Black Sand Beaches – When you think about going on vacation or to a getaway trip, you probably pick somewhere warm with inviting weather, people, and beaches. Once you pick that perfect beach you want to visit, you can't picture anything else but a warm breeze and a clear blue sky that engulfs a beautiful brown sandy beach, with minimal rocks of course. Think about this. Try picturing a beach with blue water, a crystal clear sky, and black sand. Sounds a little crazy huh? In any case, these beaches do exist. So, the next time you're planning a vacation or looking for a new place to go to for a few days, try heading to a black sand beach.

If you can't pick just one or you aren't sure of any, here is a list of the top 10 black sand beaches.

1. Vik Beach, Iceland

2. Black Sand Beach, Prince William Sound, Alaska

3. Pololu Valley Beach, Hawaii

4. Kehena Beach, Hawaii

5. Kaimu Beach, Hawaii

6. Black Sand Beach, Lost coast, California

7. Oneuli Beach, Maui

8. Honokalani Black Sand Beach, Maui

9. Waianapanapa Black Sand Beach, Maui

10.  Punaluu Beach, Hawaii

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Spotlight On: Holidays to Crete | Crete is the largest of the Greek Islands, situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea between mainland Greece and southern Turkey. The destination's southerly location means that holidays to Crete will guarantee sensational sunshine for your 2012 holidays abroad.

From May to October, temperatures in Crete are comfortable. Even in May and October, the cooler evenings are definitely welcome as temperatures easily reach up to 25 degrees C. As soon as June hits, the climate in Crete peaks rapidly often exceeding 30 degrees C. Be prepared to experience highs of up to 40 degrees C if you visit in July and August.

Flight times to Crete from the UK take, on average, approximately four hours depending on flying conditions and your departure airport. Although the Balearics and the Canaries can be reached in two to three hours, retrospectively, Crete offers a beautifully cultured break away from home with myriad ancient ruins, pretty ports, attractions and gorgeous Grecian landscapes.

Due to the popularity of Crete, most resorts contain family friendly hotels and attractions. The beautiful shores of Rethymnon are safe and superb for sandcastles and paddling with parents in shallow waters.

Older kids and teens that are looking for an adrenaline kick will enjoy a stint in Hersonissos. The area has two waterparks, Aqua Plus and Star Beach, with enough shoots, flumes and pools to keep the whole family entertained for days. Team this will some introductory watersports and glass bottom boat trips.

Young couples and adults visiting Crete in search of vibrant nightlife will not be disappointed. The northern resort of Hersonissos has a wide range of late night bars and discos, while the neighbouring resort of Malia is world famous for its clubs, including the open air Banana Club.

Great deals on 2012 holidays are now available online. Book your ideal break from the choice of holidays to Crete before it's too late.

1. The Cahokia Mounds

The Mystery
Although scientists are constantly discovering new information about the Cohokia community, the biggest mystery that remains is which modern Indian tribe is descended from the residents of the ancient city, as well as just what it was that caused them to abandon their settlement.

2. Newgrange

The Mystery
Archeologists know Newgrange was used as a tomb, but why and for who still remains a mystery. The painstaking design needed to guarantee that the yearly solstice event occurs suggests that the site was held in high regard, but other than the obvious hypothesis that the sun featured prominently in the mythology of the builders, scientists are at a loss to describe the true reason for Newgrange's construction.

3. The Yonaguni Monument

The Mystery
The ongoing debate surrounding Yonaguni centers on one key subject: is the monument a natural phenomenon, or is it man-made? Scientists have long argued that millennia of strong currents and erosion have carved the formations out of the ocean floor, and they point to the fact that the monument is all one piece of solid rock as proof that it was not assembled by a builder. Others, though, point to the many straight edges, square corners and 90-degree angles of the formation as proof that it's artificial. They often cite one formation in particular, a section of rock that resembles a crude carving of a human face, as evidence. If they are right, then an even more interesting mystery presents itself: who constructed the Yonaguni Monument, and for what purpose?

4. The Nazca Lines

The Mystery
Scientists know who made the Nazca Lines and how they did it, but they still don't know why. The most popular and reasonable hypothesis is that the lines must have figured in the Nazca people's religious beliefs, and that they made the designs as offerings to the gods, who would've been able to see them from the heavens. Still, other scientists argue that the lines are evidence of massive looms that the Nazcas used to make textiles, and one investigator has even made the preposterous claim that they are the remnants of ancient airfields used by a vanished, technologically advanced society.

