SURREAL PLACES ON EARTH THAT VERUCA CYN WISHES TO VISIT


Why is it that as we get older..the magic all around us seems to fade away? ....I refuse to go down the same route..I will strive to find all these hidden moments...to feel like i'm living dreams again.


When I was still in grade school, I recall a substitute teacher talking outloud to himself since he was unable to grasp the attention of all the students in the classroom...he said ``As a child, everything around us seem so magical. The touch, sound, taste, and sights are all so new to us...everything is so fascinating and full of wonder. Our curiousity is endless, and we persistently as questions to better understand it all. But for some reason, as we grow older it is as if the magic slowly fades away...everything seems very dull, and boring almost. Nothing seems to captivate our interest anymore, and we no longer have the inquisitive nature to want to further know any more then we have.``

At the time, I did not understand a single word that man had spoken. But those words did burn inside my mind and stayed with me for years, I pondered and pondered about the meaning of what he had said...it wasn`t until I graduated from college that I finally saw through his perspective- what he meant that entire moment about the world and how people lived around us. It was like this sad, yet truthful epiphany that bloomed inside my being. For a while I felt like my existence was starting to frey and unravel away, my thoughts, feelings, touch, taste, and sight following along with it. Walking around everyday, seeing people around me live in a repeated cycle. Everyone is so comfortable where they were, no matter how dissapointing or satisfying it was.

And I snapped. I didn`t want to be trapped in this cycle, I didn`t want to begin entering it. So I started a search...for myself, my dreams, my wishes, my goals, my fantasies. Finding them, and then taking the next biggest step which is the most frightening one. Living it. I am still on this search, and am paving my way as I go...below are places I have stumbled upon that I wish one day to see, breathe, feel, and taste in some form or another. Thank you, substitute teacher. For sharing with me those words.

bio bay

Bioluminescent Bay, Vieques, Puerto Rico

Glow in the dark water? Is this for real?? If you travel to Vieques, Puerto Rico, the answer is a resounding yes! yes! yes! Thanks to the fortuitous trio of luminescent waters called La Parguera, Mosquito Bay and Fajardo, the undoubtedly surreal experience of wading in up to 160,000 microscopic dinoflagellates per liter can be yours. Say what? That’s right – just as Pandora’s diverse microcosm of otherworldly species were able to thrive in an unspoiled world, so too have Puerto Rico’s most miniscule residents for hundreds of years.
This visual marvel was first witnessed by Spanish colonists in the early 1500s and they were so troubled by the sight – mistakenly attributing it to “El Diablo” or the Devil – which they purposely segregated the “tainted” water from the rest of the ocean by installing a massive man-made border constructed out of boulders. While this great effort put their minds at ease, they inadvertently helped the microscopic organisms – called “swirling fire” or Pyrodinium bahamense) to enjoy what would ultimately end up being the perfect conditions to procreate. With no ocean waves to wash them away and decomposing mangrove leaves providing them with a perpetually replenishing food source, the “dinos” have long enjoyed a microcosm in which they are shielded and nurtured, all at once.
Want to get there? Check out tours from BioBay!
angel falls, avatar

Angel Falls

Reminiscent of the location where Jake Sully and Neytiri initially approach the dragon/bird hybrid Banshees and, together, take flight, Angel Falls – named after the first American aviator Jimmie Angel who soared across the 3,212 foot-tall natural phenomenon back in 1937 – is the pride and joy of Venezuela’s Canapa National Park. Referred to by indigenous people as “waterfall of the deepest place” or Kerepakupai meru, this spectacular wall of cascading rapids is located deep inside the jungle, just as Cameron’s Na'vi are.
Earning the distinction of being the world’s tallest waterfall, it is commonly considered one of the eight natural wonders that every human being should make a point of seeing before they pass on. From its wispy atomized waters that dissipate in a lingering fog across the sky to the rainbow that is created when sun rays interact with perpetual sprays of moisture droplets, Angel Falls is not surprisingly a major tourist attraction made even more desirable given the fact that it is so challenging to reach. One of Mother Nature’s greatest treasures, this dramatic waterfall -- offering a dose of eye-candy in stark contrast to the sprawling backdrop of lush, tropical rainforests, grasslands and mesas – could easily be the secret real life twin of Avatar’s mythical Pandora settlement.
For tour information, click here.
Photo credit: Flickr/davidkjelkerud
tepui, mount roraima

