Many consider this the most surrealistic place on earth. The clarity of the air turns the sky deep cobalt blue, the dunes are so old they’ve rusted red, combining with the white clay floor to give the skeletal trees a scene out of a Dali painting or a science fiction movie. But it’s real.

A thousand years ago the river watering these trees dried up, leaving a white clay pan amidst red sand dunes almost as tall as the Empire State Building. It’s so dry here these acacia trees can’t decompose, their skeletons standing scorched in the sun for ten centuries.

Dead Vlei is in a region of enormous dunes called Sossusvlei. It’s a mind-boggling experience to float over Sossusvlei in a hot air balloon. Namibia, in fact, is full of such experiences – the largest fur seal colony anywhere at Cape Cross, the marvelous abundance of African wildlife at the Etosha Pan, the dramatic shipwrecks dotting the Skeleton Coast, traditional people living untouched by the modern world like the Himbas.

Plus it’s one of the safest and best-run countries in all Africa – certainly worth consideration for your bucket list. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #47 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

We’re in Portugal preparing for our WWX Portugal Exploration 2023 (May 12-21) where it’s sunny, clear, 64 degrees, and wildflowers are everywhere. This as an Ice Storm was sweeping across the US from Texas to New York the last few days. Lisbon, by the way, is just about the same latitude as Washington DC. (Not many know how far north Europe is – Rome, Italy for example, at 41°39’ North latitude, is north of New York City, at 40°44’N.)

The weather here is as benign as the culture. Portugal is consistently in the top five of the safest, most peaceful and crime-free countries on the planet. There is a total absence of divisiveness, anger, and woke insanity in this country. It is normal in the way America used to be but tragically is no more.

We all, of course, hope and pray that our country will be normal once again and in the not-distant future. But if you’d like to experience normality right now, with extraordinary history, spectacular beauty, and fabulous food and wine thrown in, join Rebel and me on our WWX Portugal Exploration 2023. You’ll have so much fun with your fellow TTPers!

(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #256 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Galapagos Islands – November 2015. In the waters here, enormous schools of striped mullet swim together in one huge swirling ball by the tens of thousands.

One of the more astounding experiences a scuba diver can have is to swim far below one of these rotating living balls, then slowly rise straight up into it. The fish do not scatter, but merely create an empty column or vertical tunnel for you – so you float inside the ball with countless thousands of calm unperturbed fish circling around you and your dive buddy (who took this picture of me).

I’ve had the good fortune to go diving all over the world for the past sixty -plus years, and this experience is surely one of the most memorable of all. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #140 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Jamestown on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic is two blocks wide and a mile long in a narrow deep ravine. One of the world’s longest straight staircases, Jacob’s Ladder, was an original way to get out – 699 steps each 11 inches high – and it’s a workout.

People who live here call themselves “Saints” and pronounce their island “sent-uhl-LEEN-ah.” It’s famous of course for where the Brits exiled Napoleon after Waterloo. His residence and gardens on a high promontory, Longwood House, is preserved with original furnishings and his death bed. Dying in 1821, he was buried in a beautiful peaceful glen nearby (in 1840 he was reinterred at Les Invalides in Paris).

After climbing the Ladder and visiting Longwood, you’d want to refresh yourself at one of Jamestown’s pubs, where local Saints will be happy to hoist a pint with you. And don’t pass up a visit to the Saint Helena Distillery, the world’s remotest distillery, to learn how Head Distiller Paul Hickling makes his memorable Prickly Pear Whiskey, White Lion Spiced Rum, and Jamestown Gin – all in unique stepping stone bottles in honor of Jacob’s Ladder. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #46 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

A cliff-top fishing village on the Italian Riviera? Nope, Azenhas do Mar – Watermills of the Sea – is on the Portuguese Riviera. This is a magic place of fairy tale castles, thousand year-old fortresses, luxury boutique hotels, fabulous food, great wine, gorgeous beaches, and postcard-perfect scenery everywhere.

The Portuguese people are among the kindest in Europe, while Portugal is one of the safest countries in the world. Of all the planet’s First World countries, it’s hard to find one more friendly, calm, and welcoming than here.

Who’s the pretty girl? Lucky me – she’s my wife Rebel, mother of our two grown sons, my business partner, and my best friend. We’ve had a home here for many years. Rebel loves Portugal so much she taught herself to be fluent in Portuguese.

