Annapurna Circuit: 1th - Pokhara a ChameNepal

Finally, on the way


by call
Friends walk along the main street of Chame, a village located 2670 meters away, from where you can see the first snowy peaks of the Annapurnas.
lake peace
Pleasure boats on Lake Phewa, near Pokhara, the logistical base for backpackers who venture into the Annapurna Circuit.
in the heat of the night
Porters, guides and jeep drivers mingle in the heated kitchen of Himalyan Hotel in Chame.
thalasso rest
Two clients of a Tea House in Syange.
tea time
Cooks at the Himalayan Hotel, one of several that welcome hikers passing through Chame.
silver fishing
Fishermen on the shore of Lake Phewa, at the gates of Pokhara.
Himalayas below
Tight gorge of the Marsyangdi River, midway between Syange and Chame.
a rest
Resident of Chame rests momentarily from chopping the wood that warms the cold nights of the village.
Nepalese village
Small village on the cliff, on the way to Chame.
New Sunrise
Guys enjoy watching hikers pass by Danaque's New Sunrise hotel.
the possible dinner
Soup (garlic) and veg fried rice, a classic meal combination along the way. Garlic soup is said to prevent mountain sickness. Another problem is getting a soup that is not instantaneous.
moto parenthood
Father takes his baby son on a motorcycle trip that passes through Chame.
in the usual seat
Elder rests and sunbathes by the side of the road, between Syange and Chame.
to such
Tal, a village planted on the banks of the Marsyangdi River and something vulnerable to its floods.
my
Sisters spy on outsiders outside their home in Chame.
After several days of preparation in Pokhara, we left towards the Himalayas. The walking route only starts in Chame, at 2670 meters of altitude, with the snowy peaks of the Annapurna mountain range already in sight. Until then, we complete a painful but necessary road preamble to its subtropical base.

We are in Pokhara, the backpacker capital of the Nepal and the Annapurnas Circuit. Back, they stayed Kathamandu, Bakhtapur and the valley that surrounds them.

The Annapurnas creep in to the north.

For a few hours after each dawn, the still water of Lake Phewa contemplates the outsiders with the reflection of its snow-capped peaks. The sight disturbs us double but we couldn't take the Himalayas and the Annapurna Circuit lightly.

Phewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal

Pleasure boats on Lake Phewa, near Pokhara, the logistical base for backpackers who venture into the Annapurna Circuit.

Arrived in Kathmandu, India, without clothes for the cold, we had a lot to plan, the permits needed to obtain and almost all the equipment still to be purchased.

There are so many and so similar trekking and mountaineering shops that – as happens to most outsiders – we soon found ourselves lost in the labyrinth of shop windows and interiors crammed with synthetic and colorful Made in China and Made in clothing Nepal.

Aware that we would be two weeks or more without adequate Internet, in addition to purchases, they also kept us from creating articles and other computerized tasks that, from the outset, we had to leave solved.

We spent a good deal of time in the hotel's room and on the hotel's balcony, with surgical trips to the town's commercial center to eat and stock up on the clothes and equipment on our newly created list.

Pokhara, Too much Pokhara

“You again? Still around? But after all, when does it leave?” Binsa, the easy-going and witty owner of one of the stores we returned to and return to, asks us.

Too many days passed without us being able to avoid them, almost all with meteorologies that evolved from a radiant morning sun to furious showers and thunderstorms towards the end of the afternoon and night.

We had arrived in Pokhara on a Thursday. We didn't want to let the next one beat us. Accordingly, on Wednesday night, having decided to go out to the mountain, we filled the backpacks we had also bought there with everything we were going to carry. We slept stunned by the weight of the expedition.

The one with fourteen kilos that – due to the photographic material but not only – counted the backpacks, instead of the recommended eight or nine. And that of the sheer size and duration of the walk, by far the longest and most exhausting we had ever been on.

As a result of the accumulated anxiety and tiredness, we leave the hotel at lunchtime instead of the planned eight in the morning.

