Ponta de Sao Lourenco, Wood, Portugal

The Eastern, Somehow Extraterrestrial, Madeira Tip


boat tail
A speedboat travels along the south coast of Ponta de São Lourenço.
lush flora
One of the few examples of a verdant plant.
lighthouse islet
The São Lourenço Lighthouse, crowning the Ilhéu do Farol.
end-sao-lourenco-madeira-portugal-costa-north
Road leading north from Ponta de São Lourenço, overlooking the north coast of Madeira.
Ponta de Sao Lourenco
The capricious shape of Ponta de São Lourenço.
Shared View
Hikers take a break on the PR8 route from Madeira to admire the north coast of Ponta de São Lourenço.
blessed fishing
Artisanal fishing off the south coast of Ponta de São Lourenço.
Elephant rock
A pachyderm-shaped rock between Caniçal and Ponta de São Lourenço.
The Sardine Wharf
Cais do Sardinha and its rocky beach.
inaccessible paradise
Emerald and crystalline sea on the north coast of Ponta de São Lourenço.
On my way
Walker travels along the PR 8 itinerary along the eastern edge of the island of Madeira.
Landing
Seabird perching on a basaltic ridge.
Red cliffs colony
Sharp cliffs off the north coast of Ponta de São Lourenço.
Unusual, with ocher tones and raw earth, Ponta de São Lourenço is often the first sight of Madeira. When we walk through it, we are fascinated, above all, with what the most tropical of the Portuguese islands is not.

The early days of the current pandemic and its confinements were taking place when the news of an undue evasion stood out from the rest.

Cristiano Ronaldo had gone to Madeira for a few days.

With the island and all of Portugal confined, he published photos of himself with his partner and son on a tour of Ponta de São Lourenço.

His, at the time, more recent whim aroused a dignified controversy, even so, far from the geological eccentricity of the extravagant peninsula that welcomed him.

Elephant Rock, Ponta de São Lourenço, Madeira, Portugal

A pachyderm-shaped rock between Caniçal and Ponta de São Lourenço.

The First and Strange Madeira Island Sighting

When passing by, if distracted, those arriving by ferry from the neighboring island of Porto Santo you may be led to think that you never left the starting point.

Ponta de São Lourenço is much more in keeping with Porto Santo or the Desertas than with the verdant, in certain points, luxuriant Madeira.

And yet, it encloses it as an oriental appendage, sinuous and bizarre, that the opposite end of the island has no equal.

Ponta de Sao Lourenco, Madeira, Portugal

The capricious shape of Ponta de São Lourenço.

In our case, we start from funchal capital. Passing Machico, the view of the port and industrial complex of Caniçal leaves us apprehensive.

Around Quinta do Lorde, we leave behind the last vestige of populated civilization.

North Coast, Madeira, Portugal

Road leading north from Ponta de São Lourenço, overlooking the north coast of Madeira.

A roundabout that houses a leafy palm tree and a mobile home serving food and drinks establishes the road limit.

From then on, along 9km, Ponta de São Lourenço assumes the colors and shapes that its volcanic and prehistoric geology gave it.

It reveals itself and dazzles by Nature.

Walkers, Ponta de São Lourenço, Madeira, Portugal

Hikers take a break on the PR8 route from Madeira to admire the north coast of Ponta de São Lourenço.

PR8 – A Trail Above and Below Ponta de São Lourenço

The rail that furrows received the code PR8. It begins by curving the mid-slope, above the smooth, crystalline Atlantic of Baía d'Abra.

Then, it goes down to a tight spot closed by Praia de São Lourenço.

However, it deviates to the opposite direction.

There, he leaves us at a viewpoint facing north that displays a fort of islets and exuberant rocks, punished without mercy by the northern sea.

Cliffs, Ponta de São Lourenço, Madeira, Portugal

Sharp cliffs off the north coast of Ponta de São Lourenço.

Even in the shade, we are impressed by the magnificence of the cove that extends from there to the kind of cape of Ponta do Rosto.

Its cliffs rise another hundred meters above the sea.

At several points, the track advances over the knife edge from these heights. It renews an unexpected sensation of vertigo.

In zigzags, we descend to the shallow, curved and shadowy isthmus where the “North Sea” almost merges with the South.

The opposite extreme places us at the base of the quasi-island that follows.

Fishing boat, Ponta de São Lourenço, Madeira, Portugal

Artisanal fishing off the south coast of Ponta de São Lourenço.

For some time we had glimpsed a tiny oasis, a palm grove as green as it was out of touch.

A few hundred steps later, we realized that it lent shade to the famous Casa do Sardinha, bar, restaurant, activity center and energy recovery.

For many, the main reason for walking.

Casa do Sardinha, the Logistic Heart of Ponta de São Lourenço

The name of the establishment remains that because over the years it became known.

