Image: Ron Dollete/Flickr

Image: kimberlykv/Flickr

If you’re lucky enough to live near a Hispanic market, many meat counters carry pre-seasoned beef you can buy and take home to cook. But if you’re looking for more of a hands-on experience, fire up the grill (or grill pan) and follow this easy recipe for carne asada at home, adapted from Tyler Florence. Makes 4 servings.

Homemade Carne Asada

• 2 pounds flank or skirt steak
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1 large handful fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 orange, juiced
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix the minced garlic and jalapeno with the chopped cilantro, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the lime and orange juice, vinegar and oil. Whisk to combine.

Trim any excess fat from the steak and lay it flat in a baking dish. Pour marinade over steak, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (and up to 8).

Heat a grill or grill pan on high heat. Season marinated stakes with salt and pepper and grill them for 7-10 minutes per-side, for medium rare. Take the meat off the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing diagonally to serve.

Pretty easy right? Now here comes the fun part – how to eat it. Your options are pretty much endless, but here are a few delicious ideas:

• Top carne asada with diced cilantro and white onion and fill small corn tortillas with the mixture for authentic street tacos.
• While the meat rests, grill sliced bell pepper and onions. Fill small flour tortillas with the veggies and meat to make fajitas.
• Mix carne asada with chopped romaine lettuce, black beans, corn kernels, avocado and chopped radishes. Dress with fresh lime, sour cream, and cilantro for a southwestern salad.
• Fry up some french fries and drench them in carne asada, guacamole, sour-cream, and a hearty handful of cheddar cheese for (possibly heart attack-inducing) carne asada fries

Image: permanently scatterbrained/Flickr

There were two separate incidents, one in which three crew members (pilot, co-pilot, and flight attendant) flew from Puerto Vallarta to Mexico City, and the other on a flight scheduled to fly from Costa Rica to Mexico. The latter flight never took off and was canceled. In this article, it’s reported that the pilots who were flying 101 passengers between Costa Rica and Mexico were reported by cabin crew members on suspicion of drinking. Media reports out of Mexico are claiming that the two pilots partied 7 hours before the Costa Rica flight, a violation of civil aviation rules.

[Image: eheçåtzin ::  ::. / Flickr]

How common are pilots under the influence? Perhaps more than we’d care to know. We came across this forum post at the Professional Pilots Rumour Network. Referenced is an article from The Times of India that reported 57 pilots were found to be drunk between January 2009 and November 2010. One member, a professional pilot, stated that pilots in India are tested before almost every flight, whereas when he was working in the US, he was only tested six times in 19 years of flying. So perhaps they just catch more in India.

In any case, not the most comforting news.

Looking to visit these bad boys? Some can be harder to get to than others, but they are all accessible to the adventurous traveler – and unquestionably worth the trip. Many of these natural phenomena occur only one place on earth, and will win you epic bragging rights from the rest of the human race.

1. Richat Structure or Eye of the Sahara – near Ouadane, Mauritania

Image: NASA Goddard Photo and Video/Flickr

Its official name may lack a bit of pizazz, but the Richat Structure makes up for it with its cool nickname, the Eye of the Sahara. This incredible phenomenon found no where else on earth was initially thought to be the result of a meteor crash. Instead, scientists believe that it is a circular anticline whose crust has eroded over time.

The result? An incredible 30 mile-across circle that is best viewed from space (or Google Maps).

Image: Trodel/Flickr

Given that the Eye of the Sahara is in a pretty isolated part of the Sahara Desert, people planning a visit have a few options depending on their budget. One option is to catch a ride on the next NASA space mission – which regularly uses the Eye of the Sahara to navigate. Another (more economically viable) option to consider is chartering a plane from Morocco. It’s a quick flight, and an amazing view.

2.  Zhangjiajie Forest – Hunan, China

Image: john0philip/Flickr

Image: john0philip/Flickr

Do these ridiculously gorgeous views look familiar? Maybe it’s because James Cameron took a trip to the Zhangjiajie Forest in 2008, before conceiving of the floating forest in the 2010 blockbuster “Avatar”. This forest of quartz-sandstone pillars reaches around 3,500 feet into the air, and makes for some of the most surreal landscape anywhere in the world.

Image: john0philip/Flickr

The phenomenon is created when ice formed on the heavy foliage that grows in the mountainous region thousands of years ago. As the ice formed, it eroded the soft rock over the many years, leaving the incredible spires.

If you’re not afraid of heights, don’t miss catching a ride on the air-tram that runs a few thousand feet above the forest floor.

Images: john0philip/john0philip/fortes/Flickr

3. Salar Uyuni – Southwest Bolivia

Image: funkz/Flickr

Pretty much everything about Salar Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flats, is totally weird. The salt flats cover around 4 thousand square miles at almost 12 feet above sea level. Along with containing around 60% of the world’s lithium reserves, it also serves as the breeding ground for multiple species of pink flamingos. (Didn’t see that coming, did ya?)