It wasn't until almost four in the afternoon that we found the last call of the day to Besishahar, in the company of a Nepalese emigrated to Dubai fourteen years ago, expansive and enterprising to match, who loved us and made a point of guaranteeing us two seats in the overcrowded van.

The Providential Shelter of Besishahar

We arrived in Besishahar shortly after dark. A thunderous storm descended from the mountains and seized the village. It didn't take long to unleash its fury and a frightening torrent of water on her.

We got off the van to a Gangapurna guesthouse, like the whole village, in the dark.

We left our backpacks in a claustrophobic room and went down to dinner by candlelight. By serving us thupka and veg fried rice, the hotel owner promised us a seat in one of the jeeps that would leave early in the morning for Chame.

With no reason to extend the forced romanticism of the supper, we went upstairs and slept as much as we could.

Annapurna Circuit "Classic" Meal, Nepal

Soup (garlic) and veg fried rice, a classic meal combination along the way. Garlic soup is said to prevent mountain sickness. Another problem is getting a soup that is not instantaneous.

At half past seven in the morning, the electricity was still out of town. Even so, the stores opened as if nothing had happened, and the ATM of one Siddartha Bank blessed us with 25.000 Nepalese rupees, it was still time for us to get into the jeep.

Besishahar established the limit of the road network navigable by normal vehicles.

From there, to the north and up the mountain range, only vehicles with powerful tractions managed to overcome the rough road that the authorities of the Nepal they tore off the steep, rocky slopes.

Marsyangdi River, Nepal

Tight gorge of the Marsyangdi River.

Filled with tight stretches between the slopes and great cliffs over the Marsyangdi River, the section between Besishahar and Chame is considered one of the most dangerous on the face of the Earth.

Especially during monsoons, when floods form in the higher lands they can cause landslides at any time and wipe unlucky vehicles and passengers off the map.

settlement on the banks of the Marsyangdi River, Nepal

Tal, a village planted on the banks of the Marsyangdi River and something vulnerable to its floods.

That day, however, had dawned in a good mood. Even if the strong jolts of the jeep were crushing our unprepared backs, we advanced at a good pace and without any hitches.

The Winding Choice of Circuit Start

Truth be told, the Annapurnas circuit brochures now feature Besishahar as the official start of the course. Until a few years ago, the number of trekkers who inaugurated the trek in Dumre – well before Besishahar – and completed it more than twenty days later in Pokhara was substantial.

But when the roads between Dumre and Chame, and on the other side of the mountain range, those that went to Jomson and Muktinah – were ready and the jeeps began to serve the routes, the decision to shorten the route and concentrate efforts on the higher stretches, closer to the Annapurnas, became popular.

Today, only a few fundamentalist hikers, with no reserve of time, continue to want to complete the whole, from Besishahar to Birethanti or even Pokhara.

We were interested, above all, in the itinerary that wound through the Nepalese villages of Tibetan culture, overlooking the snowy and high peaks of the mountain range.

Well, this redoubt started in Chame. The second night, if the mountain allowed it, we would sleep there.

The Geological Improvisation of Syange

Not everything went as expected. The jeep driver soon informs us that a crash had taken place before Syange did.

The trip would thus have to be completed in two stages and in two separate jeeps. We rounded the buried stretch on foot in half an hour.

Village, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal

Small village on the cliff, on the way to Chame.

In Syange, we refresh ourselves and, trusting in their Buddhist honesty, we pay the normal cost of the journey to Chame to the initial driver. This one promised us that he would put us on board another jeep that would complete the last stretch. Jeeps were not lacking. Unlike the driver who, when we came back from the bathroom, had disappeared.

We asked a group of Nepalese and outsiders if they knew about him. We are told that he had gone to lunch. We soon realized that he was forgetting about the total cost of the journey already paid and what he had promised.

The Irish-Aussie couple who accompanied us on board only had ten days to complete the journey and were anxious.

Elder between Syange and Chame, Nepal

Elder rests and sunbathes by the side of the road, between Syange and Chame.

Confronted with embezzlement, instead of trying to recover the lost payment, they decided to start the journey there. We soon found the cheating driver in the middle of his meal.

All we had to do was threaten him with a complaint to the police and a promise that he would get into serious trouble to give us everyone's money back.

