Flores Island, Azores

The Atlantic ends of the Azores and Portugal


Alagoin-green
Waterfalls flow down the walls and renew the water of Alagoinha.
Church of Lomba
Church of Our Lady Rosário da Lomba.
long pond
The Long Lake of Flores
View Panorama
An old traffic sign indicates another of the numerous viewpoints on the island of Flores.
Work is work
Rui Filipe Custódio, a young Florian who lives in Fajãzinha, returns to a milheiras to refill the basket with cobs.
the stream
Old mill buildings on the edge of a rocky stream.
Another Sunset
The sun sets below a layer of heavy clouds that darkens Fajãzinha.
A Little Florida Coast
Aerial view of the south coast of Flores island, near the capital Santa Cruz das Flores.
Trio of cattle
Cows on a tufted elevation near Morro Alto, the highest point in Flores
Nossa Senhora da Conceição Church
Facade of the largest church in Santa Cruz das Flores, the church of Nª Srª da Conceição.
The clue
The runway at Flores airport, which separates the capital Santa Cruz from the rest of the island.
Alagoinha waterfalls
Waterfalls flow down the walls and renew the water of Alagoinha.
Fajãzinha-Center
The center of the village of Fajãzinha, one of the oldest and most notorious on the west coast of Flores.
The Darkest of Lagoons
The Dark (and deep) Lagoa das Flores, neighboring Lagoa Comprida.
Generations of Corn
António de Freitas, Maria de Fátima and Rui Filipe harvest corn cobs.
Valley of Life
Panoramic view of the valley of the west coast of Flores where Fajãzinha was installed
Down hill
Cows descend a roadside slope on the island of Flores.
Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição
One of the several churches in Santa Cruz das Flores, one of the most imposing in the Azores.
Where, to the west, even on the map the Americas appear remote, the Ilha das Flores is home to the ultimate Azorean idyllic-dramatic domain and almost four thousand Florians surrendered to the dazzling end-of-the-world that welcomed them.

The relationship between Ilha das Flores airport and Santa Cruz, its capital, is close.

The city took advantage of a detached slab of the eastern coast. Get as tidy as you can, between the sea and the asphalt track that separates it from the island's inaugural slope.

A few miles to the north, Vila do Corvo is always on the lookout. It lives a mutual and supportive watch that attenuates the loneliness and smallness imposed by the endless Atlantic.

Flores Island and the Corvo in cash

The plane reveals them to both of them, one from each stream of windows. The houses of Santa Cruz, more and more defined as the landing approaches. Corvo's, nestled at the base of the mountain island, is just a glimpse.

We land against a punishing wind. We disembarked. In a flash, we left ready to verify the native's promise at the rent-a-car counter: "yeah, but even if this is the last one, it's going to be the island they'll like best." he assures us convinced of the beauty of his land. We hastened to settle in and explore it, determined to leave, for the end, the city that had welcomed us.

We skirt the airport and follow the slope above, pointing to Ribeira dos Barqueiros. A detour from the road takes us to the Monte das Cruzes viewpoint and, from this, to the high and opposite perspective of the airport runway and the capital, now on the other side, overlooking the ocean.

Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

The runway at Flores airport, which separates the capital Santa Cruz from the rest of the island.

We changed from the main coastal road to the ER2-2 which crosses the island in the middle. We advance through the highest stronghold of Ilha das Flores, a domain of almost only green, multiplied between ridges and undulating meadows and old craters sunk by lakes.

The Caldeiras, the Lagoons of a Verdant and Exuberant Island

These craters and lagoons are so abundant that the second viewpoint where we stopped was not only named in their honor but also reveals them in pairs: the Caldeira Negra (or Funda) and the Caldeira Comprida, side by side, neighbors, but different also in the water tone.

Lagoa Escura, Flores Island, the Azores and Portugal

The Dark (and deep) Lagoa das Flores, neighboring Lagoa Comprida.

The first is pitch black. The other is green, as if dyed by the surrounding vegetation. To the north of these, Caldeira Branca and Lagoa Seca make a rivalry that enriches the Morro Alto Natural Forest Reserve, at the foot of the homonymous elevation and, with its 914 meters of altitude, the supreme of the island.

We take advantage of the proximity. We go down an unpaved road and conquer it in bumps and spots, flanked by incredible natural yellow and green walls of moss and lichens or by surreal extensions of balls stuffed with vegetation.

Small herds of hazel cows and steers find the incursion strange and climb to the top of the round tufts from where they watch us suspiciously.

