Hopper Gilgit Pakistan

Rush Lake 4694m.., originally uploaded by M Atif Saeed.

Rush Lake 4694m..

The Hunza-Nagar Valley, the Hunza-Nagar District, is the seventh district of Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. The district comprises Hunza and Nagar. Sikandarabad is the administrative center of this district. Before the announcement of new district, Hunza-Nagar was part of district Gilgit.

Pamvotis lake, Ioannina, Greece

beauty-portrait, originally uploaded by efou222.

The Lake of Ioannina (Greek: Limni Ioanninon (Λίμνη Ιωαννίνων)), also Pamvotida (Παμβώτιδα, older form: Pamvotis Παμβώτις) is Epirus' largest lake located near the central part of the Ioannina prefecture in Greece.
Ioannina to the west and the town or Perama to the north are urban settlements fringing the lake while the remaining of its periphery is composed of farmland. The lake features small fishing ports and a boating port while the island is situated in the east of the lake. There is a regular boat service to the island (Nisi). Mountains lie further north and south with Mitsikeli overhanging the east part of the lake. The GR-6 surrounds the northern half of the lake.



TRIVIA
*The name Pamvotis first appears in the 12th century commentary on the Odyssey of Eustathius of Thessalonica.
*Air Sea Lines uses hydroplanes, which fly to Corfu.
*Ioannina is located on the west coast of the lake.
*It is home to an island, where Ali Pasha was hiding during the last days of his reign.
*Urbanisation and pollution are threatening the lake ecosystem, home to small mammals, waterbirds and a rich fish and crustacean fauna. Eutrophication is the main problem as in the summer blue green algae is quite common.
*Pamvotida is home to Tsima (Τσίμα), a species of fish endemic to the lake.
*Two bryozoan species have recently been reported from the lake.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Bled, Slovenia

Iglesia de María, originally uploaded by Pilar Azaña.

Bled is a municipality in northwestern Slovenia in the region of Upper Carniola. The area within the Julian Alps is a popular tourist destination.
Bled is known for the glacial Lake Bled, which makes it a major tourist attraction. Perched on a rock overlooking the lake is the iconic Bled Castle. The town is also known in Slovenia for its vanilla-and-cream pastry called kremna rezina or kremšnita.
Naturopath Arnold Rikli (1823–1906) from Switzerland contributed significantly to the development of Bled as a health resort in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Due to its mild climate, Bled has been visited by aristocratic guests from all across the world. Today it is an important convention centre and tourist resort, offering a wide range of sport activities (golf, fishing, horseback-riding) and is a starting point for mountain treks and hikes especially within the nearby Triglav National Park.
A small island in the middle of the lake is home to the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church; visitors frequently ring its bell for good luck. Human traces from prehistory have been found on the island. Before the church was built, there was a temple consecrated to Živa, the Slavic goddess of love and fertility. One can get to the island on a traditional wooden row barge called Pletna. The island on Lake Bled has 99 steps. A local tradition at weddings is for the husband to carry his new bride up these steps, during which the bride must remain silent.

Rideau Canal, Ottawa, Canada

~ Rideau Canal, Ottawa ~, originally uploaded by ViaMoi.

The Rideau Canal (French: Canal Rideau), also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its original structures intact.
The canal system uses sections of major rivers, including the Rideau and the Cataraqui, as well as some lakes. It is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America, and in 2007, it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is operated today by Parks Canada as a recreational waterway. The locks on the system open for navigation in mid-May and close in mid-October.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler






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river lake havasu, Arizona USA

river lake havasu, arizona [_MG_2912], originally uploaded by marios savva.

The abundance of dams along the Colorado River creates a number of large lakes in arid, regions of the Southwest where large, natural bodies of water are nonexistent. These lakes provide unique recreational opportunities and offer an exceptional contrast to the scenic desert landscapes that surround them.
One of the most popular and interesting lakes along the Colorado River is Lake Havasu, well-known for one particular historic point of interest, the London Bridge. The London Bridge is one of the main attractions at Lake Havasu that sets it apart from other desert playgrounds.
More than 2.5 million visitors flock each year to shores of Lake Havasu to enjoy the scenery, the cool waters of the lake and abundant recreational activities. Water sports, hiking, off-road opportunities and cultural and natural history are some of the attractions that draw visitors year round.

Exploring Lake Havasu

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler






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Scuba Diving in Lake Kournas, Northern Crete - Greece

I have often been to Lake Kournas and I’ve always been curious to see what the depths looked like. This video shows us the depths of the lake and the creatures living in it.
In the 3.5 minutes of video you will see crabs, a goldfish and a terrapin. The dive was shallow, so we will have to wait for another diver to reveal the secrets hidden in the deeper parts of the lake, up to 23 metres at some points. Somewhere in there may be hiding the famous water nymph of Lake Kournas, who comes out to comb her hair in the moonlight.

the diver said...

