Photo by Timothy Lawrence Clancy
Text by Thierry Joubert, whl.travel local connection
in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

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I walk daily from my house along an old trail up to the old stone gates of Sarajevo and into Baščaršija, the old trading quarter dating back to the 16th century, of which the street of coppersmiths is pictured below. The walk is refreshing, soothing and prepares me for my busy day at the Green Visions office. Each time, whether it be morning or evening, I experience the city in a new light. In the morning the sounds of splashing water from the water fountains around the mosques welcome me to the city. The sound of a craftsmen’s hammers hitting copper is matched only by the full aroma of baking coffee beans that invade the old town.

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Posted under Bosnia and Herzegovina, Photo of the Week, countries

Photo by Winfried Werzmirzowsky
Text by Hripsime Badalyan, whl.travel local connection
in Yerevan, Armenia

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This photo was taken by one of our clients from Germany. It is of a ‘wish tree’ in the southern part of Armenia, in the Syunik region. You can find such trees in many places across Armenia, but usually they are found close to churches, monasteries and chapels. Legend has it that a wish will come true after a person ties his or her handkerchief to a tree branch and walks around the tree seven times.

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Posted under Armenia, Photo of the Week, countries

Image by Vika Waqa
Text by Kolinio Rokuta, whl.travel local connection in Fiji

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Bure (pronounced boo-reh) is the Fijian word for a traditional family dwelling, with a design that represents one of the finest examples of workmanship in Fiji. It is a thatched hut usually constructed from palm and bamboo, and is accompanied by an outside kitchen. The bure pictured here is located on the island of Nacula in the Yasawa Group.

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Posted under Fiji, General, Photo of the Week, countries

Image and text by Darron Raw,
whl.travel local connection in Swaziland

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Swaziland’s Gobholo Caves are unusual. They remain 95% unexplored and undocumented. What is known is that it is very rare to find caves of this age and magnitude in granite rock. Granite does not erode like most cave-forming rocks. Instead these caves were formed from an ancient boulder choke that has since being buried entirely underground. The cave is kept open by the periodic flooding of the Gobholo River that flows through the system for approximately two kilometres.

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Posted under General, Photo of the Week, Swaziland, countries

Image and text by Mauricio Suarez,
whl.travel local connection in La Paz, Bolivia
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Pictured here are the hands of Mr. Demetrio Limachi who, at around 70 years old, is the only surviving brother of three that assisted Norwegian explorer and scientist Thor Heyerdahl in the construction of traditional South America vessels that were used in his famous adventures.

Having noted the presence of facial hair on some of the Monoliths of Tiwanaku, in Bolivia – an enigma given the absence of beards in contemporary Andean people – Heyerdahl repeatedly set out to test the hypothesis that the natives had not only sailed across Lake Titicaca, but also across the ocean and made contact with people of a different race, specifically the Polynesian islanders of the South Pacific. His remarkable successes have offered one explanation to another curiosity he noted: the discovery of endemic South American plants, such as tobacco and coca leaves at Ramses’ tomb in Egypt.

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Posted under Bolivia, General, Photo of the Week, countries

Image by Eugenija Sniokaite
Text by Kestas Lukoskinas, whl.travel local connection
in Vilnius and Klaipeda, Lithuania

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This is a moment from a traditional Easter-morning family gathering in the awakening fields of the countryside of Lithuania. Sometimes absolutely simple things like an Easter morning breakfast can be seen as something unique, individual and precious.

Have you ever had a meal with your family and close friends in the middle of nowhere? Let me tell you, I participated in this  tradition for the first time last year and believe me I’m going to do it this year too. The feeling of your consciousness and subconsciousness opening to nature, the sense of all worries leaving your troubled mind and the experience of ‘being right here, right now’ are simply unspeakable.

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Posted under General, Lithuania, Photo of the Week

Image/text by Gerard Oude Hergelink, whl.travel local connection
in Marmaris-Datça, Turkey

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This picture was shot in Belenkeuy, Datça, in August 2007. I think it captures a stereotypical moment of a peasant community in the Middle East. We see only men, most of them seated at tables. Some seem to play a game, while others look on or may be about to fall sleep.

Now, some of you may look at this picture and see nothing more than a bunch of lazy blokes who have probably been sitting all day in this public house and letting others do all the work. There is, however, much more than meets the eye.

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Posted under General, Photo of the Week, Turkey, countries

Image/text by Navin Shrestha, whl.travel local connection
in Pokhara, Nepal

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At a glance, it’s just a dragonfly, a fairly interesting insect not that hard to sight in late summer in several areas of Nepal. Caught on camera near the farther end of Lakeside area of Pokhara, this particular insect has a wonderful tale to tell. So let’s hear it, shall we?

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Posted under Nepal, Photo of the Week, countries, responsible travel

Image/text by Elsie C. Orabona, whl.travel local connection
in Ubatuba, Brazil

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That’s a hawksbill turtle. With its namesake hawk-like bill, it is considered one of the most beautiful of the five marine turtle species encountered in Brazilian waters. It is a superb animal and can live more than 60 years. Unfortunately, already critically endangered, it will one day be extinct if people continue to kill them for food or for their shells (used to manufacture combs and eyeglasses).

The encounter shown above happened in Ubatuba, Brazil, during a dive. Our region is blessed with a lot of algae, fish, sponges and crustaceans that most marine turtles love to eat, so it’s very common for us to see them on our beaches and swimming around our snorkelling and dive sites. They are so sweet and move so gracefully underwater that they enchant almost every diver.

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Posted under Brazil, Photo of the Week, countries, responsible organisations

Image by Damien Sass
Text by Damien Sass and Nynette Sass, whl.travel local connection
in Samoa

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This photograph of Siva Afi, or fire-knife dancing, was taken in 2008 at the Hotel Kitano Tusitala in Apia, Samoa’s capital city. Siva Afi is no doubt one of the most exhilarating aspects of Samoan festivities and shouldn’t be missed during a visit to the island.

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Posted under General, Photo of the Week, Samoa, countries