Cattle Morro Alto, Ilha das Flores, Confins of the Azores and Portugal

Cows on a tufted elevation near Morro Alto, the highest point in Flores

The summit of Morro Alto is not long. It unveils to us the various lakes as we had passed and a puckered sea of ​​almost shallow scrub that extended to the ocean around it.

We descend from the heights aimed at the west coast. Shortly after returning to the tarmac, we cross Ribeira Grande. We see later, on the map, that it rises in the highlands, splits, flows in opposite directions and crosses the island from side to side.

In any Azores island, viewpoints abound. In Flores Island, it's the same. It is with great panoramic benefit that we continue to dwell on them.

Panorama, Flores Island, the Azores and Portugal

An old traffic sign indicates another of the numerous viewpoints on the island of Flores.

Then, Craveiro Lopes, perched on the cliffs facing west. From there, we glimpse the houses of Fajazinha dotting the deep valley dotted with small walled farms that housed the village.

The Settlers arrived from the Continent to the Isle of Flowers. Shortly thereafter, the Flamengos.

Fajazinha is located on the opposite coast from the one on which, in 1480, the settlement of the island was inaugurated. A Flemish person was responsible for it. Willem van der Haegen negotiated with Dª Maria Vilhena the rights of original donor captain of Diogo de Teive, which, however, were transferred from Teives to Fernão Teles de Meneses.

This one – these are things of fate – died in 1477, victim of a stone, during a fight in a street in Alcácer do Sal.

The Flemish settlement lasted ten years. Overcome by isolation, Der Haegen moved to São Jorge. The settlement was only resumed in 1504, on the initiative of King Manuel I. Through the new captain-donator João da Fonseca, who promoted the arrival of settlers from Terceira (Azores) and Madeira.

Six years later, several others settled, coming from different regions in the north of Portugal. They settled in different areas of the island's coast, in accordance with what was determined by the allotment that had been assigned to them, and were thus charged with cultivating wheat, barley, corn, vegetables, heather and pastel.

From Colonization to Intense Emigration from Flores Island

In this way, Lajes das Flores and Santa Cruz das Flores received their Charter Letters. Even divided by semi-isolated bags from each other, the island's population finally got a stake, also due to the stimulus of trade with merchants coming from Faial, from Pico and Terceira (Azores).

We descend to the heart of Fajazinha, one of the villages that prospered until the middle of the 900th century. By that time, it almost reached 2011 inhabitants, but in 76 it had only XNUMX.

Fajãzinha, Ilha das Flores, Confins of the Azores and Portugal

Panoramic view of the valley of the west coast of Flores where Fajãzinha was installed

In the meantime, a good part of the population – especially the younger men – boarded whaling ships heading for the lands of North America: Boston, New Bedford, Provincetown, Natucket.

From the island of Flores, between 1864 and 1920, almost 10.000 people left. Despite the sermons of priests who tried to foist a thousand and one hardships of life on the final destination.

And of the authorities' concern to contain this population bloodletting with regular maritime patrols of gunboats.

Fajãzinha-centre, Ilha das Flores, Confins of the Azores and Portugal

The center of the village of Fajãzinha, one of the oldest and most notorious on the west coast of Flores.

There were both Florians and Azoreans from other places who moved to Flores Island in search of their opportunity.

The jingle of bald eagles (“20 dollar gold coins) displayed by returnees and the possibility of avoiding military service in African colonies that meant nothing to them always proved the most convincing arguments.

A Family Dedicated to the Rural Affairs of Fajãzinha

We're looking for a place to park when we see a basket full of corn cobs move below. Hold it with a single hand. We strike up a conversation with the boy who carries it.

Even knowing that, in his view, the scene was just one of many agricultural endeavors, we praise him for its rural elegance.

Rui Custódio, Flores Island, Confins of the Azores and Portugal

Rui Filipe Custódio, a young Florian who lives in Fajãzinha, returns to a milheiras to refill the basket with cobs.

The young man reacts with much more sensitivity and acceptance than we expected. “Do you think? So get up there. They will see it differently. My family is there harvesting the rest.” We followed the suggestion.

We find a cornfield already defoliated. And with António de Freitas, Maria de Fátima and Rui Filipe, three generations of smiling, easy-going Florens with themselves. They share the same agricultural task and interrupt it with pleasure to put up with us.

We talked about the beauty of Fajazinha and the peculiarities of its agriculture. Until it starts to cost us to delay their lives more and we say goodbye.

Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

António de Freitas, Maria de Fátima and Rui Filipe harvest corn cobs.

