Pirenópolis, Brazil

Brazilian Crusades


baby among kings
Baby gets scared when he sees himself elevated between the Moorish king and the Christian, at the end of the Cavalhadas.
artisan of the divine
A resident of Pirenópolis retouches part of the armor to be used by the Moorish king during the Cavalhadas.
Right in
Moorish knight skewers a head and earns points during one of several trials.
Curucucus figures
Silhouettes of masked people socializing in the streets of the historic center of Pirenópolis.
Capitulation
Moorish knight submits to a Christian after the defeat of the Moors in Cavalhadas.
Cavalhódromo of Pirenopolis
Masked men ride in the Cavalhódromo of Pirenópolis.
Sewing
Mother of the Christian king finalizes the costume worn by her son in the upcoming Cavalhadas.
baby and moorish costume
Baby passes by the costume of the Moorish king on the farm of the Pirenopolino chosen for this role in the Cavalhadas.
horse mask
Mascarado walks through the streets of the historic center of Pirenópolis.
Wait mounted
Mascarado waits for the return of a counterpart during the Cavalhadas de Pirenópolis.
Masked BR
A masked man poses at the entrance to a gas station in Pirenópolis.
anxious masked
Group of masked men awaits new permission to enter the scene at Cavalhadas de Pirenópolis.
Public
Spectators follow the action of the Cavalhadas in an improvised booth at the Cavalhódromo de Pirenópolis.
eccentric goal
Masked man drinks beer through one of his mask's nose holes.
Tournament
Audience accompanies the gallop of a Moorish knight during a Cavalhadas competition.
masked shadow
Shadow of a group of masked people backstage at Cavalhódromo.
Ser Pompey
Presenter of Cavalhadas finds himself surrounded by masked men.
Christian armies expelled Muslim forces from the Iberian Peninsula in the XNUMXth century. XV but, in Pirenópolis, in the Brazilian state of Goiás, the South American subjects of Carlos Magno continue to triumph.

We arrived at one in the afternoon.

The masked men make way for the solemn cavalcade of the Christian and Moorish “armies” heading to the newly built Cavalhódromo de Pirenópolis.

The benches are crowded. The almost divine voice of the producer and presenter Sôr Pompeu echoes, in full announcement of the inauguration parade. Comprised of musicians and majorettes, the parade goes around the pitch and greets the audience.

A hot girl from the land, adorned with sashes, leads her.

Once the tour is complete, the high point of the embassies and battles event has the green light.

Finally, we understand the reason for so much prior testing. The choreographies are complex and tedious. They are made of twists and turns, also of sudden confrontations, withdrawals and endless dialogues delivered in a playback thundering that requires the gestural accompaniment of kings and ambassadors.

The Wild Revelry of the Masked Curucucus

To lighten the show, the doors are opened to the madness of the masked people. These invade at a gallop and, whenever their time runs out, they resist being expelled from the pitch as if they were a third army.

“These Masked Ones are going to have to leave anyway. You can't keep delaying any longer!” resounds from the loudspeakers the increasingly impatient Ser Pompey.

Cavalhodromo, Pirenopolis Cavalcades, Crusades, Brazil

Masked men ride in the Cavalhódromo of Pirenópolis.

The 20 minutes of mad riding around the enclosure that he granted him has long since passed. Exaggerations have been repeated since the beginning of the event. Nothing that disturbs the collective unconsciousness of the so-called curucucus.

Abuse delights viewers. After all, the Feast of the Divine and the Cavalhadas are made of the delivery and devotion, both religious and profane, of its participants. Everyone tolerates Moorish and Christian knights shining too brightly.

Apart from the battles fought, in defiance of the predominance of banners greeting, vassalage and self-promotion of the most important families and regional politicians, the masked ones still take advantage of their anonymity to display posters of political contestation: “People do not change when they arrive to power, they reveal themselves” verses one of the most exuberant.

The traditional irreverence of the curucucus derives from their presence, as bastard as it is late, in Cavalhadas.

Mounted Waiting, Pirenopolis Cavalcades, Crusades, Brazil

Mascarado waits for the return of a counterpart during the Cavalhadas de Pirenópolis.

For many years, as they did not take part in the battles fought as a medieval tournament, the people they represent were mere spectators at ceremonies performed by the wealthy and powerful.

Once their participation was legitimized, protected by caricatured and colorful disguises (man and bull heads, unicorns, jaguars, etc.) and by almost imperceptible whispers, the Masked Ones proved difficult to control.

Masked Silhouettes, Pirenopolis Cavalcades, Crusades, Brazil

Silhouettes of masked people socializing in the streets of the historic center of Pirenópolis.