5. Goseck Circle

The Mystery
The monument's careful construction has led many scientists to believe that the Goseck Circle was built to serve as some kind of primitive solar or lunar calendar, but its exact use is still a source of debate. Evidence has shown that a so-called "solar cult" was widespread in ancient Europe. This has led to speculation that the Circle was used in some kind of ritual, perhaps even in conjunction with human sacrifice. This hypothesis has yet to be proven, but archeologists have uncovered several human bones, including a headless skeleton, just outside the palisade walls.

6. Sacsayhuaman

The Mystery
Most scientists agree that Sacsayhuaman served as a kind of fortress of barrier wall, but this has been disputed. The strange shape and angles of the wall have led some speculate that it may have had a more symbolic function, one example being that the wall, when seen next to Cuzco from above, forms the shape of the head of a Cougar. Even more mysterious than the monument's use, though, are the methods that were used in its construction. Like most Inca stone works, Sacsayhuaman was built with large stones that fit together so perfectly that not even a sheet of paper can be placed in the gaps between them. Just how the Incas managed such expert placements, or, for that matter, how they managed to transport and lift the heavy hunks of stone, is still not fully known.

7. The Easter Island Moai

The Mystery
While there is a fairly solid consensus on why the Moai were erected, how the islanders did it is still up for debate. The average Moai weighs several tons, and for years scientists were at a loss to describe how the monuments were transported from Rano Raraku, where most of them were constructed, to their various locations around the island. In recent years, the most popular theory is that the builders used wooden sleds and log rollers to move the Moai, an answer that would also explain how the once verdant island became almost totally barren due to deforestation.

8. The Georgia Guidestones

The Mystery
For all their controversy, very little is known about who built the Guidestones or what their true purpose is. R.C. Christian claimed he represented an independent organization when he commissioned the landmark, but neither he nor his group has spoken up since its construction. Since the monument was built during the height of the Cold War, one popular theory about the group's intentions is that the Guidestones were to serve as a primer for how to rebuild society in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.

9. The Great Sphinx of Giza

The Mystery
Despite its reputation as one of the most famous monuments of antiquity, there is still very little known about the Great Sphinx of Giza. Egyptologists might have a small understanding of why the statue was built, but when, how, and by who is still shrouded in mystery. The pharaoh Khafra is the main suspect, which would date the structure back to around 2500 BC, but other scientists have argued that evidence of water erosion of the statue suggests that it is much older and perhaps even predated the dynastic era of the Egyptians. This theory has few modern adherents, but if true it would mean the Great Sphinx of Giza is even more mysterious than previously believed.

10. Stonehenge

The Mystery
Stonehenge has become renowned for puzzling even the most brilliant researchers, and over the years the many gaps in the history of its construction, the nature of its use, and the true identity of its builders have become known as "The Mystery of Stonehenge." The Neolithic people who built the monument left behind no written records, so scientists can only base their theories on the meager evidence that exists at the site. This has led to wild speculation that the monument was left by aliens, or that it was built by some eons-old society of technologically advanced super-humans. All craziness aside, the most common explanation remains that Stonehenge served as some kind of graveyard monument that played a role in the builders' version of the afterlife, a claim that is backed up by its proximity to several hundred burial mounds. Yet another theory suggests that the site was a place for spiritual healing and the worship of long dead ancestors.

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Wonder of Russia | To the rest of the world, Russia has often been cloaked in mystery, with political affairs clouding our sense of what this sprawling nation in northern Eurasia is really like.

Putting aside its Soviet past, Russia is now much more accessible to outsiders, but its very size and the remoteness of much of its territory still mean that much of it goes unseen. These 5 natural sights, from the vast Golden Mountains of Altai in Southern Siberia to the sandy Curonian Split on the Baltic Sea coast, represent just a fraction of the beauty that this nation has to offer.

1.  The Golden Mountains of Altai

(credit : google)

2.  Lena's Stone Forest

(credit : google)

3. Lake Baikal

(credit : google)

4. The Valley of Geysers

(credit : google)

5. The Curonian Split

(credit : google)

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