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Showing posts with label Indian Ocean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian Ocean. Show all posts

#884 Cape of Good Hope, South Africa

The southernmost point of Africa, south of Cape Town, is Cape Agulhas, but many people believe it to be at the end of Cape Peninsula - the Cape of Good Hope along with Cape Point. It is a windswept, wild place, colder and windier than you could ever imagine, even at the height of summer. Despite rumors, the two seas don't meet with different colors, although the currents join further east, but there are many sea birds and a sharp rock of a peninsula. The peninsula is also home to penguins, the odd seal and several farms.

Driving through Table Mountain National Park from Cape Town, past the pesky baboons, along steep cliffs and past gorgeous beaches helps to give a sense of how far away and how wild it is, and how it might have gotten a dubious reputation. Along with Cape Horn (#889), it has long held a special significance for sailors as a way point, and remains legendary.

#904 Musandam Peninsula, Oman

Very few people, if they know where Oman is, know about the enclave of Oman at the northern tip of Arabia, jutting into the straits of Hormuz. The most common visitors tend to be from the United Arab Emirates, as it is much closer than the main cities of Oman proper. Forming the land barrier between the Indian Ocean and the Arabian/Persian Gulf, the geology is similar to that of Oman on the other side, and is an ancient rock formation of spectacular arrangement. With barely one sealed road, and many off-road 4WD excursions available, it is a place to go with your own car. 

The main town on the western (and more developed side) is Khasab, but really, it is a one-service station town, with only a handful of hotels and even fewer restaurants. It is the setting off point for cruises into the isolated bays of Musandam, where you can find Telegraph Island, where poor souls were stationed for months on end to man the British telegraph station that was connecting continents here.

Because most of the peninsula is made up of small primitive villages, little has changed in the past millenia. Rock art can be seen in many villages, and the animal life is great -- many egrets and other birds nestle on the sea-side rocks, while dolphins frolic through the bays jumping over the wake of the relatively few boats that visit. Most boats are in the image of the ancient dhows that have plied the water routes across the gulf for centuries - a lovely day out!
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musandam_Governorate 

#919 Galle, Sri Lanka

File:GalleAerialView.jpg
Aerial view of Galle from Wikipedia.com
On the southern coast of Sri Lanka lies the old city of Galle, a quaint walled old city that juts out from the mainland, and is pretty with its white walls and red tiles.
During both the Portuguese and Dutch eras it was an important port and is an excellent legacy of a European built and styled town in Sri Lanka.While it has fallen into disrepair, the grassed banks of the fort walls offer a beautiful view of the ocean and town, which lies at a lower level. Many majestic old trees line the small squares and narrow streets. The little courtyarded houses are a lovely place to stay or stop for lunch.

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