Both were bequeathed by the former owners of those lands, cattle ranchers, as evidenced by the corral stones that still exist there, at a time when a good part of the peninsula admitted pastures and even crops.

Wheat, from the barley planted by the peasants of the fishing village of Caniçal, who made it germinate in the apparently inhospitable soil of the current Ilhéu da Cevada (of the Desembarcadouros).

We didn't take long to see him.

St. Lawrence, the reason for Holy Baptism

Ponta de São Lourenço is forever linked to the first moments of the discovery and colonization of Madeira. It preserves the name of the caravel of João Gonçalves Zarco, one of the three discoverers of the island.

The discovery of Madeira took place in 1419, a year after that of Porto Santo. In turn, the colonization closest to Ponta de São Lourenço, Caniçal, took place around 1489, when Vasco Martins Moniz and his eldest son Garcia Moniz settled on a farm there.

In the beginning of the XNUMXth century, the Moniz built a church that gave rise to the oldest of the small parishes in Madeira, São Sebastião do Caniçal, later the parish of Caniçal and one of the favorite game farms of the descendants of Captain Donatário pioneer of Porto de Machico, Tristan Vaz.

Ponta de Sao Lourenco, Madeira, Portugal

Emerald and crystalline sea on the north coast of Ponta de São Lourenço.

English Corsairs, Moorish Pirates and Related Threats

Colonization of the eastern end of the island has always proved problematic. About to turn to the XNUMXth century, in the middle of the Philippine Dynasty, the English, visceral enemies of the Spanish Crown, were in charge of attacking and plundering its inhabitants.

They weren't the only ones. The isolation of that tip of Madeira, at the gates of Africa, also made it vulnerable to Moorish looting.

The area proved to be so susceptible that the Captaincy of Machico often reminded the settlers to keep an eye out for the fires in Caniçal.

For some time, this was the only warning system for attacks coming from the Ponta de São Lourenço side. Years later, a small watch fort reinforced it.

The defense infrastructure could have been other, much more functional, if the Marquis de Pombal's ambition had passed from the mind of erecting a port in Baía d'Abra, conjectured to house ten ships.

Instead of this structure, today, Ponta de São Lourenço is served by the tiny Cais do Sardinha, the anchorage and small beach made of pebbles and crystal-clear water that delight hikers with rewarding baths. There we would also have our but, let's get back to the trail.

Sardinha Wharf, Ponta de São Lourenço, Madeira, Portugal

Cais do Sardinha and its rocky beach.

The Ultimate and Most Strenuous Ascent

It is behind the Casa do Sardinha that the last stretch of the PR8, by far the most tiring, starts. A sketch of a staircase made of hundreds of irregular and too wide terraces demands all of their strength from the thighs.

Ponta de Sao Lourenco, Madeira, Portugal

Walker travels along the PR 8 itinerary along the eastern edge of the island of Madeira.

We know that we won it and that we conquered the 162 meters of Pico do Furado when we came across the cul-de-sac viewpoint at Ponta do Furado.

On this summit once again exposed to the north, interned in the Atlantic like none until then, the gale is infernal. The stability necessary for photography disturbs us and aggravates the fear that, with no plans to do so, we'll crash into the rocky and stony bottom of the foothills of Morro do Furado.

We are dazzled by the insular solitude of the slightly balanced Lighthouse of Ponta de São Lourenço (107m), the humanized threshold of the peninsula. And to the east, with a glimpse of the slender Desertas.

Even eager to advance beyond the roped stronghold, we resisted the gale and dodged tragedy.

A few meters short of Pico do Furado, the vegetal glow of a plant that proliferated from the shade and humidity trapped between two cliffs amazes us.

Ponta de Sao Lourenco, Madeira, Portugal

One of the few examples of a verdant plant.

A Special Reserve Fauna and Flora

With an inhospitable appearance, Ponta de São Lourenço is home to such special forms of life that, in 1982, it was declared a Natural Reserve: the peninsula itself, a partial reserve. Ilhéu da Cevada, total reserve.

All in all, the peninsula is home to 138 species of plants, 31 of which are exclusive to the Madeira Island.

In terms of fauna, it is home to one of the largest colonies of seagulls in the archipelago, Corre-caminhos, Goldfinches, Canaries-da-Terra, Francelhos, Cagarras, Roques-de-Castro, Almas-Negras and specimens of Garajau-Comum, well like some unusual endemic snails.

Landing, Ponta de São Lourenço, Madeira, Portugal

Seabird perching on a basaltic ridge.

Offshore, although easier to find on the Desertas islands, you can see Lobos-Marinhos from time to time.

We revert to Casa do Sardinha.

From that providential headquarters, we return to the beginning of the trail.

