Sometimes we want to escape from reality that surrouds us, to find the place where nobody can find us. We want to delve in and enjoy the nature, beaultiful sky, lush forests, dazzling crystal-clear waters of a mountain river... and it is much better if that place has some kind of unique fixture, the one that you can not encounter in any other place, it gives the place the special hue, the special spice that we cannot resist to try. Here in this article you can find a list of these very places, maybe one day you will be very lucky to visit them.

Purple sands of Big Sur's Pfeiffer Beach

Sand derives its color from minerals that compose it, which vary from place to place. Quartz, often clear or translucent, is commonly the dominant ingredient, lending sand its generally light color. Pfeiffer Beach's purple color comes from manganese garnet deposits found in the surrounding rocks.

Offbeat Traveler is heading to the coast this summer. In celebration of the season, we're bringing you colorful beaches around the world -- destinations where the sand is not your typical yellow or beige.

Juzcar, Spain

If you're feeling blue this summer, perhaps a visit to Juzcar, a village in the Andalusia region of Spain, will perk you up. Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation had the village painted blue to promote the new movie "The Smurfs."The film, which opens July 29 in the U.S., is based on the comic-book series created by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford (also known as Peyo). The comic was also a popular TV cartoon in the 1980s.

Juzcar, near the southern tip of Spain about 40 miles west of Malaga, will remain blue until September, when buildings will be returned to their original white. In case you can't visit the village while it's blue, other sights include a 16th century church and the ruins of an 18th century tin factory. Here's a look at the village, before and after its paint job.

Sony Pictures Animation and Columbia Pictures chose Juzcar, Spain, to host the world premiere of "The Smurfs," painting the town blue to turn it into the world's first Smurf village.

Humboldt Box in Berlin

If you're visiting Berlin this summer, you'll notice an unusual addition to the city's Mitte district the Humboldt Box, a futuristic museum housing exhibits related to art, science and culture.

The Humboldt Box serves as a interim fill-in for the Humboldt Forum, envisioned as a place for the exchange of cultures from around the world. The temporary structure will be dismantled when the Humboldt Forum is completed, probably in 2019.
The Humboldt Box opened its doors June 29. Visitors can learn about early Chinese porcelain, watch how paintings from the Silk Road are being restored and listen to music from around the world.

Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River

The next time you are in the Philippines, take a pump boat trip from Sabang Beach down the clear waters of an underground river that flows through caves filled with interesting formations of stalactites and stalagmites.

At Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park, northwest of Puerto Princesa in Palawan province, the Cabayugan River flows for about five miles through the St. Paul Mountain Range and exits into the sea. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 and is one of the 28 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of Nature campaign, which is to be decided on Nov. 11.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

In the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest near Bishop, Calif., stand some of the world's oldest trees. When the most senior of these were sprouting up, the great Pyramids of Giza were being built. Among the gnarled bunch is the Methuselah Tree, said to be the world's oldest. Named after the aged biblical figure, it is believed to be nearly 5,000 years old.

The pine forest, part of Inyo National Forest, recently reopened after a winter hiatus, with the visitor center open daily. Two of the three nearby hiking trails remain closed. The 1-mile Discovery trail is open. The Methuselah Loop trail is expected to reopen in the coming weeks.

Bristlecone pines like these are gnarly ghosts on the landscape of Inyo National Forest near Bishop, Calif. The location of the oldest one, the Methuselah Tree, is kept secret for preservation reasons, so you won't see signs announcing its presence.

Remote monasteries of Metéora

The six monasteries of Metéora are perched on rock pinnacles (in Greek, "Metéora" means "suspended in the air"), some built as high as 1,800 feet. The monasteries date as far back as the 14th century, when monastic living was embraced by the surrounding region. Though six remain, 24 were originally built.

Great Metéoron Monastery is perched on the highest pinnacle among those occupied and was the first monastery to be built at Metéora. Today, it houses a folklore museum.