If you’d like a personal experience of the best of Portugal, come with Rebel and me on our Portugal Exploration this May.

Let me know if you’d like to have too much fun here with your fellow TTPers: [email protected]. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #123 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Santo Antão island, Cape Verde. The world’s best moonshine, which the islanders call grogue, is made here. There are ten islands comprising the country of Cape Verde, some 400 miles off the West African coast of Senegal in the Atlantic Ocean. For hundreds of years, Cape Verdeans have been making grogue but the folks like the fellow here on Santo Antão have perfected it.

You’ll find their stills out in the sugar cane fields, where they put the cane in to a press called a trapiche, then cook down the molasses in an old oil drum into a clear distilled rum that’s up to 140 proof or more. This fellow is pouring me a sample to taste in a coconut shell. You have to be really careful because it’s so smooth and silky it goes down like water – making it very easy to get quickly wasted.

If you like it – which of course you will – he’ll pour fresh grogue into an empty plastic liter water bottle and sell it to you for six bucks. People are always partying in Cape Verde, and why not with all this grogue. They don’t mix it with anything except some lime juice and an ice cube. Really fantastic. Come to Cape Verde and have great time yourself! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #171 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

At the top of Italy’s boot heel, there’s an ancient village named Alberobello that’s become a World Heritage Site.

This is because the villagers have preserved a prehistoric building technique with the conical roofs of their homes built up of corbelled limestone slabs with no mortar. The homes are collectively called trulli (true-lee) as each home individually is a called a trullo (true-low). Some trulli are centuries old albeit regularly rebuilt in the traditional way and maintained immaculately.

It’s a fascinating look into unique millennia-old living. Yet it is only one example of this little-visited part of far southern Italy that’s worth exploring. There’s so much more to Italy than Rome, Florence, Venice and such tourist magnets, as worthwhile visiting them may be. You’ll learn that very quickly when you start exploring Italy’s remoter regions.

(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #255 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Afghanistan, 1984. Yes, that’s me with the legendary Qari Baba, Commander of the Harakat Mujahaddin waging a war of liberation against the Red Army of the Soviet Union – and my dear friend. I told him he looked like a combination of Genghiz Khan and Buddha, and he couldn’t stop laughing. We had so many extraordinary experiences together – like blowing up the Soviet High Command of Bala Hissar in Ghazni.

After the war was won with the final Soviet retreat in February, 1989, Qari Baba became the Governor of Ghazi Province. Then Pakistani Intelligence (ISI) created the Taliban to seize control of the country. Qari Baba had to take up arms anew against them. In March of 2006, he was assassinated by a Taliban hit team on orders from the ISI. I will never ever forget him. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #111 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

There is a paradise of islands of staggering beauty and idyllic weather year round, that’s a tax haven and the cost of living is low, that’s self-sufficient in food and everything grows in abundance, that’s so peaceful and serene crime is virtually unknown and there’s a total absence of wokeism.

What’s more, the people who live here love liberty so much they’ve had this motto emblazoned on their coat of arms for centuries: Antes morrer livres que em paz sujeitos – Rather die free than live in peaceful subjugation.

Oh, you can fly there non-stop from the east coast in a few hours as it’s closer than Europe.

Where and what are we talking about? The Azores of Portugal. They, along with the other Atlantic Portugal island of Madeira, are what Rebel and I call Atlantic Paradises.

So what’s the enticement? I’ll give you $1,000 off if you’ll join Rebel and me on our Atlantic Paradises Adventure this June. The catch? We’re extending our deadline of January 20 to February 3, so you have a week to make up your mind.

Atlantic Paradises Adventure is for anyone in normal health. We stay in great hotels, enjoy fabulous food and wine, and have a marvelous fun time. Click on the link to enjoy all the photos – realize you’ll soon be there. Write to me at [email protected] and I’ll explain how you get your $1K discount.

Carpe diem – life is short – the time for a life-memorable adventure is now!

At the Temple of the Peacock Angel in the Yezidi holy city of Lalish, you find this entrance to a Sacred Spring with a carved black snake, revered by Yezidis as they believe a black snake stuck itself into a hole in Noah’s Ark and saved humanity.

The Yezidis are among the most ancient of all peoples in the Middle East. Their heartland is in what is now Northern Iraq, or Iraqi Kurdistan. You may know of them through the horrific butchery perpetrated upon them by the medieval terrorists of ISIS which gained worldwide notoriety.

