This article, 10 Natural Wonders to See Before They Disappear, by Laurel Delp got me thinking. We have visited some of these natural wonders during our travels and sadly, these places are under a lot of strain and some of these incredible places might not make it through this century.
She mentions 10 places that most of us may not have realized are threatened. For instance, they predict that the Great Barrier Reef will be bleached by 2030. Glaciers will disappear within 40 years and Arctic ice melt will leave the North Pole bare.
Weather we choose to believe these predictions or not, it prompts the travel of lots of curious tourists to these environmentally fragile areas. Unfortunately this puts more strain on the distressed places. However tourism also provides vital income with which we preserve these world wonders and shine a light on the preservation of the earth for generations to come.
This article is a little sad but I am excited that this subject is being highlighted. We have had the pleasure to visit 3 of the 10 wonders and will hopefully see another 2 in the next year. We have been to the Everglades, the Dead Sea, and Madagascar while sailing around the world. All three of these places are phenomenal and unique in their own way. We hope to make it to the Peruvian rainforest next and the Poles are high on our list! We hope to hear about your own visits to these places!
- The Dead Sea is the lowest spot on earth and has 10 times more saline than seawater and is believed to contain therapeutic minerals. We floated in it like corks, the most bizarre feeling ever!
- The Everglades is a 2.5 million acre wetland and is extremely fragile. It’s the only place on earth where crocodiles and alligators share a habitat. It is also the home of the Florida panther.
- Madagascar is the world’s 4th largest island and at least 80 percent of Madagascar’s flora and fauna are found nowhere else on earth thanks to millions of years of isolation in the Indian Ocean off of Africa and one of our personal favorite places in the world. We spent many months sailing in the waters around Madagascar and got to know the people, fell in love with the lemurs and had our first encounter with a whale shark! Read some interesting facts about Madagascar that you not know.
