Joe Benning Photography

Travel & Photo Blog

  •   Reston, VA

Lima, Peru

Lima, is a coastal city and the capital of Peru. It is home to over 10 million people and is the 3rd largest city in the Americas, behind only Sao Paulo and Mexico City. About one third of Peru’s population lives in the Lima Metropolitan area. And like much of South America, the population is […]

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Iquique, Chile

Iquique, a town of 181,000 people, is located in northern Chile on the Pacific coast. Originally part of Peru, it had a large Chilean population. But as a result of the War of the Pacific (1879—1883) Peru ceded it to Chile where is has remained since.   The town developed rapidly with the discovery of […]

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Here We Are in South America

We arrived in Chile, which means we are also approaching the end of our journey. From here we travel up the west coast of South America, making stops in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia and Panama. After that it really is the last leg that will take us through the Caribbean and then on to Florida. […]

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Rapa Nui – Easter Island

Easter Island is probably the furthest populated place from anywhere on planet earth. The nearest inhabited areas are Tahiti, which is 2,000 miles to the East, and Chile, which is 2,000 miles to the wet. It is a triangular in shape, made from 3 (now extinct) volcanoes, and now has a permanent population of about […]

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Mutiny on the Bounty!

On April 28, 1789 Fletcher Christian led a mutiny against Captain William Bligh on the Royal Naval vessel, HMS Bounty. After the mutineers seized the ship they put Bligh and 18 loyalists on the ship’s launch and sent him on his way. Most of the mutineers went to Tahiti, the rest went to Pitcairn, led […]

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Headed for Easter Island

We are nearing an end to the segment of the cruise where we sail through French Polynesia. The last stop is Easter Island or Rapa Nui, which is actually claimed by Chile, some 2,200 miles away. It is located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern point of the Polynesian Triangle. It is famous […]

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French Polynesia

So here we are, sailing through the islands of French Polynesia, including Tonga, Moorea and Bora Bora. The settings are truly spectacular. The islands, mostly formed by volcanoes, rise out of the ocean often with large green mountains at the center. The waters surrounding the islands are very often surrounded by coral reefs where the […]

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South Pacific

We have left New Zealand and we have arrived in the South Pacific where we will spend the next week or so sailing through Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia. These island countries include Fiji, Tonga, Tahiti and Niue. These grouping are oddly categorized. For example, Micronesia refers to small islands and Polynesia refers to many islands. […]

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Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland (Tamaki in Maori) is by far the largest city in New Zealand. The University of Auckland, founded in 1883, is the largest University in New Zealand. The city’s total population is about 1.5 million making it home to 1/3 of the population of the entire country (population 4.5 million). It also has the largest […]

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