visit for live music.

Birmingham
The second largest city in Britain, with one million inhabitants, Birmingham was known as the Manufacturing Capital of the UK for generations. The Steam Engine, which was made James Watt, was first constructed here, along with the famed Orient Express, and the city was the home of the British Motor Industry.

With plenty of Museums from Cadbury World to shopping at the Jewellery Quarter, and plenty to buy at the new Bullring complex, there is something in Birmingham for everyone.

Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, with 620,000 inhabitants in the city area. It is a bustling city, situated on the River Clyde, and home to some beautiful Victorian architecture. Take in a visit to The Tall Shop (The Glenlee), check out the wonderful Glasgow Science Centre and the People's Palace and Winter Gardens. The Buchanan Shopping Mall is a great place to visit for shopping!

Liverpool
A city that held the title of 2008 European City of Culture, Liverpool's early claims to fame were due to its position as being one of the busiest trading seaports in the world. Located on the River Mersey, the city is home of one of the world's most famous musical groups, The Beatles. No visit to the city is complete without indulging in some Beatlemania, and the best place to do so is to visit the wonderful Albert Dock alongside the waterfornt, which houses the Beatles Story Museum, The International Slavery Museum, the Maritime Museum and also the Tate Gallery. Find out more about The Beatles Story. You could also visit the Cavern Club on Matthew Street, where the band began their career, and where a new club has been built on the original site. Liverpool is not all about nostalgia - it is a city famed for its nightlife and shopping!

Oxford
Oxford is home to Oxford University, one of the oldest establishments of its kind in the world, dating back to the 11th century! As you stroll through the streets of the vibrant University City you will be walking in the footsteps of presidents, kings, prime ministers and Nobel Prize winners who attended the famous University.

Some of the most famous attractions that are well worth visiting include the Ashmolean Museum, the Botanic Gardens, Christchurch Cathedral, the University itself and Bodleian Library.

If you are thinking of heading to visit one or some of these wonderful UK cities, the best way to get around is to hire a car.

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1)

Down the Old Inca Road

(Cajas)

The minute my hands

Touched the rocks

(of the Inca stone wall,

Upon the edge of the path)

Everything had changed:

The sun had come

Around and down

The Old Inca Road

(where I was now walking);

The air was warmer than before,

And I, I could smell the dirt;

Thereabouts, came sounds of nature

Steadily thundering into my

Eyes and soul...

The blue sky above me

And the Inca world beside me, and I, I

Walked down that cracked road

Along side its stonewall.

I had not been born when they had placed

The last stone to this wall--

When someone wedged in,

The tightly nit stones.

#1576 (12/19/2006

2)

Calicanto --Vita

(The Old Wanka Bridge of San Jeronimo)

Let beauty form its own heart

'tis a perspective for the best

for ones true image is never pictured

on ones face--but rather in his trying past.

When I looked upon this ancient Wanka Bridge

Calicanto-Vita, no shadows to flatter her stones

Only a reminiscence, of long past battles.

12/12/2006 #1566

3)

The White Winged Butterfly

She comes around this White Winged Butterfly--

All day long: floats or flies on and within my air,

In my garden, in this Peruvian city, unescorted:

She has now, going on eight-weeks, done so--

(as if I didn't notice or know).

How did she find mine, amongst so many?

Perhaps she smelled the greenery? Trying to

get away from the car fumes.

Or perhaps she found the sunshine, after

spotting my roses.

Whatever, its been eight-weeks now, I hate to

see her go (she put on a good show).

#1609 (1/14/2007); Dedicated to my wife Rosa

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Driving toward the Arica Railway Station in Chile on a swelteringly hot summer morning, I caught glimpse of the wooden, 60-year-old, English-built sentinel car, registered 0261 and painted a bright orange and yellow, on display, making my way up the few stairs and crossing through the building to the platform, where I awaited the day's first departure of the Ferrocarril Tacna-Arica Railway, scheduled to leave at 0935 for its trek across the border, by means of the vast expanses of the Atacama Desert, to Tacna, Peru. A tour bus, intermittently stopping in front of the station, disgorged some two dozen passengers who had equally scampered through the depot and immediately infiltrated the singular, stationary, museum-like car. Raising an arm and about to inquire if the group had been awaiting the morning train to Peru, a nameless face audibly corrected my thoughts with an exclamation. "This is it!" it had shouted.

In disbelief, I climbed the few steps into the wooden relic, fully expected it to remain stationary and silent, yet the "engineer" entered his own forward, side door, inserted a key, and the car's deep, throaty, diesel engine pinnacled into chassis-vibrating life. "Through the Atacama Desert in this," I thought?

