The Palau archipelago is located in West Pacific Ocean, east of Philippines. The archipelago is composed of more than 250 islands. Those islands are for most of them inhabited and they are mainly covered with tropical forest and mangrove. This short presentation is by itself forewarning nice adventures. But adding to that a lake full of jellyfish makes Palau become an even more extraordinary region.
The Erta Ale is an Ethiopian volcano located in the Afar region, at the north east of the country, in the massif of the grand rift valley. The volcano has an altitude of 613 meters for 30 kilometers in diameter basis, which makes it called a “shield”.
We found, at the top of this very active volcano, a caldera that contains two craters. The Pit South crater, of 200 meters in diameter, is currently the most impressive as it contains a permanent lava lake, whose temperature of molten rocks reaches up to 1200 degrees Celsius. The level of the lake varies according to the weather. In January 2017, the lake was so high in the crater that the latter finally overflowed. In April 2017, the level of the lake has gone down offering its observers a great spectacle. Indeed, the surface of the lake was, in April, in perpetual movement and an impressive phenomenon of emptying and re-filling of the lake took place cyclically. This phenomenon can be seen in the video at the end of the article.
Continue reading“Ethiopia: The Erta Ale volcano and its lava lake”
Called the « Blue Pearl » because of its water purity, the Khövsgöl lake (in mongolian : ᠺᠥᠪᠰᠦᠭᠦᠯ) is a sacred place for the local people, which they call « Mother ». The below pictures were taken at summer time, during a several weeks horse ride on the lakeside. More than a view on the lake, these photos show also the local inhabitants met during this trip.
The Simien Mountains are located in the northern Ethiopian Highlands. Since 1978 they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site (with the world heritage status in danger since 1996).
Compared to the surrounding area the weather is more cool and wet because of the highlands altitude. Consequently, it is more easy to grow crops, and the most of the Simien inhabitants are farmers. It is also possible to produce coffee beans.
The Simien Mountain is home of number of endangered species, including the Ethiopian Wolf (Only 500 wolves live in the wild). More common, the gelada baboon is easy to get encountered within the Simien Mountains.