On the other side of the debacle

The negotiation of the final stretch also proved to be complicated. The unexpected number of backpackers in need of jeeps in Syange has caused their owners to try to inflate the price to what would normally cost the entire journey from Besishahar to Chame.

As always in these situations, given the abundance of vehicles, the repeated promise to reject their services resolved the issue.

Faster than we expected, we set off up the mountain with three new traveling partners: Arthur, a young French sportsman, marathon runner and reserved on his way to Manang.

There he was supposed to meet a local guide who would help him climb a nearby peak of over 6.000 meters.

clients of a Tea House in Syange, Nepal.

Two clients of a Tea House in Syange.

“In a year I want to be on the summit of Everest” he informed us with the confidence that his physical shape and youth lent him. “It will be a good workout!”

Arthur, followed with us inside the cabin. On top of the box were two other backpackers. Despite the violence of the bumps and the even more frightening panorama over the precipices to the right of the road, Josua Schmoll, German, and Fevsi Kamisoglu, Turkish, assured us that they preferred the outdoors

When, at five o'clock in the afternoon, we landed in Chame, almost at sunset, the duo trembled like sticks.

Finally, call

The shadow and sudden cold of the mountain had caught us off guard. With their backpacks buried by the jeep's cargo, they had been enduring the suffering for almost an hour with a lot of conversation and even more solidarity.

Young people walk the main street in Chame, Nepal

Friends walk along the main street of Chame, a village located 2670 meters away, from where you can see the first snowy peaks of the Annapurnas.

arrived at Chame, we settled in guesthouses different from them, but it wouldn't be long before we found them again.

There's a glimpse of the Himalayan Hotel just across the street, a two-story wooden mansion painted blue and pink. As would happen all along the route, a sign at the entrance promised WiFi and hot water. And, like what would be repeated over and over again, WiFi doesn't even think about it; hot water, only hot water, supplied in a bucket.

The room had no electrical plugs. Charging the phones, powerbanks, machine batteries and other devices meant sharing with several other guests a tower of unstable chips available in the dining room. At least electricity was not lacking as it had happened in Besishahar and would be repeated again.

These were gaps for which we had already been warned and that nothing bothered us. More importantly, we were at the planned starting point of our hike, a huge wood-burning oven warmed the kitchen and a tiled stove warmed the dining room.

We settled at one of the tables closest to the heat and ordered our first dinner in the highlands of the Annapurnas mountain range: vegetable soup, veg fried rice and an omelet. We ate in the company of a group of Japanese who had arrived from the opposite direction of the route.

Cooks from Himalayan Hotel, Chame, Nepal

Cooks at the Himalayan Hotel, one of several that welcome hikers passing through Chame.

A Supper with Japanese Company

One of them, Kaito, was passionate about languages. I dominated English and another twelve or thirteen dialects. I visited the Nepal for the twentieth time and knew its four corners. “The more I come here, the more I like to come back. Even if the rottenness of this country leaves me truly disappointed.”

The small Japanese group's Nepalese guide appears from the kitchen. To spare him the outburst, Kaito aborts the speech. Instead, he introduces us and brags about his guide, a young mountaineer who had climbed the summit of Everest twice, conquering Annapurna and K2.

We started to dialogue with Kaito and the guide at the same time. We take advantage of your knowledge to clarify the most delicate point of the itinerary, Thorong La.

Located at the highest altitude of the route of 5400 meters, this canyon generates anxiety in all hikers, aware that sooner or later they will have to cross it sometimes, in difficult weather conditions and suffering from mountain sickness.

Tired of their journey, the Japanese and the guide leave. We moved into the kitchen, still enlivened by the cooks, the young hotel employees and a group of jeep drivers, guides and porters all over their meals and unbridled playfulness.

Guides, drivers and porters in the kitchen of Himalyan Hotel in Chame, Nepal

Porters, guides and jeep drivers mingle in the heated kitchen of Himalyan Hotel in Chame

After the meal, desiring peace and rest, the cooks and servants rush to close the hottest room.

