Santa Maria, Azores

Santa Maria: the Azores Mother Island


Chimneys of Controversy
Typical houses and chimneys of Santa Maria, it is said that they are inspired by the steamboat chimneys used before by the Azorean emigrants.
Gonçalo Velho, the Lighthouse
The Gonçalo Velho lighthouse warns vessels in the extreme southeast of Santa Maria
Malbusca Nut
Porca walks along a path at the entrance to the village of Malbusca.
a convenient trio
Trio of traditional Santa Maria houses, white, with brown roof.
Letreito and Cactus
Signpost informs the direction of the Miradouro da Vigia da Baleia.
Barreiro da Faneca
Barreiro da Faneca forms one of the most unexpected scenarios on the island of Santa Maria.
Luis brothers
Artur and Vitor Luís, brothers living in the vicinity of Santa Bárbara, taking a break from their rural activities.
corn and corn
Traditional house with a small granary and a satellite TV disc.
A village in the shape of a bay
The houses of São Lourenço, nestled in a green cove in Santa Maria.
Vertical sidewalk
The Calçada dos Gigantes, an impressive geological testimony near the end of the Ribeira de Maloés
small corrals
The houses of São Lourenço, nestled in a green cove in Santa Maria.
an infernal curve
Mota reaches the top of a curve in the form of a ramp next to the Gonçalo Velho lighthouse.
Christopher Columbus
Statue in honor of Cristovão Colombo and his passage through the island of Santa Maria.
Purification of the Holy Spirit
The Church of Our Lady of Purification, in Santo Espírito.
Santa Barbara in the Far
The houses of Santa Bárbara, one of the most traditional villages on the island of Santa Maria.
Quarry Well
Visitor to Poço da Pedreira, a corner formed by the stonework of Santa Maria.
towards the lighthouse
Long staircase that leads to Gonçalo Velho lighthouse.
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.

The plane flies to the south coast of Santa Maria, Azores, to align with the beginning of the runway, which occupies a good portion of the eastern end of the island. We share the oval window and follow the maneuver and the opening views.

The predominant earthy brown surprises us. In the eight neighbors of the archipelago, the monopolistic tone had proven itself to green with deviations of yellowish.

Soft Landing in the Azorean Algarve

Everything indicated that the last southern and eastern stronghold of the Azores sheltered the exception. Santa Maria is the Azorean Algarve, some natives assure us. “We have the best climate and the best beaches but also the Azores more conventional. Just wait until you go to Pico Alto, which you will see. We don't take long to do it.

Before that, already installed on the outskirts of Vila do Porto, we reversed the usual sense of things and went down to Anjos. We found the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Nª Senhora with closed doors.

For a short time. Seeing us hanging around the door, a lady at the window of a one-story house next door began to investigate whether the Holy Trinity would grant us a visit to what is believed to have been the first church built by Infante Dom Henrique in the Azores, in 1439, in its original wood and hay version, a few years later replaced by the current one.

The Troubled Visit of Christopher Columbus

Apparently the guardian approved of it, or at least it took only a few minutes before she appeared to us with the key in her hand and a single, simple prayer: "Then, please come back to close it and return it to me." A Cristovão Colombo in a magnified bronze statue contemplates the horizon of the Atlantic but seems to accompany our movements from the sidelines. As soon as we leave the simple but peculiar interior of the temple, we are the ones to relive it and the story of its ephemeral passage through the island.

Cristovão Colombo, Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores

Statue in honor of Cristovão Colombo and his passage through the island of Santa Maria.

It didn't take long after the beginning of settlement until the island was attacked by pirates and Berber corsairs. Columbus himself was a victim of these attacks, albeit by default. In early 1493, he was returning from his journey to discover America. The caravel Santa Maria had already sunk in the Caribbean.

In the middle of the Atlantic, Niña and Pinta got lost. Colombo led Niña to the island of Santa Maria. When he arrived, he began to receive food from three of the less than one hundred inhabitants of that time. The following day, he sent a boat with ten men destined for the Hermitage of the Angels in search of a priest who would say a mass of thanks for the good fortune of the trip.

