Little Havana, USA

Little Havana of the Nonconformists


A kind of portal
Residents pass in front of the morale that welcomes visitors to Little Havana.
domino park
The dominoes and conviviality center where thousands of Cubans socialize daily.
Art District Cigars
Lionel Mackoy and a friend smoke Cuban cigars outside the Art District Cigars.
tub cocks
One of the many sculptures of roosters scattered through the streets of Little Havana.
hello america
Obviously Cuban-inspired graffiti in a half-hidden alley in Little Havana.
Presidents of the Americas
Domino Park Mural illustrating the presidents of state of the Caribbean and the Americas during the 1994 summit.
in heaven and on earth
US plane flies over the Florida coast and, in appearance, the facade of the Teatro de las Bellas Artes.
post matinee
The Tower Theater building, a kind of multicultural lighthouse in the neighborhood.
Over the decades and until today, thousands of Cubans have crossed the Florida Straits in search of the land of freedom and opportunity. With the US a mere 145 km away, many have gone no further. His Little Havana in Miami is today the most emblematic neighborhood of the Cuban diaspora.

The geometric grid in which the big and modern Miami.

Even so, the new navigation technologies, the various gaudy sculptures of widespread roosters that represent the civic pride of the residents and the concentration of conceptually Cuban businesses make us sure that we have arrived in Little Havana.

As with any visitor, the main objective of the trip to this Cuban capital “B” is Calle ocho, the linear heart of the neighbourhood. We quickly memorize references.

We decided to choose perpendiculars to 16th or 17th Street. From these intersections, we walked along Ocho until we reached the picturesque Domino Park where we got free parking, a rare thing in those parts.

“Máximo Gómez” Park: the Center for Social and Political Assembly of Little Havana

Frequented by dozens of settled Cubans, the Domino “Máximo Gómez” Park functions as a sort of local assembly.

Near the entrance, several middle-aged men above and with hats typical of the mother island share two or three street benches. They also share the smoke of cigars that so many of them enjoy smoking.

In most cases, his exodus from the dictatorial suffocation imposed by the late Fidel Castro will not have been easy.

It may be the Latin way of speaking, but when we approach them, it gives us the idea that they celebrate freedom at the highest volume their vocal chords can reach.

domino park

The dominoes and conviviality center where thousands of Cubans socialize daily.

The political debate is so heated that we fear that the disputers will leave for de facto paths. The continuous presence of a security guard in an untidy little cabin in a corner of Domino Park leads us to believe that, if it happens, it won't be the first time.

Little Havana and Cuban Florida's Contribution to Donald Trump's Election

At the time of our visit, Donald Trump had won the US presidency less than a month ago. His triumph in the state of Florida proved decisive. Against all expectations, the vote of Cuban-Americans in Miami was predominant for this result and a good part of analysts blamed Barack Obama.

On October 14, 2016, the outgoing president eased the embargo on Cuba by allowing US visitors to bring unlimited amounts of cigars and rum from the island. Twelve days later, Obama made the US abstain for the first time in a United Nations vote against that same embargo.

The measures will have especially displeased older Cuban-Americans who do not understand the relief of condemnation of the Cuban regime without opening the other side of the strait.

Trump, that one, didn't forgive. On October 25th, he met with the Bay of Pigs Veterans Association and received their support.

He also took advantage of the blessing to accuse Obama and Hillary Clinton of helping the regime now led by Raul Castro. At the same time, it intensified disputes never before dreamed of among Cuban families and different generations in exile or descendants.

The Colorful and Latin Life in Domino Park and Little Havana in General

As exuberant as it turned out, the discussion we were witnessing was nothing more than an expression of the unexpected conflict, extending to the dominoes tables where the pieces clashed under an infrequent playful tension.

We pushed for the Castilian and defeated the players' strangeness and reticence in the face of our approaching cameras at the ready. Some of the players are free to make fun of rivals with weaknesses: “Photograph the gringo here! He always wanted to be a model”, one of them shoots, making fun of the player on the side who hides the chime in his hands and his face under a cowbell hat.

We leave them for a moment. We investigate the mural in which figures of the Presidents of the Caribbean and South America appear, painted in 1994, when Miami hosted a summit of the Americas.

Presidents of the Americas

Domino Park Mural illustrating the presidents of state of the Caribbean and the Americas during the 1994 summit.

A new altercation, this time between two players, once again demands our attention and that of the security guard who hesitates between intervening and seeing what happens.

