Of course, it is unknown how Canada might have turned out were it not for the tar sands in Alberta and the vast treasures of other commodities it sits upon.

FORBES: Opinion: In The Lead - Oh, Canada!

The following day, immerse yourself in living Mayan culture while hunting for treasures on a tour of the Chichicastenango Market.

BBC: Daily deal: A Guatemalan escape

In a city renowned for its art nouveau treasures, the Liceu predated them with its own mid-Victorian fusion of gold and brown, blue and crimson almost more gaudy than Gaudi.

ECONOMIST: More gaudy than Gaudi

How can they open up to the outside world which longs for greater access to the monastery's treasures and is keen to offer scientific and historical expertise in return without disturbing the inner life of a community whose ultimate purpose is not the production, or preservation, of beautiful artefacts, but communion with God?

ECONOMIST: Saint Catherine's monastery

If all goes as planned, the next time you travel to Spain you can gaze on treasures that were not intended for you to see booty, in fact, that was headed to the hands of treasure hunters and other adventurers, as so often happens with valuables rescued from ships lying at the bottom of the sea.

FORBES: Chasing Gold Coins to Spain

While paying smugglers for the return of lost treasures is a controversial move on the part of the museum, it seems to have worked in this instance.

CNN: Iraq museum pays smugglers for looted treasures