The Battle in Cavalhadas Medieval Tournament Mode

The Crusades return to Cavalhódromo. It soon turns out that the embassies of truce and mutual intimidation are fruitless. The conflict remains. The people rejoice more than ever.

Heads of dolls were placed to be blown off and thus test the mastery of the knights in the use of the spear and … the pistol, an anachronism that was not detected or that nobody cared about.

There is also the ring test, a medieval classic that raises the suspense every time the galloping knights raise their spears.

horseman skewers head, cavalhadas de pirenopolis, crusades, brazil

Moorish knight skewers a head and earns points during one of several trials.

Points are noted. In the end, as a matter of historical fidelity, Christians always win. Consuming the triumph of the faithful, the Moors surrender and submit, kneeling, to the swords of the Crusaders. This is followed by an alignment, on foot, of the riders who receive greetings from friends and family.

When the Cavalhadas Festival Returns to Pirenópolis

In this, the tours of the city ​​center fill up with the return of the Cavalhódromo crowd. Most outsiders come from Brasilia, Goiânia and other surrounding villages. Some arrive from much further afield.

From São Paulo, Rio, even abroad. Everyone shows up in Pirenópolis, attracted by the increasingly popular beauty of the party. During the event, cars are prohibited in the historic center.

This boon allows the masked to take over the wide streets.

Ride through them senselessly. They only stop to pose for photos by the public and ask for small contributions to buy their fuel: a cold beer.

Masked drinks beer, Pirenopolis cavalry, Crusades, Brazil

Masked man drinks beer through one of his mask's nose holes.

Refusal is rare. We are in the dry season of the Brazilian Midwest region. The heat tightens. Especially when you spend hours inside a fiber suit with the head in a cardboard mask.

When night falls, the knights regained the spotlight. By that time, together, Moors and Christians ride and discharge their pistols into the air. 

The last ritual – by far the loudest – establishes the official closure of the Cavalhadas and returns Pirenópolis to the peace of God.

Until the month of May next year. 

Origin of Cavalhadas: from the Kingdom of the Franks to Heart of Goiás

Cavalhadas de Pirenópolis are a reconstitution of Charlemagne's attacks against the Moors who, by the XNUMXth century, occupied the Iberian Peninsula.

Throughout the Middle Ages, through the crusaders and troubadours, their deeds became popular in Christian Europe. They gave rise to well-received representations also in Portugal.

public in the tournament, Pirenopolis Cavalcades, Crusades, Brazil

Audience accompanies the gallop of a Moorish knight during a Cavalhadas competition.

The Jesuits took these stagings to Brazil, still in their heyday and with the authorization of the Crown, which saw in them an effective instrument for the evangelization of indigenous peoples and African slaves.

The Popular Staging of Father Manuel Amâncio da Luz

They arrived in Pirenópolis and the surrounding region of the present state of Goiás, in 1826, when Father Manuel Amâncio da Luz integrated an exhibition called “Charlemagne's Battalion" at Feast of the Holy Spirit, also previously brought from Portugal.

The novelty had a miraculous acceptance. Pirenópolis was then a city of miners, mostly from the north of the metropolis where the long resistance to the Moorish invasions and subsequent attacks and conquests came to forge the Portuguese nation.

drinks entre reis, cavalhadas de pirenopolis, crusades, brazil

Baby gets scared when he sees himself elevated between the Moorish king and the Christian, at the end of the Cavalhadas.

On the other hand, the show from early on attributed powerful characters (kings and knights) to the most prominent citizens of the city. They were assembled characters.

The Controversial Promotion to the New Cavalhódromo de Pirenópolis

This reality went against the widespread passion of the local population for horses and horseback riding. This passion becomes very evident during the Feast of the Divine, when the sound of hooves against the cobblestones of Pirenópolis becomes ambient.

In the beginning, the Cavalhadas were staged on a field marked with whitewash. The participants wore period military uniforms instead of the current medieval period costumes.

The commitment that the Pirenopolinos dedicated to them – as they dedicated to the Feast of the Divine, in general – led to the creation of “medieval” clothes for knights and horses, including weapons and armour.

seamstress, cavalhadas de pirenopolis, cruzas, brazil

Mother of the Christian king finalizes the costume worn by her son in the upcoming Cavalhadas.

In 2012, the bare field gave way to a large Cavalhódromo, lawn, with a Christian portico and a Moorish one, with large cement benches and family cabins, these made of wood. Several sectors of the Pirepoline community accused those responsible of having kept the people away from the party.

public and spectators, cavalhadas de pirenopolis, crusades, brazil

Spectators follow the action of the Cavalhadas in an improvised booth at the Cavalhódromo de Pirenópolis.

