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 landed against a punishing wind. We disembark. In no time, we were ready to verify the native's promise at the rent-a-car counter: “Yes, but even if this is the last one, it will be the island you will like the most.” assure us of the beauty of your land.

We hurried to settle in and explore, determined to leave the city that had welcomed us for last.

We go around the airport and continue up the slope, pointing towards Ribeira dos Barqueiros.

A detour from the road takes us to the Miradouro do Monte das Cruzes and, this, to the elevated 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 form a rival pair that enriches the Morro Alto Natural Forest Reserve, at the foot of the homonymous elevation and, with its 914 meters of altitude, the highest point on 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 in coming.

It reveals to us the various lagoons that we had passed and a shallow sea of ​​almost shallow vegetation that extended to the surrounding ocean.

We descended from the heights aimed at the west coast. Shortly after returning to the tarmac, we crossed Ribeira Grande.

We realized later, on the map, that it originates in the highlands, splits, flows in opposite directions and crosses the island from side to side.

In any Azores island, viewpoints abound. On 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 appears on the opposite coast to that where, in 1480, the settlement of the island began.

A Flemish man was responsible. Willem van der Haegen negotiated with Dª Maria Vilhena the original grantee captain rights of Diogo de Teive, which, in the meantime, passed from the 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 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, as determined by the allotment allocated to them and were thus tasked with cultivating wheat, barley, corn, vegetables, heather and pastry.

From Colonization to Intense Emigration

Lajes das Flores and Santa Cruz das Flores thus received their Charter Letters.

Even though it was divided into pockets that were semi-isolated from each other, the island's population finally caught on, also due to the stimulation of trade with merchants coming from Faial, Pico and the Terceira .

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 look for where to park when we see a basket loaded with ears of corn moving below. Hold it with one hand.

We got into a conversation with the boy carrying 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 come across an already defoliated cornfield. And with António de Freitas, Maria de Fátima and Rui Filipe, three generations of smiling, easy-going Florenses who feel good about themselves.

They share the same agricultural task and happily interrupt it 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 landmark landscape of the island

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 .

Corvo, Azores

The Unlikely Atlantic Shelter on 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 Flowers. 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

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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.
Vale das Furnas, São Miguel

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.
Pico Island, Azores

The Island East of the Pico Mountain

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Angra do Heroismo, Terceira , Azores

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

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Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores

The City of the Big Island of the Azores

During the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, Ponta Delgada became the most populous city and the economic and administrative capital of the Azores. There we find the history and modernism of the archipelago hand in hand.
Sistelo, Peneda-Gerês, Portugal

From the "Little Portuguese Tibet" to the Corn Presidia

We leave the cliffs of Srª da Peneda, heading for Arcos de ValdeVez and the villages that an erroneous imaginary dubbed Little Portuguese Tibet. From these terraced villages, we pass by others famous for guarding, as golden and sacred treasures, the ears they harvest. Whimsical, the route reveals the resplendent nature and green fertility of these lands in Peneda-Gerês.
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.
São Miguel, Azores

São Miguel Island: Stunning Azores, By Nature

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Pico Island, Azores

Pico Island: the Azores Volcano with the Atlantic at its Feet

By a mere volcanic whim, the youngest Azorean patch projects itself into the rock and lava apogee of Portuguese territory. The island of Pico is home to its highest and sharpest mountain. But not only. It is a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of the Azoreans who tamed this stunning island and surrounding ocean.
Santa Maria, Azores

Santa Maria: the Azores Mother Island

It was the first in the archipelago to emerge from the bottom of the sea, the first to be discovered, the first and only to receive Cristovão Colombo and a Concorde. These are some of the attributes that make Santa Maria special. When we visit it, we find many more.
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.
Montalegre, Portugal

Through Alto do Barroso, Top of Trás-os-Montes

we moved from Terras de Bouro for those of Barroso. Based in Montalegre, we wander around the discovery of Paredes do Rio, Tourém, Pitões das Júnias and its monastery, stunning villages on the border of Portugal. If it is true that Barroso has had more inhabitants, visitors should not miss it.
Porto Santo, Portugal

Praised Be the Island of Porto Santo

Discovered during a stormy sea tour, Porto Santo remains a providential shelter. Countless planes that the weather diverts from neighboring Madeira guarantee their landing there. As thousands of vacationers do every year, they surrender to the softness and immensity of the golden beach and the exuberance of the volcanic sceneries.
Pico do Arieiro - Pico Ruivo, Madeira, Portugal

Pico Arieiro to Pico Ruivo, Above a Sea of ​​Clouds

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Paul do Mar a Ponta do Pargo a Achadas da Cruz, Madeira, Portugal

Discovering the Madeira Finisterre

Curve after curve, tunnel after tunnel, we arrive at the sunny and festive south of Paul do Mar. We get goosebumps with the descent to the vertiginous retreat of Achadas da Cruz. We ascend again and marvel at the final cape of Ponta do Pargo. All this, in the western reaches of Madeira.
Believers greet each other in the Bukhara region.
City
Bukhara, Uzbequistan

Among the Minarets of Old Turkestan

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Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beach
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

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.
Okavango Delta, Not all rivers reach the sea, Mokoros
safari
Okavango Delta, Botswana

Not all rivers reach the sea

Third longest river in southern Africa, the Okavango rises in the Angolan Bié plateau and runs 1600km to the southeast. It gets lost in the Kalahari Desert where it irrigates a dazzling wetland teeming with wildlife.
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

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Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Architecture & Design
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Aventura
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Roman morione on tricycle, moriones festival, Marinduque, Philippines
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Marinduque, Philippines