Discovering Ponta de São Loureço. Now by Sea

A few days later, we completed the walk with a marine exploration of Ponta de São Lourenço. We set sail from the dock at Quinta do Lorde.

We sail along the slopes that precede the peninsula and, past Ponta do Buraco, over the calm waters of Baía d'Abra.

Ponta de Sao Lourenco, Madeira, Portugal

A speedboat travels along the south coast of Ponta de São Lourenço.

After a stopover at Cais do Sardinha, we head to the base of Ponta do Furado, from where, unlike the viewpoint above, we were able to detect and photograph the geological hole in question.

We continue along the Ilhéu da Cevada, until we reach the strait that separates it from the ocher neighbor of São Lourenço.

Now, from the surface of the sea, we are impressed to double with the fearless crowning of the homonymous lighthouse, inaugurated in 1870 and, as such, the ancient lighthouse of Madeira.

Somehow, Ilhéu do Farol protected us from the currents and capricious waves generated by the meeting of the North and South seas. It did, but not much.

Ilhéu do Farol Lighthouse, Ponta de São Lourenço, Madeira, Portugal

The São Lourenço Lighthouse, crowning the Ilhéu do Farol

The more we left the shadow of its cliffs and exposed ourselves to the vastness of the ocean, the more the waves and currents made us feel the fragility that Gonçalves Zarco, Tristão Vaz Teixeira and Bartolomeu Perestrelo knew how to tame.

With the wind dramatizing the flow of the boat, a return to the calm waters of the south was imposed. We had discovered the remote end of Ponta de São Lourenço.

In the many trips we took to the big island, we never saw a Madeira like this again.

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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, Wood, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Flores Island, Azores

The Atlantic ends of the Azores and Portugal

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.
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.
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.
São Miguel, 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.
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.
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.
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.
Terra Chã and Pico Branco footpaths, Porto Santo

Pico Branco, Terra Chã and Other Whims of the Golden Island

In its northeast corner, Porto Santo is another thing. With its back facing south and its large beach, we unveil a mountainous, rugged and even wooded coastline, dotted with islets that dot an even bluer Atlantic.
Funchal, Wood

Portal to a Nearly Tropical Portugal

Madeira is located less than 1000km north of the Tropic of Cancer. And the luxuriant exuberance that earned it the nickname of the garden island of the Atlantic can be seen in every corner of its steep capital.
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.
Believers greet each other in the Bukhara region.
City
Bukhara, Uzbequistan

Among the Minarets of Old Turkestan

Situated on the ancient Silk Road, Bukhara has developed for at least two thousand years as an essential commercial, cultural and religious hub in Central Asia. It was Buddhist and then Muslim. It was part of the great Arab empire and that of Genghis Khan, the Turko-Mongol kingdoms and the Soviet Union, until it settled in the still young and peculiar Uzbekistan.
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.
savuti, botswana, elephant-eating lions
safari
Savuti, Botswana

Savuti's Elephant-Eating Lions

A patch of the Kalahari Desert dries up or is irrigated depending on the region's tectonic whims. In Savuti, lions have become used to depending on themselves and prey on the largest animals in the savannah.
Thorong La, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, photo for posterity
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 13th - High camp a Thorong La to Muktinath, Nepal

At the height of the Annapurnas Circuit

At 5416m of altitude, the Thorong La Gorge is the great challenge and the main cause of anxiety on the itinerary. After having killed 2014 climbers in October 29, crossing it safely generates a relief worthy of double celebration.
Luderitz, Namibia
Architecture & Design
Lüderitz, Namibia

Wilkommen in Africa

Chancellor Bismarck has always disdained overseas possessions. Against his will and all odds, in the middle of the Race for Africa, merchant Adolf Lüderitz forced Germany to take over an inhospitable corner of the continent. The homonymous city prospered and preserves one of the most eccentric heritages of the Germanic empire.
Totems, Botko Village, Malekula, Vanuatu
Aventura
Malekula, Vanuatu

Meat and Bone Cannibalism

Until the early XNUMXth century, man-eaters still feasted on the Vanuatu archipelago. In the village of Botko we find out why European settlers were so afraid of the island of Malekula.
Indigenous Crowned
Ceremonies and Festivities
Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

Behind the Venezuela Andes. Fiesta Time.