Metropol Parasol

A bizarre site in a medieval Spanish city, Metropol Parasol rises from Seville like an enormous honeycombed mushroom. If it conjures memories of popsicle-stick sculptures from your childhood, it's because the structure is built from pieces of timber glued to one another. Begun in 2004, Metropol Parasol made its debut in March in an effort to revitalize Plaza de la Encarnacíon, a spot usually skipped in favor of more popular tourist destinations nearby.

Bay of Fundy

The bay is a picturesque body of water with impressive rock formations, marine diversity and fossil deposits. But what makes it unique are its remarkably high tides: More than 100 billion tons of water rush in and out every day. The tides measure 53 feet, the highest in the world, according to Terri McCulloch, executive director of the Bay of Fundy Tourism Partnership.

Two chief factors contribute to the Bay of Fundy's impressive tides. The first is shape. From its mouth to its end, the bay gets more narrow and shallow, causing a large amount of water to fill a smaller space, forcing it higher onto the shore. The second factor is tidal resonance, which happens when a body of water's natural tides are reinforced by the rocking motions of its waters.

Kayakers paddle through New Brunswick's Hopewell Rocks, a group of rock formations along the coast of the Bay of Fundy carved by tidal erosion. The site is open from mid-May to mid-October.

At low tide, the water rises about 8 feet each hour or 1½ inches each minute on average. Visitors have gotten stranded by water creeping up around them.

Green Lake

Green Lake in Austria is a popular spot for hiking that is nearly dry during the winter months. But once the temperatures start to creep up, the snow on the surrounding Hochschwab Mountains starts to melt, and water runs down to the valley. By summer, areas of the lake can be 30 feet deep, and visitors take off their hiking boots and throw on scuba gear. Divers come to check out the underwater meadow, trails, roads and bridges. It's not every day that you can see a submerged park that's dry half of the year.

Komodo National Park

Eco-tourists and herpetophiles (reptile lovers), as you plan your summer vacations, consider visiting Komodo National Park and its unique inhabitants. This group of islands in Indonesia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of 28 finalists for the New7Wonders of Nature, which will be announced in November. Oh, it's also the only place in the world where you'll find Komodo dragons, the world's largest extant lizard species. They're about as close as you'll get to living dinosaurs.

A type of monitor lizard, Komodo dragons grow about 10 feet long and can weigh about 300 pounds (more than a baby elephant). They eat pigs, deer, carrion and even each other. About 5,700 of these prehistoric-looking lizards roam the national park created to conserve them.

If you're not up for chasing these massive lizards (or being chased by them -- they're quick on their feet), Komodo National Park is also known for its diverse marine environments. Its waters are popular for diving and host over 260 species of reef-building coral, 70 species of sponges and over 1,000 species of fish.

Plitvice Lakes National Park

On June 25, Croatia celebrates the 20th anniversary of its independence from Yugoslavia. You could commemorate this occasion by visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park, the country's first national park and one of its most breathtaking. The UNESCO World Heritage site is known for its waterfalls, uniquely colored lakes (grey, blue and green) and caves.

Chamarel

Check out the multicolored rolling dunes known as colored earths in Chamarel on the western side of Mauritius, an island nation off the southeastern coast of Africa. The blue, brown, green, orange, purple, red and yellow patterns were formed when volcanic rocks cooled at different temperatures. Rain eventually carved the patterns into an undulating landscape. This strange bit of nature is best seen in the early morning or evening for the best contrasts in the hills and the vegetation in the background. Nearby, the Chamarel Falls can be seen plunging hundreds of feet.

Blue Lake Cave in Brazil

After a short hike through the forest, visitors arrive at the Blue Lake Cave (Gruta do Lago Azul) in Bonito, in Brazil's state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Upon entering the cave and making their initial descent to the bottom, visitors see the numerous stalactites suspended from the top of the cave and get their first glimpse of the cobalt blue water below.During the hours when the sun shines through the entrance, it lights up the cave and the crystal clear lake. The sunlight spreads a blue hue through the cave's lake. Despite looking very shallow, the lake is almost 300 feet deep in some spots.

The final Curious © phrase:

“The trouble with our age is that it is all signpost and no destination”

(Louis Kronenberger)