Beyond the park's railing, Calle Ocho occupies the lives of residents of Little Havana, these days it's not just Cubans anymore, although they keep arriving.

Calle Ocho and the Not So Emblematic Otras Calles of Little Havana

It now also includes Nicaraguans and Hondurans, African Americans and some 10% non-Hispanic whites, several of them new business owners in the most desirable areas of Miami, including Miami Beach.

We spent three weekends in Little Havana, over the gentle sunsets of the warm winter and dry season of Miami, with the sun melting into an almost communist orange west of the low houses and the simple neons claiming the retinas of outsiders .

Across from Domino Park, the Tower Theater shines with elegance.

post matinee

The Tower Theater building, a kind of multicultural lighthouse in the neighborhood.

During the late 50's and 60's, when countless Cuban refugees arrived in Miami and Calle Ocho welcomed the resumptions of the ferrymen and others, the films projected in their rooms served as a pastime but, even if unconsciously, as an introduction to the mode. of American life.

Little Havana's Tower Theater: A Window from the Neighborhood to the World

This happened for almost 60 years until, in 1984, the cinema was closed. In 2002, the state university of Miami Dade took over its destinies.

Since then, it has hosted the Miami International End Festival. These days, the room acts as a sort of beacon of Little Havana's multiculturalism.

It has a Miami Medea look and shows related films produced all over the world. The local Walk of Fame, which honors Latin stars from the world of entertainment, such as the Cuban salsa dancer Célia Cruz and the singer Glória Estefan, passes by.

Dusk enters the picture. We hurry to appreciate some more of the murals of Calle Ocho, its alleys and perpendicular streets graffiti with the beauty of an 8th Art. We get thirsty.

A kind of portal

Residents pass in front of the morale that welcomes visitors to Little Havana.

We enter a small bar-restaurant where an almost old Cuban man dines at the counter and has a convenient conversation with the maid who seduced him the most, all in the soft and musical Castilian of the Caribbean, with the Florida Keys e Key West, right down there.

The Eccentric Local Alcohol Limitations

We sat on three chairs to one side. we ask for one Smoothie and a Hatuey cerveza, Cuban Style Ale but produced in Florida as happened with everything that is Cuban in those parts, after the painful turning of the back decreed by the aggravation of the 1962 embargo.

“We only sell drinks here to those who also buy food!” informs us the young employee who soon returns to socialize with the senior client. "But is this a rule of Miami authorities or is it something here at the bar?" we retorted slightly indignantly.

"No, no! This one, for a change, is just from here at the bar. The boss there has his reasons.” “Well, if that's the case, we'll want two empanadas, like those over there. We'll choose them right there.”

We recover energy. Returning to Calle Ocho, we find ourselves in a night scene.

in heaven and on earth

US plane flies over the Florida coast and, in appearance, the facade of the Teatro de las Bellas Artes.

Without knowing very well how, we soon returned to the cinematographic field.

The Unexpected Conversation with an Pretender Samuel L. Jackson

In the image of Cuba, Little Havana is meaningless without its shops, factories and cigar halls.

We photographed one of them, the “Art District Cigars” when a customer inside the window decides to mess with us and animate the images. After a few minutes, we returned to the smoky shop.

Art District Cigars

Lionel Mackoy and a friend smoke Cuban cigars outside the Art District Cigars.

Sitting in the company of a friend on a mini terrace at the door, the same cheeky man approaches us. We face him and we could have sworn we were facing Samuel L. Jackson but we don't want to be too hasty since, at least in the films he enters, Jackson is a real chameleon.

Stimulated by some alcohol and eager for socializing and fun, the man pulls on the cigar and the conversation while his friend remains on the defensive, intimidated by the media coverage he had previously seen us give to the establishment.

Until Alberto, a third partner, who had lived in Brazil, appeared there, he had friends there and insisted on practicing rusty Portuguese. And Marco, the owner of the establishment. Everyone seemed to know each other for a long time.

At that time, the African-American we were making fun of, introduced himself but was interrupted by the owner of the place. “Wait, this is when he's going to foist any name on you. But can't you guys see who he is? Does this face not tell you anything? It's Samuel L. Jackson, boys!”

We were stunned. After all, was it? “Confronted with our doubts, the until then, extroverted and shameless target of attention shows himself to be confused. “No, I'm nothing! He's crazy." We went back to examining your profile.

We found that either he wore it on purpose to go unnoticed, or the clothes he wore were too classic for the actor who gave life to Jules, the gangster always cool from “Pulp Fiction”. We decided to let the conversation flow but the situation only becomes more eccentric.

