Lizards around Las Vegas
For the last year I have been walking around Las Vegas every day with my camera for exercise and to avoid going mental. Over that time period I have accumulated a collection of lizard photos which I thought would make a nice post. Even though there are lots of little lizards in the Mohave desert […]
Baby Ostriches on the Ocean
The South African Ostrich (Struthio camelus australis), also known as the Black-Necked Ostrich, Cape Ostrich or Southern Ostrich is a subspecies of the common ostrich endemic to Southern Africa. In the 18th century, ostrich feathers were so popular in ladies’ fashion that they disappeared from all of North Africa. If not for ostrich farming, which […]
Portugal
Portugal is a small, sun-drenched country with a big footprint on world history. It preceded Spain by almost 250 years in expelling the Moors from it’s territory. Portugal emerged as a country in 1143, after a 15 year rebellion by Afonso I. Under Prince Henry the Navigator, Portuguese ships sailed out along the coast of Africa. The Madeira Islands and the Azores were colonized. Under John II (1481–95) voyages of exploration were resumed. Bartholomew Diaz rounded (1488) the Cape of Good Hope. By the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), Spain and Portugal divided the non-Christian world between them. During the glittering reign of Manuel I (1495–1521) the Portuguese Empire extended across the world, to Asia, Africa, and America.