The Flow for a long time Caprichoso in Ribeira Grande

The phenomenal Ribeira Grande that we had crossed before crosses Fajazinha. For the story goes that, fed by the rains that so often soak the island, this same stream often passes from Grande to torrential, from blessing to threat and does serious damage.

José António Camões, a priest who preached Christianity in the parish, narrated his 1794 whim with realism: “There was such a flood and flood that not only brought down the said bridge, but not even the slightest trace was left of it, without a trace, the dicta stream leaving its natural bed which left a wide sand at a greater distance of 300 fathoms at the end of the sea. with an inexhaustible loss of the poor farmers who owned lands adjoining it, all of which were dumped into the sea."

As Father Camões also described, at a certain point, Ribeira Grande plunges into one of the most impressive waterfalls on the island, measuring about 200 meters.

Alagoínha: a Brand Landscape of Flores Island and the Azores

Right next to the lake, the adjacent stream of Ribeira do Ferreiro spreads along the extension of the same cliff. It generates what has become the hallmark of Ilha das Flores: the waterfalls of Poço Ribeira do Ferreiro, better known as Alagoínha.

It's our next stop.

It took us a while to find the curved path made of large boulders nestled in the shade of a lush forest.

When we finish walking, we soon come across the almost vertical wall lined with the green of the vegetation that extends from the top to the surface of the lagoon.

Several bridal veils slide side by side down this green until they are integrated into the flow of their destiny. When the wind subsides, Alagoínha acts as a mirror.

It duplicates the scene above and the unique beauty of that place. It's hard for us to leave it.

Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

Waterfalls flow down the walls and renew the water of Alagoinha.

From Fajazinha, we move up the western coast towards Fajã Grande. There is also a huge waterfall there. It continues to erode its way down the majestic Rocha da Fajã.

Until it crashes ninety meters below, in Poço do Bacalhau, which, despite its name, is full of eels.

It is not the name that makes it either, but Fajã Grande has much more inhabitants than Fajazinha, over two hundred in 2011. The bulk of its fame comes, however, from another attribute.

It is the last of the western towns of Europe.

Ocaso, Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

The sun sets below a layer of heavy clouds that darkens Fajãzinha.

Islet of Monchique: the Last Rattle of the Old World

To the west, only the Ilhéu de Monchique remains, a volcanic rock thirty meters high. Barren, inhospitable and gloomy, this is the last European soil.

For centuries, it was used by ships to set their routes and check navigation instruments. Today, it serves, above all, as a reference for that geographic extreme.

The night that followed it rained in earnest. Rain with which, strangely enough, no other Azores island had still held us.

It continued, until well into the morning, but as soon as the sun rose, it chased away the weeping clouds and gave way to the calm.

Church of Lomba, Ilha das Flores, Confins of the Azores and Portugal

Church of Our Lady Rosário da Lomba.

We took advantage and ventured down the road that zigzagged south.

Passing through Caveira, Lomba, Fazenda das Lajes and Lajes das Flores, the seat of the Municipal Government and site of a recently altered sea port that changed the commercial order of things on the island.

We are enchanted by the insinuating façade of the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário. Just ahead, the viewpoint of the old fort over the port.

The fortress with which the village tried to defend itself from attacks by English corsairs that followed the one that, in 1587, left it looted and partially destroyed.

Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

Old mill buildings on the edge of a rocky stream.

The day before, we had gone from Fajãzinha to Fajã Grande. We were now on a short trip between Lajes and Lajedo. And an extension to the picturesque Monastery, the island's smallest parish with only 43 registered inhabitants, in 2011.

On the way, we pass by Rocha dos Bordões, a curious geological phenomenon in which a whole cliff façade has solidified with huge vertical grooves at the base.

Back to Santa Cruz das Flores

From there, we reversed the path towards Santa Cruz. In the capital, we enjoyed the various churches. We paid extra attention to the Matriz da Conceição, one of the most imposing in the archipelago.

We are still looking for the forts that the city has been building over the years, victim of the urgency to repel the frequent attacks.

Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

One of the several churches in Santa Cruz das Flores, one of the most imposing in the Azores.

As far as we've walked, no close-up view fascinates us as much as the one we had revealed on the first day, from the Mount of Crosses. There we hurried back.

We re-appreciated the harmonious setting of the confines of the now nicknamed Hawaii Portuguese and we waited for a plane to arrive to land.

Ours left soon, so we were forced to put an end to the discovery of Flores Island and return to the island. Terceira (Azores).

