Theme Week Chile – Concepción

24 November 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

Skyline Concepción © NikoMastermind/cc-by-sa-4.0

Skyline Concepción © NikoMastermind/cc-by-sa-4.0

Concepción, in full Concepción de la Madre Santísima de la Luz (Conception of the Blessed Mother of Light), is a city and commune belonging to the metropolitan area of Greater Concepción, it is one of the largest urban conurbations of Chile. It has a significant impact on domestic trade being part of the region with most industrialization of the country and politically it has the second majority of representatives in the National Congress of Chile. Its location is in the called Zona Centro Sur (Central South Zone), in the geographic center of the country, and it is the capital of the Concepción Province and VIII Bío Bío Region. Greater Concepción (Gran Concepción, including Talcahuano, San Pedro de la Paz, Hualpén, Chiguayante, Penco, Tomé, Lota, Coronel, Hualqui and Concepción) is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 946,000 inhabitants. Individually, it is the 11th largest commune in the country, with a population of 230,000. Concepción is the second largest city of Chile. The Universidad de Concepción, founded in 1919, became the first secular private university in Chile. The neighboring harbor of Talcahuano is the site of the largest naval base in Chile.   read more…

Theme Week Chile

21 November 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  20 minutes

Santiago de Chile at night © Javmoraga/cc-by-sa-3.0

Santiago de Chile at night © Javmoraga/cc-by-sa-3.0

Chile is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.   read more…

Vancouver in British Columbia

7 March 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  < 1 minute

© flickr.com - High Diver/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – High Diver/cc-by-sa-2.0

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia in Canada. he population is at 604,000 in the city, making it the eighth largest Canadian municipality. The Greater Vancouver area of around 2.4 million inhabitants is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country, the second largest city on the , and the most populous in Western Canada. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English. Vancouver is classed as a Beta global city. The City of Vancouver encompasses a land area of about 114 square kilometres, giving it a population density of about 5,249 people per square kilometre (13,590 per square mile). Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality, and the fourth most densely populated city with over 250,000 residents in North America, behind New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City. Vancouver is consistently named as one of the top five worldwide cities for livability and quality of life, and the Economist Intelligence Unit acknowledged it as the first city to rank among the top-ten of the world’s most liveable cities for five consecutive years.   read more…

The Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific

19 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  12 minutes

Northern Mariana Islands map © Wikid77

Northern Mariana Islands map © Wikid77

The Northern Mariana Islands is one of two insular areas that are Commonwealths of the United States; the other is Puerto Rico. It consists of fifteen islands in the western Pacific Ocean located about three-quarters of the way between Hawaii and the Philippines. Head of State is the US President.   read more…

The Cook Islands in the South Pacific

1 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Parliament of the Cook Islands © Mr Bullitt

Parliament of the Cook Islands © Mr Bullitt

The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand. It is composed of 15 small islands whose total land area is 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq mi), divided into two distinct groups: the Southern Cook Islands and the Northern Cook Islands of coral atolls.. The Cook Islands’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), however, covers 1,800,000 square kilometres (690,000 sq mi) of ocean. The main population centres are on the island of Rarotonga (14,153 in 2006), where there is an international airport. There is a much larger population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand, particularly the North Island. In the 2006 census, 58,008 self-identified as being of ethnic Cook Island Māori descent.   read more…

Theme Week Mexico – Acapulco on the Pacific

15 June 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Beach Front district © BlackWaterPatrol

Beach Front district © BlackWaterPatrol

Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, 300 kilometres (190 mi) southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history. It is a port of call for shipping and cruising lines running between Panama and San Francisco, California, United States. The city of Acapulco is the largest in the state, far larger than the state capital Chilpancingo. Acapulco is also Mexico’s largest beach and balneario resorted city. There are a number of beaches in the Acapulco Bay and the immediate coastline.   read more…

The Aloha State Hawaii

10 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Oahu - U.S. Federal Court © D Ramey Logan

Oahu – U.S. Federal Court © D Ramey Logan

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states (August 21, 1959), and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. Hawaii’s diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches and oceanic surrounding, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike. Due to its mid-Pacific location, Hawaii has many North American and Asian influences along with its own vibrant native culture. Hawaii has over a million permanent residents along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu.   read more…

Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean

6 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Funafuti © flickr.com - INABA Tomoaki/cc-by-sa-2.0

Funafuti © flickr.com – INABA Tomoaki/cc-by-sa-2.0

Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. It comprises three reef islands and six true atolls spread out from 6° to 10° south. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. Its population of 10,544 makes it the third-least populous sovereign state in the world, with only Vatican City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. In terms of physical land size, at just 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City at 0.44 km2 (0.17 sq mi), Monaco at 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi) and Nauru at 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi).   read more…

Theme Week New Zealand – The Marlborough Sounds

12 April 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

The Marlborough Sounds, visible to the left of the Space Shuttle. Image taken from the International Space Station © NASA

The Marlborough Sounds, visible to the left of the Space Shuttle. Image taken from the International Space Station
© NASA

The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of sea-drowned valleys created by a combination of land subsidence and rising sea levels at the north of the South Island of New Zealand. According to Māori mythology, the sounds are the prows of the sunken waka (canoe) of Aoraki. The Marlborough Sounds are connected to the Cook Strait at the north-east extreme. At this point, the North Island is at its closest to the South Island, and the inter-island road, rail, and passenger ferry service between Picton and Wellington travels through the sounds.   read more…

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