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Miradouro do Guindaste
The Guindaste Viewpoint offers a wonderful view of the Atlantic northern coast of the island of Madeira. This viewpoint is sometimes called Crane Viewpoint. It's a very accessible place that you can reach by car; if you are driving from Funchal it takes around 40 minutes, and there's a parking lot nearby.
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Visiting the Benagil Cave
We did the 7 AM kayak tour to the Benagil Cave, I know that waking up that early is not a pleasant task, but when you get there and notice that only a few people will be inside the cave, then you realize that it was worth it, I've seen photos and the place is sometimes very crowded.
I always wanted to visit this place since I saw a photo online. Before booking the tour, I checked the tide times to ensure that day was low tide, since you can enjoy a lot of sandy beach inside the cave to sit and walk on.
I can tell you the cave is huge, and there are rocks pieces all around that fell from the cave roof; I guess it is not the safest place in the planet.
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Zabriskie Point
Zabriskie Point is a part of the Amargosa Range located in Death Valley National Park in California, noted for its erosional landscape. It is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago - long before Death Valley came into existence.
While my friends were enjoying the crowded places in Las Vegas, I decided to take it a little more adventure driving through Death Valley National Park in the neighbor state - California. I came across this viewpoint while I was driving to see the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
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Mount Rundle In Winter
Without any doubt, Banff National Park in Alberta Canada is one of the most beautiful places to visit any time of the year, but it's during winter when the places are like a fairytale landscape with the stunning views seared into our minds forever.
That night a snowstorm hit Banff again, and the next morning when we walked outside we were amazed looking the whole place covered in untouched white snow.
We drove to the Hoodoos viewpoint to walk around the park and enjoy the views with the Mount Rundle in the background.
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Stanley Rapids on the Toccoa River
I've always been amazed by the fall foliage colors, so this trip to North Georgia was carefully planned to coincide perfectly with those dates. Of course, a little bit of luck will always help since those dates may change depending on the weather.
Also, this was the first time we decided to rent a cabin near a river, instead of going for mountain cabins, the experience is quite different if you are looking for those amazing landscape views in front of you, but honestly, I enjoyed being surrounded by the colorful trees and sleeping with the river sound.
You can walk in the Toccoa river since is mostly shallow water, but instead, I decided to walk several miles along the river looking for the perfect spot to capture some photos. I found this place where huge boulders inside the river gave me the composition I was looking for.
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Incredible View From The Guindaste Viewpoint
Guindaste viewpoint is one of the best places to watch the sunrise in Madeira.
Before every trip, I carefully choose all the places I want to explore at the destination, but this time I dared to google one more place to explore before departing Madeira, and look at what I found, this place is indeed spectacular, and even better I was the only one there, actually, I wasn't that excited about the latter, because when I arrived it was still very dark so between adventure and safety, guess what? I drove back to the near town and stayed in the car until I noticed the first glimpse of sunlight on the horizon.
For a moment I regretted being alone there because I wanted this selfie standing on that rock, but then I recalled I can control the camera with my iPhone, and Voila!
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Skogafoss-Almighty Waterfall
The almighty Skogafoss falls in Iceland are a sight to behold.
Skogafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country with a width of 15 meters and a drop of 60 meters. Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow which is normally visible on sunny days. According to legend, the first Viking settler in the area buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall. The legend continues that locals found the chest years later, but were only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared again. The ring was allegedly given to the local church. The old church door ring is now in the Skógar museum.
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Exploring A Hidden Cave In The Johnston Canyon
Weeks before traveling to Banff National Park I did some research online on how to find this hidden cave in the Johnston Canyon trail. I didn't have the exact GPS location of the cave but after seeing some videos of other people exploring the place I had a rough idea of where it was located.
We chose a nice day to hike that trail, which is around 3 km's through the forest and along the canyon, there was some snow and ice in some parts of the trail, fortunately I had the ice cleats to wear in my shoes which made the hiking easier.
After an hour or so, I noticed the huge boulder in the picture from the top of the trail and since everything was covered in snow I carefully went down to the base of the rock and then I saw the cave. Amazing indeed! I was the only down there so I took the time to enjoy the place and take several pictures.
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A Winter Day On The Sulphur Mountain
On our second day in the town of Banff, we decided to visit the Sulphur Mountain. It's a short drive from the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel to the base of the mountain where a gondola cable car takes you to the top of the mountain. The night before there was a big snowstorm but still the mountain was open to the public.
When we arrived to the top, the views of the Bow Valley and the town of Banff were jaw-dropping, one of the most beautiful winter landscapes I'd ever seen, with the recently storm the snow was pristine white and still softly falling. Like a winter fairy tale.
