Belmond Andean Explorer Train

 The first luxurious train in South America, Since the summer of 2017. The Belmond Andean Explorer - travels through the majestic Andean countryside along some of the world's highest-lying railroads. The first thing that arouses interest is its route: it runs between Cuzco (the ancient capital of the Inca Empire) and the picturesque city of Arequipa. The second thing that will not leave you indifferent is its interior, made in the spirit of the 1920s and 1930s, and the unique views that open up to travellers.

Belmond Train Peru

The hotel on wheels was designed by the London agency Muza Lab. Inge Moore described the idea of ​​the project as follows: "We wanted to create a space where you can calmly think and dream, where the beauty of the earth fills the soul."

The train is designed for 48 passengers. But in it, you will not find any reserved seats or shared coaches, only luxurious coupes in various variations. By the way, they are more reminiscent of the rooms of expensive hotels. Single cabins of the luxury class, double and coupe with bunk shelves - the choice makes your stay here even more comfortable. The train also has two restaurants, a spa area with panoramic windows, a bar and a grand piano, and a boutique where you can buy handmade gifts. The restaurant's menu includes delicious dishes from vegetables and fruits that were grown in the Andes.

Belmond Andean Explorer Train

However, Belmond Andean Explorer is interesting not only by its non-standard route but also by providing a haven for long-distance travel fans inside it. The structure does not find reserved seats or typical common carriages, but there are only compartments in different variations, each of which looks more like a room in an expensive hotel.

A unique Belmond Andean Explorer train Inca Empire of Cusco in Peru

The main feature of the train is its wide viewing windows, allowing you to fully admire the local view. Belmond Andean Explorer also has its own observation platform, where travellers can enjoy outdoor activities. Among other things, on the train, you can find a carriage with large panoramic windows, where a bar and a piano are also located.

The train has comfortable single rooms of the "luxury" class, as well as double, two-room and a compartment with shelves with two tiers. All rooms are equipped with their own showers and toilets.

Belmond Andean Explorer has two restaurant cars, which are distinguished by expensive finishes and first-class service. Here you can find rather non-standard dishes prepared only with fresh products, and you can also try fruits grown in the Peruvian Andes. The menu itself was compiled by the chefs of one of the most famous hotels in Peru.

Everything on the train is equipped for the convenience of passengers, and the design has virtually nothing to do with standard cars. Therefore, there are no familiar shelves for things or worn-out wafer towels. The main element of the design of the express train is a stepped cross, which since ancient times has been in great demand directly in South America.

Another “feature” of the train is a sightseeing car. Sofas are installed here - you can relax and drink cocktails in the fresh air, getting real pleasure from the surrounding beauty.

A shelf for personal belongings in a luxury train has nothing to do with what passengers of ordinary trains are used to. There are no washed waffle towels here.

One of the repeating design elements of the Belmond Andean Express - The Chakana - is a stepped cross, which has been widespread in South America since ancient times.

It is depicted on the walls of the wagons, on the uniform of the service staff, on napkins and glasses, and even on bathrobes and towels provided to guests.

In addition to two restaurants, the train has a saloon with panoramic windows, a bar and a piano. Here you can also enjoy the fantastic beauty of Peruvian landscapes. And, of course, communicate with fellow travellers.

According to The Telegraph, about $ 10 million had to be spent to equip the vehicle. In total, the train has 24 compartments, with about 50 employees.

A standard ticket from Cuzco to, in fact, Arequipa through Belmond Andean Explorer will cost $ 1.4 thousand. It is worth noting that the train immediately became popular among travellers and tickets are sold out quickly, despite their high cost.

The Crooked Forest

The Crooked Forest in Polish "Krzywy Las" located near the town Gryfino, in the Polish region of Pomerania, Poland is the scene of one of these mysterious events that astonish all who see it. Around 400 Scots pines in this Krzywy forest area have a strange curve at the base of their trunks or crooked bush. These bent trees are almost 90 degrees to the north a few centimetres from the ground, taking a characteristic "J" shape. For this reason, the crooked forest trees that suffer this curious phenomenon have been nicknamed by the locals "Crooked Forest". 

J shaped trees

Crooked forest in Poland

Poland crooked forest, The causes of these strange j-shaped trees are not at all clear, which has given rise to all kinds of theories about its origin. The wildest ones point to gravitational anomalies, evil energies, or a relationship with the famous circles that appear in cornfields.

Bent trees in the eerie forest of Gryfino, Poland has several stories of  weird trees

Other theories seek a more scientific explanation and suggest that these weird trees could have been deformed by a strong wind or a large accumulation of snow that occurred during their youth. However, the fact that all these pines are surrounded by many trees of the same species and age that do not present the curve makes this explanation less credible.

