Apr 29th, 2013 at 10:00AM:
Green Spain has finally emerged from a miserable winter into a glorious if unreliable springtime, so it's time to get out and enjoy the region's natural beauty.
The northern coastal strip of Spain consisting of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Region has the best outdoor and underground adventures the country has to offer. Its combination of scenic hikes and extensive caves is ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
cave posts
Springtime In Green Spain: Time To Get Out Into The Countryside, And Under It!
Apr 29th, 2013 at 10:00AM:
Green Spain has finally emerged from a miserable winter into a glorious if unreliable springtime, so it's time to get out and enjoy the region's natural beauty.
The northern coastal strip of Spain consisting of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Region has the best outdoor and underground adventures the country has to offer. Its combination of scenic hikes and extensive caves is ...Video: Wingsuit Pilot Flies Through Cave
Apr 18th, 2013 at 8:00AM: Looking for a dose of adrenaline to get your day started right? If so, then look no further than the video below, which features wingsuit pilot Alexander Polli pushing the limits of good sense to the absolute edge.
On a recent visit to the Roca Foradada Mountains, located near Montserrat, Spain, Polli came up with the idea of attempting to fly through a small cave on a rocky outcropping. The ...
Fourth Largest Cave In The World Discovered In Iran
Apr 5th, 2013 at 8:00AM: A team of Iranian spelunkers exploring an underground cave system near Mehriz, Yazd have made a surprising discovery. Last year, the group of cavers stumbled across a massive underground chamber and after taking careful and exact measurements of its size, the cave is now confirmed to be the fourth largest in the world.
This new cavern is part of the Ghar-e-Dosar cave system located in central ...Chicago's Field Museum Unveils Brilliant Reconstruction Of Lascaux Prehistoric Cave
Mar 21st, 2013 at 9:00AM:
The Field Museum in Chicago is the first venue in North America to host an impressive 3D reconstruction of the famous prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux, France.
"Scenes from the Stone Age: The Cave Paintings of Lascaux" showcases the best-ever full-sized replica of the paintings, including many never before seen by the public. Visitors will feel like they're in the cave itself as they ...Gadling Goes Underground: More Explorations Of Caves In Spain
Mar 18th, 2013 at 10:00AM:
The caves in Spain are famous for their variety and extent. Some delve more than a kilometer into the ground. Others are adorned with prehistoric cave art more than 10,000 years old. Almost all have beautiful rock formations. There's a whole other world under the one we usually see.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm taking a course on caving. My first experience was in Cañuela ...Caving In Northern Spain
Mar 14th, 2013 at 10:00AM:
After living a year in Santander in Cantabria, northern Spain, I had a problem. I was chronically, unutterably, and perhaps terminally bored. Santander is a sleepy regional town, and while weekend hikes and trips for Gadling helped ease my boredom somewhat, I was still not getting my drug of choice – a long-term, low-level adrenaline high.
There's nothing like it. Do something ...VIDEO: Prehistoric Art Of Panther Cave Reproduced In 3D
Mar 10th, 2013 at 2:00PM:
Panther Cave in Seminole Canyon, Texas, has some of the country's best-preserved prehistoric cave paintings. A colorful frieze of leaping panthers, feathered shamans and strange abstract shapes have puzzled researchers for decades. It appears to be telling a story of some sort, but what does that story say?
Now this new 3D video allows you to study it for yourself. Color enhancement brings ...
Exploring The Marvels Of Croatia's Modric Cave
Dec 26th, 2012 at 9:00AM: Twist your head to the right, your body to the left and wiggle through the crack, urged the guide leading us through Modric Cave in Croatia. Pretending I was a pretzel worked. After dragging my lagging left leg through a fissure between caverns, I re-lit my carbide miner's lamp and stood stunned by the beauty of crystals sparkling on the curvaceous stalactites. My husband, who was a spelunker in ...Meramec Caverns: The Coolest Attraction On Route 66
Jun 20th, 2012 at 11:00AM:
If you want to beat the heat this summer, there's no better way to do that than to explore a cool and beautiful cave.
Missouri is one of the best states to see them. A combination of lots of limestone and plenty of water has honeycombed the state with some 6,000 caves, from tiny little crawl spaces to grand and glorious show caves. One of the most popular is Meramec Caverns in Stanton, ...
World's Oldest Cave Art Found In Spain
Jun 15th, 2012 at 1:30PM:
Archaeologists analyzing prehistoric paintings in Spain have discovered the earliest example of cave art.
