They may not have the same wacky wit as Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, but the pirates of the Galapagos had their share of adventures among the otherwise pristine islands.  During the 1500s and 1600s – as Spain was busy collecting the wealth of the Incas and shipping it home – the pirates (or buccaneers, depending on whose side you were on) would attack the Spanish treasure ships and steal riches for their own country … or themselves. The Galapagos became a favorite hangout for these pirates who would retreat onto their private coasts, stock up on water and meat (tortoise meat, that is) and, occasionally, stash their goods among the volcanic caves. Read the rest of this entry »

Every 90 minutes or so, hundreds of onlookers gather to admire the gush of Old Faithful, the world’s most famous geyser – a spectacle that remains as enthralling today as it was back in the summer of 1870, when Cornelius Hedges, a member of the scientific party to study the Upper Geyser Basin, first beheld it.  After spending weeks on a grueling horseback trip to reach the remote Yellowstone plateau, the American adventurers were so astonished to see the 100-foot-high explosion of sparkling water that they threw up their hats and shouted for sheer joy at the sight.  Read the rest of this entry »

During World War II, Americans soldiers in occupied Germany got a booklet called the “Pocket Guide to Germany” that explained the ins and outs of occupation. In 1944, it read read: “Don’t forget that you’re ordered into Germany now partly because your fathers forgot so soon what the war was about last time.”The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin’s Charlottenburg district is the eternal reminder. It was an unremarkable late 19th Century church until the allies bombed it in 1943. Read the rest of this entry »

Rising like a whale from the ocean, the spectacular island of Capri has held a particular attraction for celebrities trying to “get away from it all” over the centuries. In former times, it lured the writers Goethe, Oscar Wilde and Graham Greene; these days, it attracts American stars like Leonardo di Caprio, Harrison Ford and Mariah Carey. Read the rest of this entry »