They are a fascinating people whose syncretic beliefs are a mélange of Zoroastrianism, Syriac Christianity, Sufi Islam spiced with their own interpretation of all three. In other words, they are their own people, no one else like them – peaceful, at ease with themselves, and immensely likeable.

Their protectors are the Kurds – an extraordinary people in their own right. We’ll be visiting Iraqi Kurdistan and the Yezidis once more next year. ((Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #89 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

There is a part of Tibet the British kept from China and is now a part of India. The region is called Ladakh and this is its capital of Leh. It’s the Upper Indus river valley after it flows out of Chinese Tibet and before it reaches the Line of Control with Pakistan.

Ladakh is geographically and culturally Tibetan, where Tibetan culture still flourishes. Here the great gompas (monasteries) of Thikse and Hemis are active, and where you are welcome in hidden mysterious gompas like Lamayuru over a thousand years old.

There is an ultra-remote part of Ladakh called Zanskar where the Zanskar River flows through the crest of the Himalayas to reach the Upper Indus. Running the Zanskar is one of the world’s greatest whitewater experiences. We’ll see and do all of this next August on our Indian Tibet 2023 Expedition. Click on it and, trust me, the photos will blow you away. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #120 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

The grape vines of Pico Island, one of nine islands of the Azores in the Atlantic, are enclosed within walls of black basalt rocks called currais (corrals). For over 500 years, the Portuguese villagers have been constructing thousands of miles of these currais walled enclosures to protect the vines from wind and sea spray.

The vineyards of Pico are so extraordinary that they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  And the wine is uniquely good!  You can order a bottle here.  Best, though, is to experience Pico and its viticulture yourself.  That’s what we did last June on our Atlantic Paradises adventure with your fellow TTPers.

We had a wonderful time – and you will too this coming June. You won’t believe how much adventurous fun you’ll have on our Atlantic Paradises 2023!  Click to join us… (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #213 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

When my son Brandon was a cadet at Virginia Military Academy, his professor teaching Modern Military History gave a lecture on the 1980s War in Afghanistan fought by Afghan Mujahaddin against the Soviet Red Army occupation of their country. One of the pictures he showed was the one above of “three typical Mujahaddin fighters.”

Brandon raised his hand. “Yes, Cadet Wheeler,” the professor called on him. “Actually, Professor,” Brandon said, “only the man in the center with the white beard is one. The man on the right is United States Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, while the man on the left is my father.”

The professor was stunned while the rest of the class stifled laughter. “Are you quite sure of that, Cadet Wheeler?” stammered the professor. “Oh, yes sir,” Brandon replied. “I recognize my own father. That photo is framed in my father’s study. It was taken in November 1988. The Afghan Commander’s name is Moli Shakur. I have known Congressman Rohrabacher all my life.”

The cadets all applauded in appreciation. To this day, this remains one of Brandon’s fondest college memories. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #145 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

“Changpa” means “northerners” in Tibetan, the nomads who survive with their herds of goats and yaks in the 15,000-foot high plateau of northern Tibet known as the Changtang.

In 1987, I conducted an overland expedition from Beijing to Kathmandu, crossing the entire Changtang north to south. TTP’s Dr. Joel Wade was with me. Occasionally, we’d chance upon a Changpa encampment. For many of them such as this young girl holding a handful of barley meal, we were the first white people they had ever seen.

The Changpa live in one of the most remote and harshest places on earth. We can hardly imagine what life is like for them any more can they imagine ours. Being with them is an unforgettably profound experience. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #254 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

The male Magnificent Frigatebird has a flap of loose bright red skin on his neck called a “gular sac.” During mating season, they huff and puff, filling it with air to blow it up like a balloon. They then parade around showing off for the ladies, for the bigger the red balloon, the more the ladies are aroused. Size matters, even in the Galapagos.

This is only one of many courtship displays among the birds and animals of these extraordinary islands. No wonder the Galapagos are called “evolution’s laboratory.” (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #199 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

When gold was discovered in the Klondike of Canada’s Yukon in 1896, the fastest way to get there was a tiny hamlet at the end of a long inlet of Alaska’s Inland Passage coast called Skagway. By 1898, Skagway was a lawless Wild West boom town flooded with prospectors who needed entertainment and release from the arduous travails of gold searching – and ladies who would provide it for a price.

