Galapagos, Ecuador, Canada, Nicaragua, costa rica, panama photos Ursula Tillmann

Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama travels

Garden of Eden - Galapagos Islands and Ecuador

A trip of a life-time - the Galapagos, also called the isles where you can see evolution in process, a garden of Eden and the cradle of life. Darwin's finches, his brief six week excursion here, made them famous. It is not the survival of the strongest, but those who can adapt best. And although only 600 species are on these islands, but the variety - depending on the harshness of the climate on each isle - is huge. As Darwin's finches. There are some fifty different kinds which adapted and multiplied. The Galapagos islands (some 124 of them, only a few are inhabited by people - thank Heaven for that) are about one thousand kilometers west of the coast of Ecuador. They belong to this small but very versatile South American country rich in oil and many natural minerals but also rich in agriculture. Every spot in the Andes is used to grow food by the locals - potatoes can be harvested three times a year, broccoli even three and a half times a year. Beside cacao, bananas, pineapples, mango, oranges, lemons, avocado, figs, potatoes, sugar cane and rice, Ecuador is also known for alpaca weaving and the hand-made Panama hats. They originate here and are only hand-made in Ecuador. Not straw, but the spouts of baby bamboo is used to hand-weave those hats. That they are called "Panama Hat" has only one simple reason: they were stored in Panama after being made in Ecuador before the merchandise was shipped into the world.

Rocky Mountain high in Alberta, Canada

The Canadian Rocky Mountains - the beauty of the land and its creatures. Alberta, rich on oil, has also a wealth of natural beauty. People here fish, ski, golf, bike and hike. it's a year-round destination with more than four months of winter. Try out dog-sledding with Snowy Owl who run their outfits with husky dogs at Spray Lake in Canmore. Banff National Park is only an hour and a half drive west of Calgary. Lake Louise and Jasper are two other destinations. But there is also a lot to see in the foothills where Bison used to roam. Or check out the handicraft of the Stoney Native People on Morely Reserve. Interesting is also the heritage and life-style of Hutterites in Alberta. They live on colonies and farm the land.