São Miguel, Azores

São Miguel Island: Stunning Azores, By Nature


The Caldeira das Lagoas
The breathtaking view of the Sete Cidades massif, with the various lakes filling the huge volcanic caldera in the northwestern tip of São Miguel.
the monasteries
The rock formations that give the name to the beach and the village of Mosteiros.
Geothermal Lagoon
A typical scene from a Jardim das Delicacies in one of the geothermal lagoons of Caldeira Velha.
Pasture Cows
Some of the many cows that ensure the Azores' prolific milk production.
Ponta da Ferraria
Waves shake the marine pool of Ponta da Ferraria.
Furnas
The village of Furnas, in the green depths of São Miguel.
Day of monasteries
Bathers and surfers enjoy the volcanic beach of Mosteiros.
Friends talk and sunbathe on a slab of lava in the north of São Miguel.
mouth of hell below
Hikers descend a ravine near the Boca do Inferno Viewpoint.
Lagoa do Fogo:
Sunlight highlights the turquoise blue of Lagoa do Fogo, the highest in São Miguel.
Mosteiros
The target houses of Mosteiros, arranged on a vast slab full of vegetation.
the north
View of the north coast of São Miguel from the road that leads to Lagoa do Fogo.
Swimming pool for 3
A moment of marine relaxation in one of the many natural pools of São Miguel.
Surfers in Monasteries
A duo of surfers converses with the twilight taking care of Mosteiros beach.
dry boiler
Patches from Caldeira Seca, below the village of Sete Cidades
Santa Iria Viewpoint
An ultimate lover of the north coast of São Miguel, highlighted at the Santa Iria viewpoint.
7 Cities
The houses of Sete Cidades are housed inside one of the largest boilers in the Azorean archipelago.
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.

It was the first sensation we had of São Miguel, that of, after ascending to the luxuriant stronghold of Caldeira Velha, landing in a world apart.

The springs bubble and smoke. Some sprout so hot that they are entitled to screaming warnings of danger of cooking.

The steam rises. It irrigates a profusion of majestic arboreal ferns that we associated with the sub-tropical and sulphurous forests around Rotorua or the Golden bay, in the North and South Islands of New Zealand.

More and more souls are arriving in a vacationing ecstasy.

They undress in a hurry and compete for the best spots in the best pools and ponds.

When, finally, they settle down in harmony, they enjoy the divine liquid coziness.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

A typical scene from a Jardim das Delicacies in one of the geothermal lagoons of Caldeira Velha.

With much less time than the rest of the bathers, we didn't take long to expel ourselves from that geothermal paradise.

From there, we point to the highest lagoon on São Miguel.

The Lagoa do Fogo (view) of São Miguel

Lagoa do Fogo appears in the caldera of the island's benjamim volcano, which erupted for the last time in 1563. The island had been inhabited for over a century, following the pioneer of the south. Santa Maria.

Despite the baptism and its history, saturated by sunlight, this huge lacustrine body is displayed in a turquoise tone that blends in both with that of the nearby sea and that of the celestial vault above.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

Sunlight highlights the turquoise blue of Lagoa do Fogo, the highest in São Miguel.

"Sorry, can you help me?" a distressed French hiker challenges us. “I didn't expect the trail to be so long. I really need water”.

We give her a bottle that the girl almost leaks without breathing. We asked if you wanted us to take you to the lagoon. “Walking is walking, now I'm fine, I'm going to walk there!”

We make sure it's in good condition. Then, we descend to the wild coast of the north coast. In the vicinity of Ribeira Grande, we bend to the east and make our way back to the top lands.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

View of the north coast of São Miguel from the road that leads to Lagoa do Fogo.

Along the way, herds of black and white cows succeed one another, lucky producers of the increasingly distinct pasture milk of the Azores.

A long avenue flanked by hydrangeas that the summer had turned to pink leads us to the natural terrace of Pico de Ferro.

From the suicidal edge of its heights, between vertigo and wonder, the lagoon and the village that share the same name are revealed to us: Furnas.

The Top of Pico do Ferro and the Depths of Furnas

The lagoon spreads out just below, in a more exuberant green than the surrounding vegetation.

The village, on the other hand, appears remote, lost in a wide and deep crater, also lush, covered with meadows dotted with trees. We cross it on the way to the shores of the lagoon.

Furnas, São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

The village of Furnas, in the green depths of São Miguel.

We completed the Caldeiras walkway among the fog of the resident fumaroles.

It took some time for one of the reputed local stews to come out of the ground. We ended up tasting it – as similar as possible – in a restaurant in the village.

