Discover the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach California

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The Aquarium of the Pacific is located near the waterfront in The Pike at Rainbow Harbor in the city of Long Beach, California. It is one of the largest aquariums in the United States. Its nearly 1,000 species fill 19 major habitats and 32 focus exhibits and take visitors on a journey throughout the Pacific Ocean’s three regions: Southern California/Baja, the Tropical Pacific, and the Northern Pacific.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is a 156,735-square-foot marine exhibition With sweeping, curving, wave-like architecture that is designed to emulate the ocean. It houses over 12,000 ocean animals, including five species of whales, eleven species of sharks, porpoises, dolphins, rays and skates including manta rays, sea turtles, birds, bears and more along with over 10,000 simulated mussels, kelp fronds and other natural exhibit accoutrements and over 10,000 pieces of individual, artificial coral, representing 58 different coral species.

The Aquarium provides behind the scenes tours where you can dive into the underwater world and discover places in the Aquarium where most people do not have a chance to go and even feed the anamals. Visitors are encouraged to watch animal feedings and learn more about the animals and environmental issues at habitat presentations. Join the Animal Encounter interactive program which allows guests to feed, touch, and go behind the scenes with some of the more than 12,500 inhabitants, including the Shark Animal Encounter which provides guests with an opportunity to be in a pool with one of the zebra sharks, or maybe even the 240-pound thorny ray.

From Memorial Day through Labor Day you can aboard The Conqueror, a 90-foot research vessel for a 90-minute marine science excursion where you will have an opportunity to touch a variety of marine animals while you learn about their natural habitat and about life in the ocean.

The Aquarium Of The Pacific is located at 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802. Parking for the Aquarium is on the water side of Shoreline Drive between Chestnut Place and Aquarium Way. Parking is $6 for Aquarium guests in both the Aquarium and Pike parking structures when you show an Aquarium ticket stub. Spice up your visit by taking the Aquabus, a red 40-foot harbor shuttle in Queensway Bay connecting the Queen Mary / Catalina Express, the Coast Hotel, Catalina Landing, The Aquarium of the Pacific, Pine Avenue Circle at the Pike, and Shoreline Village. Service frequency is hourly and hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fare is $1 one-way. Children 2 years and under ride free.

The Aquarium Of The Pacific is open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every day of the year, except December 25 and during the weekend of the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Admission fees are, adults: $18.95, children under 2: free, children from 3 to 11: $10.95 and seniors 60 and over: $16.95. The Behind The Scenes Tour and Ocean Experience are extra.

For more information about the city of Long Beach, California see

Discover the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach California

Curacao Marriott Beach Resort

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– Sunny, warm and charming, Curacao (pronounced koo-rah-sow) is a beautiful resort destination that is relatively unknown to many people. With its Dutch Colonial buildings and traditional Caribbean feel, its a unique place that incorporates the best of 55 different nationalities to create a purely individual culture. In fact, four languages are spoken here: English, Spanish, Dutch and their own Papiamento. Its cosmopolitan, but simple. And incredibly gorgeous. Where is Curacao? Located in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea, this exquisite island paradise is off the coast of Venezuela and is the most populated and largest of the three ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaao). It is part of the Netherlands Antilles, a self-governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The capital is Willemstad. This busy port city sees a lot of traffic from the island’s large oil refinery, which is second only to tourism for the local economy. As of result of the oil, Curacao is one of the more prosperous parts of the Caribbean region.

Also well known here are the island’s coral reefs. The worlds best divers and snorkelers have already discovered this wondrous vacation hideaway. Where are the hot spots? Most of them are on the south side of the island. Especially interesting in Curacao is that the sea floor drops off steeply within a few hundred feet of the shore. As a result, you can get to the reef simply by swimming no boat needed! In addition, the coastline of Curacao has lots of intriguing bays and inlets, many of which are good for mooring.

Surprisingly, Curacao has a semi-arid climate, similar to the Southwestern U.S., with plenty of cactus, evergreens and warm weather native plants. If youve been to the big island of Hawaii, its more along these lines, as opposed to a lush, tropical island rainforest. Although always a possibility, Curacao typically misses many of the hurricanes each season, as its positioned away from the hurricane belt. Curacaos highest point is Christoffelberg, rising 1,230 feet in the northwestern part of the island.

The Food

Ever tried Stoba? Well, youre in for a treat. A delicious stew made with lots of different ingredients, like papaya and goat, or beef. Stoba is a major dish of Curacao and part of the traditional fare, known as Krioyo. Similar to Caribbean and Latin American cuisine, Curacao chefs use an eclectic blend of flavors and techniques that bring out interesting tastes. Other popular dishes include Jambo, a soup made from okra and seafood), a cactus soup called Kadushi, and Funchi which is a cornmeal mush similar to polenta. Of course, being an island community, there are always plenty of fresh fish and other seafood dishes.

