Picture of the Week 2012-04

Dave — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Picture of the Week 2012-04
Posted on: Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 12:00am

Each week on Sunday I showcase a picture that I’ve taken throughout my travels that I absolutely love, and I hope you do too!

Date Taken – 2009-07-07	Location – Cathedral Park BC Canada

Nestled between the mountains are patches of old growth trees thousands of years old on Vancouver Island. Some trees are big enough that you cannot get 5 people to go around them and hug them

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Picture of the Week 2012-03

Dave — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Picture of the Week 2012-03
Posted on: Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 at 12:00am

Each week on Sunday I showcase a picture that I’ve taken throughout my travels that I absolutely love, and I hope you do too!

Date Taken – 2011-08-11	Location – Middle of Nowhere Utah USA

It is a lonely road in Utah as you travel for hundreds of kilometres with mountains in the distance – until of course you have to climb them

Currencies Around the World

Dave — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:25:02 +0000

Currencies Around the World
Posted on: Saturday, January 21st, 2012 at 10:25am

Whether you like it or not, money makes the world go ’round. I decided it would be fun to collect a note from each country I have visited while Bicycle Touring around the world and share them with you with a brief description of what the bill means. They come in all shapes in sizes, paper, plastic, and denominations. Constantly Updated!

Canada Dollar (CAD)

The Canadian five-dollar bill is currently the lowest denomination banknote issued by the Bank of Canada.

The current five-Canadian dollar bill is dominantly blue in colour. The front features a portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the coat of arms, and a picture of the West Block of the Parliament buildings. The reverse side depicts children engaged in winter sports, including sledding, ice skating, and hockey; this is accompanied by a quotation from Roch Carrier’s short story, “The Hockey Sweater”In the image, one of the hockey players is wearing jersey number 9. Many believe this is to honour Canadian hockey legend Maurice Richard (which would follow Carrier’s story, in which a young Québécois boy is obsessed with “The Rocket”), but the list of great Canadian hockey players to have worn the number is long.
Yellow dots representing the eurion constellation can be found on the reverse side. This bill features raised, textured printing as well as a special tactile feature (similar to Braille dots) to assist the blind in identifying the denomination.

In 2009, a guerilla campaign was launched by Canadian Citizens to “Spock your Fives“, modifying the picture of Sir Wilfred Laurier to look like the character Spock from the popular series Star Trek.

(One Canadian Dollar equals 1 CAD)

United States of America Dollar (USD)

The United States one-dollar bill ($1) is the most common denomination of US currency. The first president, George Washington, The $1 bill is the lowest currency in circulation as of 2012.

The bill is extremely detailed, with the inclusion of the national motto, “In God We Trust,” on all currency was required by law in 1955 and first appeared on paper money in 1957. The $1 has been the focus of conspiracy for decades. Conspiracy theorists point to the Eye of Providence on the one dollar bill both as a suggestion that the Freemasons have some extensive and perhaps subversive influence over the founding of the United States and/or American finances and that the dollar bill is linked in some way to the occult.

Some conspiracy theorists suggest that the dollar bill design makes use of the Eye of Providence as an occult symbol, since a design very similar to the Eye of Providence was used in the worship of the sun god Horus in Ancient Egypt. However, designs similar to the Eye of Providence were also used by Christians to represent the Holy Trinity (God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit). Since many early Americans were Christian (including the founding fathers), it is likely that the Great Seal of the United States was designed with this symbolism for this purpose.

Some conspiracy theorists also suggest that the dollar bill has many references to the number thirteen. For example, the pyramid on the dollar bill has thirteen steps, and other instances of the number appear in the Great Seal of the United States and on the dollar bill.

(One United States Dollar equals 0.99 CAD)

Mexico Peso (MXN)

The name was originally used in reference to pesos oro (gold weights) or pesos plata (silver weights). The literal English translation of the Spanish word peso is weight. A portrait of Benito Juarez is the dominant feature on the front of the note. Juarez of native stock, was largely self- educated, became a lawyer, a judge and Minister of Justice. He supported the oppressed and opposed the dictatorship of General Santa Anna. There were very turbulent times in Mexico in the 1850′s & 1860′s. Juarez served two terms as President of Mexico; he died in office in 1872. He was a contemporary of Abraham Lincoln with whom he held similar views and they apparently corresponded at length over a number of years.