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Lady L Luxury Yacht In Nassau
For only $250,000 per week you can enjoy a luxurious holiday onboard this stunning yacht, which includes two jet skits, two seabobs, one jetsurf and even WiFi connection. You can choose any destination in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean.
I saw this beautiful yacht near our cruise ship in Nassau and back at home I did a little research and found out how expensive would be to rent it. I guess it's cheaper than buying it.
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Magens Bay Beach
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Prince Ruperts Cove
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Boca do Inferno
Boca do Inferno (Portuguese for Hell's Mouth) is a chasm located in the seaside cliffs close to the Portuguese city of Cascais, in the District of Lisbon. The seawater has access to the deep bottom of the cliff and vigorously strikes its rocky walls, making it a popular tourist attraction.
Hopefully the day I went there the weather was overcast and very windy and the waves were breaking on top of the cliffs. Certainly the perfect weather to add drama and depth to my photo.
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Sintra Town View From Moorish Castle
When you're visiting the Moorish Castle in the highest hill in Sintra you can enjoy the amazing landscapes surrounding the town. From up there you can see the Sintra National Palace which is located right in the center of the town. The town is small but it is a nice place to have lunch or just walk the narrow streets with the little souvenir stores.
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Castelo dos Mouros - Moorish Castle
The Moorish Castle also known as Castelo dos Mouros (portuguese) is medieval castle in the Sintra Mountains near Lisbon. Sintra is a beautiful town with a lot of things to see so we decided to visit it twice during our stay in Lisbon.
To visit the ruins of the Moorish Castle we had a long and strenous walk from the parking lot to the top of hill, from there you can enjoy the great views over Sintra and the surrounding areas. During the coldest season of the year walking the castle walls was pretty tough, enough to catch a cold that kept me in bed for the next two days. Sintra is definitely a beautful town with so much history and so many places to visit that you will need several days to see them all.
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Sunrise Over Alaskan Glaciers From Airplane Window
I usually don't ask for window seats when I'm traveling by airplane, just because I don't like to bother the passengers next to me except when they are friends, so in that case I don't mind. LOL!
In my last flight from Tokyo to Toronto, I was in a deep sleep (very unusual) when my friend woke me up exactly when the airplane was flying over the Alaskan glaciers just at sunrise, I didn't waste any time and I grabbed my camera from the overhead compartment.
After reviewing the photos at home I noticed all the photos were pretty much in blue tones, first I thought I had the wrong camera settings, then I realized the whole landscape got the blue from the sky.
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Avenue Of Oaks At Wormsloe Historic Site
This breathtaking avenue sheltered by live oaks and Spanish moss leads to the Wormsloe Plantation where are the ruins of a Colonial estate. This place is near Savannah, Georgia, fortunately I was visiting some friends in Jacksonville, Florida and I didn't hesitate to drive two hours to visit this historic site.
As soon as you pass the large arch at the property entrance you will be enchanted driving 1.5 mile (2.4 km) under these live oaks covered in Spanish moss gently swaying in the breeze. Definitely something worth to see!
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Lauterbrunnen Valley View From Jungfrau Railway
The railway journey to The Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe departs from the Lauterbrunnen station. From the train you will definitely enjoy the most beautiful landscapes in the Swiss Alps.
The train takes 1.5 hours to get to the top of the mountain, but it didn't notice the time because I was really amazed by the breathtaking views. This was one of the best trips ever!
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Driving The Grossglockner High Alpine Road In Austria
In my last trip to Europe I visited several big cities including Zurich, Vienna and Budapest, but sometimes driving from one city to the other was a long drive so I planned ahead to stay in Kaprun a small town located right in the Alps with the only purpose of driving the famous Grossglockner High Alpine Road across the Hohe Tauern National Park.
Driving a car at 2,428 m (7,966 ft) of altitude was a unique experience, I'm not afraid of high altitude but I was aware of the serious risks of driving at such altitude with occasional light snowfall. Other than that, driving the Grossglockner High Alpine Road was something of a spectacle with its fantastic road surface, 36 hairpin bends and unique surroundings.
By the way, the road only opens from May to November, I went late May and there was a lot of snow, so I guess late July you will enjoy the mountains with blossoming alpine meadows.
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The Feigumfossen Waterfall In Lusterfjord
Late in the afternoon the cruise ship departed the Skjolden town, I stayed in the stateroom's balcony enjoying the amazing landscapes of the Norwegian fjord, when the cruise was near Luster I saw this huge waterfall, even from the distance the drop looked very high, later I found out it was the Feigumfossen waterfall with a free drop of 218 meters (720 feet).
I wished I could explore it closer but the cruise stops in every town just for several hours so it is impossible to see all the attractions. I remember that day I went to the Nigardsbreen glacier and also visit the Sengjaberget viewpoint.