The Intervention of a Cuban Cyclist Who Was at War in Angola

A black cyclist passes by who seems to us inebriated. It starts by asking us for a few dollars but diversifies its approach and ends up finding out that we are Portuguese.

“Portuguese, I don't believe it! I was in the military. Do you know I was fighting in Angola?!” “Is this true?” we asked the group of friends, we were increasingly overwhelmed with so much uncertainty and surrealism.

“It's true that he was in a lot of places, but if I were you, I wouldn't care much. He is tired of inventing.”

If you believe his earlier words, the advice came from Lionel McKoy, not Samuel L. Jackson.

And if we continue to believe in him, Lionel was also a military man or ex-military man. He had passed through Lajes on a very windy day that made him even more impressed with the end-of-the-world in which, with effort, the plane he was following managed to land.

The email you wrote to us to keep in touch started with ussmidwaycv41, the name of a US aircraft carrier

The Missile Crisis that Preceded the Diaspora and the Foundation of Little Havana

In 1962, during the Missile Crisis, the cruiser USS Newport News and the USS Leary were the flagships of the US-imposed naval blockade with the aim of preventing the arrival of more nuclear-laden Soviet vessels to be installed in Cuba.

By that time, the United States and the Soviet Union had ultimately managed to avert a war that could have been apocalyptic.

On September 28, 1965, Fidel Castro announced that Cubans wishing to emigrate could do so starting on 10 October. More than a million and a half Cubans have moved from their home island to the United States.

hello america

Obviously Cuban-inspired graffiti in a half-hidden alley in Little Havana.

Nearly one million now live in Florida, mostly in Miami, a city where a third of the population is of Cuban origin.

The Little Havana we were exploring is just Cuba's little American heartland.

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.
Key West, USA

The Tropical Wild West of the USA

We've come to the end of the Overseas Highway and the ultimate stronghold of propagandism Florida Keys. The continental United States here they surrender to a dazzling turquoise emerald marine vastness. And to a southern reverie fueled by a kind of Caribbean spell.
Florida Keys, USA

The Caribbean Stepping Stone of the USA

Os United States continental islands seem to close to the south in its capricious peninsula of Florida. Don't stop there. More than a hundred islands of coral, sand and mangroves form an eccentric tropical expanse that has long seduced American vacationers.
Miami, USA

A Masterpiece of Urban Rehabilitation

At the turn of the 25st century, the Wynwood neighbourhood remained filled with abandoned factories and warehouses and graffiti. Tony Goldman, a shrewd real estate investor, bought more than XNUMX properties and founded a mural park. Much more than honoring graffiti there, Goldman founded the Wynwood Arts District, the great bastion of creativity in Miami.
Miami beach, USA

The Beach of All Vanities

Few coasts concentrate, at the same time, so much heat and displays of fame, wealth and glory. Located in the extreme southeast of the USA, Miami Beach is accessible via six bridges that connect it to the rest of Florida. It is meager for the number of souls who desire it.
Melbourne, Australia

An "Asienated" Australia

Cultural capital aussie, Melbourne is also frequently voted the best quality of life city in the world. Nearly a million eastern emigrants took advantage of this immaculate welcome.
Little India, Singapore

The Sari Singapore of Little India

There are thousands of inhabitants instead of the 1.3 billion of the mother country, but Little India, a neighborhood in tiny Singapore, does not lack soul. No soul, no smell of Bollywood curry and music.
tombstone, USA

Tombstone: the City Too Hard to Die

Silver veins discovered at the end of the XNUMXth century made Tombstone a prosperous and conflictive mining center on the frontier of the United States to Mexico. Lawrence Kasdan, Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner and other Hollywood directors and actors made famous the Earp brothers and the bloodthirsty duel of “OK Corral”. The Tombstone, which, over time, has claimed so many lives, is about to last.
Grand Canyon, USA

Journey through the Abysmal North America

The Colorado River and tributaries began flowing into the plateau of the same name 17 million years ago and exposed half of Earth's geological past. They also carved one of its most stunning entrails.
Mount Denali, Alaska

The Sacred Ceiling of North America

The Athabascan Indians called him Denali, or the Great, and they revered his haughtiness. This stunning mountain has aroused the greed of climbers and a long succession of record-breaking climbs.
Juneau, Alaska

The Little Capital of Greater Alaska

From June to August, Juneau disappears behind cruise ships that dock at its dockside. Even so, it is in this small capital that the fate of the 49th American state is decided.
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.
Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna's Alaska-Style Life