During the dry season Salar Uyuni looks like a cracked, dry desert, but during the wet season when Lake Titicaca overflows, the desert becomes flooded with salty brine. Both landscapes are equally incredible, and lend themselves to some pretty creative photo capturing.

Image: Chechevere/ Wikipedia Commons

Image: GirlUnmapped/Flickr

If you want to spend time near the salt flats, there are a few inexpensive hotels to choose from, but be prepared for a unique living experience. Since there are almost no natural resources (other than salt and lithium) near the flats, many of the hotels are constructed entirely from salt. And we mean “entirely”, including walls, beds and furniture.

4. The Wave – Coyote Buttes, Arizona

Image: DIVA007/Flickr

Image: Alaskan Dude/Flickr

Talk about a photographers dream come true! The Wave is a sandstone rock formation that is an incredible 190 million years old. It was created when sand dunes compacted layer by layer over millions of years, creating incredible variation of colors and textures. Because of how delicate sandstone is, after years of erosion, the dunes were sculpted into the shapes they are today.

Image: Alaskan Dude/Flickr

Given how gorgeous and delicate this rock formation is, getting access to it can be a challenge. Only 20 permits are given out to hike to The Wave per-day, 10 in a lottery held months before-hand and 10 in a lottery on the day-of. If you’re lucky enough to get a permit, you’ll still have the hike the 3 mile, unmarked trail to reach the landmark. Hikers are responsible to find their own way across the desert – bring a GPS and a topographic map just to be safe.

Image: DIVA007/Flickr

5. Cueva de los Cristales or Cave of the Crystals – about an hour south of Chihuahua, Mexico

Images: Wikipedia Commons

It’s hard to imagine the miners’ surprise when during a routine drilling, a cave full of crystals the size of tree trunks was discovered on accident in 2000. Although this region of Mexico is known for their crystals, most formations are a few feet long as best. No collection of naturally-occurring crystals has been found on earth that can even hold a candle to the discovery of the Cueva de Los Cristales.

The crystal formation found in this cave could only have happened under the most ideal of conditions. Namely, underwater – which this cavern was for over 500,000 years while the crystals formed. Incredibly, as the crystals formed, tiny pockets of water were captured within the crystals making them invaluable time capsules of bacteria and viruses. Only in the last century was the chamber drained by a nearby mine, exposing the crystals and making it possible for humans to discover them.

Given the scientific potential of this discovery, researchers have flocked to visit the cave, but unfortunately so have looters. The combination of too many visitors (both well meaning and otherwise) and that the heavy crystals are showing stress from being out of their natural underwater habitat, has meant significant damage to the cave. A steel door has been put in to deter “unannounced” visitors, but the mining company who owns the land is considering flooding the cave once again to preserve their treasure. If you can manage a visit, you better do it soon!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeiMfLmJtzk[/youtube]

6. Shilin or Stone Forest – Kunming, China

When describing Shilin the Chinese use the term “forest” loosely. The Stone Forest is not really a forest at all, but a Karst formation created over 270 million years ago when soft limestone rocks dissolved over millions of years, forming massive spikes.

Image: LHOON/Flickr

Image: LHOON/Flickr

Although Shilin was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007, the Chinese claim that since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.) it had been known as the “First Wonder of the World”. Either way, it’s a popular tourist destination within China. Be ready to fight for the best viewing spots with the local population.

Image: LHOON/Flickr

7. Angel Falls or Salto Ángel – Canaima National Park, Venezuela

Image: Erik Cleves Kristensen/Flickr

If you want to see the world tallest waterfall, forget Niagara Falls or Yosemite and head to the Auyantepui mountain in Canaima National Park. This waterfall clocks in at 3,212 feet, and is so tall most of the water evaporates into mist before it even reaches the bottom.This means visitors can take a dip (as long as they’re not adverse to freezing water) in the pools bellow the fall.

Images: Inti/meneldur/Flickr

The waterfall is known as “Angel Falls” after the aviator Jimmie Angel who flew his plane over it in 1937. Although its been 90 plus years since Jimmie Angel flew over it, Angel Falls isn’t that much easier to get to now as it was then. If you want to visit, plan you trip between June and December when the nearby rivers are deep enough for locals canoes (called “curiaras“) to make it through to the falls.

8. Relampago del Catatumbo – Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela

Image: Wikipedia Commons

The point where the Catatumbo river meets Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, a constant lightning storm illuminates the sky for around 10 hours a night, almost half to nights out of the year. The storm is pretty much silent, with the lightning going from cloud to cloud and very rarely touching down on earth. Lightning bolts form at around 280 times per hour during a storm, and over the course of a year it is estimated there are about 1.2 million electric discharges.