Initiating momentum and inching past the platform on the single track before my thoughts could run to the end of theirs, this moving, autonomous coach would serve as both transportation and protection, as both engine and rail car. Paralleling the sand-lined Pacific beneath the sky, which had worn its flawlessly-blue morning ensemble, the coach followed the dust-imbedded track past the Arica suburbs characterized by their modern, low-rise apartments, behind which rose the soft, wave-like, tan and brown mountain silhouettes of the Andean foothills, which had been as dry as dust and devoid of a single green sprout of vegetation.

Seemingly trackless, the wagon, built up of vertical wooden planks and a slightly arched ceiling, penetrated the dirt-buried rails periodically flanked by small heaps of rock and sand, on the fringes of the Atacama Desert, the dust filtering through the open windows and leaving the eyes stung and the mouth immersed in sand. Behind, in its wake, rose mini-dust tornadoes and the just-covered track, stretching to its origin, somehow symbolic of the railroad's history, which had equally stretched to its origin.

Peru's only international rail line, and the second to have been constructed here, the Ferrocarril Tacna-Arica traces its origin to December 16, 1851, when a decree, authorizing the construction of a railroad, had led to a contract, awarded to John Hegan on August 6 of the following year. It had stipulated the import of 400 Chinese workers, usage of standard rail gauge, the establishment of minimum tariffs, and the transfer of rights to a third party. Hegan, granted a two million Peruvian peso advance for the project, had been required to repay it within a three-year period at a 4.5-percent interest rate.

The line, completed in 1855, had stretched 62 kilometers at a 1.455-millimeter gauge, constructed of 60 pounds-per-yard of rail fastened to quebracho wood ties, and had encompassed the six stations of Tacna, Kilometro 42, Hospicio, Escritos, Chacalluta, and Arica, and had traversed five bridges. A 3.8-percent grade had been maintained between Magullo and Tacna.

Trial service of the "Empresa del Ferrocarril Tacna-Arica FCTA," or "Arica and Tacna Railway Company," had commenced on December 25, 1855, while scheduled passenger service had been inaugurated two years later, on January 1, 1857, with a fleet of five 4-4-0 R & W Hawthorn locomotives numbered 869 to 873, thus beginning its contractual 99-year period.

Because initial passenger and freight volume had failed to generate sufficient revenue, their tariffs, attempting to stimulate traffic, had been halved in 1859.

Although President Balta-mandated studies to extend the line to La Paz, Bolivia, would have been instrumental in troop transport during the War of the Pacific, the project had never materialized.

Two other developments had been considered: a 478-kilometer, eastward extension, contemplated in 1904, would also have taken the line to La Paz, while a 278-kilometer southward extension, from Arica to Zapiga, would have connected it to the Chilean railway system, but Chile's then current occupation of the territory had otherwise deterred both efforts.

Several additional steam locomotives had been instrumental in maintaining service, inclusive of both a Morro and a Tacura 2-6-0 Rogers and later-model 4-4-0 Hawthorns, all doing so during the latter part of the 1800s. Early-1900's equipment had included 2-4-0 and 2-6-0 Baldwins of 1908, a 0-4-0 Kerr Stuart of 1911, and a C-C Alco Diesel of 1958, equipment built both locally and by the Linke Hoffman Company in Germany. Eleven rail cars had comprised the fleet by 1939.

Having been administered by Enafur, the Ferrocarril Tacna-Arica had been passed on to Enapu and ultimately the regional government of Tacna, the Arica railway workshops having been relocated to this terminus and ownership of the Chilean section of track having been retained by Peru at this time.

Although earthquakes and floods had destroyed part of the line in 2001, its reconstruction, coupled with persistence, had enabled it to celebrate its 150-year anniversary in 2006.

The rising dust tornado, revealing the sun-glistening rails the single car had just cleared, continued to trail it. Flat expanses of brown dust stretched to the tan-shaded, wave-like silhouettes of the Cerro Cabeza out the right windows. A man stranded here, on the other side of the single coach's green, paint-peeling walls, would assuredly cause him to hallucinate those silhouettes into waves of water, I had thought.

Lurching on its lateral axis, the coach, still vibrating from its retrofitted diesel engine and clacking as its wheels rode the sometimes-disappearing rails, crossed the Chilean-Peruvian border, marked by a short obelisk, at 1000. The hot, dry wind carried not welcomed breezes through the opened windows, but parching steams of sand instead.