The embassy started to go wrong. Afraid that they were pirates, the residents, led by Lieutenant Captain João de Castanheira, imprisoned five of these men. The rest fled to the ship. Three days later, Castanheira checked Colombo's credentials and welcomed him.

The Almost Tragic Return of Santa Maria to Europe. Via Lisbon

The navigator only left Santa Maria six days after having docked, with the ship repaired and supplied. He headed for Lisbon where he arrived under a terrible storm. The population that accompanied the ship hit by the huge waves rejoiced with their luck.

Colombo spent nine days in Lisbon and surroundings. In this period that remains shrouded in controversy and in which he conferred with D. João II, he and the crew will have been received like heroes and rewarded with large gifts.

One of the most persistent historical theories argues that, after discussing the diplomatic strategy to follow, the Portuguese king made it clear that Spain should concentrate on the new Indies discovered by Columbus and not interfere with Africa and the path to India via Cape of Good Hope.

Barreiro da Faneca: a strange clayey Santa Maria

We reversed path. We soon hit the dirt road to Barreiro da Faneca. At the entrance to this vast, arid, clayey and undulating open plains with torrents of rainwater, surrounded by verdant arboreal vegetation, we share the feeling of having landed on Mars.

Barreiro Faneca, Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores

Barreiro da Faneca forms one of the most unexpected scenarios on the island of Santa Maria.

From there, we went to Pico Alto (587 m), the highest point of that Terran patch.

Once the last steps have been passed, we are already over this forested zenith and we can see the island all around, the same drier section to the south that we had seen from the plane. And the more southern, the more weedy and wet the landscape.

The Air Tragedy of Pico Alto

On February 8, 1989, pilots aboard the Boeing 707-301 of the Independent Air coming from Bergamo and destined for Punta Cana, they saw little or nothing around before the occurrence of what became the air crash in Portuguese territory with the most victims.

A double failure in the communication between the command tower and the pilots and, above all, the poor preparation and performance of the pilots made the plane's approaching altitude fail and the plane crashed into Pico Alto.

This is despite the fact that the runway at Santa Maria Airport – built by the North Americans in World War II to reinforce their war effort – received, at that time, frequent Concordes on stopovers on their transatlantic trips, as did the equally supersonic Antonov 2 .

Over the decades, the autonomy of new aircraft increased. Santa Maria Airport has lost much of its old traffic.

Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores

The houses of Santa Bárbara, one of the most traditional villages on the island of Santa Maria.

Towards Santa Bárbara, with no sign of thunder

From the measured heights of Pico Alto, we descend, without a hitch, towards Santa Bárbara. In this town, the architectural beauty surprises us. The houses are white with blue corners and frames.

Large cylindrical chimneys project from them, which the natives called “steam chimneys” while repudiating the authors of all the conclusions brought by pioneer settlers from the Algarve.

Its true inspiration may have been the steamboats on which Azorean emigrants departed for the Americas and returned from them. Today, jet engine travel is propelled, but it is still rare for Mariens without, at least, relatives in Canada or in the USA.

Chimneys, Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores

Typical houses and chimneys of Santa Maria, it is said that they are inspired by the steamboat chimneys used before by the Azorean emigrants.

We found two of them working on their property at the entrance to Santa Barbara. Artur and Vítor are brothers, surnamed Luís. A Chinese tractor calls them to tasks.

We do everything to lead them astray for a few moments of conversation. Shy at first, they try to send us away. We insist with the utmost courtesy and humor possible.

Artur and Vitor Luís, Brothers from the Field with Some Time for Conversation

Finally, they silence the tractor, postpone the tasks and dedicate themselves only to these compatriots from the continent. Unlike what happened with other farmers with whom we had contacted in São Miguel (Azores), his accent was noticeable to us. As we all let go, socializing is as fun as it is stimulating.

Vítor Luís is the talker. Arthur remains in reserve. Complete, with additions, the speech of the brother. As they tell us, their mother has about twenty brothers and they don't even know half of it. “Some live in America, others in Canada. Yeah, right. That's why we work with caps from these teams over there!” (on American football teams from San Francisco and Seattle).

Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores

Artur and Vitor Luís, brothers living in the vicinity of Santa Bárbara, taking a break from their rural activities.

“Vítor still confesses to us, without any embarrassment: “my wife has a twin sister but it's rare for me to live with her family.” When we dare to understand why, it takes refuge in the joke. “It's better anyway. See if I'm mistaken later." Twenty minutes later, we leave them to their business.

We point to the center of Santa Bárbara that we find arranged around the homonymous church. We entered a café-grocery store, rested and regained strength. We then proceeded towards the east coast of Santa Maria.

From the heights of São Lourenço to Santo Espírito

When we reach the Espigão viewpoint, at the top of the slope that hides São Lourenço, sunlight intermittently falls on the corrals, on the vineyards they protect, on the houses sunk in the half crater and at the mercy of the Atlantic onwards. Clouds filter this light.

Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores

The houses of São Lourenço, nestled in a green cove in Santa Maria.

They make the town and its long beach even more mystical than the extreme location already provided.

We return along the same zigzag road above and look for Poço da Pedreira, a large pink wall made of a stone from Marian masonry that has, at its base, a lake carpeted with lush grass.

Poço da Pedreira, Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores

Visitor to Poço da Pedreira, a corner formed by the stonework of Santa Maria.

Shortly after we hit it, it started to rain hard, so we bet on the meteorological clemency of Santo Espírito, the civil parish because it passed the island's road axis. In the early days of colonization, its dispersed communities of settlers gathered heather from the high cliffs of the Malbusca region along the sea.

They did it in baskets that descended to the height of the cliff where they could see the fungi. And they would hoist up again when they finished filling the baskets. The heather thus gathered was exported to Flanders where local artisans used it for coloring fabrics and others.

This parish received its name because it was there that mass was said, for the first time after the colonization of the island, before moving to Santana.

Towards the eastern ends of the Azores

Nowadays, the religious core of the current Santo Espírito resides in the church of Nossa Senhora da Purificação, built in the XNUMXth century, baroque in basalt stone semi-painted in white to form a mosaic and with its frontispiece added in the century XVIII, cut into rounded shapes against the sky. It's time for work and not even at the bar-band Recreio Espiritense is the village lively.

Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores

The Church of Our Lady of Purification, in Santo Espírito.

In any case, there are still a few kilometers to the last Azorean corner to the east, the closest to the Portuguese mainland which is 1436 km away.

From Santo Espírito to the east, the road descends without parsimony and offers magnificent views over the coastal scenery below, such as the Vigia da Baleia viewpoint from where the old sentries patrolled the Atlantic in search of cetaceans.

We don't see any sign of whales, but the panorama of the Gonçalo Velho Lighthouse halfway up the slopes and the steps beyond that lead to a bunch of cactuses keep us entertained for a long time.

Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores

Long staircase that leads to Gonçalo Velho lighthouse.

In Search of the Giant's Causeway Evasion

We left the island's main road for good, with the aim of returning to Vila do Porto along the south coast of Santa Maria. We bet on finding the Ribeira dos Maloás. In the village of Malbusca, we look for someone to look for the way.

Instead of people, we come across a waddling sow who descends a steep path and stops to sniff at our car, curious about the hot obstacle that had stopped her evasion.

Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores

Porca walks along a path at the entrance to the village of Malbusca.

After half an hour, we find the geological monument there. It lay at the end of a path flanked by cactuses, on the edge of an abyss that overlooked a rough but crystalline Atlantic, with seductive tones.

With the sea imminent, at a certain point, the Ribeira de Maloás falls into a waterfall measuring about 20 meters. There, hides the impressive Calçada dos Gigantes de Santa Maria, a prehistoric geological sculpture that groups together basalt columns.

Calçada dos Gigantes, Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores

The Calçada dos Gigantes, an impressive geological testimony near the end of the Ribeira de Maloés

Knowing what we know today, we would only regret ignoring such a place. In the last hours of light, we complete the journey to Vila do Porto. With a brief strategic stopover in Praia Formosa that precedes it.