No one is quite sure how long this has been going on or why. The lightning storm was mentioned in a poem written in 1597, and has been part of local folklore for as long as locals can remember. It is suspected that methane gas rises from Catatumbo bogs at the mouth of the river and mixes with storm clouds coming off the Andes, creating this unbelievable spectacle.

It is so bright, it can be seen hundreds of miles away and is used by ships to navigate. It is also suspected to be the number one ozone producing agent in the world (unfortunately the type of ozone isn’t the same as the kind being depleted in the earth’s atmosphere).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMY3CwPjLEQ&feature=player_embedded#at=12[/youtube]

9. Giants Causeway – County Antrim, Ireland

Image: coda/Flickr

The Giant’s Causeway was formed 50 to 60 million years ago when hot lava flowed onto chalk beds, cooled quickly and contracted to make hexagon shaped piers. The speed that the lava cooled determined the height of the shafts. Although the scientific explanation might be simple, figuring out all the varying Irish myths surrounding the Giant’s Causeway is not.

They all pretty much tell the story of an Irish warrior who built a bridge to walk to Scotland to fight his mortal enemy, but some involve the Irish warrior fleeing and tearing up the causeway in his escape, others tell the story the other way around. There are even a few that involve the Irish warrior pretending to be a baby, and when the Scottish warrior sees how big his opponents supposed child is, he gets so scared he runs back to Scotland in defeat.

Image: dfyoung/Flickr

What’s even more interesting about the varying tales is that a similar formation exists in Scotland at the mouth of a cave that was “rumored” to be home to a fearful giant. So it’s not that hard to believe people could see how these two similar formations could have been connected – thus the fantastic stories.

Image: nickton/Flickr

Image: benleto/Flickr

[Featured Image: Wikipedia Commons]

Whether they sprang from societal pressure, a yearning for childhood, or just some bizarre obsession, these five doll collections walk a fine line between sweet and frightening (Ed note: yea, I’d lean towards frightening. Ugh).

1. Awashima Jinja Shrine, Wakayama, Japan

Image: m-louis/Flickr

The Japanese some things more seriously than the rest of the world — KitKat, Hello Kitty, karaoke -  even regular ol’ dolls. Japanese tradition informs us that dolls have souls… and a vengeful ones at that. This rather specific treatment dictates that, instead of just tossing out dolls when they’ve been outgrown or chewed on by the dog, a doll must be given its due and the family must honor the passing in a respectful way. That’s where Awashima Jinja shrine comes in.

Image: enmoto/m-louis/Flickr

Welcome to Awashima Jinja – where dolls go to live out the rest of their “lives”. Built in the 3rd century by the empress Jinmu after a near-death shipwreck experience, the shrine began as a place for women to come pray for woman-y things, and has grown to become an all-encompassing female-items-that-have-a-soul depository. Along with dolls that are ready to be thrown out, the shrine also gives toys, figurines, carvings, and sculptures of all sorts a new home, as well as sewing needles.

Image: emmoto/m-louis/Flickr

On March 3rd, the most sacred day at Awashima Jinja shrine, a doll festival called Nagashi Bina is held. Boats are filled with dolls, having been volunteered up for nautical duty by their owners, in the hopes that the dolls will take their human’s bad luck with them. They float in the open sea, and the dolls slowly fall overboard as the boats rock, taking misfortune with them.

Image: enmoto/Flickr

While visiting the shrine, don’t miss the rather strange side-collection of plaques with women’s underwear attached to them, a fertility custom from the Edo period.

2. Isla de las Munecas, Teshuilo Lake, Mexico

Image: cordelia_persen/Flickr

There’s speculation some of this story is more urban legend than fact, it’s so perfectly creepy we just want to believe it’s true.

Image: Esparta/Flickr

According to the story, Don Julian Santana unexpectedly left his family in the 1950s for a tiny island on Teshuilo Lake in the Xochimilco canals in Mexico. The island was deserted, but Don Julian reported that not long after he moved there, a young girl drowned in the canal next to his island and her spirit began haunting his new home. Quietly, Don Julian began collecting dolls from the garbage dump to give as offerings to the child’s ghost, and he would attach broken, mangled dolls to the trees and buildings around his house for her to “play” with.

Soon after, nearby neighbors offered their own dolls as barter for the fresh produce he grew on his island, allowing the solitary man to amass an incredible collection of unwanted dolls which he attached to any surface he could find.

Image: SkilliShots/Esparta/Flickr

Once the island was discovered by the outside world, visitors began pouring in to see the sight for themselves. Don Julian began charging a small fee for touring is island, and seemed to live a pretty happy life – that is, until 2001 when he mysteriously drowned, reportedly in the same place where the child had fifty years before. CREEPY, am I right?

