cobá, méxico

Cobá is a very extensive (and mostly unexcavated) ancient Maya site in the Yucatán jungle, and includes the Nohoch Mul: the tallest pyramid on the Yucatán peninsula, over 130 feet high.

The majority of construction is thought to date from 500-900 AD, although some construction and repairs continued at least through the 1300s, if not to the time the Spanish conquistadors arrived.

elkport revisited

Remember that little bank building that I blogged about last winter, from the once-town of Elkport, IA? I went back there this weekend to see if it was still standing... and it's not. In the above photo, it used to sit between the powerline post and the tree at the right.

The far building that is also missing from the left picture was the old high school. That building was in bad shape -- the roof had caved in -- and they were already starting to demolish it by the time I left in April. I assume that the bank was then next.

Shortly after I had posted the original photos back in February, I was informed (thanks, Jim!) that the bank building was actually used as the town Post Office for many years (I'm unsure if it was still the Post Office at the time of the flood in 2004, but I did see some letter boxes through the window, so it's possible).

The entire flood area is now a community park and campground. I don't know what kind of structural damage the bank building sustained (the outside walls looked pretty stable to my untrained eye), but it's unfortunate that it wasn't able to be saved and incorporated into the park.

The church is still standing, and looks in great shape.

the kann building, #1

elkport, iowa

The little town of Elkport was demolished in 2006, after major flooding in 2004 resulted in a federal buyout. This bank is one of the few buildings still left standing. I'm not sure what's to become of it, but I think it's only still standing because it was on the state's historical buildings list.

No, I didn't go inside. But I did peek through the window.

[ update Oct 2009 ]

Μυκῆναι (mycenae)

The morning of my second day in Nafplio, I took a bus to the ancient ruins of Mycenae. I won't outline Mycenae's history here; suffice it to say Mycenae was a central power of ancient Greek civilization, ruled by the likes of Perseus and Agamemnon, chronicled by Homer in his epics.

palamidi fortress

The Palamidi Fortress, overlooking Nafplio and the surrounding gulf, is by far my favorite ruin. It was built by the Venetians in the early 18th century, and consists of multiple (at least five) bastions. After climbing the 860+ stairs up the hill (that's just to get to the entrance gate; once inside, there are many more stairs, depending on where you'd like to go), you're free to explore the whole expanse of the fortress on your own (and at your own peril).

Wandering around was so much fun (many of the bastions are well-preserved, and still have rooms and tunnels and such to poke your head into) that I made a video for you to join in. Prepare yourself for some jostling; it's quite difficult to keep the camera steady while scampering over 300 year old cobblestones.

malta limestone

In its many forms: Hagar Qim, one of the prehistoric temple ruins; Birgu, the Order of the Knights of St. John's capital city before they built Valletta; one of the thousands of stone walls criss-crossing Malta's countryside. Did I mention that there's lots of limestone?