Passengers, negotiating the cramped car, which had featured a four-abreast, face-to-face configuration of bench seats, gathered in the yellow-painted, mid-vestibule whose sliding doors had provided egress on either side.

The track, along with the Atacama Desert which had supported it, seemed to stretch into dry infinity in front of the train.

Stretching, in fact, 600 to 700 miles from north to south, between the Loa River and the mountains which separated the Salado-Copiapo drainage basin, it extended as far as Peru's north border and had been flanked by the Cordillera Domeyko in the east and the Cordillera de la Costa in the west. Comprised of pebble and sand, alluvial accumulations in the east and salt pans at the foot of the coastal mountains in the west, it contained the 3,000-foot Tamarugal Plain, itself formed by a raised depression running from north to south. A part of the continent's arid shoreline, the desert had been created by the permanent South Pacific high pressure cell which had rendered it one of the world's driest locations, resulting in an average rainfall of two to four times per century.

Now approaching Tacna, the rail car veritably entered an oasis in the desert. The Caplina River-irrigated valley, lining either side of the hitherto dusty track, had revealed lush greenery, which supported the growth of figs, olives, grapes, pomegranates, and prickly pears.

Tiny, cement block squares, beyond the greenery and no larger than tool sheds, marked the Peruvians' individual land claims, location of their future residences, while even earlier claims had been designated by sheer lines traced in the desert, marks representing the foundations of future dwellings. To the left of the track, even electricity lines had risen from the dust, indicating initial fringes of civilization.

As the train continued its journey, yet a third stage of structural progress had been prevalent: desert lines had supported concrete walls and these had been covered with bricks, yet not a single human had dwelled in any of these pending, still roofless buildings. It had seemed as if the vast expanses had sprouted a soulless, still-uninhabited city.

Sandwiched between modern, dual-lane roads forming Avenida Cuzco, the track, thresholding Tacna, penetrated the city, its buildings becoming commercial and toting their purposes with signs, with each clack of the car's wheels.

Piercing the silence with its horn as it announced its arrival from Chile, the Ferrocarril Tacna-Arica engine-coach threaded its way past palm tree-lined strips of manicured grass and fieldstone sidewalks, while cars and taxis, paralleling its path, moved within arm's reach on either side. The spires of the cathedral, rising from the Plaza de Armas, loomed in the distance.

Inching through the clock tower-supported gate, the single, orange-and-yellow wagon screeched to a halt on the copper-colored rails which had multiplied into many and had cradled the steam engines, wooden coaches, and freight cars displayed by the Tacna Railroad Museum, rolling stock which had been instrumental in the Ferrocarril Tacna-Arica's early history.

Descending the three, steep steps to the platform of the 1856 station, I glanced at the track leading through the clock tower gate toward the city and stretching through the sometimes buried no-man's land of the Atacama Desert, across the border to Chile, and to its Arica origin, and somehow realized that it had connected me, two countries, and a century-and-a-half of history, all in a single day.

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It's not only the divas of haute couture that set and change trends on a seasonal basis but the wedding planners too. With the ominous threat of global warming expected to scupper all our plans, the overwhelming trend this year is 'Go Green'.

Brides are choosing organic materials and fibres for their gowns but they are also opting for soft flowing materials that cling seductively to the body. Ruffled hems, satin sashes and sparkling crystal, glass or beads as a glittering embellishment to the end product are also very much en vogue.

White out, colours all the rage

Instead of the traditional white dress, brides are also leaning towards more colour with champagne, ivory, pink and platinum the order of the day. This opens up all sorts of exciting possibilities as far as the rest of the decor goes. With dedicated wedding stockists offering a wide array of linen for hire, including napkins and table cloths, there is virtually every hue and colour under the sun up for grabs to enhance the overall colour palette of the big day.

Hand tied posies replace the formality of the corsage

Even the traditional wedding blooms are no longer the imperious and formal arrangements of the days of yore. Hand-tied posies with wide satin ribbons have effectively replaced the decorum of the traditional corsage and wild, organic flowers are now the preferred choice of the bride and her groom. The rose seems to have endured, however, primarily because of its traditionally silent message of love, but other favoured varieties include simple peonies, Inca lilies, hydrangeas and tulips.

The centrepieces of the bridal table are also shifting more to au natural. A seasoned winner is to hire glassware in the shape of an enormous vase and then fill it with natural pretties such as sea shells, beach pebbles, crystals, beads or even fresh and dried berries or other fruit.

