Travel To Venice By National Geographic

Piazza San Marco, Venice’s famous landmark, is delightfully quiet in the early morning.

Gondoliers sporting classic stripes and hats participate in a parade marking the beginning of Carnevale.
Not all Carnevale participants hide behind mysterious masks.

Even on a rainy night, there’s much to see from the Rialto bridge.

A gondola—the city’s romantic transportation icon—cruises the famous Grand Canal.

Marie’s Parade starts from San Pietro di Castello Church and wends its way toward St. Mark’s Square.

Laundry hangs out to dry on Burano, one of the islands in the Venetian lagoon.

A serene calm falls over the Grand Canal as evening settles in.

A gondolier begins a tour. Gondola rides are an expensive yet beautifully memorable way to experience Venice.

Travel To Venice By National Geographic

Chile Largest Swimming Pool

Technically, it's a lagoon, not a swimming pool. Construction of the world's

largest crystal-clear saltwater lagoon has been successfully completed. Upon execution of the last expansion stage, this lagoon –San Alfonso's signature amenity- has reached its final size; over one kilometer in length, 8 hectares in surface area and 2.5 million liters of water. Too big to picture? Let's put it this way, the size of the lagoon is equivalent to 6,000 standard-size 8-meter long swimming pools.

If you like doing laps in the swimming pool, you might want to stock up on the Energy drinks before diving in to this one.It is more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, has a 115 ft deep end and Holds 66 million gallons of water. Yesterday the Guinness Book of Records named the vast pool beside the sea In Chile as the biggest in the world. But if you fancy splashing out on one of your own - and you have the space To accommodate it - then beware: This one took five years to build, cost nearly £1billion and the annual maintenance bill will be £2million.

The man-made saltwater lagoon h as been attracting huge crowds to the San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, on Chile 'S southern coast, since it Opened last month. Its turquoise waters are so crystal clear that you can see the bottom even In the deep end. It dwarfs the world's second biggest pool, the Orthlieb - nicknamed the Big Splash - In Morocco , which is a mere 150 yards long and 100 yards wide. An Olympic Size pool measures some 50 yards by 25 yards.

Chile's monster pool uses a computer-controlled suction and filtration system
To keep fresh seawater in permanent circulation, drawing it in from the ocean at
One end and pumping it out at the other. The sun warms the water to 26C, nine degrees warmer than the adjoining sea. Chilean biochemist Fernando Fischmann, whose Crystal Lagoons Corporation Designed the pool, said advanced engineering meant his company could build
"an impressive artificial paradise" even in inhospitable areas.

"As long as we have access to unlimited seawater, we can make it work, And it causes no damage to the ocean."

Chile Largest Swimming Pool