In 1619, the authorities of Mérida dictated the settlement of the surrounding territory. The order resulted in 19 remote villages that we found dedicated to commemorations with caretos and local pauliteiros.
Candia, Tooth of Buddha, Ceylon, lake
Cities
Kandy, Sri Lanka

The Dental Root of Sinhalese Buddhism

Located in the mountainous heart of Sri Lanka, at the end of the XNUMXth century, Kandy became the capital of the last kingdom of old Ceylon and resisted successive colonial conquest attempts. The city also preserved and exhibited a sacred tooth of the Buddha and, thus, became Ceylon's Buddhist center.
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.
Tiredness in shades of green
Culture
Suzdal, Russia

The Suzdal Cucumber Celebrations

With summer and warm weather, the Russian city of Suzdal relaxes from its ancient religious orthodoxy. The old town is also famous for having the best cucumbers in the nation. When July arrives, it turns the newly harvested into a real festival.
combat arbiter, cockfighting, philippines
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.
jet lag avoid flight, jetlag, turbulence
Traveling
Jet Lag (Part 1)

Avoid Post-Flight Turbulence

When we fly across more than 3 time zones, the internal clock that regulates our body gets confused. The most we can do is alleviate the discomfort we feel until it gets right again.
Jingkieng Wahsurah, Nongblai Village Roots Bridge, Meghalaya, India
Ethnic
Meghalaya, India

The Bridges of the Peoples that Create Roots

The unpredictability of rivers in the wettest region on Earth never deterred the Khasi and the Jaintia. Faced with the abundance of trees elastic fig tree in their valleys, these ethnic groups got used to molding their branches and strains. From their time-lost tradition, they have bequeathed hundreds of dazzling root bridges to future generations.
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

life outside

holy bookcase
History
Tsfat (Safed), Israel

When the Kabbalah is a Victim of Itself

In the 50s, Tsfat brought together the artistic life of the young Israeli nation and regained its secular mystique. But famous converts like Madonna have come to disturb the most elemental Kabbalist discretion.
Christian believers leaving a church, Upolu, Western Samoa
Islands
Upolu, Samoa  

The Broken Heart of Polynesia

The imagery of the paradisiacal South Pacific is unquestionable in Samoa, but its tropical beauty does not pay the bills for either the nation or the inhabitants. Anyone who visits this archipelago finds a people divided between subjecting themselves to tradition and the financial stagnation or uprooting themselves in countries with broader horizons.
Horses under a snow, Iceland Never Ending Snow Island Fire
Winter White
Husavik a Myvatn, Iceland

Endless Snow on the Island of Fire

When, in mid-May, Iceland already enjoys some sun warmth but the cold and snow persist, the inhabitants give in to an intriguing summer anxiety.
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.
ice tunnel, black gold route, Valdez, Alaska, USA
Nature
Valdez, Alaska

On the Black Gold Route

In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker caused a massive environmental disaster. The vessel stopped plying the seas, but the victim city that gave it its name continues on the path of crude oil from the Arctic Ocean.
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.
Cahuita, Costa Rica, Caribbean, beach
Natural Parks
Cahuita, Costa Rica

An Adult Return to Cahuita

During a backpacking tour of Costa Rica in 2003, the Caribbean warmth of Cahuita delights us. In 2021, after 18 years, we return. In addition to an expected, but contained modernization and hispanization of the town, little else had changed.
Teide Volcano, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
UNESCO World Heritage
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.
Heroes Acre Monument, Zimbabwe
Characters
Harare, Zimbabwewe

The Last Rales of Surreal Mugabué

In 2015, Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe said the 91-year-old president would rule until the age of 100 in a special wheelchair. Shortly thereafter, it began to insinuate itself into his succession. But in recent days, the generals have finally precipitated the removal of Robert Mugabe, who has replaced him with former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Cabo Ledo Angola, moxixeiros
Beaches
Cape Ledo, Angola

Cape Ledo and its Bay of Joy

Just 120km south of Luanda, capricious waves of the Atlantic and cliffs crowned with moxixeiros compete for the land of musseque. The large cove is shared by foreigners surrendered to the scene and Angolan residents who have long been supported by the generous sea.
Djerba, Island, Tunisia, Amazigh and their camels
Religion
Djerba, Tunisia

The Tunisian Island of Conviviality

The largest island in North Africa has long welcomed people who could not resist it. Over time, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs called it home. Today, Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities continue an unusual sharing of Djerba with its native Berbers.
Train Fianarantsoa to Manakara, Malagasy TGV, locomotive
On Rails
Fianarantsoa-Manakara, Madagascar

On board the Malagasy TGV

We depart Fianarantsoa at 7a.m. It wasn't until 3am the following morning that we completed the 170km to Manakara. The natives call this almost secular train Train Great Vibrations. During the long journey, we felt, very strongly, those of the heart of Madagascar.
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.
El Tatio Geisers, Atacama, Chile, Between ice and heat
Wildlife
El Tatio, Chile

El Tatio Geysers – Between the Ice and the Heat of the Atacama

Surrounded by supreme volcanoes, the geothermal field of El Tatio, in the Atacama Desert it appears as a Dantesque mirage of sulfur and steam at an icy 4200 m altitude. Its geysers and fumaroles attract hordes of travelers.
Full Dog Mushing
Scenic Flights
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.