Food on the move encourages guests to mingle

The wedding fare has also had its fair share of tweaks and transformations with the eco-friendly theme top of any chef's agenda. Instead of formal sit-down banquets, the inclination is toward uncomplicated, less formal offerings. A good idea is to hire the relevant catering equipment and set up a number of individual food stations for guest to gather around or to simply have a wide selection of 'bowl food' to pass around amongst the guests.

This not only cuts down on the amount of crockery, cutlery, china and glassware that needs to be hired but also gently nudges guests to mingle and interact.

Outsized couches for intimate moments with family and friends

Another recent development is the inclusion of big, comfortable couches, ottomans and cushions in the wedding environment. They not only make the most relaxed photo shoot opportunities but allow for more intimate moments between the bridal couple and their friends and family. So if you're looking for comfort on your wedding day, make for the furniture rental experts.

Longer, personalised celebrations

Personalised venues and much longer celebrations seem to be the flavour of the year. So if you are off to a wedding anytime soon, best you be setting a couple of days aside for the pre-wedding boat trips, breakfasts and the occasional cricket match.

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Marcasite as the word is used in jewelry refers to small faceted stones that are inlaid in sterling silver. But the actual mineral marcasite cannot be used in jewelry as it tends to crumble into powder. Marcasite jewelry is actually jewelry using the mineral pyrite, sometimes referred to as iron pyrite.

Pyrite as it occurs in nature has a metallic luster, and can range from a very pale to a brassy yellow color according to the sulfur content. The yellow colored pyrite was mistaken for gold by inexperienced miners and earned the name fool's gold. These miners of years ago didn't realize it at the time, but pyrite can actually have very small amounts of gold in it. The sulfur content of the mineral has led pyrite to be used commercially for the production of sulfur dioxide used in the paper industry, and sulfuric acid for many industrial applications. Pyrite is found in many areas around the world

Pyrite used in jewelry is called marcasite. The name is derived from the Arabic word for pyrite, 'markaschatsa'. Evidence of this type of jewelry has been found in areas of ancient Greece and the burial grounds of the ancient Inca people of South America. It became very popular in the 18th century, reaching its zenith in the Victorian Era.

Marcasite is most often used with sterling silver. The darkness of it makes a good contrast to the brightness of silver. Gemstones are also used with it to good effect. Even when new, it has an antique look to it, and is used in Victorian Era jewelry reproductions. It is also used in many other kinds of jewelry. It can range in color from slightly brassy to pale green, but is mostly a dark metallic gray color.

From a simple marcasite and sterling silver ring, to ornate pendants with brightly colored gemstones, it is a very versatile material. This type of jewelry is found in very affordable jewelry right on up to very expensive. It has its own charm and beauty, this pyrite in disguise.

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I have driven from Arequipa to Cotahuasi many times and have been interested in some of the side roads that we pass. One of them has a sign that says it goes to Cabanaconde, on the rim of the Colca Canyon. Another one goes in the direction of Colca Canyon around the backside of Nevado Coropuna. I have always wondered if it is possible to drive directly to Colca Canyon from Cotahuasi, where I live, rather than going all the way around through Arequipa, which is the normal way. I have a map that shows a road there, but it also shows roads in my area that I know do not exist.

I had been told that this road doesn't exist either, but then a friend of mine, Marcio, who is a guide here, said there really is a road there. Now that I have my 4x4 van, we, along with Frank, who is doing research to update his Peru Travel Guidebook, decided to check it out and see if we could drive all the way to Chivay, at the entrance to Colca Canyon. We started in Arequipa on Friday morning, and on the way to Cotahuasi, we stopped at the Majes River Lodge, which is just a few minutes off the main road. They have a number of bungalows, a pool, outdoor eating areas, and very interestingly, a parking area that is in an old bull-fighting ring. Julio, the owner, is a major promoter of tourism in the area, and he took us to see a hillside that was covered with pre-Inca graves. Vandals and erosion have uncovered many of them and there are pieces of clothing, straw baskets, and pottery, as well as bones and even complete skulls laying all over the place. I have seen many gravesites here in Peru but none as extensive as this. Julio said there are thousands of graves, which I didn't believe, until we saw them, they are everywhere. There are also dinosaur bones and petroglyphs but we didn't take time to go see them.

We told Julio of our plans to drive from Cotahuasi to Chivay and asked him if he knew anything about the condition of the road. He mentioned a number of towns on the route, including Andahua, where we wanted to stop, and others I didn't recognize. He said the road is good to Andahua, fair to Orcopampa, and very good from there to Chivay, because there are mines in Orcopampa and they have fixed up the road. We later found out that the Reyna bus line also goes all the way to Orcopampa and the ticket agent confirmed what Julio had said about the roads.