At the centre of the note is a design very similar to the coat of arms of Mexico. Based on an ancient Aztec sign, the design features an eagle perched on its left leg on a cactus branch and fruits as it holds a rattle snake in the other leg and its beak. Below the cactus are oak branches symbolising strength and laurel branches symbolizing victory. Here the eagle is front-on with wings spread, whereas on the coat of arms its wings are partly furled and it is depicted in left profile. The 20 Peso Banknote is the lowest valued currency as of 2009 in circulation.

(One Mexican Peso equals 0.08 CAD)

South Africa Rand (ZAR)

The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand (White-waters-ridge in English), the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa’s gold deposits were found. The rand was introduced on 14 February 1961.

The rand is the currency of the Common Monetary Area between South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. Although Namibia withdrew itself from the Common Monetary Area, the rand is still legal tender there. All of the notes feature images of the big five Wildlife species (lion, African elephant, cape buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros). 10 Rand is the smallest bill in circulation as of 2012.

(One South African Rand equals 0.13 CAD)

Namibia Dollar (NAD)

The dollar has been the currency of Namibia since 1993. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively N$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents. The dollar replaced the South African rand, which had been the country’s currency while it was under South African rule as South-West Africa 1920-1990. The rand is still legal tender, as the Namibian dollar is linked to the South African rand and can be exchanged on a one-to-one basis locally. Namibia was also part of the Common Monetary Area from independence in 1990 until introduction of the dollar in 1993. Hendrik Witbooi, once a Namaqua chief and instrumental in leading the revolts against German rule at the turn of the 20th century, is depicted on all banknotes.
10 Dollars is the lowest currency bill in circulation as of 2012.

(One Namibian Dollar equals 0.13 CAD)

Botswana Pula (BWP)

The Pula is the currency of Botswana. Pula literally means “rain” in Setswana, because rain is very scarce in Botswana – home to much of the Kalahari Desert – and therefore valuable. Pula also means “blessing” as rain is considered a blessing.

The pula was introduced in 1976, replacing the South African rand at par. Despite a 12% devaluation in May 2005, the pula remains one of the strongest currencies in Africa. The banknote is green with the portrait of His Excellency President Lt General Seretse Khama Ian Khama. On the reverse side, the picture is of the National Assembly building.The lowest currency in bill form is the 10 Pula which is still in circulation as of 2012.

(One Botswana Pula equals 0.14 CAD)

Zambia Kwacha (ZMK)

The Kwacha name derives from the Nyanja and Bemba word for “dawn”, alluding to the Zambian nationalist slogan of a “new dawn of freedom”. The name ngwee translates as “bright” in the Nyanja language. All notes have a fish eagle on one side, and the reverse feature a man breaking free of chains. Zambia is the first country in Africa to use polymer (plastic) notes since 2003. The lowest denomination currently in circulation is the 50 Kwacha Note as of 2012.

(One Zambian Kwacha equals 0 CAD)

Zimbabwe Dollar (ZWD)

Although the dollar was considered to be among the highest valued currency units when it was introduced in 1980 to replace the Rhodesian dollar at a ratio of 1:1, political turmoil and hyperinflation rapidly eroded the value of the Zimbabwe dollar to become one of the least valued currency units in the world, undergoing three redenominations, with paper denominations including a $100 trillion banknote.

Despite attempts to control inflation by legislation, and three separate redenominations in 2006, 2008 and 2009, the use of the dollar as an official currency was effectively abandoned on 12 April 2009. This was a result of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe legalizing the use of foreign currencies for transactions in January 2009.

Currencies such as the South African rand, Botswana pula, pound sterling, euro, and the United States dollar are now used for all transactions in Zimbabwe; the policy of the government of Zimbabwe has insisted that any attempts to reintroduce Zimbabwean currency should be considered only if industrial output improves.

(One Zimbabwe Dollar equals 0 CAD)

More curency will be added after I cycle through the countries!