Image: Esparta/Flickr

Today, the island is maintained by the Santana family, who use the entrance fee from visitors to keep the island up and running. The best way to get there is a two hour trip by trajinera from Cuemanco Pier outside Mexico City. If a jaunt in a ridiculously awesome trajinera doesn’t provide enough visual interest for you, we’ve heard the ride through Xochimico is stunning.

Image: (3)/Flickr

3. Musee Mechanique, San Francisco

Image: Rev Dan Catt/Flickr

Image: Rev Dan Catt/Flickr

Although Edward Galland Zelinsky, proprietor of the Musee Mechanique in San Francisco, might not classify his incredible collection of antique mechanical arcade machines as “dolls”, they are so wonderfully creepy and cool we couldn’t leave them off the list. Zelinsky started collecting mechanized toys in the ’40s when he was just a wee lad and his collection has grown to include almost 300 items, ranging from vintage peep-shows to pianos that play themselves. Our favorite arcade machines are the ones that include surreal, life-like mechanized figures.

Images: Panegyrics of Granovetter/Panegyrics of Granovetter/Panegyrics of Granovetter/Flickr

Many of the devices have roots in San Francisco history, saved from the city’s Playland at the Beach amusement park (closed in 1972) and the 1915 Pan Pacific Exposition. The collection even features some bizarre machines constructed out of toothpicks made by Alcatraz inmates.

4. The Barbie Store, Shanghai

Image: Slade Architecture/Slade Architecture

It’s pretty hard to miss this massive, mega-Barbie store, even nestled amongst the ridiculously flashy buildings of Shanghai. Standing six stories tall, it glows neon pink and cost around 20 million pounds to build. Opened in 2009, the Barbie compound was designed by Slade Architecture to appeal to a decidedly not-just-kids demographic. Along with a mini runway on which ladies can model big-kid Barbie clothes, the store has a day spa,  hair salon, a $15,000 Vera Wang wedding dress sale, and a bar/club called the “Pink Room”, which we can only hope are meant to draw an older, female crowd.

Image: Mr Michael Phams/Mr Michael Phams/Flickr

Image: Mr Michael Phams/Flickr

Many American women adored their Barbie dolls when they were growing up – heck, some even still secretly get weak in the knees for a mini plastic brush and removable high heeled shoes. Despite the impressive design and overwhelming number of items for sale (1,600 products in total), however, this store still seems strangely off-putting. If those massive Barbie heads covered in candy-colored face masks don’t convince you, maybe the the store’s signature pink tunnel escalator will. Here’s the kicker: it reportedly plays the recorded sound of little girls giggling at a low volume.

5. The Doll Museum, The National Shrine of the Cross in the Woods, Indian River, Michigan

There are a lot of “unique” collections out there. Belly button lint, toilet seat art, and toasters are all on the wacky side, but we would definitely nominate Sally Rogalski’s shrine to dolls dressed in habits FTW. Sally began collecting in 1945, and hasn’t stopped since. Her collection consists of over 520 dolls and a 20 mannequins of 217 religious orders.

We’re not the only ones who think this collection is pretty impressive. In 1988 Pope John Paul II blessed Sally, praising her for “helping to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life through their doll collection”.

We don’t question the Rogalski’s sincerity and passion, though we must admit that seeing a doll better known for shapely dimensions in a nurse habit and suave Ken-ish priests just doesn’t sit quite right (Ed. note: AGREED).

All Images: Sue Peacock/Flickr

I’m sure we’ve missed plenty of cute/creepy doll sites out there – leave ‘em in the comments!

According to UPI.com, the town of Iztapalapa has created a 70m (or 229.66 feet) long enchilada that weighed almost an entire ton.  Having trouble picturing what that would look like?  Imagine roughly 50 basketball players lying down.  Or, imagine almost 20 car lengths.  The Guinness Book of World Records has officially confirmed it; Iztalapa’s enchilada is, indeed, the largest enchilada in the entire world.

But believe it or not, this enchilada comes wrapped in a little controversy.  Apparently the previous enchilada world record holder was a man named Robert Estrada, who is claiming that his enchilada shouldn’t have been knocked out of the title.  His claim is that his enchilada was three-layered, while the newer enchilada is more of the rolled variety (this is serious business folks).

Regardless of the controversy, the town of Iztapalapa was indeed named the current ruler of the largest enchilada.  If that wasn’t enough to impress you, just imagine this; the enchilada is actually filled with onions, Serrano chilies, tomatoes, avocado, cheese, sour cream, and a variety of salsa.  According to the Herald, it was indeed tasty.  And of course, the whole thing is wrapped up in one big, beautiful, corn tortillas–  that truly is the whole enchilada.

Iimage Attribution to: cotarr/Flckr