When we spoke with the wife of Toninho – an emblematic former Moorish king – we also found out that the party was not always confined to the city or even the Brazilian state of Goiás.

The Embassy of the Knights of the Divine to France Grafina de Chantilly

Dª Telma tells us that, in 2005, the year of Brazil was celebrated in France. On that occasion, the Gallic organization invited a delegation of 30 Pirenopolinos, – to the chagrin of the wives of the city, all men – to Whipped Cream (a grand historic village a short distance from Paris).

The idea was to present the Cavalhadas de Pirenópolis to the French and the final exhibition went perfectly. The preparations included hilarious adventures.

Several of the riders had never left the state of Goiás, let alone traveled by plane and changed continents to face the delicate french etiquette.

For obvious logistical reasons, the Pirenopolis horses stayed at home. And Cavalhadas knights had to teach French mounts the twists and turns of battles between Moors and Christians.

capitulation, cavalhadas de pirenopolis, crusades, brazil

Moorish knight submits to a Christian after the defeat of the Moors in Cavalhadas.

The challenge proved anything but peaceful. In the lands of “Piri”, the horses were treated by force, with whips and spurs.

In Chantilly, the Brazilian knights, accustomed to the superiority of their role as kings and nobles, found themselves reprimanded for the slightest touch they gave to French animals and became indignant whenever the local handlers, as a prize, kissed their mounts in the mouth.

“But that wasn't the worst…”, Dª Telma continues to tell us: “As if that wasn't enough, the French tried to impose this refined method on the knights of Pirenópolis to whom they also gave lumps of sugar so that, in addition to the kisses, the offered to the horses when the animals passed tests…”

artisan, cavalhadas de pirenopolis, crusades, brazil

A resident of Pirenópolis retouches part of the armor to be used by the Moorish king during the Cavalhadas.

The Pirenopolinos continued to resist. And the French nearly collapsed when they found that they not only persisted in their cruel dealings with horses but devoured the lumps of sugar.

On their return home, the “effeminate” treatment of the Europeans towards animals remained the subject of conversation and laughter until the following Cavalhadas, when Charlemagne's powerful and pirepolino army defeated the infidels again.

Pirenópolis, Brazil

A Ride of Faith

Introduced in 1819 by Portuguese priests, the Festa do Divino Espírito Santo de Pirenópolis it aggregates a complex web of religious and pagan celebrations. It lasts more than 20 days, spent mostly on the saddle.
Pirenópolis, Brazil

A Polis in the South American Pyrenees

Mines of Nossa Senhora do Rosário da Meia Ponte were erected by Portuguese pioneers, in the peak of the Gold Cycle. Out of nostalgia, probably Catalan emigrants called the mountains around the Pyrenees. In 1890, already in an era of independence and countless Hellenizations of its cities, Brazilians named this colonial city Pirenópolis.
Passo do Lontra, Miranda, Brazil

The Flooded Brazil of Passo do Lontra

We are on the western edge of Mato Grosso do Sul but bush, on these sides, is something else. In an extension of almost 200.000 km2, the Brazil it appears partially submerged, by rivers, streams, lakes and other waters dispersed in vast alluvial plains. Not even the panting heat of the dry season drains the life and biodiversity of Pantanal places and farms like the one that welcomed us on the banks of the Miranda River.
Cape Coast, Ghana

The Divine Purification Festival

The story goes that, once, a plague devastated the population of Cape Coast of today Ghana. Only the prayers of the survivors and the cleansing of evil carried out by the gods will have put an end to the scourge. Since then, the natives have returned the blessing of the 77 deities of the traditional Oguaa region with the frenzied Fetu Afahye festival.
Jaisalmer, India

There's a Feast in the Thar Desert

As soon as the short winter breaks, Jaisalmer indulges in parades, camel races, and turban and mustache competitions. Its walls, alleys and surrounding dunes take on more color than ever. During the three days of the event, natives and outsiders watch, dazzled, as the vast and inhospitable Thar finally shines through.
Bhaktapur, Nepal

The Nepalese Masks of Life

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

The Jumps and Starts of the former World Rubber Capital

From 1879 to 1912, only the Amazon River basin generated the latex that, from one moment to another, the world needed and, out of nowhere, Manaus became one of the most advanced cities on the face of the Earth. But an English explorer took the tree to Southeast Asia and ruined pioneer production. Manaus once again proved its elasticity. It is the largest city in the Amazon and the seventh in Brazil.
Bacolod, Philippines

