Exploring Mallorca

Most of those who visit Mallorca this summer will inevitably spend almost all their time in their own hotel or beach resort, or walking around the shopping streets of Palma. Then there are the large crowds that are bused to some major tourist attraction to join the thousands of others. These people will miss out on many of the fine things that Mallorca has to offer, little villages tucked away in the mountains, tiny Calas along the northern coast, ancient forts and castles on the hills.

As this map below shows, Mallorca has so much more to offer, and it is worth making the effort to get out and explore a little. Away from the beaches, many Mallorca hotels are tucked away in beautiful surroundings with dramatic views.

Mallorca tour provided by Panoramic Earth. All rights reserved.

And here is a view over Cala Banyalbufar, just one of the small Calas that line the dramatic northern coast. Not as easy to get to as the beaches on the south, but incredibly beautiful and quiet.

Panorama of View over Cala Banyalbufar supplied by Panoramic Earth

Rob Bowker - New Panoramic Earth VT Contributor

Panoramic Earth welcomes Rob Bowker to our regular contributors. A graphic designer and photographer based in Oxfordshire, he has 25 years experience working as a a graphics and publications manager in the charity sectors. Not content with this, Rob continues to find new photography challenges, inspired by Hockney’s ‘joiners’ back in the eighties and the late Ian Hamilton Finlay’s treatment of text with landscape. More of his work can be seen on Photoshelter and on his own blog.

His foray into panoramic photography and virtual tour work started with a crude 360˚ pan using a borrowed K1000 Pentax 35mm film camera of a long-since demolished area of Bradford slum (which he intends to dig out and put together). Since then he has progressed through animation and film making to the VR panoramas, which, he says, ‘scratch the same itch!’.

Panorama of Wallingford Bridge supplied by Panoramic Earth

Rob, "really loves the way a flash panorama allows you to capture intimate and otherwise uncelebrated corners of the world. On viewing, the effect is immediate and compelling." Not an unusual response to 360 panoramas, and a sentiment voiced by his son seeing an early shot of Wallingford Bridge, who exclaimed, "Wow, it’s just like being there!"

Panorama of Queen's Arbour, Wallingford Castle Meadows supplied by Panoramic Earth

One of his current favourite panoramas is of Queen’s Arbour, near to Wallingford Castle. Rob considers this a work in progress and is moving onto creating fully spherical images, which he will continue to share on Panoramic Earth in the future.

Out of this World - Mars Panorama

After the Moon, the next stop in the sights of manned space flight programmes is Mars. If ever you wondered what that would look like, then take a look a this Mars Landscape Panorama which gives you a 360 view of the Red Planet.

Known as the McMurdo panorama, it was put together from 1400 individual images taken by NASA robot Spirit during the winter months on Mars when it could not move. So the next step is to put a person up there with a camera and tripod - any photography companies interested in sponsoring...?

New Large Map Views from Panoramic Earth

Panoramic Earth has launched a new layout for it's virtual tours on the site, using a larger image and map presentation, as shown below with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. Now it is easier to explore the area around a given location on the Google map, and easier to see what other virtual tour images are nearby. Just click on the Large Map View link below the virtual tour image to get the layout below.


Whereas the normal map view presents the panorama next to the map and the text description below it, the new view gives a wider presentation of the image above a wider map. And you can still get to the location description and information. Simply click on the Description tab next to the panorama for the location data. To go back to the traditional view, click the Small Map View below the panorama.

Luxury Holidays in Cyprus

Cyprus - golden sands, ancient sites, fantastic restaurants. A beautiful and fantastic place to holiday, and ideal for children. Several luxury Cyprus hotels and beach resorts offer excellent facilities for whole families and many are very aware of the need to provide activities for children.

An excellent choice for family-friendly hotels is the Columbia Beach Resort in Cyprus. Here the parents can relax around the pools, enjoy the beaches and a bit of golf, steam bath or Jacuzzi. You can unwind with various health and spa treatments and then enjoy the evening in the restaurants and cocktail bars.

In the meantime, a dedicated children's club will take care of the 3-12 year olds, with planned day trips and other events. Take the weight of looking after your children off your mind and bring them to a holiday resort where they can make life-long friends and have an amazing time.

These beach resort hotels provide the best for the whole family on Cyprus: relaxation, luxury and fun. A Cyprus holiday to remember.

Cider with Rosie and Slad

In the Cotswolds, near to Stroud, is the tiny rural village of Slad which was thrust into world view by it's association with Cider with Rosie, written by Laurie Lee. The village lies in the picturesque Cotswold hills and has not much more than a line if stone buildings, village pub and church.

The pub, the Woolpack Inn, is popular with walkers and locals from the surrounding villages. It's name is a reminder of the wool and clothmaking industry that once dominated much of the Cotswolds. Laurie Lee is buried in the churchyard of the village church, Holy Trinity, just across the road from the pub.

Panorama of Holy Trinity Church - Outside supplied by Panoramic Earth

Slad is just one of many village full of little bits of history tucked away in the Cotswolds and well worth exploring. The small collection of virtual tour images from around the village show why the region is very popular in the summer months. Rural, picturesque, quiet and relaxing.

Panoramic Earth Blog Nominated by Teach Street

It is always great when someone recommends what we are doing. Today we found out that the Panoramic Earth Blog has been recommended to TeachStreet to become a featured blogger, which is a great compliment.

Photography Classes | Add your site

You can find us there under the Photography Classes section through the links above and also suggest your own blog to them.