We wished them good nights, wrapped ourselves up and faced the freezing outside cold, almost as bad inside the little or no protected room as we had. Armed with sleeping bags for minus 20º, we recover energy snuggled in the lap of the Annapurna mountain range.

The next morning, we would begin the long pilgrimage through its vast domain.

More information about hiking in Nepal on the official Nepal Tourism website.

Annapurna Circuit: 2th - Chame a Upper BananaNepal

(I) Eminent Annapurnas

We woke up in Chame, still below 3000m. There we saw, for the first time, the snowy and highest peaks of the Himalayas. From there, we set off for another walk along the Annapurna Circuit through the foothills and slopes of the great mountain range. towards Upper Banana.
Annapurna Circuit: 3rd- Upper Banana, Nepal

An Unexpected Snowy Aurora

At the first glimmers of light, the sight of the white mantle that had covered the village during the night dazzles us. With one of the toughest walks on the Annapurna Circuit ahead of us, we postponed the match as much as possible. Annoyed, we left Upper Pisang towards Escort when the last snow faded.
Annapurna Circuit: 4th – Upper Banana to Ngawal, Nepal

From Nightmare to Dazzle

Unbeknownst to us, we are faced with an ascent that leads us to despair. We pulled our strength as far as possible and reached Ghyaru where we felt closer than ever to the Annapurnas. The rest of the way to Ngawal felt like a kind of extension of the reward.
Annapurna Circuit: 5th - Ngawal a BragaNepal

Towards the Nepalese Braga

We spent another morning of glorious weather discovering Ngawal. There is a short journey towards Manang, the main town on the way to the zenith of the Annapurna circuit. We stayed for Braga (Braka). The hamlet would soon prove to be one of its most unforgettable places.
Annapurna Circuit: 6th – Braga, Nepal

The Ancient Nepal of Braga

Four days of walking later, we slept at 3.519 meters from Braga (Braka). Upon arrival, only the name is familiar to us. Faced with the mystical charm of the town, arranged around one of the oldest and most revered Buddhist monasteries on the Annapurna circuit, we continued our journey there. acclimatization with ascent to Ice Lake (4620m).
Annapurna Circuit: 7th - Braga - Ice Lake, Nepal

Annapurna Circuit - The Painful Acclimatization of Ice Lake

On the way up to the Ghyaru village, we had a first and unexpected show of how ecstatic the Annapurna Circuit can be tasted. Nine kilometers later, in Braga, due to the need to acclimatize, we climbed from 3.470m from Braga to 4.600m from Lake Kicho Tal. We only felt some expected tiredness and the increase in the wonder of the Annapurna Mountains.
Annapurna Circuit: 8th Manang, Nepal

Manang: the Last Acclimatization in Civilization

Six days after leaving Besisahar we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). Located at the foot of the Annapurna III and Gangapurna Mountains, Manang is the civilization that pampers and prepares hikers for the ever-dreaded crossing of Thorong La Gorge (5416 m).
Annapurna Circuit: 9th Manang to Milarepa Cave, Nepal

A Walk between Acclimatization and Pilgrimage

In full Annapurna Circuit, we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). we still need acclimatize to the higher stretches that followed, we inaugurated an equally spiritual journey to a Nepalese cave of Milarepa (4000m), the refuge of a siddha (sage) and Buddhist saint.
Annapurna 10th Circuit: Manang to Yak Kharka, Nepal

On the way to the Annapurnas Even Higher Lands

After an acclimatization break in the near-urban civilization of Manang (3519 m), we made progress again in the ascent to the zenith of Thorong La (5416 m). On that day, we reached the hamlet of Yak Kharka, at 4018 m, a good starting point for the camps at the base of the great canyon.
Bhaktapur, Nepal

The Nepalese Masks of Life

The Newar Indigenous People of the Kathmandu Valley attach great importance to the Hindu and Buddhist religiosity that unites them with each other and with the Earth. Accordingly, he blesses their rites of passage with newar dances of men masked as deities. Even if repeated long ago from birth to reincarnation, these ancestral dances do not elude modernity and begin to see an end.
Wanaka, New Zealand