After spending a few days in Cotahuasi, we left at 8:30 am on Tuesday, and arrived at the cutoff to Andahua two hours later. From here we were on a road that was new to us, on the high plain at just over 14,000 feet. I was surprised at the number of houses we saw near the road, which belonged to llama herders. We saw a number of both llamas and herders, walking on paths along the road. We also had a great view of the north side of Coropuna, which I had never seen before. As I looked ahead, I could see some loaded burros, and a few people walking down the road. I assumed it was some of the local herders, however as we got closer to them, it looked like they had large backpacks, like hikers or climbers would use. We could soon see that there were two gringos, a very rare sight in such a remote location. We stopped and talked to them for a few minutes, and found out that they were archeologists, doing some geological studies of Coropuna and the ancient ruins in the area.

After two more hours of driving, passing above 15,400 feet, and taking many more photos of Coropuna and other sights, we arrived at Andahua without any problems. We did have one more surprise though, we picked up a hitchhiker in the middle of nowhere, he was a schoolteacher on his way to Andahua. He teaches in a one-room school and said he has 14 students in grades one through six. He told us a lot about the area, including the fact that there wasn't a gas station in Andahua; the nearest one is in Orcopampa, about an hour and a half away. Fortunately, we have enough fuel to get there, but I still hate driving around on these roads with less than a half of a tank of fuel.

After we reached Andahua, we stopped and looked at best looking hostel, the rooms weren't too bad but the bathrooms left a lot to be desired. Although they do have fresh air, the back is wide open, facing the building next door. No one answered the door at the next hostel, which was still under construction, so we went back to the first one. After checking into the hostel, we decided to go for a hike up one of the volcanic craters outside of the village. We met a young man named Antonio, at the base of the crater, and he joined us on the hike to the summit, which is about 12,000 feet. We found out he used to live here, but now was just visiting from Arequipa. We took many more photos and were about ready to leave when Antonio took out a cell phone and to our surprise told us there was a signal there, as there was a clear line of sight down the valley to Aplao. I needed to make a call to Arequipa about my car, and just happened to have my cell phone in my daypack, so was able to make the call from there. The village does have regular phone service, but no cell phone service. I had some free minutes left on my phone, so was happy to be able to use them before they expire.

Back down in the village, we stopped at the local Internet, which had agonizingly slow satellite service for about 28 cents for 30 minutes. It was really starting to get cold by then as the sun was about to set, the village is at 11,450 feet, and it is fall here. I found a sidewalk vender selling french fries for 56 cents, which with a banana, was my dinner. While I was eating, Marcio went and looked at the other hostel that was now open, and found out that it has a very nice bathroom. At least we know for next time! It's now 7:25 and my hands are getting too cold to type much longer, but I have to quit soon anyway as the outlet in our room doesn't work and my laptop battery is almost dead. Tomorrow we plan on doing some more hiking, maybe to a waterfall, and then in the afternoon we will drive on to Orcopampa.

The restaurant selection isn't too good in Andahua, so we bought some fruit, bread and jam, and ate in our room this morning. It was cold when I got up at 6:30 but the sun rose soon after that and the sunlight coming in the window took the chill off the room. I went next door to the city office, where we had gotten some tourist brochures yesterday, to check on a guide to show us some of the sights. I met the mayor and he said one of his workers would show us around. We drove on a poor winding road, up, down, and around some craters and, then hiked down to see a waterfall. It was a very poor trail and I was thinking that it wouldn't be too popular with the average tourist, but then found out that there is a much better trail on the other side of the river. That is a longer hike, all the way from the village and we didn't have time for that, which is why he took us on the poor trail. The waterfall was nice, and quite interesting, as the water was also coming out of the mountain in various places from an old canal, which was actually a tunnel in the rocks.

The Andahua River cuts through a number of narrow and very deep slot canyons, so deep that we could hardly see the river because it was so dark at the bottom, even though it was a bright sunlit day. We crossed the canyon in one place on what looked like a natural bridge, but when we walked upstream a ways, we could see that there was an old stone bridge underneath the dirt path, which must have been 400 or more feet above the river. Actually it wasn't really dirt; most of the area is covered with fine black volcanic sand, which was very tiring to walk on. We also went to see some pre-Inca ruins, which seem to be everywhere around here.