El Castillo Cave in Cantabria on Spain's northern coast was one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites investigated for the study. The earliest dates were a minimum of 40,800 years ago for a red disk, 37,300 years for a hand stencil, and 35,600 years for a club-shaped symbol. The red disk ...Video: The Prehistoric Cave Art Of Cantabria, Spain
May 14th, 2012 at 5:00PM:
One of the advantages of living in Europe is that you can visit lots of historic sites with your kids. This fosters an interest in the past, reduces museum fatigue and is a great way to learn together.
I live in Cantabria, on the north coast of Spain, a region filled with historic sites from Napoleonic forts to preserved Roman towns. Cantabria is most famous for the prehistoric cave art in ...
Two day hikes in the mountains of Cantabria, Spain
Nov 30th, 2011 at 2:00PM:
As I've mentioned on this blog before, I've moved from Madrid to Santander, in Cantabria in northern Spain. This region is part of what's often called Green Spain, made up of the four northern regions of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, and the Basque Country. I'm loving life by the sea and I've been busy exploring Cantabria's countryside, which offers some of the best hikes in Spain. Green and ...Hiking in Cantabria, Spain: my first day out
Sep 20th, 2011 at 11:00AM: As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm no longer living in Madrid and have moved to Santander, a port in Cantabria on Spain's northern coast. Cantabria is part of Green Spain, the area that includes the regions of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, and El País Vasco.
This strip of land situated between high mountains and the sea gets plenty of rain and doesn't look at all like the common ...Oldest cave art in UK discovered and vandalized
Aug 31st, 2011 at 11:30AM: A design of a reindeer hidden in the back of a Welsh cave may be the oldest cave art in the UK, archaeologists say. Sadly, it's been vandalized.
Unlike the more familiar cave paintings of France and Spain, the reindeer is scratched into the rock instead of being painted, like this horse from the Scottish cave of East Weymss courtesy Europe a la Carte. No photo of the reindeer has been released ...Green Spain: Exploring Iberia's Celtic north
Jul 6th, 2011 at 10:30AM:
When people think of Spain, they tend to think of a sun-soaked, dry land with a hot climate and beautiful beaches. For the most part that's true, but Spain's northern region is very different and equally worth a visit.
Spain's four northern provinces are often called Green Spain. From west to east, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, and the Basque Country are a verdant strip between the North ...Scuba diver sets new depth record exploring New Zealand cave
May 8th, 2011 at 8:00AM: An Australian scuba diver set a new record for depth recently while exploring a remote underground river cave in New Zealand. He, and his teammates, braved dark passageways, icy cold water, and treacherous conditions in an effort to find the elusive source of the Pearse River.
Diver Craig Challan descended to a depth of 194 meters or roughly 636 feet, as he cautiously made his way along the ...The Old Leather Man: controversy over digging up a legend
May 3rd, 2011 at 10:00AM: Investigators in Connecticut are planning to uncover a local legend, but they're facing a backlash of public sentiment.
An archaeological team will open the grave of The Old Leather Man, a mysterious wanderer who from 1883 to 1889 walked a 365 mile loop from the lower Hudson River Valley into Connecticut and back. It took him 34 days to make the journey and he was so punctual that well-wishers ...Archaeology reveals the best way to drink: from a human skull
Feb 17th, 2011 at 11:30AM:
Archaeologists in England have discovered three prehistoric skulls that were used as cups, the BBC reports.
The skulls were carefully worked into the shape of bowls. They were found in Gough's Cave, Somerset, and are 14,700 years old. These make them the oldest skull cups discovered. Investigators found other human remains in the cave that suggest people split the bones to get at the marrow. ...World's largest cave passage finally revealed
Jan 6th, 2011 at 12:00PM:
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For whatever reason, caves appeal to me. And although I'm admittedly a novice, my brawniness negotiated only by yoga, caving appeals to me, as well. I just started exploring caves a few years ago and have found my efforts to expand on the practice stifled by White Nose Syndrome, a condition that has left bats for dead in caves from Canada to Oklahoma. ...Book Review: Underground England
Dec 14th, 2010 at 2:30PM: England is a land of countless half-forgotten legends and secret hidden places.
In Underground England: Travels Beneath our Cities and Countryside, Stephen Smith explores these places, worming his way through damp caves and exploring haunted tunnels under crumbling castles. While he starts with natural caves, of which England is blessed with more than its fair share, he soon veers off into ...
