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 Europa.

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 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

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.
Vale das Furnas, São Miguel (Azores)

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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Ponta Delgada, São Miguel (Azores), Azores

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.
São Miguel (Azores), Azores

São Miguel Island: Stunning Azores, By Nature

An immaculate biosphere that the Earth's entrails mold and soften is displayed, in São Miguel, in a panoramic format. São Miguel is the largest of the Portuguese islands. And it is a work of art of Nature and Man in the middle of the North Atlantic planted.
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

The journey begins with a resplendent dawn at 1818 m, high above the sea of ​​clouds that snuggles the Atlantic. This is followed by a winding, ups and downs walk that ends on the lush insular summit of Pico Ruivo, 1861 meters away.
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.
Amboseli National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, Normatior Hill
Safari
Amboseli National Park, Kenya

A Gift from the Kilimanjaro

The first European to venture into these Masai haunts was stunned by what he found. And even today, large herds of elephants and other herbivores roam the pastures irrigated by the snow of Africa's biggest mountain.
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.
holy plain, Bagan, Myanmar
Architecture & Design
Bagan, Myanmar

The Plain of Pagodas, Temples and other Heavenly Redemptions

Burmese religiosity has always been based on a commitment to redemption. In Bagan, wealthy and fearful believers continue to erect pagodas in hopes of winning the benevolence of the gods.
Adventure
Volcanoes

Mountains of Fire

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Ceremonies and Festivities
Suzdal, Russia

Centuries of Devotion to a Devoted Monk

Euthymius was a fourteenth-century Russian ascetic who gave himself body and soul to God. His faith inspired Suzdal's religiosity. The city's believers worship him as the saint he has become.
Santo Domingo, Colonial City, Dominican Republic, Diego Colombo
Cities
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

The Longest Colonial Elder in the Americas

Santo Domingo is the longest-inhabited colony in the New World. Founded in 1498 by Bartholomew Colombo, the capital of the Dominican Republic preserves intact a true treasure of historical resilience.
Cocoa, Chocolate, Sao Tome Principe, Agua Izé farm
Meal
São Tomé and Principe

Cocoa Roças, Corallo and the Chocolate Factory

At the beginning of the century. In the XNUMXth century, São Tomé and Príncipe generated more cocoa than any other territory. Thanks to the dedication of some entrepreneurs, production survives and the two islands taste like the best chocolate.
Tabatô, Guinea Bissau, tabanca Mandingo musicians. Baidi
Culture
Tabato, Guinea Bissau

The Tabanca of Mandinga Poets Musicians

In 1870, a community of traveling Mandingo musicians settled next to the current city of Bafatá. From the Tabatô they founded, their culture and, in particular, their prodigious balaphonists, dazzle the world.
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Sport
Philippines

When Only Cock Fights Wake Up the Philippines

Banned in much of the First World, cockfighting thrives in the Philippines where they move millions of people and pesos. Despite its eternal problems, it is the sabong that most stimulates the nation.
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Traveling
Big Sur, USA

The Coast of All Refuges

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Native Americans Parade, Pow Pow, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Ethnic
Albuquerque, USA

When the Drums Sound, the Indians Resist

With more than 500 tribes present, the pow wow "Gathering of the Nations" celebrates the sacred remnants of Native American cultures. But it also reveals the damage inflicted by colonizing civilization.
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Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

Sensations vs Impressions

Bangkas on Coron Island, Philippines
History
Coron, Busuanga, Philippines

The Secret but Sunken Japanese Armada

In World War II, a Japanese fleet failed to hide off Busuanga and was sunk by US planes. Today, its underwater wreckage attract thousands of divers.
Ross Bridge, Tasmania, Australia
Islands
Discovering tassie, Part 3, Tasmania, Australia

Tasmania from Top to Bottom

The favorite victim of Australian anecdotes has long been the Tasmania never lost the pride in the way aussie ruder to be. Tassie remains shrouded in mystery and mysticism in a kind of hindquarters of the antipodes. In this article, we narrate the peculiar route from Hobart, the capital located in the unlikely south of the island to the north coast, the turn to the Australian continent.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Winter White
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
View from the top of Mount Vaea and the tomb, Vailima village, Robert Louis Stevenson, Upolu, Samoa
Literature
Upolu, Samoa

Stevenson's Treasure Island

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Incandescent Mouth, Big Island Hawaii, Volcanoes National Park, Lava Rivers
Nature
Big Island, Hawaii

Searching for Rivers of Lava

There are five volcanoes that make the big island of Hawaii grow day by day. Kilauea, the most active on Earth, is constantly releasing lava. Despite this, we live a kind of epic to envision it.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
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.
Masada fortress, Israel
Natural Parks
Massada, Israel

Massada: The Ultimate Jewish Fortress

In AD 73, after months of siege, a Roman legion found that the resisters at the top of Masada had committed suicide. Once again Jewish, this fortress is now the supreme symbol of Zionist determination
Zanzibar, African islands, spices, Tanzania, dhow
UNESCO World Heritage
Zanzibar, Tanzania

The African Spice Islands

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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.
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Beaches
Corn Islands - Islas del Maíz , Nicaragua

pure caribbean

Perfect tropical settings and genuine local life are the only luxuries available in the so-called Corn Islands or Corn Islands, an archipelago lost in the Central American confines of the Caribbean Sea.
Christmas scene, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
Religion
Shillong, India

A Christmas Selfiestan at an India Christian Stronghold

December arrives. With a largely Christian population, the state of Meghalaya synchronizes its Nativity with that of the West and clashes with the overcrowded Hindu and Muslim subcontinent. Shillong, the capital, shines with faith, happiness, jingle bells and bright lighting. To dazzle Indian holidaymakers from other parts and creeds.
Serra do Mar train, Paraná, airy view
On Rails
Curitiba a Morretes, Paraná, Brazil

Down Paraná, on Board the Train Serra do Mar

For more than two centuries, only a winding and narrow road connected Curitiba to the coast. Until, in 1885, a French company opened a 110 km railway. We walked along it to Morretes, the final station for passengers today. 40km from the original coastal terminus of Paranaguá.
Bright bus in Apia, Western Samoa
Society
Samoa  

In Search of the Lost Time

For 121 years, it was the last nation on Earth to change the day. But Samoa realized that his finances were behind him and, in late 2012, he decided to move back west on the LID - International Date Line.
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.
Bwabwata National Park, Namibia, giraffes
Wildlife
PN Bwabwata, Namíbia

A Namibian Park Worth Three

Once Namibia's independence was consolidated in 1990, to simplify its management, the authorities grouped together a trio of parks and reserves on the Caprivi strip. The resulting PN Bwabwata hosts a stunning immensity of ecosystems and wildlife, on the banks of the Cubango (Okavango) and Cuando rivers.
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.