Once a mere mining outpost, Talkeetna rejuvenated in 1950 to serve Mt. McKinley climbers. The town is by far the most alternative and most captivating town between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Las Vegas, USA

Where sin is always forgiven

Projected from the Mojave Desert like a neon mirage, the North American capital of gaming and entertainment is experienced as a gamble in the dark. Lush and addictive, Vegas neither learns nor regrets.
Navajo nation, USA

The Navajo Nation Lands

From Kayenta to Page, passing through Marble Canyon, we explore the southern Colorado Plateau. Dramatic and desert, the scenery of this indigenous domain, cut out in Arizona, reveals itself to be splendid.
Death Valley, USA

The Hottest Place Resurrection

Since 1921, Al Aziziyah, in Libya, was considered the hottest place on the planet. But the controversy surrounding the 58th measured there meant that, 99 years later, the title was returned to Death Valley.
San Francisco, USA

San Francisco Cable Cars: A Life of Highs and Lows

A macabre wagon accident inspired the San Francisco cable car saga. Today, these relics work as a charm operation in the city of fog, but they also have their risks.
Mauna Kea, Hawaii

Mauna Kea: the Volcano with an Eye out in Space

The roof of Hawaii was off-limits to natives because it housed benevolent deities. But since 1968, several nations sacrificed the peace of the gods and built the greatest astronomical station on the face of the Earth.
pearl harbor, Hawaii

The Day Japan Went Too Far

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor military base. Today, parts of Hawaii look like Japanese colonies but the US will never forget the outrage.
PN Katmai, Alaska

In the Footsteps of the Grizzly Man

Timothy Treadwell spent summers on end with the bears of Katmai. Traveling through Alaska, we followed some of its trails, but unlike the species' crazy protector, we never went too far.
Residents walk along the trail that runs through plantations above the UP4
City
Gurué, Mozambique, Part 1

Through the Mozambican Lands of Tea

The Portuguese founded Gurué in the 1930th century and, from XNUMX onwards, flooded it with camellia sinensis the foothills of the Namuli Mountains. Later, they renamed it Vila Junqueiro, in honor of its main promoter. With the independence of Mozambique and the civil war, the town regressed. It continues to stand out for the lush green imposing mountains and teak landscapes.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beaches
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.
Juvenile lions on a sandy arm of the Shire River
safari
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.
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.
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.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Aventura
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.
Jumping forward, Pentecost Naghol, Bungee Jumping, Vanuatu
Ceremonies and Festivities
Pentecost Island, Vanuatu

Pentecost Naghol: Bungee Jumping for Real Men

In 1995, the people of Pentecostes threatened to sue extreme sports companies for stealing the Naghol ritual. In terms of audacity, the elastic imitation falls far short of the original.
Buddhist Heart of Myanmar
Cities
Yangon, Myanmar

The Great Capital of Burma (Delusions of the Military Junta aside)

In 2005, Myanmar's dictatorial government inaugurated a bizarre and nearly deserted new capital. Exotic, cosmopolitan life remains intact in Yangon, Burmese's largest and most fascinating city.
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.
Impressions Lijiang Show, Yangshuo, China, Red Enthusiasm
Culture
Lijiang e Yangshuo, China

An Impressive China

One of the most respected Asian filmmakers, Zhang Yimou dedicated himself to large outdoor productions and co-authored the media ceremonies of the Beijing OG. But Yimou is also responsible for “Impressions”, a series of no less controversial stagings with stages in emblematic places.
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.
Navimag Cruise, Puerto Montt to Puerto-natales, Chile
Traveling
Puerto Natales-Puerto Montt, Chile

Cruise on board a Freighter

After a long begging of backpackers, the Chilean company NAVIMAG decided to admit them on board. Since then, many travelers have explored the Patagonian canals, side by side with containers and livestock.
Dances
Ethnic
Okinawa, Japan

Ryukyu Dances: Centuries old. In No Hurry.

The Ryukyu kingdom prospered until the XNUMXth century as a trading post for the China and Japan. From the cultural aesthetics developed by its courtly aristocracy, several styles of slow dance were counted.
Rainbow in the Grand Canyon, an example of prodigious photographic light
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 1)

And Light was made on Earth. Know how to use it.

