The Farm is opened to the general public, everybody can visit the Farm and see the animals and some of the traditional agriculture, for the ones who are more interested they organize guided tours, they organize traditional games and the traditional festivities.

This is a wonderful place to take our children and to teach them, and give them a chance to see the animals life, such as chickens, rabbits, horses, cows and so on.

I visit this place often and I thought I should share it here, please find below just some example pictures of some of the animals.

Or Check this youtube video:

http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=6NFYRVcJl7Y

Hope you enjoy, Regards...

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Everything you've heard about the French Alps is 100 percent true! The scenery is unbelievable and air is so fresh as we head for town of Uriage, Grenoble and the Uriage Thermal Centre, situated in a quiet tree-lined valley at an altitude of 400 metres. Uriage, France's top thermal brand, built the Uriage Thermal Centre so that professional treatments could be offered to the public, and to research the thermal water as a cure for ailments.

More than 8,000 people visit the Thermal Centre every year to feast their eyes on the countryside and treat themselves to the spa waters of Uriage. Year after year, Uriage thermal water flows through the mineral depths of the Alpine crystalline rock and sand, which act as natural filters. Throughout this long journey, the water is enriched with trace elements and mineral salts, making it so isotonic.

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Scientific studies prove that the water at Uriage has a higher content of mineral salts and trace elements (i.e. 11,000mg/l) that other spa waters. Most of the thermal waters in the market are only “hypertonic” (high content of mineral salts), but the Uriage water is “isotonic”, which means that on top of its higher mineral content, it is also close in composition to the blood serum already present in our bodies. The blood serum holds the key to all the major process in our bodies and contains antibodies and other proteins to protect against diseases.

With normal water, it's advisable to pat-dry our skin after washing because leaving normal water on our skin can drain the moisture out. But because of the Uriage Thermal Water's isotonic properties, you can leave it on your skin as it protects the integrity of the cells. At the Uriage Thermal Centre, this water is used for bathing, to treats joints, skin and respiratory ailments. The Uriage spring burst forth 80 metres underground into a well, sheltered from airborne pollution. Even its temperature (27s˚C), neutral pH and composition has remained constant over the years.

The Uriage Thermal Centre qualified staff follow programmes determined by the establishment's doctor, and patients benefit form underwater massages, or special showers and baths designed to improve their medical conditions, including inflammatory rheumatism, parathyroid's, sinusitis, ear aches, allergies, bronchitis, eczema, acne, psoriasis and burn scars. The Uriage Thermal Centre also works with dermatologists, chemists, and galenists, who are in constant contact with biotechnology, bioengineering or clinical research experts.

There are a number of National forests in the western United States that contain most of the Sequoia Trees in the world.  As you can see by the photo above, these trees dwarf everything around them.

There were many more Sequoia Trees in the past.  Today, only about 200,000 of these trees are still alive.  Many of them were cut down before they were protected by the U.S. Government when they were proclaimed to be National Parks and Forests.  Most of these lost trees were used to build houses and other buildings in the 19th century.

Some of the Redwood trees that grow along the Pacific Coast are actually taller the Sequoias.  However, what makes the Sequoias so amazing are their age and the huge diameters of the trunks.  Just one branch of a Sequoia tree is as big as the trunks of most other trees on earth.

The worlds thickest tree is called the General Grant Tree.  It is 40 feet in width, which is about the same width as an average street.  The tallest giant Sequoia is 310 feet tall.  It is the General Sherman Tree though, that is overall, the largest known Sequoia tree in the world.  It weighs about 6,000 tons and is still growing.

Some of the giant Sequoia were known to be almost 4,000 hears old.  That means they were alive during the time that the ancient Egyptian pyramids were being built.  Many wonder how these trees managed to live so long.  The reason is mostly because of their wide but shallow root systems.  Because of their characteristics, their root systems allow the trees to drink and store a huge amount of water in their gigantic trunks.  The trunk of a Sequoia tree can hold about 8,000 gallons of water at any given time.  Another reason for their longevity are their thick barks. These thick barks are excellent protection from insect infestation as well as being fire resistant.

It is amazing, by the way that these huge trees grow from very small seeds.  A Sequoia pinecone is about 4 to 6 inches long.  Their seeds are about one sixteenth of an inch long.  In fact, the seeds themselves are so small that it would take about 123,000 of them to weigh just 1 pound. 

The Sequoia tree was named after Sequoia, who was the Cherokee Indian who invented the Cherokee written alphabet.  Sequoia was born in about 1770 and died in 1843.