Something similar happens with another possible explanation that has great popular roots. According to its defenders, the strange shape of the trunks is because the shaped trees were crushed by the tanks that circulated through the area during World War II when the pines were between seven and ten years old.

Curved tree forest - Others claim that the curve is the direct result of the action of man, who planted the trees in the 1930s and gave them that shape on purpose to produce curved wood, used mainly in shipbuilding. The invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany would have paralyzed the project, so the crooked trees would have continued to grow vertically or trees that grows sideways until they acquired the curious shape they have today.

Poland forest — The use of techniques to deform logs is widely documented in many areas of Europe, which lends some credence to this theory. However, the people of Gryfino reject this possibility, as pinewood has never been used to build ships.

Gryfino forest - A final theory points to the possibility that the deformation was caused by the Melampsora pinitorqua fungus, which causes deformations in the shoots of young pines, although they are usually not as pronounced as those of the Gryfino eerie forest. Whatever the origin of this curious phenomenon, the truth is that these strange curved trees and their mysterious origin have already become a real tourist attraction in the area.

Crooked Forest

Crooked forest Poland

The Crooked forest

Curved trees

Crooked tree forest

Sideways tree

Crooked forest in Poland

Trees with curved trunks

Crooked Forest in Poland Google Map

Crooked Forest Poland Video

Bent trees in the forest

The Madain Saleh – Hegra Saudi Arabia

 Madain Saleh, a pre-Islamic archaeological site, is located in the Al-Ula sector, Saudi Arabia's Al Madinah Region, about 400 km northwest of Madinah. It was previously known as Hegra, and this site was once the most important preserved site of the civilization Nabataeans to the south of Petra, Jordan. It contains 131 large, rock-cut tombs decorated with facades and many of which have inscribed Nabataean epigraphs. They are spread over 13.4 km. Madain Saleh is a shining example of Nabataeans' hydraulic and architectural skills.

Madain Saleh

Hegra Saudi Arabia

Madain Saleh in Saudi Arabia — The Nabataean empire stretches from its capital Petra (now Jordan), deep into the Arabian Peninsula. It ruled vast, semi-arid areas and earned its wealth by trading incense, spices, and aromatic plants. Madain Saleh was a major stop on the main northern-south trade route. In 106 AD, Nabataean Kingdom was seized by the Romans. They changed the trade route from the Arabian Peninsula's overland north-south route to the Red Sea maritime route. Hegra's status as a trade centre declined, and it was eventually abandoned and lost to the sea.

Rock city worship — It is not known much more about the history of Hegra, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the rise of Islam. This was because pilgrims and travellers only mentioned it on their way to Mecca. Hegra was a stop along the pilgrimage route that provided water and supplies for pilgrims. Ibn Battuta, a celebrated traveller from the 14th century, describes the Hegra's magnificent red-stone-cut tombs but does not mention human activities.

Mada’in Salih

Madain Saleh Saudi Arabia — The Nabataean Kingdom was at the crossroads of trade and culture. This can be seen in the diverse motifs used for facade decorations. They borrow stylistic elements from Egypt, Phoenicia, Egypt, and their native artistic style. The troglodytic graves were also decorated with Latin scripts and Roman decorations. Contrary to their elaborate exteriors, the interiors are plain and severe in rock-cut structures.

Cursed architecture — The site has been referred to as a "cursed" place, a reputation that the national government is trying to erase as it seeks out Mada'in Salih's potential as a tourist destination.

Mada In Saleh

Madain Saleh has been officially designated an archaeological site since 1972 to protect its potential tourism. UNESCO declared Madain Saleh a site of patrimony in 2008 for its well-preserved remains of late antiquity, particularly the 131 monumental rock-cut tombs with elaborately decorated facades of the Nabataean Kingdom. 

Mada In Saleh

Hegra Saudi Arabi

Madain Saleh

Rock city Worship

Cursed architecture

Madain Saleh Inside

Madain Saleh Inside

Mada'in Saleh inside

Mada'in Saleh inside

Petra Saudi Arabia

Elephant Mountain Saudi

Elephant Mountain Saudi

Saudi Arabia Petra

Madain Saleh in Saudi Arabia

Mada'in Salih

Mada In Saleh

Madain Saleh Map

The Mysterious Madain Saleh of Saudi Arabia — Video

Qasr al Farid Tomb

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took incredible photos of the wreckage left by Perseverance's landing.

