TOP TEN PLACES:
Okavanga Delta, Botswana
Patagonia (El Calafate/ El Chalten/ Torres del Paine)
Bulungula, South Africa
Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique
Petra, Jordan
Galapagos, Ecuador
Tofo, Mozambique
Pammukale, Turkey
Molunlong, Lesotho
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

TOP TEN CITIES:
Cape Town, South Africa
Istanbul, Turkey
Barcelona, Spain
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Oaxaca, Mexico
Cinque Terra, Italy
Cagnes Sur Mer, France
Havana, Cuba
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Cartagena, Colombia

Top 10 things to bring:
mosquito repellent
pony-o’s
afterbite
Lonely Planet travel book
Blackberry with international data plan
flashlight
a knife
a book
more money than you think you need
an open mind and plenty of patience to live/travel at a slower pace in order to appreciate every moment.

There are two entrances to Pammukale, one is a two kilometer walk to the site, and the other one is only 250 meters. We decided to take the shorter south entrance, which somehow is less frequently used.  Right when you enter, there are man-made pools of water, but as you continue upwards there are more and more natural travertines; some filled with water and some are completely empty.  The stalactites and travertine pools are made from calcium carbonate deposits that come from the hot spring water as it cools.

The entire time we were climbing up, I kept saying to Mike, I don’t get it, how can they let people just walk all over these, don’t they know it will destroy the natural formation of the calcium deposits??

As far back as the Roman times, Pammukale, with its natural hot springs was considered therapeutic and was believed to have restorative powers.  By the 1980’s the hot springs started to dry up due to the hotels using the springs to fill their swimming pools.  In an effort to preserve the site, the hotels have been demolished, and a walkway has been created for the tourists.  Even now, the water flow is still minimal by comparison to what it originally was.

So it turns out we were supposed to walk along a path, which we didn’t see, and there was no one there to tell us.  And while we were enjoying ourselves taking pictures, wondering why more measures weren’t taken to preserve this beautiful site, we were trampling all over it.  I feel awful about this, especially because it’s one of my favorite things I’ve seen.  It was so pretty.  The ridge-like texture of the calcium deposits are so organic and tactile.  And nothing compares to the pale blue water reflecting off the white calcium deposits.