At 3:00 in the afternoon, we left Andahua for Orcopampa, and were delighted to find out that the road was in quite good condition, in most places better than the road to Cotahuasi. For much of the way, it follows along (and once through) the Andahua River, which was now flowing through a wide flat valley, between two mountain ranges. Orcopampa is a busy mining village, and we had trouble finding a hostel with rooms available. Finally on our fourth try, we found one, supposedly with cable TVs and hot water showers, and even an enclosed garage for my car. The rooms are small and dingy, no reception on the TV, there is no water at all, not even cold, and a couple of miners tried to get the only parking spot from me (they didn't succeed), but we have beds to sleep on, so we are thankful for that.

Last night before I went to bed, I added an extra blanket from the empty bed next to me. I still got a little chilly during the night so took one more blanket and then slept better; except for when the bus honked it's horn long and loud at about 3:00 am! That's when it arrives from Arequipa and then continues on to Orcopampa. Tonight I got my sleeping bag out of the car and am using that, as we are even higher up, about 12,490 feet. We walked around for a bit and found a nice restaurant, where we had dinner. On the way back to the hostel, we passed one of the three Internet signs we had seen when we were looking for a gas station. I almost didn't stop, after the bad experience last night, but when I got close to the sign I saw that it said "Speedy", which is the telephone company's high-speed service here. It wasn't as fast as in Arequipa, but better than the dial-up service I have at home, and a huge improvement over last night.

Tomorrow we go to Chivay and Cabanaconde on the other side of Colca Canyon, and again we have received varying reports of the road's condition, from bad, due to the recent rainy season, to very good, because of the mines. The road today, which passed a mine, was in great shape for the last few kilometers into Orcopampa, so that gives us some hope for tomorrow as well, as there are many more mines along the way.

We had planned on leaving this morning (Thursday) at 7:00, and I was concerned that my car might not start because of the cold. I didn't start it until 10:00 am yesterday, after the temperature had warmed up quite a bit, and it didn't start very quickly, it took a lot of cranking. There was a good layer of ice on the water container outside when I got up at 6:15, but thankfully it did start, again after much cranking. I had planned on going back to Cotahuasi tomorrow, but have decided that I better return to Arequipa and get the cold starting problem checked. By 6:45, we were on the road, which after a climb up to the high plain, remained above 13,000 feet for the next five hours, reaching 14,980 feet at the highest point.

The road started out about the same as yesterday, fair with enough potholes and curves to keep our speed down to 25 to 40 kph most of the time. However once we got up on the high plain, it turned into a good gravel road, which was nice and wide as well. After being able to go 60 to 70 kph for a half hour or so, we came to a fork in the road. The map we have showed a road going straight and one angling off to the left. They both arrived at the same place, but the left fork was quite a bit longer.

The good road continued straight ahead, which we were going to take, but the road sign said that it went to a vicuña reserve, and the left fork went to our destination. Because the maps here are often not correct, we regretfully took the left fork, which was a much poorer road. It meandered all over the place, finally meeting up with a good road again, coming from the direction of the previous junction. Sure enough, when we looked back at the sign on that road, it said "vicuña reserve". Why the previous sign said to go around I don't know, but next time we will know better and go through the reserve on the good road. Less than an hour later, the road turned real bad, full of holes and washboard, and we were back down to 20 to 30 kph again.

A couple of hours later, I could see what looked like road construction in the distance ahead of us. It was, and when we reached there, we had to wait about 10 minutes for three dump trucks to unload and a bulldozer to spread out the gravel. After that, we were able to continue, on a much-improved road. It stayed good all the way to the bottom of Colca Canyon, where we crossed a bridge and continued on our way. However we soon realized that we were going the wrong direction, when Frank looked back at an intersection and saw a sign that said Chivay was the other way. We turned around and headed back, and soon found the correct road back on the other side of the river. There was only a sign for Chivay if you were coming from Arequipa or Cusco, there wasn't one coming from the back way like we did. We noticed this numerous times on our trip, so we got pretty good at looking back at intersections, but this one we missed.

From Orcopampa, we arrived in Chivay in about six hours and 10 minutes, which we were pleased with, considering that from what some people had told us, it could have taken much longer. Twenty minutes later, after taking our first showers since leaving Cotahuasi, we were relaxing and soaking in the popular hot springs just outside of Chivay. It really felt good after three days of dust filled driving, much of it on rough and tiring, high altitude roads. I don't think I am ready to take the trip again soon, but at least now I know that it is possible and I know the correct route.

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