São Marcelo Fort (Portuguese: Forte São Marcelo), also known as Forte de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo e São Marcelo or Forte do Mar, is located in Salvador in Bahia, Brazil. It is located in small bit of land off the coast in the Baía de Todos os Santos. Standing on a small bank of reefs about 300 metres (980 ft) from the coast, it is one of two forts separated by water from land in Brazil, the other being the Fort Tamandaré da Laje Tamandaré in Rio de Janeiro. It is the only cylindrical fort in Brazil. Its design follows those of Castel Sant’Angelo in Italy and Fort of São Lourenço do Bugio in Portugal. It is popularly known as the “Forte do Mar” (Fort of the Sea). It was built to protect the important port city Salvador from threats; the city had the largest number of forts during the colonial period of Brazil. The São Marcelo Fort was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 1938. The fort is closed to the public due to construction works. It opened to the public in 2006 after a long period of restoration, but closed again in 2018. read more…
Huacachina is a village built around a small oasis and surrounded by sand dunes in southwestern Peru. It is about five kilometers from the city of Ica in the Ica District of Ica Province. The oasis was introduced as a feature on the back of the 50 nuevo sol note in 1991. Huacachina has a permanent population of around 100 people, although it hosts many tens of thousands of tourists each year. Huacachina is a resort geared to local families from the nearby city of Ica, and increasingly as an attraction for tourists drawn by the sports of sandboarding on the sand dunes that reach several hundred feet high. Other popular activities include dune buggy rides on buggies known locally as areneros. read more…
The Presidential Palace of Suriname (Dutch: Gouvernementsgebouw) is the presidential palace of Suriname in the capital of Paramaribo. It is located across from The Independence Square (Onafhankelijkheidsplein), which also houses the National Assembly of Suriname, the Congress building, the Court of Justice, and the Ministry of Finance. It is one of the most prolific and best maintained examples of Dutch colonial architecture in Suriname and is part of the UNESCO world Heritage site of the Paramaribo inner-city. The Garden of Palms is located behind it. read more…
Georgetown is the capital of Guyana, located in Region 4, which is also known as the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is the country’s largest urban centre. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed Garden City of the Caribbean. Georgetown serves primarily as a retail and administrative centre. It also serves as a financial services centre. The city recorded a population of 200,500 in the 2016 census. Georgetown is the seat of the central Government of Guyana. All Executive Departments are located in the city. Parliament Building, Guyana’s Legislative Building, is also found in Georgetown and so is the Court of Appeals, Guyana’s highest judicial court. The State House (the official residence of the Head of State), as well as the offices and residence of the Head of Government, are both located in the city. Georgetown is the capital city as well as the main economic base of Guyana. read more…
Bartica is a town on the left bank of the Essequibo River in Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region 7), at the confluence of the Cuyuni and Mazaruni Rivers with the Essequibo River in Guyana. Considered the “Gateway to the Interior”, the town has a population of about 15,000 and is the launching point for people who work in the bush, mining gold and diamonds. read more…
Linden is the second largest town in Guyana after Georgetown, and capital of the Upper Demerara-Berbice region, located at. It was declared a town in 1970, and includes the communities of MacKenzie and Wismar. It lies on the Demerara River and has a population of roughly 30,000. It is primarily a bauxitemining town, containing many mines 60–90 metres deep, with many other pits now in disuse. The “Linden Museum of Socio-Cultural Heritage” is located in the centre of Linden. The museum displays artifacts and pictures of the culture and heritage of the Linden community. read more…