Next door, to the delight of some children and the compassion of two German tourists, swans coming from the water sow panic among a flock of ducks, intent on monopolizing, by pecking at rivals, the corn offered by the owner of a food and drink trailer.

Despite the seclusion of the place, the inhabitants of the Vale das Furnas suffered unexpected attacks from pirates who, for centuries, targeted the Azorean villages.

Around 1522, the seven-kilometer-diameter boiler was used only to collect wood needed to rebuild houses destroyed by earthquakes that affected Vila Franca do Campo.

From the unstable past of the Azores to the stronghold of natural well-being

One hundred years later, several settlers inhabited it, when a volcanic eruption forced them to disband.

Many more returned attracted by the extreme fertility of the soil. However, the adversities continued.

As narrated by Marquez de Jacome Corrêa, in 1679, Berber pirates sacked the Ribeira Quente and entered the caldera, where they stole sheep. Residents asked the governor of Ponta Delgada a cannon. This one ignored them.

Today, more than peace, Furnas is a destination of pure delight. This is proven by the small crowd of bodies floating in the ocher water of the outdoor swimming pool at the Jardim Botânico and the Terra Nostra hotel, one of the ecological retreats of the world really special.

The live outdoor swimming pool of the Jardim Botânico and Terra Nostra hotel.

The US consul in San Miguel began building it around 1775. Thomas Hickling was a wealthy merchant from Boston. chose the place to your house field, known as Yankee Hall.

The property passed to Visconde da Praia and, later, to Marquês da Praia and Monforte.

Over the years, it evolved from Hall into the botanical garden that today marvels outsiders. He kept us most of the time in Furnas.

In such a way, that when we left, we only visited the other interests of the village in a play-and-run mode and returned, once again, to the capital with the night in place.

The awakenings are easily repeated when the day's agenda is limited to continuing the exploration of São Miguel.

In Search of the Seven Cities of São Miguel

On the ground, the island has little to do with what we learn on maps of remote primary education.

São Miguel is much more than a mere tiny patch lost in the immense blue Atlantic.

Like the island itself, its impressive lagoons seem to multiply. They are so impressive that we cannot avoid them.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

Hikers descend a ravine near the Boca do Inferno Viewpoint.

We continue our drive up the island, towards the green and idyllic domain where its Sete Cidades are hidden.

Of the various eccentricities with a prehistoric volcanic past scattered there, the Miradouro da Boca do Inferno seems to have disappeared over time.

Fed up with inconsequential comings and goings in search of him, we stopped and asked three rural workers on the side of the road for directions. Just seconds after his willful explanation, a relational shiver strikes us.

As much as we concentrated, his sentences were unintelligible to us.

Word after word, we only confirm it.

They, on their side, certainly reliving that inconvenience, realized above all that we didn't understand anything they were saying, they surrendered to frustration and shy embarrassment.

The Colonization of São Miguel and the Cerrar Progressivo do Sotaque

The settlement of São Miguel began on September 29, 1444, the day of the archangel of the same name, at that time, patron of Portugal.

Attracted by the exemption from taxes required at the origin, arrived from Alentejo, Algarve, Extremadura, Madeira, also foreigners, especially the French.

In the nearly six centuries that have elapsed, given over to that island 1500 km from the mainland, the Azoreans have unconsciously tightened their accent.

They did so until it became impossible to compare it with any other pronunciation of the rectangle on the edge of Europe planted.

We thank you and say goodbye.

Amazing Lagoons, inside Craters, inside Caldeiras

Finally, there we found the steep trail to the viewpoint over the Canário lagoon, which we conquered in the company of foreign hikers.

When we arrive at the platform where it ends, we unveil one of the most majestic and elegant panoramas of the Azores and, dare we say it, of the Planet.

From there, São Miguel closed to the northeast in an unusual group of lakes sheltered in an old massif, with all its scenery sandwiched between the vast North Atlantic and the grassy slopes of the enormous border.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

The breathtaking view of the Sete Cidades massif, with the various lakes filling the huge volcanic caldera in the northwestern tip of São Miguel.

After an hour, we gained courage. We turn our back on him and return to the 9-1A national road.

We tour it with useful stops, such as Vista do Rei, which allows us to glimpse Sete Cidades, on the banks of the Verde and Azul lagoons, just as King D. Carlos and Queen Dª Amélia did in 1901.

We exchanged the asphalt for the land of Cumeeira, a supreme road that appears to subsist in an early equilibrium, with surreal views both into the huge Seca and Alferes caldera, their lagoons and the houses of Sete Cidades, as well as the oceanic slope and the villages in the its foothills: Riders, in the background, Mosteiros. We advance slowly.

