Aloe rauhii

Aloe rauhii is a small acaulescent Aloe endemic to the Toliara Province of Madagascar, a very arid region in the southwestern corner of the island. It was discovered in 1961 by Professor Werner Rauh of Heidelberg University, who led many botanical expeditions in Madagascar and is considered an authority on succulent species on the island. Reynolds thus named this species after Rauh when he first published it in 1963.

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Aloe burgersfortensis

Aloe burgersfortensis is a maculate Aloe with large variation from one specimen to another. It is also very similar to other maculate Aloes; in fact, Glen and Hardy treats it as synonymous with Aloe parvibracteata.

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Aloe striata

First described in 1804 by Adrian Hardy Haworth, an English entomologist and botanist, Aloe striata is now a widely-cultivated and distributed Aloe. Endemic to the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, this species can be found naturally in a wide variety of habitats, typically at mid altitudes.

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The Kydon

Dársenas Square is a quiet waterfront park in Old San Juan. After a rainy morning of walking through cobblestone streets, we found this little plaza on the southwestern shore of the old city. Some street vendors and food trucks set up here, but the morning was mostly quiet, and we had the views of San…

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Exploring Old San Juan
Travel

The rain seemed torrential, and the windows of the cab were all fogged up as it pulled into San Juan. We tried our best to get a glimpse of the cobblestone streets on which we were gliding through. Before long, we were at our hotel—the El Convento. We found it as a blind booking on Hotwire,…

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Three Days in the Scottish Highlands
Travel

As the tour bus pulled up to George Square to gather the final few of the traveling group, we had just finished a traditional Scottish breakfast at a nearby café. Haggis certainly tastes better than it sounds; perhaps it should be considered alongside laws and sausages—it is better not to see them being made. It would be…

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Whale Shark at the Georgia Aquarium

The largest in the world by volume, the Georgia Aquarium houses a few specimens of the largest fish in the world—the whale shark, Rhincodon typus. In fact, the Ocean Voyager exhibit was designed to house these docile giants. Despite being a shark, these creatures are gentle, slow swimmers; and it’s because of this that I…

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Silhouettes on a Bridge

This is one of the most visited bridges in the world, but you wouldn’t know it in the wee hours of the morning. It was the second time on this trip when I would wake up a few hours before dawn, meander through the Old Town—tripod in hand—hoping to arrive in time to catch the…

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