Travel

Following a bountiful breakfast of dim sum, my wife Fyllis and I strolled along lanes lined by shops selling merchandise both familiar and unknown to us. Some stores displayed unrecognizable animal body parts, others herbal remedies said to heal a hospital full of ills.

By Victor Block MADISON COUNTY, VA — The intersection of two narrow roads that is the closest thing to the center of Syria, Virginia— population about...

The setting resembled a stunning picture postcard come to life. Soaring, snow-capped mountains provided a backdrop for green-clad terraces carved out of steep hillsides. In fields below, men and women wearing a rainbow of colorful clothing bent low to pick golden shoots and tie them into huge bundles, which they carried to a rickety wooden wagon pulled by a pair of water buffalo.

Old San Juan echoes with centuries of history, dating back to the arrival of Christopher Columbus on the island in 1493 and the massive 16th-century Spanish forts overlooking the sea.

Steering our canoe around a turn in the river, my wife Fyllis and I suddenly were face-to-face — or, more accurately, face-to-knees — with a massive creature. Lifting its head, shoots of river greens cascading from its mouth, the huge moose stared at us as we stared back, then continued its meal.

Several years ago, when construction began on a housing development overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, an eagle’s nest with eggs was discovered in the forest that was about to be razed. Today, the aptly named Sanctuary community surrounds an island of trees that was preserved so the birds’ habitat would not be destroyed.

We arrived in Juneau on the second day of the cruise. Standing on deck as we pulled into port, we spotted a large American eagle perched on the ship’s gangplank. We weren’t in the “lower 48” anymore. We had arrived in a part of the country where even the best superlatives are inadequate.

A pride of lions feasts on the body of a rhinoceros as dozens of zebra, antelope and other animals look on. Dwellers in simple mud-plastered shelters live much as their ancestors did centuries ago.

Impaling a bright red strawberry on the end of a wooden shish kebab skewer, I held the fruit under a gushing fountain of milk chocolate, then popped it into my eager mouth.

Hear the words “national park,” and you’re likely to picture soaring landscapes and vast vistas.