It only looks surreal – as so much of Central Asia can be.  That’s why it’s one of the most magically entrancing parts of our planet. In a hidden valley high in the mountains of Tajikistan there is a stepping-stone series of lakes called The Seven Pearls of Shing.  This is one of them at early sunrise.

The number of magically surrealistic-yet-real sights and experiences like this throughout Central Asia, be they in nature, in Silk Road history, in culture or with welcoming people everywhere, are as innumerable as they are unforgettable.

You owe it to yourself to at least browse through past photos of The Heart of Central Asia expedition so you can immerse yourself in imagining being there for real. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #259 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

This is a Hoatzin. I took this picture in the Amazon jungles of Colombia, its native habitat. It has no genetic relationship to any other bird, and thus has its own family, the Opisthocomidae, and its own suborder, the Opisthocomi. Extensive DNA-sequencing demonstrates that “the hoatzin is the last surviving member of a bird line that branched off in its own direction 64 million years ago, shortly after the extinction event that killed the non-avian dinosaurs.”

The Hoatzin is the Dinosaur Bird, the only bird on earth directly descended from the dinosaurs. It makes weird noises – grunts, hisses, groans and croaks – no melodious birdsongs. It emits an awful smell due to its fermentation digestive system, and tastes just as awful so no one hunts it for food. Yet it is distinctively pretty in a hyper-funky way. Spend enough time exploring the Amazon, and you may be lucky to see one. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #186 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Mount Athos, Greece.  The Monastic Community of Mount Athos has been independent from the rest of the world for over a thousand years.  In all that time, no woman has been allowed to enter.  20 Eastern Orthodox Christian monasteries, home to  some 2,000 monks, are scattered along the Athos peninsula at the apex of the Aegean Sea.  The most dramatic of them is Simonopetra built in the 1200s on a huge granite rock hanging on a cliff 1,000 feet above the sea.

Little wonder it is nicknamed The Potala of the Aegean, after the famed Potala in Lhasa, Tibet.

You have to get special permission to enter Mount Athos and stay in one of the monasteries.  There are no tourists and no hotels.  My son Jackson and I were privileged to be here. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #306 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Welcome to Transnistria, where Lenin still lives. The strangest country in Europe is a narrow sliver of landlocked land along the east side of the Dnieper River sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine. When both declared independence as the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, the people here decided they were still part of the USSR even though it had ceased to exist.

The half-million Transnistrians are still pretending their country is a Soviet Socialist Republic. Lenin statues abound, the hammer & sickle is on their flag, the state media broadcasts stories about “glorious Soviet history.” Meanwhile, Transnistria’s economy is doing well thanks to bountiful Kremlin subsidies and as a haven for the Russian mob. In the capital of Tiraspol I saw Beemers, Bentleys, and even a Corvette Sting Ray cruising the streets. Restaurants and bars are packed. Kids are well-dressed. That’s a gaggle of them you see above happily playing on a Russian tank in a park.

Maybe it’s all kind of a funny game to everyone here. As an American I was welcomed with smiles. You will be too if you visit – it’s a truly unique experience! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #69 photo ©Jack Wheeler)