 

One year after its history-making first flight, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is once again proving its value. During its 26th flight, Ingenuity surveyed the wreckage of the Perseverance rover's backshell and parachute. These essential pieces of the rover's landing equipment were photographed in rich detail, giving scientists a better look at how the equipment performed.

When the Perseverance rover landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, to begin its two-year mission, it was aided by a 70.5-foot-wide parachute. This, as well as a cone-shaped back shell that protected the rover in deep space, are clearly visible in Ingenuity's images. While Perseverance had previously photographed the wreckage from a distance, Ingenuity's pictures provide much more detail.

The photos are exciting for researchers, as they've never been able to see the state of landing equipment up close once a mission is underway. They will be carefully analyzing the photographs to see what they can learn. In particular, they are hoping that their findings might be able to help them with the Mars Sample Return Lander, a future spacecraft that will bring samples from Mars back to Earth.

“Perseverance had the best-documented Mars landing in history, with cameras showing everything from parachute inflation to touchdown,” says JPL’s Ian Clark, former Perseverance systems engineer and now Mars Sample Return ascent phase lead. “But Ingenuity’s images offer a different vantage point. If they either reinforce that our systems worked as we think they worked or provide even one dataset of engineering information we can use for Mars Sample Return planning, it will be amazing. And if not, the pictures are still phenomenal and inspiring.”

Though we are clearly looking at the wreckage, both pieces are fairly intact. This is quite impressive when one considers the high temperatures and extreme gravitational forces they faced when entering the Red Planet's atmosphere. While most of the orange and white parachute is covered in dust, a small portion is visible and many of the chords that anchored it to the backshell appear to be intact.

The backshell itself also looks to have held up well. While small fragments are scattered about the site, a majority of its protective coating withstood the 78 mph landing impact. While researchers will spend several weeks examining the images before giving their final verdict, these initial observations are promising.

Sea organ in Croatia

'Morske Orgulje', which can be translated as 'majestic organ', was designed in 2005. It is the undisputed star of the city of Zadar in Croatia. It is an incredible show of the sound of waves and wind or natural rhythm. The channels of this sea organ connect with 35 tubes, each one connected in turn to different musical chains. So it produces beach waves music sounds natural. The notes it gives off are purely random, depending on how the waves impart against the organ.

Sea organ

The unique Sea Organ, located in Zadar Harbor on the island of Croatia, produces an amazing array of sounds. The Sea Organ uses the same basic mechanics as ancient instruments but is unique in its construction and melodic sound. Today we will discuss the melody of nature with this Sea Organ. 

The Wave Organ is a unique take on the idea of using water to excite pipe modes and its play water sounds. However, the sounds made by the pipes in San Francisco can be described as melodic. The sea waves sound is more of a work of art than a musical instrument.

Sea Orga can be found in Croatia's Zadar harbor. Nikola Bašić designed the Sea Organ to restore a portion of Croatia's seacoast after it was almost destroyed in World War II. It was officially inaugurated in April 2005. Its purpose was to make Zadar harbour beautiful again and to create a real connection between the seashore and the land.

Zadar sea organ — Although the Sea Organ's design is simple, it is extremely effective. This is an alteration to the previously mentioned hydraulis, where water is used as a pressure regulator which then excites different pipes in a multi-pipe system. The Sea Organ measures 70 meters in length and is divided into seven sections that resemble stairways. Under the white marble, staircase structure is 35 pipes made of plastic. Each section is divided into five pipes.

Zadar sea organ

Each section has seven stairs. One open end of each pipe is built into the top step. Each segment has one fewer stair, which allows for pipes of different lengths to make different acoustical sounds. The maximum number of stairs allowed is eight, minimum of two. Visitors to the Sea Organ hear the lowest frequencies in segments with more stairs. The lower numbers produce higher pitches. Each segment has 1.5m between the pipes.

This Maritime is located next to the port. This location was not chosen by chance. The embankment was in a state of desolation for a long time and needed reconstruction. The coast should not only be pleasing to the eye but also attract tourists and the local Croatian public. Now the embankment has become one of the most popular attractions. Both vacationers and locals come here to listen to the variation of Sea tones.

Zadar sea organ

A wonderful vacation spot on the island of Vis. The Stiniva beach located here in 2016 was recognized as the best beach in Europe and received a special award for Best Beach in Europe 2016.

Sea organ Croatia

The sea organ

Sea organ Zadar Croatia

Organ beach

Greeting to the Sun

The unique monument that lights at night.

Zadar Croatia sea organ

Sea Organ of Zardar

Zadar Sea Organ

Sea Organ Zadar — Video