Standing in the Sicilian sun with your feet washed by the waves of the Tyrrhenian Sea, it’s easy to forget that there’s more to the tri-corner island than beauty. The beaches are magnificent—turquoise waters stretching out to the horizon, soft sand, gentle waves and some of the clearest water in the world. In the distance, on the rockier portions of the coast, volcanic rock juts out of the sea, its dark color and jagged edge adding drama to the vista.

Inland, the hills rise up and greet the sun, patched with golden fields of grain, vibrant citrus orchards, and the vineyards that produce Sicily’s fragrant nero d’avola wines. The skies are blue, the weather is warm, and somewhere, a few steps down a narrow street, someone is rolling fresh pasta to tempt you back from the shore. (more…)

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Ecuador in South America is home to a bewildering array of wildlife. Fifteen percent of the world’s bird species are endemic to Ecuador. There are also 138 species of amphibian and 106 species of reptile.

From Lions to spider monkeys to endangered species like the Giant Armadillo, the wildlife in Ecuador is in fact so diverse that the World Conservation Monitoring Center lists it as one of seventeen Megadiverse countries in the world where the majority of Earth’s wildlife is to be found.

As a South America volunteer on an Ecuador wildlife protection program you have the opportunity to get up close and personal with this extreme biodiversity.
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Tags: abuse, adventure, Adventures, amphibian, animal, animal abuse, animal lover, animal trade, Armadillo, array, biodiversity, bird, bird species, breath, center, challenge, conservation, countries in the world, country, Earth, Ecuador, Ecuadorian, education, education projects, endangered species, fact, Galapagos, galapagos turtles, Giant, giant armadillo, home, intake, Laws, Lions, lover, lust, majority, maltreatment, massive challenge, Megadiverse, Monitoring, monitoring center, opportunity, percent, program, protection, rehabilitation, rehoming, reptile, rescue, seventeen, South America, spider, spider monkeys, take, trade, Travel, trip, volunteer, volunteer program, wildlife, wildlife protection, wildlife volunteer, world, world conservation

Have you got six months off? Do you fancy a long walk? If so, World Expeditions may have just the holiday for you. They have become the only trekking outfit to offer a guided trip along the first completed section of the Great Himalayan Trail (GHT).

Stretching for 1,700km along the length of Nepal, the GHT will take you a mere 157 days to complete. You’ll see eight of the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000m, including Everest, and cross passes reaching up to 6,000m, climbing a total of 150,000m. That’s a Snowdon every day for half a year. Oh, and it will set you back £20,500. (more…)

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Switzerland is a country of picturesque mountain ranges and quaint little alpine villages. I had always wanted to visit this beautiful country and now I was finally getting my chance. However, having spent the whole day on a train, I was starting to wear down and my excitement was dwindling to say the least.

A bus ride was in order before we would arrive at our final destination, but as the bus approached, I fel sense of dread boiling up within. It was getting late in the evening and I hadn’t booked accommodations, so we would have to search in the rain for a bed. (more…)

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