The sides of buildings have become a blank canvass for artists to create unique and often whimsical murals. While there is still graffiti in plenty of places, a lot of it has mostly been replaced by interesting works of art. Although not everyone is a fan of the works that can be found in cities everywhere, we have certainly seen some interesting ones. Obviously the quality of the artwork depends on the talent of the artist and the choice of subjects can be political or can sometimes offend as well. The notion of using walls of buildings to tell a visual story is nothing new as we witnessed by seeing all of the hieroglyphs on the ancient temples in Egypt. These murals aren’t restricted to the outside of buildings, it is also common to see them painted on the walls of restaurants as well. What do you think, are the paintings on the walls artwork or an eyesore?
Space Themed Art in DenverBuilding in Quito, EcuadorPainted Building in Reykjavik, IcelandThe Lennon Wall in PragueSandhill Cranes Painted on Wall in Southern ColoradoTemple of Horace in Edfu, EgyptArtwork in Cochabamba, BoliviaSante Fe, New MexicoWall in Brasov, RomaniaRestaurant Wall in PraguePainted Wall Above Elevators in DenverWall in Mexican RestaurantChinatown MuralHungarian Street ArtStreet Art in Panama City, PanamaFish Mosaic Wall in Vietnam
The past year has been one of frustration in terms of our ability to get out and see the world. As vaccinations continue to rapidly increase across the world, the variants and additional waves continue to keep the future of travel in a state of flux. In general, we are optimistic people and we continue to be hopeful that things will change for the better in the near future, but our optimism seems to get dashed lately. Sure, we can travel domestically and there is nothing wrong with that, however what we really want is to get out and see something new. We had plans to go to Turkey last April and we postponed it to November last year instead of our original destination of Africa and then had to cancel the trip entirely. In its place, we planned a trip for this April to visit Portugal only to be notified that the country remains on lockdown and so that trip was canceled. Ever the optimists, we heard that travel to portions of Africa were open to international travel and since we originally wanted to go there last year so we were looking at going there in June, but now things seem to be closing again there as well.
Entrance to Hoa Lu in the Ninh Binh Province of VietnamStanding Outside of the Bent Pyramid in Egypt
We aren’t giving up, though. We will travel someplace this June, we’re just not sure where. There are places in Central and South America that are open, but things could change with a minute’s notice. If we can’t get out of the country, we will go someplace in the continental United States. We will be fully vaccinated within a couple of weeks, which seems to be the new requirement for traveling. We’re not sure if everyone is going through the severe sense of “travel withdrawal” that we are, but if we don’t go somewhere soon we might just go stir crazy. Any recommendations of places that are open to travel for us to consider would be greatly appreciated.
Amazon Rainforest in EcuadorHiking to the Waterfall in Panama
It doesn’t matter where we travel to, but we always like taking photographs of sunsets. As beautiful as they are wherever you may be, there is something extra special when you are in an exotic location. We don’t always take photographs of them and sometimes just sit and relax while watching the sun descend to the horizon. Also, sometimes we don’t have our camera with us, so we take them with our phones, but that doesn’t diminish the beauty of the image. We have put several of our favorite sunset photographs from some of our more unique travels here.
Sunset Over the Amazon Rainforest
When we were in Ecuador, we stayed at an ecolodge that was located deep in the Amazon Rainforest. On our first night there, we climbed up to the observation deck and had the opportunity to see this wonderful sunset. You’ll have to use your imagination to hear the monkeys and birds that were all around us in the treetops.
Sunset Over Halong BayAnother Sunset on Halong Bay
During our three day cruise in Halong Bay in Vietnam, we saw several amazing sunsets. We even saw a few sunrises as well, but the sunsets were much more vivid. It really didn’t matter what time of day it was to enjoy the scenery, but watching the sunset from the deck of the boat was certainly a highlight.
Sunset from Our Hotel in Copacabana Sunset over Lake Titicaca
While we were in Bolivia, we visited Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca. The following day we took a boat out to see Sun Island and Moon Island and our day started with rain showers. The gathering clouds during the evening before added to the sunset.
Sunset Over the Nile RiverClear Sky on the Nile River
Sailing down the Nile River in Egypt from Luxor to Aswan provided some absolutely stunning sunsets. Something about the sand being blown into the air adds to the way that the sun reflects as it descends. It also signaled that the temperatures were about to drop, which was a massive relief considering how hot it was in Egypt.
View of the Sunset Over the Mekong River in Vientiane, LaosSunset from the Rooftop Restaurant in Laos
While in Vientiane, we spent the evening walking along the Mekong River that separates Laos from Thailand. There is a large park along the river and at night people from throughout the city gather to enjoy food and carnival rides.
Beautiful Colors as Sunset Ended in Acapulco, MexicoPeak of a Sunset on a Twilight Cruise in Acapulco
We saw several wonderful sunsets while we were in Acapulco. We took a twilight cruise where we enjoyed drinks on the ship while we cruised along the coast. We also went to see the cliff divers, who perform shortly after the sun goes down, so we ate dinner prior to the show and watched the sunset. It made for a very relaxing evening.
It could be us, but there is something magical about sunsets with palm trees in the foreground. And any time you can capture the sun’s reflection on the water, it makes for a wonderful photograph. Looking back at some of these photographs makes us long to get to someplace exotic once again in the near future.