The Antipodes Great Outdoors

If New Zealand is known for its tranquility and intimacy with Nature, Wanaka exceeds any imagination. Located in an idyllic setting between the homonymous lake and the mystic Mount Aspiring, it became a place of worship. Many kiwis aspire to change their lives there.
Kazbegi, Georgia

God in the Caucasus Heights

In the 4000th century, Orthodox religious took their inspiration from a hermitage that a monk had erected at an altitude of 5047 m and perched a church between the summit of Mount Kazbek (XNUMXm) and the village at the foot. More and more visitors flock to these mystical stops on the edge of Russia. Like them, to get there, we submit to the whims of the reckless Georgia Military Road.
Annapurna Circuit 11th: yak karkha a Thorong Phedi, Nepal

Arrival to the Foot of the Canyon

In just over 6km, we climbed from 4018m to 4450m, at the base of Thorong La canyon. Along the way, we questioned if what we felt were the first problems of Altitude Evil. It was never more than a false alarm.
Annapurna Circuit: 12th - Thorong Phedi a High camp

The Prelude to the Supreme Crossing

This section of the Annapurna Circuit is only 1km away, but in less than two hours it takes you from 4450m to 4850m and to the entrance to the great canyon. Sleeping in High Camp is a test of resistance to Mountain Evil that not everyone passes.
Annapurna Circuit: 13th - High camp a Thorong La to Muktinath, Nepal

At the height of the Annapurnas Circuit

At 5416m of altitude, the Thorong La Gorge is the great challenge and the main cause of anxiety on the itinerary. After having killed 2014 climbers in October 29, crossing it safely generates a relief worthy of double celebration.
Annapurna Circuit 14th - Muktinath to Kagbeni, Nepal

On the Other Side of the Pass

After the demanding crossing of Thorong La, we recover in the cozy village of Muktinath. The next morning we proceed back to lower altitudes. On the way to the ancient kingdom of Upper Mustang and the village of Kagbeni that serves as its gateway.
Annapurna Circuit 15th - Kagbeni, Nepal

At the Gates of the Former Kingdom of Upper Mustang

Before the 1992th century, Kagbeni was already a crossroads of trade routes at the confluence of two rivers and two mountain ranges, where medieval kings collected taxes. Today, it is part of the famous Annapurna Circuit. When hikers arrive, they know that, higher up, there is a domain that, until XNUMX, prohibited entry to outsiders.
Annapurna Circuit 16th - Marpha, Nepal

Marpha and the Early End of the Circuit

After thirteen days of walking from the distant Chame, we arrive at Marpha. Sheltered at the foot of a hill, on the edge of the Gandaki River, Marpha is the last preserved and charming village on the route. The excessive construction work along the F042 route that would take us back to Pokhara has forced us to shorten the second part of the Annapurna Circuit.
Believers greet each other in the Bukhara region.
City
Bukhara, Uzbequistan

Among the Minarets of Old Turkestan

Situated on the ancient Silk Road, Bukhara has developed for at least two thousand years as an essential commercial, cultural and religious hub in Central Asia. It was Buddhist and then Muslim. It was part of the great Arab empire and that of Genghis Khan, the Turko-Mongol kingdoms and the Soviet Union, until it settled in the still young and peculiar Uzbekistan.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beaches
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The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
The Zambezi River, PN Mana Pools
safari
Kanga Pan, Mana Pools NP, Zimbabwe

A Perennial Source of Wildlife

A depression located 15km southeast of the Zambezi River retains water and minerals throughout Zimbabwe's dry season. Kanga Pan, as it is known, nurtures one of the most prolific ecosystems in the immense and stunning Mana Pools National Park.
Yak Kharka to Thorong Phedi, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, Yaks
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit 11th: yak karkha a Thorong Phedi, Nepal

Arrival to the Foot of the Canyon

In just over 6km, we climbed from 4018m to 4450m, at the base of Thorong La canyon. Along the way, we questioned if what we felt were the first problems of Altitude Evil. It was never more than a false alarm.
Visitors at Jameos del Agua
Architecture & Design
Lanzarote, Canary Islands