Venezuela's Tepui

Venezuela is apparently harboring more than just one solitary Avatar-like dreamscape. The film’s floating Pandoran mountains appear to be a dead ringer for this towering, mile-high flat-topped mountain punctuated with hundreds of free-flowing water falls and seemingly symbiotic cotton-candy like clouds. Otherwise known as Mount Roraima, this 9,219 foot structure is ensconced amid emerald green tropical plants and rainbow bromeliads that peek out from behind jutting yet sculpturally aesthetic quartz sandstone.
Those who favor mythical tales involving spiritually enlightened natives living in harmony with magical plants and flying dragons might prefer the alternative name given to this two billion year old geological formation – The Lost World, after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1912 novel. Due to its remote location far from the prying eyes and hands of the developed world, a diverse range of animal and plant species – completely unique to that area – have been able to flourish, including exotic-looking “carrot” formations as well as bell and pitcher-shaped flowers. Clearly, the Na'vi would feel right at home.
It's also worth nothing that the mysterious world of Pixar's "UP" was based on Venezuela's Tepuis.
Tour information? Click here.
Photo credit: Venaven Travel LLC

The Alien Plantscape of the Yemeni Island of Socotra

Much of the visual allure of Avatar can be found deep in the bioluminescent Pandorum jungle where whimsical floating seeds of Eywa share close quarters with the prehistoric yet Dr. Seussian landscaping. A veritable feast for the eyes, this bizarre backdrop -- conjured up by the imaginative mind of director James Cameron -- isn’t as far-fetched as one might imagine.
Far from the heart of civilization as we know it exists an isolated archipelago found in the middle of the Arabian Sea, referred to as “the jewel of biodiversity” due to the fact that 1/3 of its plant species can be found nowhere else on the planet. Socotra (or Soqotra) is notable for its spectacularly unique native flora, reminiscent of the entirely indigenous pockets of life found in the Galapagos – such unusual plants are presumed to exist today largely due to the extreme isolation of the landmass coupled with unique conditions of drought and heat.
Scientists think that the alien landscape, consisting of pink flowered elephant trunk Adenium socotranum trees and Dragon’s Blood Dracaena cinnabari trees (among many others), boasts actual botanicals that existed in ancient times. Once Socotra separated from the super-continent of Gondwana approximately 500+ million years ago, the tectonically isolated region was able to carry with it a diverse array of 825 plants, some of which suspiciously resemble what is depicted in Avatar. Of course, there is no better form of flattery than imitating that which Mother Nature created.
Tour info? Click here.
Image credit: thecraftbegins.com
aurora borealis

Aurora Borealis

One of the most visually arresting aspects of Avatar can be seen in the depiction of the night time sky as a pulsing, undulating otherworldly organism, generating extraordinarily vibrant tones that alternately dance and melt into the distance, giving way to new waves of synergistic and impossibly seductive color. While it’s effortless to get swept away in the sheer cinematic majesty of it all, we are profoundly fortunate to be able to witness this type of naturally occurring light display with our own eyes – all we have to do is travel to a polar region! Hmmm, on second thought, that might not be so easy after all.
According to countless scientists, photos of this glowing, upper atmospheric light show simply don’t do it proper justice -- guess you really just have to be there. Born out of photon emissions that interact in the upper atmosphere with magnetic energy and solar wind particles, a resulting ray or curtain like effect can be seen which is equally as magical as it is breathtaking. Best detected at midnight in a very dark, clear sky, residents in Yukon, Manitoba, Fairbanks, Norway and Iceland have the best chance of experiencing nature’s original laser light show, but during particularly strong periods of auroral activity, sky gazers in Scotland, St. Petersburg, Vancouver (BC) and even Michigan and South Dakota can also get lucky. For the rest of us, we can take comfort in the knowledge that we’ll always have Cameron’s celluloid version – accented with mysteriously alien bioluminescent creatures -- to keep our memories warm at night.
Photo credit: Flickr/Beverly & Pack

