Facts & Trivia / Nature / USA
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published September 12, 2018 · Last modified September 5, 2018
The Columbia River separates Oregon and Washington. It has repeatedly been called western America’s most important river. Along the river are a number of impressive waterfalls. Several of these are quite readily accessible just off Interstate 84 and US Highway 30. And of course some high quality photos.
Facts & Trivia / Nature / South America / Tropics
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published March 28, 2018 · Last modified March 19, 2018
Activities / Africa / Bucket List / Facts & Trivia / History / Laid-back / Middle East
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published January 12, 2018 · Last modified January 5, 2018
The statues that were carved in ancient Egypt ranged from tiny (small enough to stand three of them on a coin) to enormous. All of them were incredibly detailed. Far more detailed than I was expecting. They are also far more well-preserved than I expected. Of course some are broken...
Africa / Facts & Trivia / History / Laid-back / Middle East
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published January 10, 2018 · Last modified January 9, 2018
Probably 90% of the people who go to the Egyptian Museum go there to see the mummies and the most famous mummy of all: King Tut. I got to see both. Photos of everything in the King Tut room is strictly forbidden, however I did get one cool photo that...
Activities / Africa / Bucket List / Facts & Trivia / History / Laid-back / Middle East
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published January 8, 2018 · Last modified January 5, 2018
After an earlier aborted attempt, I finally got to visit the Egyptian National Museum. First of all, their website is woefully out of date. The admission price had increased from EGP£150 (~US$8.47) to EGP£240 (~US$13.55). That’s only a few cents to Americans but, for some people coming from poorer countries,...
It’s strange how the mind works. My observations on living overseas for the first time. Despite having visited 17 countries before coming to Egypt (and in fact, Egypt being one of those 17 countries), I’m finding that living in a place is very different from visiting as a tourist. I...
Those who have never been to any part of Africa, probably have some fairly stereotypical ideas of what it’s like. I know I did. Shaped by media, I foolishly expected that the entire continent was a vast savanna sprinkled with exotic wildlife. Where there was civilization, it was in the...
Facts & Trivia / Miscellaneous
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published December 4, 2015 · Last modified November 24, 2015
Throughout all the islands of the West Indies, there are laws prohibiting anyone from buying, selling, owning or wearing any article of camouflage clothing. I forgot to mention this to my daughter and did not notice as we flew into Trinidad that she was wearing camouflage cargo shorts. They apparently...
Adventure / Facts & Trivia / Nature / Tropics
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published November 27, 2015 · Last modified November 17, 2015
Most people have a fairly romantic notion of swimming beneath a waterfall. I’ve done it. More than once. You’ve probably never given this much thought but there are different types of waterfalls. When fantasizing about swimming under a waterfall, most people think about what’s called a free-standing waterfall. That’s where...