Chuuk Lagoon in the Pacific

17 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Tonoas and Etten © Motoki Kurabayashi/cc-by-sa-4.0

Tonoas and Etten © Motoki Kurabayashi/cc-by-sa-4.0

Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,800 kilometres (970 nautical miles) northeast of New Guinea and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, 225 kilometres (140 mi) around, encloses a natural harbour 79 by 50 km (43 nmi × 27 nmi), with an area of 2,130 km² (820 sq mi). It has a land area of 93.07 square kilometres (35.93 square miles), with a population of 36,158 people and a maximal elevation of 443 metres (1,453 ft). Weno city on Weno (formerly Moen) Island functions as both the atoll’s capital and the state capital, and is the largest city in the FSM with its 13,700 people.   read more…

Amasra on the Black Sea

16 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© flickr.com - Jorge Franganillo/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Jorge Franganillo/cc-by-2.0

Amasra (from Greek: Amastris) is a small Black Sea port town in the Bartın Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Amasra District. Its population is 6,098 (2021).   read more…

French Haras du Pin National Stud

15 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Sport Reading Time:  15 minutes

Entrance gate © Selbymay/cc-by-sa-4.0

Entrance gate © Selbymay/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Haras national du Pin is a French national stud located in Le Pin-au-Haras district, in the Orne (61) department of the southern Normandy region. It is the oldest of the French “Haras Nationaux” (National Studs).   read more…

Tufts University in Massachusetts

14 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  5 minutes

Memorial Steps © Jellymuffin40/cc-by-sa-4.0

Memorial Steps © Jellymuffin40/cc-by-sa-4.0

Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy programs located in Boston, Phoenix and Seattle. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. Tufts remained a small liberal arts college until the 1970s, when it transformed into a large research university offering doctorates in several disciplines. The corporate name of the university is “Trustees of Tufts College”.   read more…

Persian Gulf

13 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

West Bay district of Doha in Qatar, as seen from the corniche at night © Alex Sergeev - www.asergeev.com/cc-by-sa-3.0

West Bay district of Doha in Qatar, as seen from the corniche at night © Alex Sergeev – www.asergeev.com/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Persian Gulf, also known as the Arabian Gulf, is a mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. It is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz. The river delta of the Shatt al-Arab forms the northwest shoreline. The Persian Gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive reefs (mostly rocky, but also coral), and abundant pearl oysters, however its ecology has been damaged by industrialization and oil spills.   read more…

Old World Village in California

12 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  3 minutes

© Dialh/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Dialh/cc-by-sa-4.0

Old World Village is a German enclave in Huntington Beach, California. It features shops, restaurants, a chapel, and a hotel. Many of the proprietors of its businesses live above their establishments. This live-work arrangement is unusual for Orange County.   read more…

Tartiflette

11 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Bon appétit Reading Time:  3 minutes

© Benoît Prieur

© Benoît Prieur

Tartiflette is a dish from Savoy in the French Alps. It is made with potatoes, reblochon cheese, lardons and onions.   read more…

Mafia Island in Tanzania

10 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - Nina R/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Nina R/cc-by-2.0

Mafia Island or Chole Shamba (Kisiwa cha Mafia, in Swahili) is an island of The Mafia Archipelago located in Mafia District in the southern Pwani Region of Tanzania across the Mafia Channel. The island is the third largest in Tanzanian ocean territory, but is not administratively included within the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, which has been politically separate since 1890. Mafia Island forms the largest part of Mafia District, one of the six administrative districts in the Pwani Region. As the Mafia Archipelago’s main island, it’s sometimes called Chole Shamba, meaning Chole farmlands in Swahili. This is in opposition to the historic settlement of Chole Mjini (Chole town) on Chole Island inside Mafia Bay. The island’s population is over 65,000. The economy is based on fishing, subsistence agriculture and the market in Kilindoni. The island attracts some tourists, mainly scuba divers, birdwatchers, game fishermen, and people seeking relaxation.   read more…

Nha Trang in Vietnam

9 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Po Nagar Hindu temples complex © Ms Sarah Welch

Po Nagar Hindu temples complex © Ms Sarah Welch

Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh District. The city had a population of about 535,000 people in 2023. An area of 12.87 km² (4.97 sq mi) of the western communes of Diên An and Diên Toàn is planned to be merged into Nha Trang which will make its new area 265.47 km² (102.50 sq mi) based on the approval of the Prime Minister of Vietnam in September 2012.   read more…

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