Corvo, Azores

The Improbable Atlantic Shelter of Corvo Island

17 km2 of a volcano sunk in a verdant caldera. A solitary village based on a fajã. Four hundred and thirty souls snuggled by the smallness of their land and the glimpse of their neighbor Flores. Welcome to the most fearless of the Azorean islands.
Horta, Azores

The City that Gives the North to the Atlantic

The world community of sailors is well aware of the relief and happiness of seeing the Pico Mountain, and then Faial and the welcoming of Horta Bay and Peter Café Sport. The rejoicing does not stop there. In and around the city, there are white houses and a green and volcanic outpouring that dazzles those who have come so far.
Capelinhos Volcano, Faial, Azores

On the trail of the Capelinhos Mistery

From one coast of the island to the opposite one, through the mists, patches of pasture and forests typical of the Azores, we discover Faial and the Mystery of its most unpredictable volcano.
Graciosa, Azores

Her Grace the Graciosa

Finally, we will disembark in Graciosa, our ninth island in the Azores. Even if less dramatic and verdant than its neighbors, Graciosa preserves an Atlantic charm that is its own. Those who have the privilege of living it, take from this island of the central group an esteem that remains forever.
São Jorge, Azores

From Fajã to Fajã

In the Azores, strips of habitable land at the foot of large cliffs abound. No other island has as many fajãs as the more than 70 in the slender and elevated São Jorge. It was in them that the jorgenses settled. Their busy Atlantic lives rest on them.
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The Azorean Heat of Vale das Furnas

We were surprised, on the biggest island of the Azores, with a caldera cut by small farms, massive and deep to the point of sheltering two volcanoes, a huge lagoon and almost two thousand people from São Miguel. Few places in the archipelago are, at the same time, as grand and welcoming as the green and steaming Vale das Furnas.
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The Island East of the Pico Mountain

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Heroina do Mar, from Noble People, Brave and Immortal City

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The Great Azorean City

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Sistelo, Peneda-Gerês, Portugal

From the "Little Portuguese Tibet" to the Corn Presidia

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Castro Laboreiro, Portugal  

From Castro de Laboreiro to Raia da Serra Peneda - Gerês

We arrived at (i) the eminence of Galicia, at an altitude of 1000m and even more. Castro Laboreiro and the surrounding villages stand out against the granite monumentality of the mountains and the Planalto da Peneda and Laboreiro. As do its resilient people who, sometimes handed over to Brandas and sometimes to Inverneiras, still call these stunning places home.
Terceira Island, Azores

Terceira Island: Journey through a Unique Archipelago of the Azores

It was called the Island of Jesus Christ and has radiated, for a long time, the cult of the Holy Spirit. It houses Angra do Heroísmo, the oldest and most splendid city in the archipelago. These are just two examples. The attributes that make Terceira island unique are endless.
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Safari
Savuti, Botswana

Savuti's Elephant-Eating Lions

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Aurora lights up the Pisang Valley, Nepal.
Annapurna (circuit)
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.
Treasures, Las Vegas, Nevada, City of Sin and Forgiveness
Architecture & Design
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Where sin is always forgiven

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Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Adventure
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

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The Suzdal Cucumber Celebrations

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Cities

Mexico City, Mexico

mexican soul

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Meal
Margilan, Uzbekistan

An Uzbekistan's Breadwinner

In one of the many bakeries in Margilan, worn out by the intense heat of the tandyr oven, the baker Maruf'Jon works half-baked like the distinctive traditional breads sold throughout Uzbekistan
Saida Ksar Ouled Soltane, festival of the ksour, tataouine, tunisia
Culture
Tataouine, Tunisia

Festival of the Ksour: Sand Castles That Don't Collapse

The ksour were built as fortifications by the Berbers of North Africa. They resisted Arab invasions and centuries of erosion. Every year, the Festival of the Ksour pays them the due homage.
Swimming, Western Australia, Aussie Style, Sun rising in the eyes
Sport
Busselton, Australia

2000 meters in Aussie Style

In 1853, Busselton was equipped with one of the longest pontoons in the world. World. When the structure collapsed, the residents decided to turn the problem around. Since 1996 they have been doing it every year. Swimming.
Composition on Nine Arches Bridge, Ella, Sri Lanka
Traveling
Yala NPElla-Kandy, Sri Lanka

Journey Through Sri Lanka's Tea Core

We leave the seafront of PN Yala towards Ella. On the way to Nanu Oya, we wind on rails through the jungle, among plantations in the famous Ceylon. Three hours later, again by car, we enter Kandy, the Buddhist capital that the Portuguese never managed to dominate.
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Ethnic
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The Profaned Temple of the Solomon Islands