One can only regard these trees with awe for their majesty.  We must do all we can to protect these natural wonders of our natural world.  New challenges these trees face are changing climates due to global warming and pollution.

Brett, Sam, Ian, Awdal, all took it as their own personal responsibility to leave their mark on the environment. They all decided that their name was more important than anything "God" or "Mother Nature" had to offer.

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Good for them, after all it is not like I drove out of my way for 6 hours to see something spectacular. Sure I could have seen their names at home, but why bother, it is so much better to see their names on natural occurring surfaces like sandstone, even more so than seeing their names, tags, on buildings in the city, or train cars.

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Sandstone is a substance that takes forever to form, and gradually erodes with the help of wind and rain, and people carving their names, and possibly even dirty pictures, into its' soft surface. In the Alberta Badlands, near the city of Drumheller, there is a formation known as "The Hoodoos", these are really neat, natural features. Standing for hundreds of years, protected from erosion because of their "caps" the Hoodoos are being sacrificed to the Gods by people like Brett, Ian, and Sam.

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I guess they figured that when I want to take photographs of natural things, that I would want to include their names in my snap shot too. How wonderfully considerate of them. If I had known they were doing this I would have planned my trip at a different time of day, possibly to capture the light bouncing off their names from a different angle.
Are people so isolated and alone in a world of over 6 and a half million people, that they need to gain fame by carving their name into an ancient formation? Oh please let us hope Brett is not on a trip to Egypt to see the pyramids next. Let us pray Ian is not off to Machu Picchu, and forgive us if Sam is headed to Easter Island.

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But wait, let us not forget about other creative people like Awdal, who left his, or her, name on a rock in the Rocky Mountains. Along side of a bunch of other people, he, or she, defaced an entire lake by blotting out the foreground with their name on a rock. The taggers nearby are not much more important, only thing is, you cannot even read them. Defacing nature in this way clearly has one common outcome,it means every other person feels they have to do the same thing, or that they have the right to do the same thing. If people hate nature so much, why are they on vacation in a natural setting? Why didn't they just stay in the inner city?

Will Brett, Sam, Awdal, and Ian have fond memories of these natural spots and desire to bring their children to the same places? Will the places have anything natural left if they do? Is a name any more meaning full if it is carved into an ancient rock formation or painted on a boulder? Is a name any less important if it is written on paper? Is Brett going to know what an impact he made on our holiday?

Telluride, Colorado is encouraging their vacationers and towns people a like to use electric cars, they now have a rental program where you can rent them on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. These cars are delivered to your home or hotel fully charged and then you are instructed how to charge them when the battery gets low. It is recommended that the charging be done in the evening when the consumption of electricity is less. It costs approximately 60 cents to charge a completely depleted battery. The cars come in two sizes, a two passenger and a four passenger.

The city of Telluride offers free parking at all meters and in permit only parking areas for all electric cars, so this is perfect for all of your trips around town and even Bridal Veil Falls. It is wonderful when you can vacation and be good to environment at the same time, as so many times we forget to stay green when we are on vacation, and sometimes that is the most important time to remember that as that is when we are visiting our world in nature and our natural resources.

You can find Telluride between Grand Junction, Colorado and Durango, Colorado; it is a quaint mountain village with hot springs close by and magnificent scenery and natural wonders. It has a weekly farmers market , excellent hotels and fantastic camping and outdoor activities, skiing in the winter, fly fishing, river rafting, golfing and fine dining. You can find it all in the cultural mecca.

The really great part of going to a city where they have taken the effort and insight to support going green to the extent of creating a rental car to protect their environment, you know they go the extra length to go green in many other areas. When we find an area like that we need to honor and support them in their efforts. Plan your next vacation to this eco friendly town and enjoy what practicing going green means at its best.

Caramoan is a coastal town of Camarines Sur in the Southern Luzon corridor of the Philippines. It is host to a group of small islands with white sand beaches and unspoiled mountain ranges. The islands of Caramoan have remained pristine and undeveloped through the years mainly due to lack of infrastructure like roads and bridges that links the town to the other parts of the region. Caramoan town, in the recent past and during wet or rainy seasons, was isolated from the rest of the towns of Camarines Sur and connected only by sea lanes or water transpiration for its commercial survival.

This potential tourist destination has caught the attention of the regional as well as the national government of the Philippines when the crew of the well viewed TV series, “Survivor” visited the area and later decided to use GOTA Island, one of the major islands facing Pacific Ocean, as the venue for the filming the “Survivor” TV series. The executives of the production company as well as the crew and the cast must have been hooked to the beauty and serenity of the islands that they have in fact extended their stay to do more footage of the popular TV series.

