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Cambridge, the University City, England Situated on the River Cam, Cambridge is an English university town that sustains its economy thanks to the thousands of students who come to its universities to pursue their studies or learn English, attracted by a reputation in the field of education that harks back to the year 1209. |
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Great Crested Grebe The Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) is the largest member of the Grebe family found in Europe. Favouring deep waters as its habitat, it can often be found on lakes, reservoirs, ponds and marshes across most of Europe. |
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Somiedo Natural Park, Asturias, Spain Somiedo Natural Park is located in the Cantabrian mountain range, spanning some 39.000 hectares between the municipalities of Belmonte de Miranda, Teverga and Somiedo itself. It was simultaneously the first ever natural park as well as the first ever Biosphere Reserve to be launched in Asturias, clearly making it a unique natural space. |
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The Northwest Winds over Cantabria, Asturias, Spain The Northwest Winds (known as “galernas”) are violent storms that break out suddenly during warm and peaceful days. A cold front is followed by strong winds that shift in direction and intensity. |
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Nature as Art Shapes, colours, fantasy, compositions, design, sheer beauty… everything has already been invented by Nature, and the world is its Exhibitions Hall. |
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Holy Week, Asturias, Spain Commemorating the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Christ, the Semana Santa (Holy Week) is the Christian festival par excellence. Thousands of devotees gather in cofradías (brotherhoods) across the entire country, marching through city streets as they carry their icons upon their shoulder, to the solemn tune of the clarinet and bass drums. |
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The Capercaillie: The last of the romantics in our woodlands Its scientific name is Tetrao urogallus, and Asturias is home to the smallest of the twelve existing sub-species. Known as cantabricus, it is, according to the “Libro Rojo de la Fauna” (Red Book of Wildlife), on the brink of extinction, due to its low numbers and a diminishing, fragmented population, over 300 kilometres away from the aquitanticus subspecies that lives in the Pyrenees. |
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The Egyptian vulture: The wise vulture Many years ago (longer that I am comfortable admitting), while watching a program by the popular late Spanish biologist Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, I was positively impressed by some images he had managed to capture of the Egyptian vulture, one of the rarest (originally African) types that arrived in the Peninsula to breed its offspring. This was the inspiration that led me to work on this feature. |
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The Old City of Acre, Israel Acre is a coastal city in Israel, right by the Mediterranean Sea and next to Haifa Bay. Known as Saint John of Acre during the Crusades, it is believed to have been founded 1500 years before the birth of Christ, making it one of the oldest cities known to mankind. |
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Guimarães, Capital of European Culture 2012 Guimarães is a small city in the Braga District (Portugal), which for many years supported its economy via its rich textile industry. However, once this old era of industrial might came to an end, the city’s hopes for resurgence were placed on a stunningly rich cultural and artistic renaissance; one that eventually led it to become Capital of European Culture in the year 2012. |
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Costa Rica, Nature at its purest Spanning only 0.03% of the planet’s overall surface, Costa Rica is a small land indeed. When it comes to nature, however (both in terms of diversity and preservation), no other country compares. The level of environmental performance makes it the most important land of its kind in the Americas, and the third most important worldwide (after Iceland and Switzerland). |
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Iceland, between ice and volcanoes Located at the far north-west of Europe and practically uninhabited (with a population of scarcely 330,000), Iceland welcomes its visitors to a country that is rich in volcanic and geological activity and full of plains, semi-deserts, mountains and glaciers that join forces to create some of the most unique landscapes in the continent. |
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Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA Antelope Canyon is one of the worlds’ most frequently visited and photographed canyons. Located in the municipe of Page (North Arizona), it has been carved through water-caused erosion over thousands of years. The canyon’s walls can reach as high as 40 metres. |
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The Fox (Vulpes vulpes), Spain The fox can be found throughout the entire Iberian Peninsula, and is absent from the Balearic and Canaries islands. Although the forest remains its number one choice of hunting territory, its omnivore feeding habits allow it to survive in most habitats, including densely populated towns and cities, where it can often be seen prowling in search of waste. |
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Bulls at the Bibio, Gijon, Asturias, Spain The Bullring in Gijon (known as El Bibio) first opened its doors on August 12th 1888 and has since regularly held the traditional bullfights that mark the great festivities of Nuestra Señora de Begoña. |
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