The Commander Islands…quite possibly a destination you’ve never heard of. On a map, follow the Aleutian Islands from Alaska all the way across to Russia and the closest islands to Russia are actually the Commander Islands.
A Rusty Ship at Nikolskoye Village, the only permanent settlement in the Russian Commander Islands
These Russian Islands, almost 200km off the coast of Far East Russia, are a protected marine area. The village of Nikolskoye, on Bering Island, is home to 800 people. This is the only permanent settlement on the islands, which are prone to severe weather, including earthquakes. There are no trees on the islands – it’s quite a desolate looking part of the world.
A home in Nikolskoye Village on Bering Island – Far East Russia
This is a place that survives on fishing and was only just escaping the icy grip of winter at the end of May. Not many people visit here, but the wildlife draws some adventurous people who are on the lookout for northern fur seals, sea otters and Steller sea lions.
Nikolskoye Village on Bering Island in Russia. The blue building is the museum.
Russia recently went on an improvement spree here, painting and fixing up some old buildings, building a new church for the village and creating a lookout honouring Vitus Bering, whose ship, St. Peter, wrecked here in 1741.
The church officially opened in October and took about two years to build. It is actually the easternmost Orthodox church in Russia!
Building the Easternmost Orthodox Church in Russia, on Bering Island
As a visitor, the island museum was entertaining too. They had a skeleton of an extinct species of sea cow that was once very common in the area, as well as a good amount of displays showcasing the natural history of the islands.
Nikolskoye Village Museum on Bering Island, Far East Russia
The lady who takes care of the museum was quite friendly and gave us some insights into local life on the islands as well – such as her favourite meal being puffin soup with lots of blood in it!
A Galapagos Penguin swimming near Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island
Returning to the Galapagos Islands four years after my first visit, there was one specific animal on my ‘must photograph’ list – the endangered Galapagos Penguin!
The last time I was in the Galapagos Islands I saw only two penguins while I was snorkeling at Bartolome Island. They sat on a rocky ledge for a brief 10 seconds before vanishing in the water and escaping from me and my camera.
The second smallest penguins in the world, and the only penguins that are not restricted to the southern hemisphere, these equator-hopping penguins are cute little guys.
They’re not flashy, but they’re definitely ‘penguin’. Blending in perfectly with the black, grey and white lava rocks around the islands, they are surprisingly well camouflaged.
But in the crystal clear water, they are perfect little photo subjects.
This guy was one of three that were swimming along not far from Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island.
Calling Baalbeck the best Roman ruins ever may be a bit crude, after all these are the remnants of a once powerful empire so it seems somewhat untactful to glorify their demise.
The impressive entrance and fore court to the Roman Ruins of Baalbeck in Lebanon
But you can’t blame me. Many local businesses survive off of tourists visiting Ephesus in Turkey or the Colosseum in Rome, so why shouldn’t Baalbeck be any different?
Baalbeck?, you ask. You mean you’ve never heard of this place? Sorry, some people spell it Baalbek. Still not familiar?
Staircase at the entrance to the Baalbeck Ruins
Well, it is quite simply, the most impressive site of ruins I’ve seen anywhere. It’s not in Italy, Greece, nor Turkey. These ruins of greatness are found in eastern Lebanon.
Sorry Europe, sorry Italy – the best Roman ruins aren’t even on your continent.
Roman Ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon
What makes Baalbeck stand out isn’t one particular structure, it is the enormity of the overall complex that remains intact, more or less.
The Great Court viewed from the Temple of Jupiter at Baalbeck
From an impressive staircase and forecourt to the immense six pillars of the Temple of Jupiter, the ruins of Baalbeck spark the imagination of even the most weary tourist. Envisioning the hustle and bustle of Roman life from centuries ago isn’t hard as towering structures are found all across the great central court.
The Six Columns of the Temple of Jupiter
Intricately carved pillars and stones lie about, some depicting human scenes, others great lion heads. You can picture merchants, scholars and all sorts of people moving about the ruins of this once great city, well at least I can!