Glow Worm Caves of New Zealand/Australia

In certain part of New Zealand and Australia, travel underground and suddenly it appears as if the night sky has followed you.
Thanks to the Arachnocampa, more commonly called the "glow worm", cave ceilings are turned into stunning bioluminescent points of light. Granted, they're not actually worms, but larvae of the gnat fly. They spin a nest of silk on the cave ceiling and then hang down as many as 70 threads with drops of mucus (yum!) attached to snare prey.
The larva all glow (even more brightly if they haven't eaten in a bit) to lure victims to the threads. Incredibly, nearly 100% of the energy input is turned into light (compared to the best light-emitting diodes at just 22%).

Wulingyuan Scenic Zone, Hunan Province, China

While we can only speculate as to the inspiration of most on our list in creating Pandora, we know for a fact that the Wulingyuan Scenic Zone in China played a big role.
Hollywood photographers spent four days in 2008 taking photos of the mountains there -- and 25 minutes of the film was actually shot in the region.
The park, a World Natural Heritage site, provided the inspiration for the floating mountains in the film. It covers some 266 square miles and is said to be 'The ampliative miniascape and the contractible fairyland'
Photo credit: VisitChina
glow mushrooms

Glowing Mushrooms of Japan and Brazil

While Pandora has its fair share of animals that glow, it's the flora that really stands out after the sun goes down. Earth definitely does not have the same flair (unless you're on the Vegas Strip) but there are 71 glowing mushroom species that would beg to differ.
One in paritulcar, found in the forests of Japan and Brazil, is called the Mycena chlorophos. They emerge during the rainy season, causing the floor to glow with spores. The light show generally happens in the late summer months -- but while there are tours offered in Japan, the mushrooms only do really well where, not surprisingly, there are no people to disturb them.
Scientists still aren't sure why exactly the mushrooms evolved to glow at night -- but we're hoping it's a trend that takes off with other plants and animals.
Photo credit: El Rincon


The Giant's Causeway

According to Wikipedia....

The Giant's Causeway (Irish: Clochán an Aifir or Clochán na bhFómharach)[1] is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about two miles (3 km) north of the town of Bushmills. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986, and a National Nature Reserve in 1987 by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, the Giant's Causeway was named as the fourth greatest natural wonderin the United Kingdom[2]. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres (36 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres thick in places.
The Giant's Causeway is today owned and managed by the National Trust and it is the most popular tourist attraction in Northern Ireland.

The Story of The Giant's Causeway
Legend has it that the Irish warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpartBenandonner. One version of the legend tells that Fionn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he did not arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Fionn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over him so he could pretend that he was actually their baby son. In a variation, Fionn fled after seeing Benandonner's great bulk, and asked his wife to disguise him as the baby. In both versions, when Benandonner saw the size of the 'infant', he assumed the alleged father, Fionn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Fionn.[citation needed]
Another variation is that Oonagh painted a rock shaped like a steak and gave it to Benandonner, whilst giving the baby (Fionn) a normal steak. When Benandonner saw that the baby was able to eat it so easily, he ran away, tearing up the causeway.[citation needed]
Another version of the legend was that Fionn had spent many days and nights trying to create a bridge to Scotland because he was challenged by another giant. A fellow boatsman told him that the opponent was much larger than he. Fionn told his wife and she came up with an ingenious plan to dress Fionn like a baby. They spent many nights creating a costume and bed. When the opponent came to Fionn's house; Fionn's wife told him that Fionn was out woodcutting and the opponent would have to wait for him to return. Then Fionn's wife showed him her baby and when the opponent saw him he was terrified at the thought of how huge Fionn would be. He ran back to Scotland and threw random stones from the causeway into the waters below.


 information to locations above is founded from Ecorazzi. Link.


Which places would you like to go visit and see? 

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