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Jubilee Bridge is a pedestrian bridge spanning the Singapore River, connecting Merlion Park and The Esplanade.
Marina Bay area, Singapore.
GPS might not the exact point of this photo.
Have a nice day everyone!
… the pale sunshine’s reflection on the beach’s sand creates a very particular shine on the façades along the Esplanade.
All the moai statues were carved in volcanic tuff from the quarries of the Rano Raraku volcano, located one kilometer northwest. Despite their relative closeness, it is still not explained how they were able to transport to Tongariki these huge giants that have an average weight of 40 tons.
The moai measure between 5.6 and 8.7 meters, being the highest and heaviest (86 tons) the fifth on the right. If at the height of the moai, we add the 4 meters of the back wall and the almost 2 meters of the pukao or headdresses that adorned the head, the complete monument reaches a maximum height of 14 meters.
Formerly all the moai of the ahu carried a pukao on their head, but during the restoration only one could be placed on the second moai on the right. The others, due to the passage of time and the tsunami, were too eroded. On the right side of the platform I saw seven of these huge cylinders carved in red scoria extracted from the Puna Pau volcano.
Southeast external slope of the Rano Raraku volcano is the birthplace of the iconic moais.
The Rano Raraku is one of the most impressive sites in all of Easter Island. The famous moai were made in this volcano and the place is surrounded by these giant statues. I was amazed by the landscape adorned with colossal stone.
Broken moais were simply abandoned - the energy (mana) was considered to have disappeared if they fell and broke, requiring another moai to be carved in its place.
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Photography at Rano Raraku:
As Rano Raraku has statues facing all directions, there is no one best moment during the day for taking photos here. It all depends on the statues you want to take photos of.
Summer is better for taking good photos in Rano Raraku. In winter, many statues are completely covered in the volcano's shade due to the low position of the sun.
Sidmouth is one of my favourite seaside towns in this part of England. It has an air of gentility with none of the brashness sometimes associated with the English seaside. The beautiful seafront is mostly Georgian and Regency with the relatively tiny town centre just behind. The town is sandwiched between two vast red sandstone cliffs, with the delightful Connaught Gardens sitting on a small headland at the western end of the seafront. If we are anywhere near this part of the country I can never resist the temptation to pay a visit.
The sun's rays start to come out.
The sun rises right in the middle of the platform on the 21st of June (solstice). The longest day of the year.
Of course, knowing when the seasons are changing was extremely important for farmers, which is why at least another 15 platforms on the island are infallible inventions of solar power.
I had a few very pleasant days in Sidmouth on the east Devon coast in the middle of January. Apart from the dramatic surrounding red sandstone cliffs, one of the most characteristic features of the town is this delightful group of Georgian and Regency cottages at the bottom of Peak Hill (on the right), overlooking the Esplanade. Immediately behind is the rocky promontory on which sits the beautiful Connaught Gardens, where I have spent many a happy hour enjoying the views of the coast or a light meal in the charming cafe.
The Esplanade is the beautiful seafront road that runs alongside Sidmouth's row of mainly Regency hotels. Sidmouth was originally a fishing village until the fashion for coastal resorts grew in the Georgian and Victorian periods of the 18th and 19th centuries. The first purpose-built hotel on The Esplanade dates from 1807. Others soon followed, while other suitable buildings were converted.
The Esplanade is still looking good after opening for so many years... an update with Topaz editing software
file: esplanade 2016_DSC5060
The beautiful little Regency town of Sidmouth in East Devon sits between two large red sandstone cliffs. The road along the seafront which has a number of very nice hotels is called "The Esplanade".
The Esplanade is the huge parade ground immediately outside the main gate on the eastern side of Edinburgh Castle. From here there are extensive views across the city. This is where the famous Edinburgh Tattoo takes place. It is also marks the start of the Royal Mile, which ends at Holyrood Palace.
I love the way the sun hits these old glass panels in David Crombie Park. Built as an entrance to a children’s tunnel in the early ’90s, abandoned when the passage flooded — now it glows like a quiet relic in the winter light.