Gota Island

For now, the islands part of Caramoan remained closed and off limits to tourists as well as the residents of the islands and vicinity. With the end of filming of the “Survivor” TV Series in the later part of the year, the pristine beaches and the beautiful islands of Caramoan will again be opened to the residents and visitors. And since these beautiful islands will be shown to the international audience with the showing of the “Survivor” TV Series, the people in Caramoan are preparing for the influx of international travelers and tourists who want to see for themselves the place where the “Survivor” TV Series was actually filmed.

Here are some of the smaller islands of Caramoan:

Here are some shots of the beach area:

Plans for Caramoan Peninsula

You will be surprised to know that Caramoan Peninsula will become a world class tourism destination in a few years.

Realizing its tourism potential, the provincial government of Camarines Sur has set in motion an ambitious plan to transform the Caramoan Peninsula into an upscale tourism site. This includes the upgrading and construction of a hi-way that will shorten travel time to Caramoan and a possible construction of an airport in the area. Plans have been drawn and finances have been secured to jumpstart the transformation of the area into a major tourist attraction.

Listed here are some of the great wonders of nature found in the Philippines. I have chosen 10 places that in my opinion are the best places to see in the country.

Banaue Rice Terraces

This beautiful place is located in the northern part of the country. This wonder of nature is known to Filipinos as the 8th wonder of the world. This rice terraces has been carved into the mountains by the indigenous people of Mountain Province and Ifugao more than 2000 years ago. The Banaue Rice Terraces is included in the Unesco World Heritage List in 1995.

Tubbataha Reef Marine Park

This Unesco World Heritage-listed marine park is located in the Municipality of Cagancillio, Province of Palawan. Tubbataha is made of about 10,000 coral reefs lying in the middle of Sulo Sea. Tubbataha is a nesting place for green sea turtles. It has almost 500 species of fish, about 45 species of birds, 9 species of dolphins and whales and it has about 400 species of corals.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

This great wonder of nature is another sight to enjoy. It is located in Palawan, Puerto Princesa, about 50 kilometers north of the Capital City. It has about 8 kilometers of navigable Underground River considered to be the longest in the world and features a limestone karsts mountain landscape. The river winds through a cave before it flows directly to the sea. This underground river has several chambers and also contains major formations of stalactites and stalagmites. Like the Tubbataha Reef, this nature park is included in the Unesco Heritage List.

Chocolate Hills

Chocolate Hills is located in Bohol, Philippines. It is made up of around 268 small cone-shaped hills that are almost of the same size and spread over an area of about 50 square kilometers. These coned-shaped hills are covered with grass and turns brown like a dark colored chocolate during summertime

Mayon Volcano

Mount Mayon is located is located in the province of Albay and about 15 kilometers northwest of the capital city of Legaspi.

Mount Mayon is an active volcano and has erupted about 47 times in the last 400 years. The volcano is known the world over as the most perfect cone shape volcano.

The most destructive eruption of Mount Mayon occurred in 1814 when lava flows emanating from the volcano buried the nearby town of Cagsawa, leaving only the bell tower of the church visible from the ground.. In this worst eruption, more than 2,000 people died.

Boracay Beach

Boracay Island is located in the province of Aklan with a land area of about 10 square kilometers. The island is famous for its powdery white sand and now considered as one of the best beaches in the world. From an unknown travel destination years ago, Boracay is now teeming with upscale tourists from all over the world.

Siargao Island

Siargao Island is located in the province of Surigao del Norte. It has a land area of over 400 square kilometers. Siargao is known the world over as one of the best Surfing destinations. It is home to Siargao Cup, a Philippine and International Surfing competition sponsored by the local government of Surigao.

Hundred Islands of Pangasinan

Hundred Islands is located in Pangasinan. These islands are scattered in deep blue waters of Ligayen Gulf. Some of the bigger islands have white sand beaches and dining facilities for visitors to enjoy.

Pagsanjan Falls

Pagsanjan Falls is located south of Metro Manila in the province of Laguna. The place is very popular among domestic and international travelers. Shooting the rapids is its major attraction. Boatmen will take you in their banca (wooden boat) to the river upstream, go swimming and shoot the rapids on your way downstream.

Taal Volcano

Taal Volcano is located in the island of Luzon in the province of Batangas, about 50 kilometers south of Manila. It is an active volcano with a large lake in its crater. The lake is popular fishing ground for residents living in the vicinity of the volcano.