4:00 A.M., alarm blaring, almost violent at an ungodly hour. I cursed it and was tempted to roll over. But I knew if I had, I’d regret it. I had a volcanic lake to visit.
After a bumpy chicken bus ride, we finally arrived at the lake’s edge. The sun was just coming up and we were among the very few people there.
Open up the panorama to see Quilotoa Lake for yourself. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Ecuador, Panorama by: Audrey Scott
10 Comments | 2 March 2012
Since our visit to Myanmar (Burma) in 2008, a lot has changed. Aung San Suu Kyi has been released from house arrest. The junta government seems to be loosening controls and opening up. Heck, it seems like every week there’s a group of foreign dignitaries visiting Myanmar, something impossible during the time of our visit.
But even with all the dignitary visits and changing moods, we imagine that Shwedagon Pagoda is still the same. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Burma (Myanmar), Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
15 Comments | 24 February 2012
When I first walked by the 2501 Migrants outside of Oaxaca’s Santo Domingo church, I figured they were a permanent fixture from one of the nearby shops. They’re a curious collection of lumpy, abstract little beings. Then I discovered that this was a temporary art exhibit, a clever way to make a statement and cast light on an economic reality in Mexico. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Mexico, Panorama by: Daniel Noll
5 Comments | 17 February 2012
Carnes Asadas at the Mercado 20 de Noviembre in Oaxaca, Mexico. It’s an institution!
When you first enter the market, follow your nose towards the smoke and aroma of grilled meat and you’ll find yourself in the Carnes Asadas (roasted meats) hall. Vegetarians beware: this is full-on meatatarian territory. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Mexico, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
6 Comments | 10 February 2012
Just when you begin to think every church is the same and you’ve seen it all, you enter yet another that surprises. Your jaw drops, you narrow your gaze to tune into the detail, you arch your back to admire the ceiling.
Such was our experience today at Santo Domingo de Guzmán Church in Oaxaca, Mexico. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Mexico, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
20 Comments | 3 February 2012
One part transportation hub, another part monument to the human experiment, Grand Central Terminal is said to be number six on the world’s most visited places list with 21,600,000 visitors each year.
Hitler sent spies to sabotage it, Croatian nationalists attempted to bomb it and visions of the future once conspired to demolish it. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Panorama, United States by: Daniel Noll
12 Comments | 27 January 2012
Dahshur, Egypt. As we pulled up to the Red Pyramid, we noticed there was something missing — people.
No tourists, no vendors, no camel drivers trying to pull us onto their decorated beasts for a photo op. It was delightfully quiet, almost eerily so. Only our small group. For visitors like us, it was one of the benefits of visiting last month when tourist numbers in Egypt had dropped off almost 85% from year before.
In silence and open space, we were able to take it in and appreciate all that the Red Pyramid had to offer inside — worth the crab-walk all the way down a steep stairwell — and out.
Open the panorama below to see for yourself. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Egypt, Middle East, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
6 Comments | 13 January 2012
When time is limited, you have to make tough decisions. In Alexandria, Egypt, I decided to hit the streets of its old town rather than going deep into the ancient catacombs. I was looking for interaction, for life on the streets.
And rather than heading down the main street, I found the loneliest alleyway to take me in a different direction. I ended up in a vein of street markets that wasn’t so lonely after all. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Egypt, Panorama by: Daniel Noll
14 Comments | 6 January 2012
Coptic Cairo. The name alone exudes ancient, mysterious, almost mystical. People still live, work and worship in the same place as they have for thousands of years. It’s a humbling walk back in time in this secluded Old Cairo neighborhood, whose tranquility belies the 22-million strong bustle of modern Cairo just outside.
One of the highlights of Coptic Cairo: The Hanging Church, suspended above firm ground on palm tree trunks connecting two ancient Roman fortress towers. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Egypt, Middle East, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
7 Comments | 28 December 2011
Deep blue sky, pure white salt. The salt flats (Salinas Grandes) in northwestern Argentina.
And those pentagonal designs you see on the ground? All natural. Mother nature’s design eye. Open the panorama below to see this surreal landscape for yourself. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
9 Comments | 18 December 2011