To César Manrique what is César Manrique's

By itself, Lanzarote would always be a Canaria by itself, but it is almost impossible to explore it without discovering the restless and activist genius of one of its prodigal sons. César Manrique passed away nearly thirty years ago. The prolific work he left shines on the lava of the volcanic island that saw him born.
lagoons and fumaroles, volcanoes, PN tongariro, new zealand
Aventura
Tongariro, New Zealand

The Volcanoes of All Discords

In the late XNUMXth century, an indigenous chief ceded the PN Tongariro volcanoes to the British crown. Today, a significant part of the Maori people claim their mountains of fire from European settlers.
The Crucifixion in Helsinki
Ceremonies and Festivities
Helsinki, Finland

A Frigid-Scholarly Via Crucis

When Holy Week arrives, Helsinki shows its belief. Despite the freezing cold, little dressed actors star in a sophisticated re-enactment of Via Crucis through streets full of spectators.
Nissan, Fashion, Tokyo, Japan
Cities
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's fashion

In ultra-populous and hyper-coded Japan, there is always room for more sophistication and creativity. Whether national or imported, it is in the capital that they begin to parade the new Japanese looks.
Singapore Asian Capital Food, Basmati Bismi
Lunch time
Singapore

The Asian Food Capital

There were 4 ethnic groups in Singapore, each with its own culinary tradition. Added to this was the influence of thousands of immigrants and expatriates on an island with half the area of ​​London. It was the nation with the greatest gastronomic diversity in the Orient.
Parra Sea
Culture
Mendoza, Argentina

Journey through Mendoza, the Great Argentine Winemaking Province

In the XNUMXth century, Spanish missionaries realized that the area was designed for the production of the “Blood of Christ”. Today, the province of Mendoza is at the center of the largest winemaking region in Latin America.
Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Sport
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

Finland's Lapps have been competing in the tow of their reindeer for centuries. In the final of the Kings Cup - Porokuninkuusajot - , they face each other at great speed, well above the Arctic Circle and well below zero.
Aswan, Egypt, Nile River meets Black Africa, Elephantine Island
Traveling
Aswan, Egypt

Where the Nile Welcomes the Black Africa

1200km upstream of its delta, the Nile is no longer navigable. The last of the great Egyptian cities marks the fusion between Arab and Nubian territory. Since its origins in Lake Victoria, the river has given life to countless African peoples with dark complexions.
Skyway crosses Jamison Valley
Ethnic
Katoomba, Australia

The Blue Mountains Three Sisters

Located west of Sydney, the Blue Mountains form one of the most sought-after evasion realms both by the. ozzies and foreigners. They are attracted by the natural beauty seen from Katoomba, the sharp cliffs of the Three Sisters and the waterfalls that cascade over the Jamison Valley. In the shadow of this tourist frenzy, the usual marginalization of local aboriginal origins and culture persists.
Sunset, Avenue of Baobabs, Madagascar
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio

days like so many others

Zorro's mask on display at a dinner at the Pousada Hacienda del Hidalgo, El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Mexico
History
El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Mexico

Zorro's Cradle

El Fuerte is a colonial city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. In its history, the birth of Don Diego de La Vega will be recorded, it is said that in a mansion in the town. In his fight against the injustices of the Spanish yoke, Don Diego transformed himself into an elusive masked man. In El Fuerte, the legendary “El Zorro” will always take place.
boat party, margarita island, PN mochima, venezuela
Islands
Margarita Island ao Mochima NP, Venezuela

Margarita Island to Mochima National Park: a very Caribbean Caribe

The exploration of the Venezuelan coast justifies a wild nautical party. But, these stops also reveal life in cactus forests and waters as green as the tropical jungle of Mochima.
Northern Lights, Laponia, Rovaniemi, Finland, Fire Fox
Winter White
Lapland, Finland

In Search of the Fire Fox

Unique to the heights of the Earth are the northern or southern auroras, light phenomena generated by solar explosions. You Sami natives from Lapland they believed it to be a fiery fox that spread sparkles in the sky. Whatever they are, not even the nearly 30 degrees below zero that were felt in the far north of Finland could deter us from admiring them.
José Saramago in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, Glorieta de Saramago
Literature
Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