The columned Bacchus Temple at the Baalbeck Ruins
One of the most well kept buildings is the Temple of Bacchus. An impressive columned structure that now serves as the dramatic backdrop to the Baalbeck International Festival, a special outdoor concert series put on once a year in Lebanon, which draws top talent from around the world to perform in front of the ruins.
A close up view of the Temple of Bacchus at Baalbeck
All this history packed together. Buildings beside buildings. Not just a temple or an outdoor theatre, but an entire collection of ruins that you’re free to wander about. Adding to the charm is that the current city of Baalbeck has a very rugged, old charm to it as well, that somehow blends in with the old ruins in the middle of their town.
The Six Columns of the Temple of Jupiter viewed from the Temple of Bacchus
If you come here looking to be awed by a singularly impressive building, then you may be dissappointed. It’s a ‘city of ruins’ that has to be appreciated as a whole. I shall keep exploring, but as of yet – I haven’t yet found a place of ruins that is of more interest than Baalbeck.
A Lion Head Carving, one of many intricately carved blocks at Baalbeck
An Elk, photographed in Cataloochee Valley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Until the 1700’s, Elk were a common sight in North Carolina and the Appalachian Mountains.
For the past 300 years, they haven’t existed as they were recklessly hunted. But, in 2001 the Great Smoky Mountains National Park began a re-introduction program that has been quite successful and you are able to potentially see Elk living in the wild once again in North Carolina.
One place they tend to stay is in the Cataloochee Valley area of the park, near the historic Palmer Church and Palmer Place House.
These are the biggest animals in the national park, surpassing the black bears in size, so be careful and keep a distance!
I don’t often tell people I was kidnapped, as they tend to envision gunmen and extreme treks in a forest or months spent in a locked up room, waiting for ransom demands to be paid.
My kidnapping wasn’t anything like that. Although it did have a dramatic escape plan. So here is the story – be warned though, this is a pretty long story, so sit back and get comfortable.
Drugs Kill – But thankfully Belizean Kidnappers Don’t
Looking back it was quite an entertaining night, but at the time it was far from it. Chalk it up to having a few moments of naivety after a few too many beers.
There were four of us out enjoying a night on the town in San Ignacio, Belize. It was hot and the Belikin beers were cold. But the bars all abruptly closed way too early.
Fueled by alcohol, we wandered the streets looking for lights, looking for a bar. No luck. We reached the end of town and came to a bridge; and this is where our night adventure began.
Enter Craig, the homeless guy.
Our homeless buddy Craig in San Ignacio, Belize
Craig knew of a place that was open, which had beer. Perfect! We cross the bridge to the other side of town, into the darkness. Assured it is only 10 minutes walk away, we are in high spirits and promise to buy Craig a drink.
Twenty minutes later, we’re in the midst of a dark residential neighbourhood. Craig insists it’s still just 10 minutes walk away. We’re now so far from our hotel, the four of us agree to continue on.
At last, a shack of a bar appears in the distance. True to his word, Craig delivered us to a place with alcohol. Unbeknownst to all of us, he also delivered us to our friendly kidnapper.
We chatted with a drunken guy who played for the Belizean National Soccer team and a friendly lady who seemed to like us a little too much. After a couple of beers at this random shack, it was closing time. We were tired and hungry, wanting to head back for a sleep and a late night bite to eat. Lucky for us – the lady drinking at this ‘bar’ was a taxi driver!
We all pile into the taxi lady’s van and take off for some food and sleep.
Or so we thought.
Careening down windy, dark roads, she begins cackling like a witch. A little concerned, we remind her we are hungry and want to stop for food.
“No, no food”, she says, laughing.
So, we ask her to take us back to our hotel.
Nope that isn’t going to happen either. Even after offering to pay a decent sum, it seems she had other plans for us on this random night in Belize.
After a confusing, wild ride this now seemingly crazy lady stops her van outside a big concrete building in the middle of nowhere. Darkness all around, except for this ominous building, which for some reason has loud music pumping out of it.