Ahu Tongariki is one of the most stunning locations, situated on the east coast between the Ranu Raraku volcano and the Pacific Ocean.
Ahu Tongariki is the largest ahu on Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Its moais were toppled during the island's civil wars, and in the twentieth century the ahu was swept inland by a tsunami. It has since been restored and has fifteen moai, including one that weighs eighty-six tonnes, the heaviest ever erected on the island. Ahu Tongariki is one kilometer from Rano Raraku and Poike in the Hotu-iti area of Rapa Nui National Park. All the moai here face sunset during the summer solstice.
On the left, the Poike volcano was the first piece of land that emerged from the sea and, together with subsequent volcanic eruptions, formed the present territory of Easter Island. Its somewhat remote and isolated location and its difficult access make Poike a little-visited place.
I went up there by myself.
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Despite driving 30 minutes in the dark to reach Tongariki.
It's really worth it!
Listening to the waves crashing on the rocks on the coast as you wait for the sun to rise in the east behind the 15 moais on the ahu (ceremonial platform) Tongariki is the best way to start your day on the island.
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The sun's rays start to come out.
The sun rises right in the middle of the platform on the 21st of June (solstice). The longest day of the year.
Of course, knowing when the seasons are changing was extremely important for farmers, which is why at least another 15 platforms on the island are infallible inventions of solar power.
***
Ahu are stone platforms. Varying greatly in layout, many were reworked during or after the huri mo'ai or statue-toppling era; many became ossuaries, one was dynamited open, and Ahu Tongariki was swept inland by a tsunami.
Ahu Tongariki, one kilometre (5⁄8 mile) from Rano Raraku, had the most and tallest moai, 15 in total.
Although first released in 1954, Frank Sinatra's 1964 version of the song "Fly Me to the Moon" is the best-known rendition of the famous composition (Note: there were well over 100 versions recorded before Sinatra's). NASA astronauts played the track from a cassette tape recording during the Apollo 10 and Apollo 11 space missions due to how closely linked to the Moon missions the song was in its day.
Growing up during the "space race" of the 1960s and early 70s, I expected that being able to fly to the Moon would be an everyday opportunity by the time I was an adult. As it turned out, I was more than a little off-target, and since I'll reach the 60 yr-old mark in mid-2024, I've put a Moon flight onto my life's "maybe one-day" list.
Captured in June of 2022 (clouds obscured the June full Moon of 2023), I shot this photo with my Canon EOS 7D camera and Sigma 50-500mm f/5.6 lens. The lens was zoomed to 500 mm at an aperture of f/7.1, while the camera's shutter speed was 1/320 second @ ISO 1600.
A sunset view of a basketball court in David Crombie Park with a large mural showing several colourful hands reaching toward a glowing star. Behind the court, the Toronto skyline rises against dramatic clouds, and trees with late-autumn leaves frame the scene.
Mural created in 2014-
Led by artist Shalak Attack (also known as Elisa Monreal) with assisting artists Julian Periquet and Bruno Smoky.
The devastating tsunami of 1960:
Because of drawings, stories and photographs that are kept, it is known that until 1960 the state of conservation of the ahu was relatively good; even though the statues layed with their faces facing the ground and one of the lateral wings had been destroyed by having used the stones as a fence building material for the cattle.
But the night of May 22nd to 23rd of 1960 everything changed. On that fateful date one of the largest recorded earthquakes in history, with an intensity of 9.5 on the Richter scale, took place. It destroyed most of the central and southern regions of Chile causing numerous victims, since its epicenter was located in the Chilean city of Valdivia located 3,700 km east of the island.
But the disaster was even greater because the earthquake produced a wave that moved across the Pacific to reach the coasts of Oceania and Asia, causing special destruction on the islands of Polynesia. Almost 6 hours after the earthquake, the tsunami reaches Easter Island on its eastern side, hitting Tongariki directly.
Thanks to the fact that the town center of Hanga Roa is located on the west side, there was no need to mourn victims or serious damage, despite the sea level rose considerably. The tsunami skirted the island and resumed its course to Polynesia, where 15 hours after the earthquake, a wave of 10 meters high hit Hilo in Hawaii, killing dozens of people and destroying the city completely. The devastation continued until arriving at the coasts of Japan and New Zealand.