José Saramago's Basalt Raft

In 1993, frustrated by the Portuguese government's disregard for his work “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ”, Saramago moved with his wife Pilar del Río to Lanzarote. Back on this somewhat extraterrestrial Canary Island, we visited his home. And the refuge from the portuguese censorship that haunted the writer.
Efate, Vanuatu, transshipment to "Congoola/Lady of the Seas"
Nature
Efate, Vanuatu

The Island that Survived “Survivor”

Much of Vanuatu lives in a blessed post-savage state. Maybe for this, reality shows in which aspirants compete Robinson Crusoes they settled one after the other on their most accessible and notorious island. Already somewhat stunned by the phenomenon of conventional tourism, Efate also had to resist them.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Cachena cow in Valdreu, Terras de Bouro, Portugal
Natural Parks
Campos do GerêsTerras de Bouro, Portugal

Through the Campos do Gerês and the Terras de Bouro

We continue on a long, zigzag tour through the domains of Peneda-Gerês and Bouro, inside and outside our only National Park. In this one of the most worshiped areas in the north of Portugal.
Sanahin Cable Car, Armenia
UNESCO World Heritage
Alaverdi, Armenia

A Cable Car Called Ensejo

The top of the Debed River Gorge hides the Armenian monasteries of Sanahin and Haghpat and terraced Soviet apartment blocks. Its bottom houses the copper mine and smelter that sustains the city. Connecting these two worlds is a providential suspended cabin in which the people of Alaverdi count on traveling in the company of God.
Visitors to Ernest Hemingway's Home, Key West, Florida, United States
Characters
Key West, United States

Hemingway's Caribbean Playground

Effusive as ever, Ernest Hemingway called Key West "the best place I've ever been...". In the tropical depths of the contiguous US, he found evasion and crazy, drunken fun. And the inspiration to write with intensity to match.
Balandra Beach, Mexico, Baja California, aerial view
Beaches
Balandra beach e El Tecolote, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Seaside Treasures of the Sea of ​​Cortés

Often proclaimed the most beautiful beach in Mexico, we find a serious case of landscape exoticism in the jagged cove of Playa Balandra. The duo if forms with the neighbour Playa Tecolote, is one of the truly unmissable beachfronts of the vast Baja California.
Miyajima Island, Shinto and Buddhism, Japan, Gateway to a Holy Island
Religion
Miyajima, Japan

Shintoism and Buddhism with the Tide

Visitors to the Tori of Itsukushima admire one of the three most revered scenery in Japan. On the island of Miyajima, Japanese religiosity blends with Nature and is renewed with the flow of the Seto Inland Sea.
white pass yukon train, Skagway, Gold Route, Alaska, USA
On Rails
Skagway, Alaska

A Klondike's Gold Fever Variant

The last great American gold rush is long over. These days, hundreds of cruise ships each summer pour thousands of well-heeled visitors into the shop-lined streets of Skagway.
full cabin
Society
Saariselka, Finland

The Delightful Arctic Heat

It is said that the Finns created SMS so they don't have to talk. The imagination of cold Nordics is lost in the mist of their beloved saunas, real physical and social therapy sessions.
herd, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina
Daily life
Colónia Pellegrini, Argentina

When the Meat is Weak

The unmistakable flavor of Argentine beef is well known. But this wealth is more vulnerable than you think. The threat of foot-and-mouth disease, in particular, keeps authorities and growers afloat.
Jeep crosses Damaraland, Namibia
Wildlife
Damaraland, Namíbia

Namibia On the Rocks

Hundreds of kilometers north of Swakopmund, many more of Swakopmund's iconic dunes Sossuvlei, Damaraland is home to deserts interspersed with hills of reddish rock, the highest mountain and ancient rock art of the young nation. the settlers South Africans they named this region after the Damara, one of the Namibian ethnic groups. Only these and other inhabitants prove that it remains on Earth.
The Sounds, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Fiordland, New Zealand

The Fjords of the Antipodes

A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.