When the Romans Invade the Philippines

Even the Eastern Empire didn't get that far. In Holy Week, thousands of centurions seize Marinduque. There, the last days of Longinus, a legionary converted to Christianity, are re-enacted.
Leisure Channel
Cities
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

From Channel to Channel in a Surreal Holland

Liberal when it comes to drugs and sex, Amsterdam welcomes a crowd of outsiders. Among canals, bicycles, coffee shops and brothel windows, we search, in vain, for its quieter side.
Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo, Japan
Lunch time
Tokyo, Japan

The Fish Market That Lost its Freshness

In a year, each Japanese eats more than their weight in fish and shellfish. Since 1935, a considerable part was processed and sold in the largest fish market in the world. Tsukiji was terminated in October 2018, and replaced by Toyosu's.
Ooty, Tamil Nadu, Bollywood Scenery, Heartthrob's Eye
Culture
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.
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.
extraterrestrial mural, Wycliffe Wells, Australia
Traveling
Wycliffe Wells, Australia

Wycliffe Wells' Unsecret Files

Locals, UFO experts and visitors have been witnessing sightings around Wycliffe Wells for decades. Here, Roswell has never been an example and every new phenomenon is communicated to the world.
Navala, Viti Levu, Fiji
Ethnic
Navala, Fiji

Fiji's Tribal Urbanism

Fiji has adapted to the invasion of travelers with westernized hotels and resorts. But in the highlands of Viti Levu, Navala keeps its huts carefully aligned.
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Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 2)

One Sun, So Many Lights

Most travel photos are taken in sunlight. Sunlight and weather form a capricious interaction. Learn how to predict, detect and use at its best.
Ruins, Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia
History
Discovering Tassie, Part 2 - Hobart to Port Arthur, Australia

An Island Doomed to Crime

The prison complex at Port Arthur has always frightened the British outcasts. 90 years after its closure, a heinous crime committed there forced Tasmania to return to its darkest times.
Teide Volcano, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Islands
Tenerife, Canary Islands

The Volcano that Haunts the Atlantic

At 3718m, El Teide is the roof of the Canaries and Spain. Not only. If measured from the ocean floor (7500 m), only two mountains are more pronounced. The Guanche natives considered it the home of Guayota, their devil. Anyone traveling to Tenerife knows that old Teide is everywhere.
coast, fjord, Seydisfjordur, Iceland
Winter White
Seydisfjordur, Iceland

From the Art of Fishing to the Fishing of Art

When shipowners from Reykjavik bought the Seydisfjordur fishing fleet, the village had to adapt. Today, it captures Dieter Roth's art disciples and other bohemian and creative souls.
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.
Victoria Falls, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Zambezi
Nature
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwee

Livingstone's Thundering Gift

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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.
Horseback riding in shades of gold
Natural Parks
El Calafate, Argentina

The New Gauchos of Patagonia

Around El Calafate, instead of the usual shepherds on horseback, we come across gauchos equestrian breeders and others who exhibit, to the delight of visitors, the traditional life of the golden pampas.
Engravings, Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt
UNESCO World Heritage
luxor, Egypt

From Luxor to Thebes: Journey to Ancient Egypt

Thebes was raised as the new supreme capital of the Egyptian Empire, the seat of Amon, the God of Gods. Modern Luxor inherited the Temple of Karnak and its sumptuousness. Between one and the other flow the sacred Nile and millennia of dazzling history.
Couple visiting Mikhaylovskoe, village where writer Alexander Pushkin had a home
Characters
Saint Petersburg e Mikhaylovkoe, Russia

The Writer Who Succumbed to His Own Plot

Alexander Pushkin is hailed by many as the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. But Pushkin also dictated an almost tragicomic epilogue to his prolific life.
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.
Detail of the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati, Assam, India.
Religion
Guwahati, India

The City that Worships Kamakhya and the Fertility

Guwahati is the largest city in the state of Assam and in North East India. It is also one of the fastest growing in the world. For Hindus and devout believers in Tantra, it will be no coincidence that Kamakhya, the mother goddess of creation, is worshiped there.
Train Kuranda train, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
On Rails
Cairns-Kuranda, Australia

Train to the Middle of the Jungle

Built out of Cairns to save miners isolated in the rainforest from starvation by flooding, the Kuranda Railway eventually became the livelihood of hundreds of alternative Aussies.
Sentosa Island, Singapore, Family on Sentosa Artificial Beach
Society
Sentosa, Singapore

Singapore's Fun Island

It was a stronghold where the Japanese murdered Allied prisoners and welcomed troops who pursued Indonesian saboteurs. Today, the island of Sentosa fights the monotony that gripped the country.
Fruit sellers, Swarm, Mozambique
Daily life
Enxame Mozambique

Mozambican Fashion Service Area

It is repeated at almost all stops in towns of Mozambique worthy of appearing on maps. The machimbombo (bus) stops and is surrounded by a crowd of eager "businessmen". The products offered can be universal such as water or biscuits or typical of the area. In this region, a few kilometers from Nampula, fruit sales suceeded, in each and every case, quite intense.
Juvenile lions on a sandy arm of the Shire River
Wildlife
Liwonde National Park, Malawi

The Prodigious Resuscitation of Liwonde NP

For a long time, widespread neglect and widespread poaching had plagued this wildlife reserve. In 2015, African Parks stepped in. Soon, also benefiting from the abundant water of Lake Malombe and the Shire River, Liwonde National Park became one of the most vibrant and lush parks in Malawi.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.