A Festival to Laugh at Tragedy

Around 1980, the value of sugar, an important source of wealth on the Philippine island of Negros, plummeted and the ferry “Don Juan” that served it sank and took the lives of more than 176 passengers, most of them from Negrès. The local community decided to react to the depression generated by these dramas. That's how MassKara arose, a party committed to recovering the smiles of the population.
Military

Defenders of Their Homelands

Even in times of peace, we detect military personnel everywhere. On duty, in cities, they fulfill routine missions that require rigor and patience.
Saint John of Acre, Israel

The Fortress That Withstood Everything

It was a frequent target of the Crusades and taken over and over again. Today, Israeli, Acre is shared by Arabs and Jews. He lives much more peaceful and stable times than the ones he went through.
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Make-believe stars

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Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

The Pueblos del Sur Locainas, Their Dances and Co.

From the beginning of the XNUMXth century, with Hispanic settlers and, more recently, with Portuguese emigrants, customs and traditions well known in the Iberian Peninsula and, in particular, in northern Portugal, were consolidated in the Pueblos del Sur.
Miranda, Brazil

Maria dos Jacarés: the Pantanal shelters such Creatures

Eurides Fátima de Barros was born in the interior of the Miranda region. 38 years ago, he settled in a small business on the side of BR262 that crosses the Pantanal and gained an affinity with the alligators that lived on his doorstep. Disgusted that once upon a time the creatures were being slaughtered there, she began to take care of them. Now known as Maria dos Jacarés, she named each of the animals after a soccer player or coach. It also makes sure they recognize your calls.
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The High-Quality Life of Curitiba

It is not only the altitude of almost 1000 meters at which the city is located. Cosmopolitan and multicultural, the capital of Paraná has a quality of life and human development rating that make it a unique case in Brazil.

Florianopolis, Brazil

The South Atlantic Azorean Legacy

During the XNUMXth century, thousands of Portuguese islanders pursued better lives in the southern confines of Brazil. In the villages they founded, traces of affinity with the origins abound.

Morro de São Paulo, Brazil

A Divine Seaside of Bahia

Three decades ago, it was just a remote and humble fishing village. Until some post-hippie communities revealed the Morro's retreat to the world and promoted it to a kind of bathing sanctuary.
Sheets of Bahia, Brazil

The Swampy Freedom of Quilombo do Remanso

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Ilhabela, Brazil

Ilhabela: After Horror, the Atlantic Beauty

Ninety percent of the preserved Atlantic Forest, idyllic waterfalls and gentle, wild beaches live up to the name. But, if we go back in time, we also reveal the horrific historical facet of Ilhabela.
Ilhabela, Brazil

In Ilhabela, on the way to Bonete

A community of caiçaras descendants of pirates founded a village in a corner of Ilhabela. Despite the difficult access, Bonete was discovered and considered one of the ten best beaches in Brazil.
Goiás Velho, Brazil

A Gold Rush Legacy

Two centuries after the heyday of prospecting, lost in time and in the vastness of the Central Plateau, Goiás esteems its admirable colonial architecture, the surprising wealth that remains to be discovered there.
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.
Esteros del Iberá, Pantanal Argentina, Alligator
safari
Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
Prayer flags in Ghyaru, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 4th – Upper Banana to Ngawal, Nepal

From Nightmare to Dazzle

Unbeknownst to us, we are faced with an ascent that leads us to despair. We pulled our strength as far as possible and reached Ghyaru where we felt closer than ever to the Annapurnas. The rest of the way to Ngawal felt like a kind of extension of the reward.
Engravings, Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt
Architecture & Design
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From Luxor to Thebes: Journey to Ancient Egypt

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Tibetan heights, altitude sickness, mountain prevent to treat, travel
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Moa on a beach in Rapa Nui/Easter Island
Ceremonies and Festivities
Easter Island, Chile

The Take-off and Fall of the Bird-Man Cult

Until the XNUMXth century, the natives of Easter Island they carved and worshiped great stone gods. All of a sudden, they started to drop their moai. The veneration of tanatu manu, a half-human, half-sacred leader, decreed after a dramatic competition for an egg.
Oranjestad city, Aruba, Dutch architecture building
Cities
Oranjestad, Aruba

The Dutch Soul of Aruba

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Lunch time
Markets

A Market Economy

The law of supply and demand dictates their proliferation. Generic or specific, covered or open air, these spaces dedicated to buying, selling and exchanging are expressions of life and financial health.
Vairocana Buddha, Todai ji Temple, Nara, Japan
Culture
Nara, Japan

The Colossal Cradle of the Japanese Buddhism

Nara has long since ceased to be the capital and its Todai-ji temple has been demoted. But the Great Hall remains the largest ancient wooden building in the world. And it houses the greatest bronze Vairocana Buddha.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Sport
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.
Devils Marbles, Alice Springs to Darwin, Stuart hwy, Top End Path
Traveling
Alice Springs to Darwin, Australia

Stuart Road, on its way to Australia's Top End

Do Red Center to the tropical Top End, the Stuart Highway road travels more than 1.500km lonely through Australia. Along this route, the Northern Territory radically changes its look but remains faithful to its rugged soul.
Ooty, Tamil Nadu, Bollywood Scenery, Heartthrob's Eye
Ethnic
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.
Rainbow in the Grand Canyon, an example of prodigious photographic light
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
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And Light was made on Earth. Know how to use it.