 

THIS REPORT WAS DONE WITH THE SUPPORT OF:

AZORESAIRLINES.PT

SATA.PT

Sistelo, Peneda-Gerês, Portugal

From the "Little Portuguese Tibet" to the Corn Presidia

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

From Castro de Laboreiro to Raia da Serra Peneda - Gerês

We arrived at (i) the eminence of Galicia, at an altitude of 1000m and even more. Castro Laboreiro and the surrounding villages stand out against the granite monumentality of the mountains and the Planalto da Peneda and Laboreiro. As do its resilient people who, sometimes handed over to Brandas and sometimes to Inverneiras, still call these stunning places home.
Terceira Island, Azores

Terceira Island: Journey through a Unique Archipelago of the Azores

It was called the Island of Jesus Christ and has radiated, for a long time, the cult of the Holy Spirit. It houses Angra do Heroísmo, the oldest and most splendid city in the archipelago. These are just two examples. The attributes that make Terceira island unique are endless.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Porto Santo, Portugal

Praised Be the Island of Porto Santo

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

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

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

Discovering the Madeira Finisterre

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

Her Grace the Graciosa

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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.
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.
Funchal, Madeira

Portal to a Nearly Tropical Portugal

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Ponta de Sao Lourenco, Madeira, Portugal

The Eastern, Somehow Extraterrestrial Madeira Tip

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.
Vale das Furnas, São Miguel (Azores)

The Azorean Heat of Vale das Furnas

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Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, Wildlife, lions
Safari
NP Gorongosa, Mozambique

The Wild Heart of Mozambique shows Signs of Life

Gorongosa was home to one of the most exuberant ecosystems in Africa, but from 1980 to 1992 it succumbed to the Civil War waged between FRELIMO and RENAMO. Greg Carr, Voice Mail's millionaire inventor received a message from the Mozambican ambassador to the UN challenging him to support Mozambique. For the good of the country and humanity, Carr pledged to resurrect the stunning national park that the Portuguese colonial government had created there.
Young people walk the main street in Chame, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 1th - Pokhara a ChameNepal

Finally, on the way

After several days of preparation in Pokhara, we left towards the Himalayas. The walking route only starts in Chame, at 2670 meters of altitude, with the snowy peaks of the Annapurna mountain range already in sight. Until then, we complete a painful but necessary road preamble to its subtropical base.
coast, fjord, Seydisfjordur, Iceland
Architecture & Design
Seydisfjordur, Iceland

From the Art of Fishing to the Fishing of Art

When shipowners from Reykjavik bought the Seydisfjordur fishing fleet, the village had to adapt. Today, it captures Dieter Roth's art disciples and other bohemian and creative souls.
Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Adventure
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.
The Crucifixion in Helsinki
Ceremonies and Festivities
Helsinki, Finland

A Frigid-Scholarly Via Crucis

When Holy Week arrives, Helsinki shows its belief. Despite the freezing cold, little dressed actors star in a sophisticated re-enactment of Via Crucis through streets full of spectators.
Rostov Veliky Kremlin, Russia
Cities
Rostov Veliky, Russia

Under the Domes of the Russian Soul

It is one of the oldest and most important medieval cities, founded during the still pagan origins of the nation of the tsars. At the end of the XNUMXth century, incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Moscow, it became an imposing center of orthodox religiosity. Today, only the splendor of kremlin Muscovite trumps the citadel of tranquil and picturesque Rostov Veliky.
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.
Easter Seurassari, Helsinki, Finland, Marita Nordman
Culture
Helsinki, Finland

The Pagan Passover of Seurasaari

In Helsinki, Holy Saturday is also celebrated in a Gentile way. Hundreds of families gather on an offshore island, around lit fires to chase away evil spirits, witches and trolls
Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

Although played since 1841, Australian Football has only conquered part of the big island. Internationalization has never gone beyond paper, held back by competition from rugby and classical football.
Cable car connecting Puerto Plata to the top of PN Isabel de Torres
Traveling
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

The Dominican Home Silver

Puerto Plata resulted from the abandonment of La Isabela, the second attempt at a Hispanic colony in the Americas. Almost half a millennium after Columbus's landing, it inaugurated the nation's inexorable tourist phenomenon. In a lightning passage through the province, we see how the sea, the mountains, the people and the Caribbean sun keep it shining.
Barrancas del Cobre, Chihuahua, Rarámuri woman
Ethnic
Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon), Chihuahua, Mexico