The Brass Pic (as in a miner’s pic & shovel) was one of many Houses of Negotiable Affection in Skagway that flourished until the gold panned out in 1900. It’s preserved as a museum today in fond memory of those days of commercially consensual delight. Skagway is a terrific place to experience, drawing over a million visitors a year. Come here to see what draws them. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #198 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

One of the most spectacular glaciers on earth, the Perito Moreno spills off the gigantic Southern Patagonia Ice Field constantly calving into Lago Argentino at the bottom of South America. It is almost 100 square miles of ice some 600 feet thick, and is an embarrassment to climate alarmists because it’s growing, not retreating. Every day, huge chunks of ice on the glacier’s front (which you see in the photo) break off or “calve” into the lake, equal to the glacier’s forward advance of two meters or over six feet a day.

Thunderous cracks and booms accompany the plunge of the calved sections with huge splashes of water. You never know when or where they’ll occur along the mile wide front, but when they do, everyone watching exclaims and applauds. We were lucky to have perfectly gorgeous weather. You can take a boat along the front, view it from several boardwalks for marvelous vantage points, or even hike on it with crampons with an ice-trekking guide. Being here is one of Patagonia’s most thrilling experiences.

(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #253 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

In Bukhara, Uzbekistan, I didn’t speak Uzbek and she didn’t speak English, yet laughter is the true universal language.

She gave me a broad smile to display her gold-plated teeth. You don’t often see someone with teeth of gold, but she says what better way to protect your teeth when you’re getting old? The Uzbek people of Central Asia have a wonderful sense of humor. Come with me to Central Asia this September to laugh with these Silk Road people yourself. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #252 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

This is the view of the lakes of Bariloche in Argentine Patagonia. It was taken yesterday from a viewpoint called Cerro Campanario. This really is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I'm here exploring Patagonia with your fellow TTPers. Wish you were here with us!

(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #251 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

According to the many thousands of world travellers on TripAdvisor, it’s #1: Praia do Sancho on the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha. You’ll also find it on just about any list of most beautiful beaches, such as Condé Nast, Harper’s Bazaar, and Luxury Travel.

The whole island is gorgeous. Mention that you’ve been there to any Brazilian who hasn’t and their eyes get misty. Fernando de Noronha (no-rone-ya) is the dream honeymoon, the dream vacation that only comes true for few in Brazil, as it’s hard to get to and hardly any place to stay once you’re there.

You have to get to either Recife or Natal in the far northeast, then fly 220 miles out into the Atlantic. Then take a boat, or scamper down the rocks of a 250ft-high cliff to be on the sugar sand of this enchanting beach – which you’ll have almost to yourself.

For some reason, all those lists have the name wrong, calling it “Baia” or “Baio,” when it’s “Praia” (beach in Portuguese). As the welcome sign proudly announces above the cliff trail: “Praia do Sancho – A Mais Bonita do Mundo,” Sancho Beach – The Most Beautiful in the World. If you’re lucky to ever get here, you’ll surely agree. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #73 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

The Curonian Spit is a 60 mile-long and skinny stretch of sand separating the 625 square-mile Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. It is jointly shared by Lithuania and Kaliningrad. The trees of one section of the pine forests covering the spit are weirdly twisted and distorted by some unknown force of nature. Their bizarre undulations have earned it the sobriquet, “The Dancing Forest.” It’s one of the as-yet unexplained mysteries of life on our planet, and a wondrous one to see. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #200 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

At 14,000 feet, Tibetan nomads called Drogpa set their summer encampment for their yak herds to graze on green pastures. You find them with difficulty in the remote Himalayan highlands of the Kingdom of Lo. They are happy to welcome you into their home, a single large tent of black yak wool, and serve you a cup of delicious yak butter tea.

It is a rare privilege to be with these people and experience their ancient way of life. It is something we strive to do on our Himalaya Helicopter Expeditions. I took this picture in May. Here is their home from the outside. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #203 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Dalat, South Viet Nam, 1961. I was 17 years old. A friend of my father’s, Herb Klein, came by our house. He was a prominent businessman whose passion was big-game hunting. He had just returned from the mountain jungle highlands of South Viet Nam and regaled us with stories of the Montagnard tribespeople who were plagued by tigers with a taste for human flesh. He told me that after climbing the Matterhorn, living with Amazon headhunters, and swimming the Hellespont, hunting a man-eating tiger should be my next adventure.