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tarsio, bohol, philippines, out of this world
History
Bohol, Philippines

Other-wordly Philippines

The Philippine archipelago spans 300.000 km² of the Pacific Ocean. Part of the Visayas sub-archipelago, Bohol is home to small alien-looking primates and the extraterrestrial hills of the Chocolate Hills.
Women at Mass. Bora Bora, Society Islands, Polynesia, French
Islands
Bora-Bora, Raiatea, Huahine, French Polynesia

An Intriguing Trio of Societies

In the idyllic heart of the vast Pacific Ocean, the Society Archipelago, part of French Polynesia, beautifies the planet as an almost perfect creation of Nature. We explored it for a long time from Tahiti. The last few days we dedicate them to Bora Bora, Huahine and Raiatea.
Oulu Finland, Passage of Time
Winter White
Oulu, Finland

Oulu: an Ode to Winter

Located high in the northeast of the Gulf of Bothnia, Oulu is one of Finland's oldest cities and its northern capital. A mere 220km from the Arctic Circle, even in the coldest months it offers a prodigious outdoor life.
Cove, Big Sur, California, United States
Literature
Big Sur, USA

The Coast of All Refuges

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São Tomé Ilha, São Tomé and Principe, North, Roça Água Funda
Nature
São Tomé, São Tomé and Principe

Through the Tropical Top of São Tomé

With the homonymous capital behind us, we set out to discover the reality of the Agostinho Neto farm. From there, we take the island's coastal road. When the asphalt finally yields to the jungle, São Tomé had confirmed itself at the top of the most dazzling African islands.
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.
Windward Side, Saba, Dutch Caribbean, Netherlands
Natural Parks
Saba, The Netherlands

The Mysterious Dutch Queen of Saba

With a mere 13km2, Saba goes unnoticed even by the most traveled. Little by little, above and below its countless slopes, we unveil this luxuriant Little Antille, tropical border, mountainous and volcanic roof of the shallowest european nation.
improvised bank
UNESCO World Heritage
Ibo Island, Mozambique

Island of a Gone Mozambique

It was fortified in 1791 by the Portuguese who expelled the Arabs from the Quirimbas and seized their trade routes. It became the 2nd Portuguese outpost on the east coast of Africa and later the capital of the province of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. With the end of the slave trade at the turn of the XNUMXth century and the passage from the capital to Porto Amélia, Ibo Island found itself in the fascinating backwater in which it is located.
now from above ladder, sorcerer of new zealand, Christchurch, new zealand
Characters
Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealand's Cursed Wizard

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Coconut picker in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka
Beaches
Unawatuna to Tongalle, Sri Lanka

Along the Tropical South of Old Ceylon

We left the Galle fortress behind. From Unawatuna to Tangale, the south of Sri Lanka is made up of beaches with golden sand and coconut groves attracted by the coolness of the Indian Ocean. Once the scene of conflict between local and colonial powers, this coast has long been shared by backpackers from the four corners of the world.
Golden Rock of Kyaikhtiyo, Buddhism, Myanmar, Burma
Religion
Mount Kyaiktiyo, Myanmar

The Golden and Balancing Rock of Buddha

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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.
Ditching, Alaska Fashion Life, Talkeetna
Society
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.
Busy intersection of Tokyo, Japan
Daily life
Tokyo, Japan

The Endless Night of the Rising Sun Capital

Say that Tokyo do not sleep is an understatement. In one of the largest and most sophisticated cities on the face of the Earth, twilight marks only the renewal of the frenetic daily life. And there are millions of souls that either find no place in the sun, or make more sense in the “dark” and obscure turns that follow.
The Zambezi River, PN Mana Pools
Wildlife
Kanga Pan, Mana Pools NP, Zimbabwe

A Perennial Source of Wildlife

A depression located 15km southeast of the Zambezi River retains water and minerals throughout Zimbabwe's dry season. Kanga Pan, as it is known, nurtures one of the most prolific ecosystems in the immense and stunning Mana Pools National Park.
Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.