The Ring of Fire

The Pacific Ring of Fire is a chain of volcanoes, running along the coastline of various continents bordering the Pacific Ocean. It's a notoriously geologically unstable region that is home to over 75% of the world's volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and other than the Haiti Earthquake of 2010, this area has been victim to more natural disasters and human devastation than any other this century. Starting with the 2004 earthquake that erupted off the back edge of the Ring of Fire and started the tsunami that destroyed numerous vacation destinations and took countless lives. So may lives were lost that no one is sure, but its estimated that 231,000+ lives vanquished. The 2008 Sichuan China earthquake had 69, 195 causalities. Last month in Christchurch, New Zealand approximately 200 lives were taken in a 6.3 earthquake. On March 10, in China near Myanmar another 24 lives fell to a 5.8 quake.

An now as the disaster unfolds in Japan and reports blanket the Internet, Japan may be experiencing it's worst natural disaster in history that began with an 8.9 earthquake yesterday and followed by at least one 6.3 aftershock. Some 1300+ lives are missing with a minimum of 675 confirmed dead.

Life is precious and fleeting. Prayers go out to all that are suffering or have suffered.

Al,

the Travel Valet

An Idiot Abroad

I don't know how many of you have seen the television's newest travel experiment, An Idiot Abroad. According to the Science Channel, many of you, something like 15 million, have. At least that's their claim on the commercial trailers. It's a pretty damn funny take on a Brit who doesn't like to venture outside of his element being thrust into very uncomfortable situations on the premise of seeing many of the world's great attractions. Ricky Gervais funds this "practical joke" experiment and goes out of his way to place Karl Pilkington (the Brit) in many compromising and uncomfortable situations. "It's quite funny. You should check it out."

On a side bar, why is it when we (Americans) watch British television do we feel the need to turn up the volume? Do we think British syntax will morph into a Midwest accent as the volume increases? It puzzles me, too.

Happy Travel,
Al, the Travel Valet