This is when taxi lady advises us it is time to dance.
No food, no sleep, no idea where we are. Without much choice, we all reluctantly agree to go into this intimidating concrete building.
Inside the crazy lady meets a friend of hers and ushers us past a couple large, intimidating figures in the dark. Her ‘borther’ apparently is the one playing DJ and providing the music. As her and her friend pull me and my buddy to the dance floor, a night of unwanted touching and dancing begins.
The two girls, and Craig the homeless guy are luckily left alone and get to watch the show. Thankfully the song ends soon enough and we’re able to convince our captors that we should drink more – our treat! Buying a round of drinks gives us a short break from dancing.
After a few more songs of being groped and sweat on by the crazy lady we need more beers. But really, we need to get out of here. Grabbing more beers, we convince the girls to dance with us too, so they can act like a barrier between us the sweaty-gropey ladies.
Time seems to be moving horrendously slow now, with every song seemingly going on forever. Tired and frustrated we’re finally given some kind of reprieve as the music temporarily stops and allows us to sit while the two ladies chat on their own – on the dance floor – waiting to grab us again when the music restarts.
One. More. Beer. We get another round and talk amongst ourselves that we need to escape. We need a distraction or some kind of plan. The big, burly guys guarding the door and hanging out at the bar have been watching us like hawks the entire time. Strange glances go back and forth across the dark room between the crazy lady and the scary dark figures. The mood slowly starts to change from plain weird, to scary and sketchy.
And then the music starts again.
Gyrating towards us, arms outstretched, we are summoned to dance once more. With Craig the homeless guy now practically falling over drunk, the rest of us shuffle around on the dance floor. Craig has it easy – the crazy lady and others don’t care about him. He’s safe, and we’re buying him free drinks!
The music goes on, and on. But at the same time it is somewhat of a relief. The vibe in the room is tense and dancing at least appeases the devil dancers.
As another song slows down, we’re allowed back to our table to finish our beers. Sitting, we all stare at each other. The decision is made. As soon as the ‘guards’ are distracted talking to the DJ again, we’re going to make a run for it.
The plan: Bolt across the dancefloor, through the dark hallway, down some stairs to the street, turn left and run.
We sit. We wait. Our beers empty. We stare at each other again. The crazy lady and her friend are chatting, distracted. The scary figures turn their backs to us and chat to the DJ.
“3, 2, 1, now!”
Jumping up from our table, we dart past the chatting ladies and figures in the dark. It’s everyone for themselves as we race out of there as fast as we can. A blast of fresh air greets us as we exit the doorway out of the devil dance hall and hit the street.
We don’t stop, we don’t talk, we don’t look back. We just run down the road and into the darkness.
Our friendly hotel in San Ignacio…will we get back there safe?
Hearts thumping, the night silence is broken by a faint scream. A voice calling out in the darkness, behind us. Then we hear something again. Are they chasing us?
We’re now far enough away for a quick glance back. It’s Craig, our homeless buddy. Yelling at us to wait, but we can’t. He has a cane and will slow us down. “Sorry Craig!” we all yell out and continue running.
Around a corner and out of sight, we stop and regroup. The four of us are all fine. It’s been a messed up night and we’re totally lost.
Then some lights appear in the distance. A vehicle, coming towards us. The four of us jump into some bushes and hide. It might be the crazy lady looking for us.
Nope, just a small car.
We wander aimlessly for the next hour or so, not sure where to go. Nothing is around except fields and darkness.
Now totally exhausted, we agree to take the risk and hail down the next vehicle that passes, instead of jumping in the bushes. The night ends with us hitchhiking and bumming a ride with a friendly local farmer. We pile in the back of his pickup truck and he drives us to our hotel back in town. He wants nothing but we give him a small pile of cash for being in the right place at the right time.
Knowing that the sun will be up soon, we stumble to our rooms to sleep and forget about the crazy night we were ‘kidnapped’ in Belize by an overly friendly crazy lady.