“You’d be saving so many lives, Jack,” he told me. “There’s one I heard about from the Co Ho Montagnards that’s killed and eaten almost 20 of them in the forests outside the town of Dalat. I know who can guide you, he was mine, his name is Ngo Van Chi.”

Somehow, I talked my parents into letting me do this. I had saved up the money from giving tennis and judo lessons. So there I was, in pitch dark in a “mirador” of branches and leaves, holding a .300 Weatherby with a flashlight wired to the barrel, waiting for this man-eating tiger to come for the rotting water buffalo we set out as bait. Chi and I heard the tiger, I put the rifle barrel out, Chi clicked on the flashlight, I saw these two enormous red eyes, and fired.

And there he is, the Man-Eater of Dalat, who would never kill another human being ever again. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #175 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Quick – name the only country in the world named after a woman.  It’s the island nation in the Caribbean of St. Lucia, named after the patron saint of virgins, 4th century Saint Lucia.

The charm, beauty, and serenity of St. Lucia are unequaled in the Caribbean.  Here you can have your own private retreat overlooking the twin peaks of The Pitons.  The St. Lucian people take great pride in the immaculate spotlessness of their island and in their matchless reputation for personal warmth and hospitality.

While an English-speaking country and member of the British Commonwealth, there is a French tradition here as well, reflected in the fine cuisine and wines in restaurants.  Yet I became fond of the local Piton beer as well.  St. Lucia is the easiest island in the Caribbean to fall in love with – so it is no wonder that couples come from all over the world to get married or honeymoon here.

If you want to spend a few days of bliss away from all the cares of the world, you can’t do better than this place of heaven in the Caribbean. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #190 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

For miles and miles, the roads in the Azores Islands are lined with flowers on both sides. Even the foot paths and trails are strewn with flowers.

As you know, I’ve been to every country in the world. I know of no place on earth more beautiful, more flower strewn, more peaceful, serene, and safe than Portugal’s island paradises of Madeira and the Azores in the Atlantic.

So plan on joining me, Rebel, and your fellow TTPers on our exploration of Atlantic Paradises, June 17 to 25. Make this beauty and serenity a part of your life. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #196 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

It’s found here – the fishing port of the ancient village of Sesimbra in Portugal. 3,000 years ago it was called Sempsibriga – high place or briga of the Sempsi Celts. So much of Europe is gone now, steamrollered by modernity. Not here, where Portuguese fishermen sail out in their tiny boats for their daily catch as they have for countless generations. The best fish you’ve ever had is in Sesimbra’s local restaurants – wow, is the swordfish good.

While Portugal is a First World country with all the modernity you could ask for, it is unique not only for the charm of its history, preservation of its culture, and post-card picturesqueness, but the sweetness of its people. They are simply nice in a way that’s so captivating. Their traditional family values are part of their nature. The country resonates with peacefulness, an at ease serenity. It’s the Europe that’s still there.

You can be captivated yourself by joining our WX Exploration of Portugal next month, June 17-26. (Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Jack Wheeler is Escape Artist’s World Exploration Expert. He is the founder of Wheeler Expeditions at WheelerExpeditions.com.

Yes, that’s me, waving from one of the cave openings on the cliff face honeycombed with 2,000 year-old Sky Caves in a remote region of the Himalayas called Upper Mustang. The photo was taken by one of your fellow TTPers on our most recent Himalaya Helicopter Expedition last May.

Upper Mustang is ruled by the Tibetan Kingdom of Lo, created by Tibetan warrior-king Amne Pal in 1380, with its sovereignty protected today by Nepal from the Chicoms right across the border in Chinese-Occupied Tibet. Lo, with its capital the medieval walled city of Lo Manthang, is where you will find the most traditional Tibetan culture left on our planet.

You can experience it yourself on our Himalaya Helicopter Expedition this spring. If not now, when? Carpe diem.

(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #250 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

This is Durnstein Castle, perched on a precipice high above the Danube River in Austria some 60 miles upriver from Vienna. Built in the early 1100s, here is where King of England Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned, having been captured by his enemy Leopold V of Austria on his return from the Third Crusade in the Holy Land.

