The Ganges River is the sacred river for Hindus. Its waters are considered pure and purifying; it absorbs impurities and flushes them away. It is also the vehicle to heaven as the crossing point for all beings from earth to heaven. Those who die on the banks of the Ganges and are cremated at Varanasi achieve salvation.

Gelada monkeys were a main attraction in our plan to visit Ethiopia. They are common in the Simien Mountains, and our tour was scheduled to visit a sanctuary with many tame monkeys with which to intermingle and photograph. But it was not to be.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia's famous destinations. It's an underwater park that's greatly endangered by climate change and there appears to be no solution to reverse thermal damage before it dies completely.

Guo Pei designs fashion that features astonishingly intricate and complex embroidery, some of which take thousands of hours to complete.

In medieval times, labyrinths began to appear on church walls and floors around 1000 AD.

Mapuche Indians, indigenous to Patagonia, have had experiences similar to American Indians. During the 1870s they were systematically killed and removed from the Argentinian plains.

The Mekong River is a vital resource for every country through which it passes. China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam rely upon these waters for agriculture, fishing, and transportation. In recent years water use has been abused and downstream populations have had to deal with pollution and unreliable water levels.

Mt. Etna is an intermittently active volcano that put on a display for us as we hiked the cinder cones at its base.

Many visitors to Paris miss this gem. It has the caché of an old B-movie starring Peter Lorre.