An apocalyptic landscape:
The first witnesses of the destruction of Tongariki arrived a few days after the tsunami due to the lack of transportation on the island at that time. Several estimates indicated that the gigantic wave that reached the bay of Hanga Nui exceeded 10 meters in height and entered more than 500 meters inland reaching the land near the base of the Rano Raraku volcano.
The tsunami hit the back wall frontally, destroying completely the main platform to the foundations and extending the remains over a large area. The force of the sea pushed some of the statues more than 100 meters inland. Some of them fractured and beat, and others rolled and remained face up showing their face for the first time after several centuries.
When the water receded, it had completely destroyed most of the monument that now presented a Dantesque scene. The whole area was covered with boulders from the coast, stones from the ahu and remains of statues, mixed with human bones and skulls from the tombs that had been under the platform, remains of dead sheep and large amounts of dried seaweed and rotten marine animals.
Before this dramatic event, the Tongariki area represented a first-rate archaeological site from which valuable information could have been extracted on the historical evolution of the island culture. Unfortunately, the tsunami caused most of the remains to be lost forever.
As a historical note, it is worth mentioning that a few months after this serious incident, in October 1960, the seven moai of Ahu Akivi got back on their feet. These were the first statues of the island that were risen after being prostrate for several centuries. A fact that revolutionized the recent history of Rapa Nui and with which began a stage of study, care and restoration of historical sites.
The merchant vessel Christopher James FD113, a trawler owned by B&M Fishing a Limited Liability Partnership set up in 2011.
St. Lawrence Market viewed from The Esplanade, with late-day light on the historic brick façade and Toronto’s downtown skyline rising behind it.
“Community Fabric: The Esplanade Sign”
Public Art by Jamii & Andrew Patterson
Toronto, Ontario • November 2025
This colourful landmark in David Crombie Park is part of Community Fabric, a public art installation created by Jamii in collaboration with artist Andrew Patterson. Each letter of THE ESPLANADE is wrapped in a different textile pattern inspired by cultures from around the world — from Madras checks and Kente cloth to Ukrainian embroidery, Chilean Aymara weaving, Eritrean Tigrigna motifs, and more.
The artwork reflects the neighbourhood’s identity: a vibrant community woven together from many backgrounds, languages, and histories. Jamii’s goal was to celebrate the people who call The Esplanade home, honouring the diversity that shaped the area during the 1970s St. Lawrence neighbourhood redevelopment and continues to define it today.
Photographed on a crisp late-autumn day, with fallen maple leaves gathering at the base of this joyful, community-rooted sign.
The merchant vessel Christopher James FD113, a trawler owned by B&M Fishing a Limited Liability Partnership set up in 2011.
The Beach Lighthouse (also known as the Lower Light) is a 44-foot (13 metre) tall sandstone lighthouse in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England.
The lighthouse was designed in 1839 by Decimus Burton and Capt H.M. Denham. Burton had been commissioned three years previously by Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood as the architect of the new town of Fleetwood. Unusual for a lighthouse, it is in neoclassical style with a square colonnaded base, square tower, and octagonal lantern and gallery.
The Lower Light stands on Fleetwood sea front and was built with its counterpart—the Upper Light, or Pharos Lighthouse—to provide a navigational guide to shipping entering the Wyre estuary. Together the lights provide a leading line when the Pharos Light is directly above that of the Lower Light. Together they provide a range of about 12 nautical miles (22 km). In turn they point to the Wyre Light on the North Wharf Bank, 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) offshore.
Both lighthouses were first illuminated 1 December 1840. Each was run off the town's gas supply, with a single parabolic reflector placed behind the burner; later they were converted to electricity.
The Beach Lighthouse was designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage on 26 April 1950. The lighthouse is managed by the Port of Fleetwood. Wikipedia
I'm still working out of my archives as I haven't been away from the house to take pictures in ages.. I am so longing for Spring.. Happy Bench Monday, Everybody!!