The story is well known of how Richard’s brother John had usurped the throne and impeded paying Richard’s ransom – and the legend of Robin Hood raising the money pilfering it from thieving nobles. The ransom was finally paid in 1194, with Richard returning to be crowned King of England once again. The castle fell into disrepair, uninhabitable since the late 1600s. It is an eerie journey back into history to explore it today. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #197 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Rising 600 feet above the jungles of central Ceylon (Sri Lanka) is a gigantic rock column revered for millennia as Sigiriya – Lion Rock from Sanskrit. It’s flat on top, used over centuries as a Buddhist monastery and a fortress by kings. In 480, King Kashyapa had the image of a lion carved into the rock as the entrance gate to his fortress-palace on top. All that’s left are the lion’s paws that you see.

It was a risky climb via stone stairs carved into the rock getting to the top. Today there’s a much safer wooden staircase. It’s a pilgrimage site for Sri Lankans where they get to celebrate their history and enjoy the gorgeous view on top. It’s a marvelous experience for you to participate in. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #158 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

The Antarctic island of South Georgia is home to a million King penguins, plus countless fur seals, gigantic elephant seals, staggering numbers of seabirds such as albatrosses, amidst a backdrop of towering mountains with massive glaciers spilling off them.

Nothing can prepare you for the incomprehensible size of the penguin rookeries here, densely packed as far as the eye can see (all those white dots on the hills behind are penguins). Nor for the size of bull elephant seals weighing up to 8,000 pounds, especially when they rise up and crash their chests against each other in mating challenges emitting deafening bellows. Nor being surrounded by a thousand fur seals unafraid of you. The density of wildlife combined with the magnificent beauty of the island is completely overwhelming.

Here also is the abandoned whaling station of Grytviken where the heroic explorer Ernest Shackleton is buried. You can only get here by expedition cruise ship. South Georgia is one of the great experiences on our planet. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #96 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Go down to the Atlantic coast beach of Mauritania’s capital Nouakchott at sunset, and you’ll see a very unusual fish market. A fishing boat laden with the day’s catch is ready to come ashore, but the crew is afraid the wind and surf may capsize the boat as they do, losing their catch in the process.

So they float just outside the surf line so buyers with boxes and baskets can wade out to buy the fish right off the boat, and wade back. Only when the boat is empty will the crew attempt to beach it. Just one of this West African country’s intriguing sights.

.(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #249 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Many centuries ago, a tiger was plaguing the Naxi people who live in the mountains where the Yangtse River cascades off the plateau of Tibet. He was eating the goats the Naxi needed to feed themselves. So Naxi hunters chased the tiger into a deep narrow gorge of the Yangtse where they were sure they had him trapped. Suddenly, the tiger sprang onto a large rock in the center of the raging river and from there leapt to the other side and escaped, never to be seen again.

Ever since, where this took place has been known as Tiger Leaping Gorge. Here you see Tiger Leaping Rock. I was first here in July 2002 on our overland expedition across eastern Tibet. Last time 2015. Maybe again? (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #141 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Between Sicily and Tunisia in the Mediterranean lies a secret hideaway of Europe’s rich and famous – the small Italian island of Pantelleria. Peaceful and quiet, the opposite of glitzy places like Ibiza, wealthy elite retreat here in luxurious yet very understated villas to get away from it all. It helps that the shoreline is all volcanic rock cliffs, which dissuades hordes of African “migrants” attempted to claim “asylum” in the EU welfare state by landing here.

The most beautiful spot on Pantelleria is this volcano crater lake known as “The Mirror of Venus” – of such magic color that, the legend goes, the goddess Venus would admire herself in its reflection. Come here for a tranquil escape of your own. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #164 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

The Ancient Greeks began settling in the Mediterranean’s largest island around 750 BC. They called it Sikelia, after the Sikani and Sicel tribes that lived there. They flourished, building numerous cities, all with temples to their Olympian gods. The city of Akragas – now called Agrigento on the south coast – grew to a population of 200,000 by the 500s. It was here that the Greeks built the most outstanding examples of monumental Greek architecture that still exist today.

Along a ridge outside the city, they erected temples to Zeus, Hera, Heracles (Hercules) and many others. The one you see here the Romans called the Temple of Concordia (harmony), for by the time they showed up in the 200s, the Greek name was lost. In the foreground lies a remnant of a bronze statue to one of the Greek gods – perhaps Apollo. The glory that was Greece has been gone with winds of millennia. It can be a very emotional experience to be here.(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #248 photo ©Jack Wheeler)