The theme of light in photography is inexhaustible. In this article, we give you some basic notions about your behavior, to start with, just and only in terms of geolocation, the time of day and the time of year.
Curieuse Island, Seychelles, Aldabra turtles
History
Felicité Island and Curieuse Island, Seychelles

From Leprosarium to Giant Turtles Home

In the middle of the XNUMXth century, it remained uninhabited and ignored by Europeans. The French Ship Expedition “La Curieuse” revealed it and inspired his baptism. The British kept it a leper colony until 1968. Today, Île Curieuse is home to hundreds of Aldabra tortoises, the longest-lived land animal.
Boat owners at the Trou d'Eau Douce pier
Islands
Island Mauritius

East Mauritius, South in Sight

The east coast of Mauritius has established itself as one of the seaside paradises of the Indian Ocean. As we explore it, we discover places that are also important strongholds of its history. These include Pointe du Diable, Mahebourg, Île-aux-Aigrettes and other stunning tropical locations.
Boats on ice, Hailuoto Island, Finland.
Winter White
Hailuoto, Finland

A Refuge in the Gulf of Bothnia

During winter, the island of Hailuoto is connected to the rest of Finland by the country's longest ice road. Most of its 986 inhabitants esteem, above all, the distance that the island grants 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.
Asparagus, Sal Island, Cape Verde
Nature
island of salt, Cape Verde

The Salt of the Island of Sal

At the approach of the XNUMXth century, Sal remained lacking in drinking water and practically uninhabited. Until the extraction and export of the abundant salt there encouraged a progressive population. Today, salt and salt pans add another flavor to the most visited island in Cape Verde.
Girl plays with leaves on the shore of the Great Lake at Catherine Palace
Autumn
Saint Petersburg, Russia

Golden Days Before the Storm

Aside from the political and military events precipitated by Russia, from mid-September onwards, autumn takes over the country. In previous years, when visiting Saint Petersburg, we witnessed how the cultural and northern capital was covered in a resplendent yellow-orange. A dazzling light that hardly matches the political and military gloom that had spread in the meantime.
Hammock in Palmeiras, Praia de Uricao-Mar des caraibas, Venezuela
Natural Parks
Henri Pittier NP, Venezuela

PN Henri Pittier: between the Caribbean Sea and the Cordillera da Costa

In 1917, botanist Henri Pittier became fond of the jungle of Venezuela's sea mountains. Visitors to the national park that this Swiss created there are, today, more than they ever wanted
Willemstad, Curacao, Punda, Handelskade
UNESCO World Heritage
Willemstad, Curaçao

The Multicultural Heart of Curaçao

A Dutch colony in the Caribbean became a major slave hub. It welcomed Sephardic Jews who had taken refuge from the Iberia Inquisition in Amsterdam and Recife. And it assimilated influences from the Portuguese and Spanish villages with which it traded. At the heart of this secular cultural fusion has always been its old capital: Willemstad.
now from above ladder, sorcerer of new zealand, Christchurch, new zealand
Characters
Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealand's Cursed Wizard

Despite his notoriety in the antipodes, Ian Channell, the New Zealand sorcerer, failed to predict or prevent several earthquakes that struck Christchurch. At the age of 88, after 23 years of contract with the city, he made very controversial statements and ended up fired.
Cargo Cabo Santa Maria, Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde, Sal, Evoking the Sahara
Beaches
Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde

Boa Vista Island: Atlantic waves, Dunas do Sara

Boa Vista is not only the Cape Verdean island closest to the African coast and its vast desert. After a few hours of discovery, it convinces us that it is a piece of the Sahara adrift in the North Atlantic.
Engravings, Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt
Religion
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.
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.
View of Fa Island, Tonga, Last Polynesian Monarchy
Society
Tongatapu, Tonga

The Last Polynesian Monarchy

From New Zealand to Easter Island and Hawaii, no other monarchy has resisted the arrival of European discoverers and modernity. For Tonga, for several decades, the challenge was to resist the monarchy.
Saksun, Faroe Islands, Streymoy, warning
Daily life
Saksun, streymoyFaroe Islands

The Faroese Village That Doesn't Want to be Disneyland

Saksun is one of several stunning small villages in the Faroe Islands that more and more outsiders visit. It is distinguished by the aversion to tourists of its main rural owner, author of repeated antipathies and attacks against the invaders of his land.
Fishing, Cano Negro, Costa Rica
Wildlife
Caño Negro, Costa Rica

A Life of Angling among the Wildlife

One of the most important wetlands in Costa Rica and the world, Caño Negro dazzles for its exuberant ecosystem. Not only. Remote, isolated by rivers, swamps and poor roads, its inhabitants have found in fishing a means on board to strengthen the bonds of their community.
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.