Of course, theres also the one thing that many people have heard of before they even knew there was a place called Curacao. What is it? The Curacao liqueur. Developed here in the late 1800s, it started out as a local experiment with the rinds of a locally grown variety of oranges, which themselves werent very edible. How is it made? Curacao liqueur is processed with the dried peels of the “Laraha” (Curacao native orange), which when dried by the sun, contains an etheric oil with a pleasing fragrance and even better taste.

THINGS TO SEE AND DO

Visit Historical Sites: Make sure you see the restored mansions of Scharloo and Pietermaai, dating from the 1700’s. They are spectacular, and incredibly interesting. These neighborhoods have even been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, which commemorates unique value to the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

Curacao Seaquarium: Built on the oceanfront at Bapor Kibra in 1984, this exquisite complex is one of the most unique in the world because of its “open-water-system,” which allows seawater to be continuously pumped into the aquariums. Be sure to watch a feeding show and experience the touch tank, which gives you the chance to touch live animals!

Dolphin Academy: Get the opportunity to meet, swim, and snorkel up close with Curacaos cute and fascinating dolphins! Because you stand on a platform in the water about waist deep, the animals will swim right up to you.

Hato Caves: The Hato Caves are a must-see when you come to Curacao. Formed below sea level millions of years ago, the Ice Age dropped the water level down and left these spectacular caves. Beautiful limestone formations, romantic pools, a waterfall and even a colony of fruit bats await!

Punda, Willemstad: Location of many shops and tourist activities in Willemstad.

Landhuis Brievengat, Curacao: A museum by day and a partying live music club by night. This 18th-century plantation house is a great place to have some fun.

Amstel Brewery, Willemstad: Take a tour of the factory and taste the only beer made with distilled seawater!

Handelskade, Willemstad: The famous street with the brightly painted 18th century buildings. Its a must for any traveler to check out the many boutiques, art galleries and intriguing cafes.

Curacao Marriott Beach Resort

Palm Jumeirah Beach Plan Has Been Revised

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The Palm Jumeirah Island is one of the emerging landmarks in Dubai these days. The sheer cost, elegance and the size of this new development is unprecedented and mind-boggling. However, there were fears in the minds of the city planners earlier that the proposed township would prove out to be a fragmented assembly of living sites unlike what it should ideally have been as a model development. There were hardly any means for the people to move around from one living block to another and the whole plan stood divided into several localized developments.

The revised Palm Jumeirah master plan takes care of this concern however, and looks forward at developing the trunk into a uniting feature. The proposal speaks of a 7.8-hectare park along the trunk for accomplishing this requirement, which will have a large water element with pools and other recreational facilities around. This will provide an improvised architectural and scenic balance to the waterfront leisure facilities, and let the masses have a valuable community space for their daily use. The fragmented living blocks will get to have an easy access to each other through this latest green area.

The Palm Jumeirah Island is one of the world’s three largest man-made islands currently being developed along Dubai’s coast; the other two being Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira across the same sea front. Each of these are being built in the shape of a date palm tree, consisting of a trunk, a crown with several fronds and the surrounding crescent for the role of a breakwater. The Palm Jumeirah development will house at least 25 world-renowned hotel brands, and a significant number of residential facilities. It will have themed boutique hotels, consumer friendly retail outlets, three types of villas, beach apartments, marinas, cafes and restaurants.

Nakheel, a leading construction giant from the UAE, is developing palm islands, including the one in Jumeirah. They will increase Dubai’s shoreline by an impressive margin of 520 km and cost billions in amount. The land reclamation for the Palm Jumeirah island itself cost around $12.3 billion, and required making use of 94 million cubic meters of sand and 7 million tons of natural rock, enough to create a two and half meters high wall circling the earth three times around. The island was gradually constructed upon a 10.5-meter deep seabed and stretched 3 meters above the sea level. Up to 40,000 workers, mostly hailing from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, have been pressed into constructing this landmark. A monorail is also being planned at the island, which will ferry up to 3,000 people each hour once fully commissioned.

Keeping in mind Dubai’s rising tourism stakes, the Palm Islands are bound to generate tremendous interest and economic growth. Unlike the other commercial ventures across this tiny emirate, the Palms are solely aimed at providing their clientele with world-class leisure amenities. With the trunk of Palm Jumeirah now being developed into a themed park, the outside world is bound to look at this tourist attraction with more vigor. Like any other successful urban development across the globe, the Palm Jumeirah Beach is also set now to win many laurels.

Palm Jumeirah Beach Plan Has Been Revised