We give way to a tractor and a work van that we come across in the opposite direction of that narrow road that was created as a rural asset, not as a tourist complement.

From the edge of the Grande Caldeira to the heart of the Sete Cidades de São Miguel

When the road ends, we descend from the border to the village of Sete Cidades, which the first settlers named after the old legend “Insula Septem civitatum” interpreted as the Island of the Seven Peoples or Tribes and which foreshadowed the existence of human life in the middle of the Atlantic.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

The houses of Sete Cidades are housed inside one of the largest boilers in the Azorean archipelago.

The legend dates back to the Phoenicians and other Mediterranean peoples. It appeared in 750 AD in a document written by a Christian cleric in Porto Cale (Porto).

It may have inspired Infante Dom Henrique himself to privilege maritime discovery towards the West rather than the continuation of the conquest in North Africa.

From Sete Cidades, we point to the village of Mosteiros. Halfway through the route, we stop at the Ponta da Ferraria natural pool, looking forward to a warm and relaxing ocean bath.

But the Atlantic is not tidal.

Ponta da Ferraria, São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

Waves shake the marine pool of Ponta da Ferraria.

Brief tour of the São Miguel Monasteries

The vacancies come in with more vigor than was supposed. They overly agitate the flow of the pool closed by the configuration of the lava slab.

Even so, we cling to the ropes that cross it as if we were on a table football under a deluge. As other bathers did, instead of just relaxing, we had fun with the vagaries of the swell.

The sun was descending before our eyes. Under the pressure of the fast sunset, we returned to the path, barely dry, salty but with faith in what the Monasteries would reveal to us.

The detour to the village meanders from the main road and down the slope. In one of the meanders, beyond a thriving reedbed, its houses surprise us.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

The target houses of Mosteiros, arranged on a vast slab full of vegetation.

It extends from the opposite end of the large slab to the black sandy cove. This last bay announces the rock formations that inspired the local toponymy.

Dozens of surfers enjoy the vigorous swell under the eyes of some young residents who appreciate their movements.

On the beach, bathers from all over the world are sunning themselves while, at last, the great star dissolves below the horizon.

Mosteiros Beach, São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

A duo of surfers converses with the twilight taking care of Mosteiros beach.

The “monasteries” – large black rock sculptures projecting from the translucent sea – invited the darkness. Twenty minutes later, we were as at the end of the energies and discovery of São Miguel as the day.

 

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Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores

The City of the Big Island of the Azores

During the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, Ponta Delgada became the most populous city and the economic and administrative capital of the Azores. There we find the history and modernism of the archipelago hand in hand.
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.
Horta, Azores

The City that Gives the North to the Atlantic

The world community of sailors is well aware of the relief and happiness of seeing the Pico Mountain, and then Faial and the welcoming of Horta Bay and Peter Café Sport. The rejoicing does not stop there. In and around the city, there are white houses and a green and volcanic outpouring that dazzles those who have come so far.
Capelinhos Volcano, Faial, Azores

On the trail of the Capelinhos Mistery

From one coast of the island to the opposite one, through the mists, patches of pasture and forests typical of the Azores, we discover Faial and the Mystery of its most unpredictable volcano.
Graciosa, Azores

Her Grace the Graciosa

Finally, we will disembark in Graciosa, our ninth island in the Azores. Even if less dramatic and verdant than its neighbors, Graciosa preserves an Atlantic charm that is its own. Those who have the privilege of living it, take from this island of the central group an esteem that remains forever.
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.
Pico Island, Azores

The Island East of the Pico Mountain

As a rule, whoever arrives at Pico disembarks on its western side, with the volcano (2351m) blocking the view on the opposite side. Behind Pico Mountain, there is a whole long and dazzling “east” of the island that takes time to unravel.
Angra do Heroismo, Terceira , Azores

Heroina do Mar, from Noble People, Brave and Immortal City

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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.
Pico Island, Azores

Pico Island: the Azores Volcano with the Atlantic at its Feet

By a mere volcanic whim, the youngest Azorean patch projects itself into the rock and lava apogee of Portuguese territory. The island of Pico is home to its highest and sharpest mountain. But not only. It is a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of the Azoreans who tamed this stunning island and surrounding ocean.
Santa Maria, Azores

Santa Maria: the Azores Mother Island

It was the first in the archipelago to emerge from the bottom of the sea, the first to be discovered, the first and only to receive Cristovão Colombo and a Concorde. These are some of the attributes that make Santa Maria special. When we visit it, we find many more.
Campos do GerêsTerras de Bouro, Portugal

