Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

A woman walks with a squirrel on her shoulder at Maeklong market at the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand September 20, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A woman sells vegetables near a Metro train station in downtown Lima, Peru December 1, 2015. (Photo by Mariana Bazo/Reuters)

A visitor wears an outfit as she watches the St. George NextGen show for Fashion Week in Sydney on May 16, 2017. (Photo by Peter Parks/AFP Photo)

A traditional game that earned hollers from the crowd saw a male rider gallop after a young woman, stretching for a kiss. Only a handful of the men managed the risky peck before the young women turned the tables and thundered after the men with whips in hand. (Photo by Amos Chapple/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

A transparent van is displayed by a vendor for safety devices at the IAA Auto Show in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, September 10, 2019. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

People dance to celebrate Midsummer Eve during sunset at the Amager Strandpark in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 23, 2021. (Photo by Hannah McKay/Reuters)

The Lamb National takes place for the racegoers at Ascot Racecourse on April 2, 2017 in Ascot, England. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)