WONDERS FOUND EVERYWHERE
Book looks at awe-inspiring places
From crypts and cemeteries like Palermo’s Capuchin Catacombs to fiery places such as the Door to Hell, a flaming crater in a Turkmenistan desert.
Natural wonders such as Spotted Lake (Kliluk) in Osoyoos, B.C., and man-made marvels like former monk Don Justo’s cathedral in Madrid — under way since 1961.
Works of land art like Robert Smithson’s 457-metre long Spiral Jetty in Great Salt Lake, Utah, and outsider artist Peter Camani’s Midlothian Castle, comprised of hundreds of screaming concrete heads outside of Burk’s Falls, Ont.
Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders (Workman Publishing, 2016) by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras and Ella Morton, includes these curious attractions and hundreds more across all seven continents.
The one thing these unique sights have in common: “There’s something about (these places) that all of us find interesting, unusual, surprising. There’s a lot of wonderful stuff that couldn’t make it in,” Thuras says.
Inspired by the website of the same name (atlasobscura.com), the book pulls from an ever-expanding catalogue of “places, people, and things that inspire our sense of wonder.” Since the site launched in 2009, thousands of members across the globe have contributed entries.
“With this collection of 700 places, we are showing what’s out there and expanding the sense of what is possible in this world. And we want to evoke wonder in people as it has been evoked in us. We want to show the awe-inspiring places, people, and things that are out there in the world,” Morton says.
The authors say that although Atlas Obscura has the trappings of a travel guide, they intended it to be something different. Rather than providing a list of off-the-beaten-track destinations, they are encouraging people to explore, whether in their own backyard or across the world.
“When we started this, we had kind of a mission, which was to help people experience a sense of wonder and curiosity about this profoundly strange planet that we all inhabit. Insomuch as wonder is about surprise, its enemy is exposure. And we might have thought that at this point, having done this for seven years, there would be little left that could surprise us and still evoke a sense of wonder in the three of us,” Foer says.
“The coolest surprise about all of this has been that every day people are contributing places to Atlas Obscura that still make us drop our jaws and say, ‘How is it possible that we’re sharing the planet with this place, or this thing, or this person doing this incredible thing?’ That is what keeps all of us going.”
The coolest surprise about all of this has been that every day people are contributing places to Atlas Obscura that still make us drop our jaws and say, ‘How is it possible that we’re sharing the planet with this place, or this thing ... ’ Joshua Foer
That’s where a port call is made on remote Korsakov, which has passed in and out of Japanese control throughout history. This particular voyage is offered on four dates in 2017: Aug. 20; Sept. 5 and 18; and Oct. 1.
If you have some time to spare, it’s tough to beat the 16-day “Hokkaido and Ryukyu Islands” voyage — only offered on July 5. This voyage offers a great look at Japan and swings down into Taiwan, with a call on Keelung — the port city of Taipei. Other ports include Okinawa, Ishigaki, Kushiro, Otaru, Hakodate, and the stop in Korsakov, Russia.
They aren’t your typical voyage through Asia where few cruise lines focus an entire season on Japan — fewer with a ship with such comfort and amenities. The Diamond Princess has plenty of open deck space to enjoy scenic cruising throughout Japan’s famous Shiretoko Peninsula, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With snow-capped mountains, cascading waterfalls and towering cliff faces, it also includes one of the largest populations of brown bears in the world.
For2017, the 39 itineraries — from five to 17 nights — in Japan is poised to be the line’s biggest. With Princess you can combine these voyages with overland journeys that explore both Kyoto and Tokyo. These add-on packages explore some of the most popular sights in each city, and visit the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Mt. Fuji, Togendai and Lake Ashi.
Happy cruising.
Visit portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-707-7327, www.cruiseshipcenters.com, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com