The Deep Mexico of the Barrancas del Cobre

Without warning, the Chihuahua highlands give way to endless ravines. Sixty million geological years have furrowed them and made them inhospitable. The Rarámuri indigenous people continue to call them home.
sunlight photography, sun, lights
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 2)

One Sun, So Many Lights

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USS Arizona, Pearl Harbour, Hawaii
History
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.
Fort Galle, Sri Lanka, Ceylon Legendary Taprobana
Islands
Galle, Sri Lanka

Galle Fort: A Portuguese and then Dutch (His) story

Camões immortalized Ceylon as an indelible landmark of the Discoveries, where Galle was one of the first fortresses that the Portuguese controlled and yielded. Five centuries passed and Ceylon gave way to Sri Lanka. Galle resists and continues to seduce explorers from the four corners of the Earth.
St. Trinity Church, Kazbegi, Georgia, Caucasus
Winter White
Kazbegi, Georgia

God in the Caucasus Heights

In the 4000th century, Orthodox religious took their inspiration from a hermitage that a monk had erected at an altitude of 5047 m and perched a church between the summit of Mount Kazbek (XNUMXm) and the village at the foot. More and more visitors flock to these mystical stops on the edge of Russia. Like them, to get there, we submit to the whims of the reckless Georgia Military Road.
On the Crime and Punishment trail, St. Petersburg, Russia, Vladimirskaya
Literature
Saint Petersburg, Russia

On the Trail of "Crime and Punishment"

In St. Petersburg, we cannot resist investigating the inspiration for the base characters in Fyodor Dostoevsky's most famous novel: his own pities and the miseries of certain fellow citizens.
Porto Santo, view to the south of Pico Branco
Nature
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.
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.
On hold, Mauna Kea volcano in space, Big Island, Hawaii
Natural Parks
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.
Serengeti, Great Savannah Migration, Tanzania, wildebeest on river
UNESCO World Heritage
Serengeti NP, Tanzania

The Great Migration of the Endless Savanna

In these prairies that the Masai people say syringet (run forever), millions of wildebeests and other herbivores chase the rains. For predators, their arrival and that of the monsoon are the same salvation.
Ooty, Tamil Nadu, Bollywood Scenery, Heartthrob's Eye
Characters
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.
Santa Marta, Tayrona, Simón Bolivar, Ecohabs of Tayrona National Park
Beaches
Santa Marta and PN Tayrona, Colombia

The Paradise from which Simon Bolivar departed

At the gates of PN Tayrona, Santa Marta is the oldest continuously inhabited Hispanic city in Colombia. In it, Simón Bolívar began to become the only figure on the continent almost as revered as Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.
Candia, Tooth of Buddha, Ceylon, lake
Religion
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.
On Rails
On Rails

Train Travel: The World Best on Rails

No way to travel is as repetitive and enriching as going on rails. Climb aboard these disparate carriages and trains and enjoy the best scenery in the world on Rails.
Vegetables, Little India, Sari Singapore, Singapore
Society
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.
Visitors at Talisay Ruins, Negros Island, Philippines
Daily life
Talisay City, Philippines

Monument to a Luso-Philippine Love

At the end of the 11th century, Mariano Lacson, a Filipino farmer, and Maria Braga, a Portuguese woman from Macau, fell in love and got married. During the pregnancy of what would be her 2th child, Maria succumbed to a fall. Destroyed, Mariano built a mansion in his honor. In the midst of World War II, the mansion was set on fire, but the elegant ruins that endured perpetuate their tragic relationship.
Gandoca Manzanillo Refuge, Bahia
Wildlife
Gandoca-Manzanillo (Wildlife Refuge), Costa Rica

The Caribbean Hideaway of Gandoca-Manzanillo

At the bottom of its southeastern coast, on the outskirts of Panama, the “Tica” nation protects a patch of jungle, swamps and the Caribbean Sea. As well as a providential wildlife refuge, Gandoca-Manzanillo is a stunning tropical Eden.
Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.