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler






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Stob Dearg, Buachaille Etive Mor, Scotland

Stob Dearg, Buachaille Etive Mor, originally uploaded by antsplan.

Stob Dearg, Buachaille Etive Mor, Scotland. (Trans - Red peak, Big Herdsman of Etive)

My absence from Flickr has actually been a total break from photography, not just photography, everything really, all of the crap that we let into our daily lifes.

Anyway, I walked the West Highland Way last week (Milngavie to Fort William - 95 miles in 5 days) with some very good friends and had an absolute blast of a time. It pretty much rained for the entire trip and on the day we finished it kicked off a week of superb weather here in Scotland. I only took a P&S camera which ran out of battery after two shots !!! Thankfully the rain prevented any photo opportunities in any case.

When I got back home, I was itching to be away again so I headed off to Ardnamurchan with my wife, baby and dog.

I was able to take this picture on the way there on what was a glorious day for normal people but perhaps a tad harsh for us photographers. Still pleased with the results mind you.

Hidden Paradise, Tsivlos Lake, Peloponissos, Greece

Hidden Paradise, originally uploaded by maksid.

Tsivlos (Greek: Τσιβλός) is a small settlement in the municipality of Akrata, Achaia prefecture, Greece. As of 2001, it had a population of 40. It is built on the slopes of Mount Chelmos (Aroania).

Tsivlos is located 20 km southwest of Akrata, northeast of Kalavryta, about 90 to 95 km east-southeast of Patras and about 50 to 60 km southeast of Aigio.

The village has about 4 km of paved road and about 10 to 12 km of gravel road. It has about 6 to 8 km of hydro lines, and about 3 km of phone lines.

Its surroundings consist mainly of forests and grasslands, where the forest covers much of the area, surrounding the lake, with barren land in the higher elevations. There are also several, mostly abandoned, farms in the village..

The village today

Tsivlos today features a few homes and a restaurant. There is also an environmentally-friendly electrical generator. The area is featured for many recreational activities including camping. Tsivlos has a school for the entire municipal district, a church, a post office, and a square (plateia). Its nearest gymnasium (middle school) and lyceum (secondary school) are in Dafni.

Tsivlos was mentioned as the settlement of Civlò by the census of the Venetian Francesco Grimani in 1700 and had 33 families and 148 inhbitants. Tsivlos was ruled by the OttomanTurks with the exception from 1681 until 1715 with the last of the Venetian rule, it became a part of Greece after the Greek War of Independence.

The area is generally characterized with the inconsistency of the ground. Since 1912, Tsivlos constituted a part of the municipality of Nonakrida. It is one of the few villages in the prefecture that retained its name. On Sunday March 24, 1912, a large volume of rocks and soil fell from a nearby mountain of Gerakari which devastated the village of Sylivaina and fell into the Krathis river. 

The river water flooded into a large part of Tsivlos, creating a lake with a depth of 80 m and an area of around 200 hectares. The inhabitants of the two villages had relocated two days before the disaster due to a small space and sinkage. Their residents moved to Tragano (Neos Erineos), Syliveniotika, Kamares,Rododafni (Mourla), and they received properties from the government.

After World War II and the Greek Civil War, its buildings were rebuilt and emigration occurred at a higher rate until 1981 through to 1991, when the population decreased by 40%, but later recovered between the years of 1991-2001. Mesorrougi became connected with asphalt in the 1960s. More pavement was available in the late 20th century. Electricity, radio and automobiles were introduced in the mid-20th century, television in the late-20th century and computer and internet at the turn of the millennium. In the late-1990s, the ex-community (now a village) joined to become the newly formed municipality of Akrata. 

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

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Scotland, UK a Frozen Corona

Frozen Corona, originally uploaded by antsplan.

Partialy frozen circles of ice surrounded by a completley frozen loch in Highlands, Scotland.

This was an 8 mile hike wih my mate David to get this shot and it was worth every bit of effort. It was brutally cold and my fingers and toes ceased to feel about half way in. We sheltered from the wind and had a bit of food in an old hut by the side of the loch. The food tasted great...

It was actually a pleasure just to see this phenomena with my own eyes and the cherry on top just to get a shot. I'd have loved for the bottom part of the frame to have been out of shadow but as David said, "the big guy controlling the lights just wasn't playing ball"

Crackin' day out. This for me is what photography is all about, experience, feel, live it first, the shot comes second (well sometimes ;-) )

a great photo and a great quote

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

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