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Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Portfolio Got2globe

The Best in the World – Got2Globe Portfolio

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History
Edfu to Kom Ombo, Egypt

Up the River Nile, through the Upper Ptolemaic Egypt

Having accomplished the unmissable embassy to Luxor, to old Thebes and to the Valley of the Kings, we proceed against the current of the Nile. In Edfu and Kom Ombo, we surrender to the historic magnificence bequeathed by successive Ptolemy monarchs.
Puerto Rico, San Juan, walled city, panoramic
Islands
San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Highly Walled Puerto Rico of San Juan Bautista

San Juan is the second oldest colonial city in the Americas, after the Dominican neighbor of Santo Domingo. A pioneering emporium and stop over on the route that took gold and silver from the New World to Spain, it was attacked again and again. Its incredible fortifications still protect one of the most lively and prodigious capitals in the Caribbean.
Maksim, Sami people, Inari, Finland-2
Winter White
Inari, Finland

The Guardians of Boreal Europe

Long discriminated against by Scandinavian, Finnish and Russian settlers, the Sami people regain their autonomy and pride themselves on their nationality.
Baie d'Oro, Île des Pins, New Caledonia
Literature
Île-des-Pins, New Caledonia

The Island that Leaned against Paradise

In 1964, Katsura Morimura delighted the Japan with a turquoise novel set in Ouvéa. But the neighboring Île-des-Pins has taken over the title "The Nearest Island to Paradise" and thrills its visitors.
very coarse salt
Nature
Salta and Jujuy, Argentina

Through the Highlands of Deep Argentina

A tour through the provinces of Salta and Jujuy takes us to discover a country with no sign of the pampas. Vanished in the Andean vastness, these ends of the Northwest of Argentina have also been lost in time.
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.
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Natural Parks
Monument Valley, USA

Indians or Cowboys?

Iconic Western filmmakers like John Ford immortalized what is the largest Indian territory in the United States. Today, in the Navajo Nation, the Navajo also live in the shoes of their old enemies.
Registration Square, Silk Road, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
UNESCO World Heritage
Samarkand, Uzbequistan

A Monumental Legacy of the Silk Road

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Ooty, Tamil Nadu, Bollywood Scenery, Heartthrob's Eye
Characters
Ooty, India

In Bollywood's Nearly Ideal Setting

The conflict with Pakistan and the threat of terrorism made filming in Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh a drama. In Ooty, we see how this former British colonial station took the lead.
Tobago, Pigeon Point, Scarborough, Pontoon
Beaches
Scarborough a Pigeon Point, Tobago

Probing the Capital Tobago

From the walled heights of Fort King George, to the threshold of Pigeon Point, southwest Tobago around the capital Scarborough reveals unrivaled controversial tropics.
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Religion
Kyoto, Japan

The Kyoto Temple Reborn from the Ashes

The Golden Pavilion has been spared destruction several times throughout history, including that of US-dropped bombs, but it did not withstand the mental disturbance of Hayashi Yoken. When we admired him, he looked like never before.
Chepe Express, Chihuahua Al Pacifico Railway
On Rails
Creel to Los Mochis, Mexico

The Barrancas del Cobre & the CHEPE Iron Horse

The Sierra Madre Occidental's relief turned the dream into a construction nightmare that lasted six decades. In 1961, at last, the prodigious Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad was opened. Its 643km cross some of the most dramatic scenery in Mexico.
Replacement of light bulbs, Itaipu watt hydroelectric plant, Brazil, Paraguay
Society
Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Power Plant, Brazil

Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Power Plant: Watt Fever

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Coin return
Daily life
Dawki, India

Dawki, Dawki, Bangladesh on sight

We descended from the high and mountainous lands of Meghalaya to the flats to the south and below. There, the translucent and green stream of the Dawki forms the border between India and Bangladesh. In a damp heat that we haven't felt for a long time, the river also attracts hundreds of Indians and Bangladeshis in a picturesque escape.
Jabula Beach, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Wildlife
Saint Lucia, South Africa

An Africa as Wild as Zulu

On the eminence of the coast of Mozambique, the province of KwaZulu-Natal is home to an unexpected South Africa. Deserted beaches full of dunes, vast estuarine swamps and hills covered with fog fill this wild land also bathed by the Indian Ocean. It is shared by the subjects of the always proud Zulu nation and one of the most prolific and diverse fauna on the African continent.
Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.
PT EN ES FR DE IT