Through the Campos do Gerês and the Terras de Bouro

We continue on a long, zigzag tour through the domains of Peneda-Gerês and Bouro, inside and outside our only National Park. In this one of the most worshiped areas in the north of Portugal.
Montalegre, Portugal

Through Alto do Barroso, Top of Trás-os-Montes

we moved from Terras de Bouro for those of Barroso. Based in Montalegre, we wander around the discovery of Paredes do Rio, Tourém, Pitões das Júnias and its monastery, stunning villages on the border of Portugal. If it is true that Barroso has had more inhabitants, visitors should not miss it.
Porto Santo, Portugal

Praised Be the Island of Porto Santo

Discovered during a stormy sea tour, Porto Santo remains a providential shelter. Countless planes that the weather diverts from neighboring Madeira guarantee their landing there. As thousands of vacationers do every year, they surrender to the softness and immensity of the golden beach and the exuberance of the volcanic sceneries.
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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.
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
Beach
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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.
The Zambezi River, PN Mana Pools
safari
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.
Faithful light candles, Milarepa Grotto temple, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
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A Walk between Acclimatization and Pilgrimage

In full Annapurna Circuit, we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). we still need acclimatize to the higher stretches that followed, we inaugurated an equally spiritual journey to a Nepalese cave of Milarepa (4000m), the refuge of a siddha (sage) and Buddhist saint.
Treasures, Las Vegas, Nevada, City of Sin and Forgiveness
Architecture & Design
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Where sin is always forgiven

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Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Aventura
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

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Christmas scene, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
Ceremonies and Festivities
Shillong, India

A Christmas Selfiestan at an India Christian Stronghold

December arrives. With a largely Christian population, the state of Meghalaya synchronizes its Nativity with that of the West and clashes with the overcrowded Hindu and Muslim subcontinent. Shillong, the capital, shines with faith, happiness, jingle bells and bright lighting. To dazzle Indian holidaymakers from other parts and creeds.
Resident of Dali, Yunnan, China
Cities
Dali, China

The Surrealist China of Dali

Embedded in a magical lakeside setting, the ancient capital of the Bai people has remained, until some time ago, a refuge for the backpacker community of travelers. The social and economic changes of China they fomented the invasion of Chinese to discover the southwest corner of the nation.
Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo, Japan
Lunch time
Tokyo, Japan

The Fish Market That Lost its Freshness

In a year, each Japanese eats more than their weight in fish and shellfish. Since 1935, a considerable part was processed and sold in the largest fish market in the world. Tsukiji was terminated in October 2018, and replaced by Toyosu's.
shadow of success
Culture
Champoton, Mexico

Rodeo Under Sombreros

Champoton, in Campeche, hosts a fair honored by the Virgén de La Concepción. O rodeo Mexican under local sombreros reveals the elegance and skill of the region's cowboys.
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.
DMZ, South Korea, Line of no return
Traveling
DMZ, Dora - South Korea

The Line of No Return

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Drums and Tattoos
Ethnic
Tahiti, French Polynesia

Tahiti Beyond the Cliché

Neighbors Bora Bora and Maupiti have superior scenery but Tahiti has long been known as paradise and there is more life on the largest and most populous island of French Polynesia, its ancient cultural heart.
portfolio, Got2Globe, Travel photography, images, best photographs, travel photos, world, Earth
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Portfolio Got2globe

The Best in the World – Got2Globe Portfolio

Traditional houses, Bergen, Norway.
History
Bergen, Norway

The Great Hanseatic Port of Norway

Already populated in the early 1830th century, Bergen became the capital, monopolized northern Norwegian commerce and, until XNUMX, remained one of the largest cities in Scandinavia. Today, Oslo leads the nation. Bergen continues to stand out for its architectural, urban and historical exuberance.
Travel Sao Tome, Ecuador, Sao Tome and Principe, Pico Cão Grande
Islands
São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe

Journey to where São Tomé points the Equator

We go along the road that connects the homonymous capital to the sharp end of the island. When we arrived in Roça Porto Alegre, with the islet of Rolas and Ecuador in front of us, we had lost ourselves time and time again in the historical and tropical drama of São Tomé.
Northern Lights, Laponia, Rovaniemi, Finland, Fire Fox
Winter White
Lapland, Finland

In Search of the Fire Fox

Unique to the heights of the Earth are the northern or southern auroras, light phenomena generated by solar explosions. You Sami natives from Lapland they believed it to be a fiery fox that spread sparkles in the sky. Whatever they are, not even the nearly 30 degrees below zero that were felt in the far north of Finland could deter us from admiring them.
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.
Intha rowers on a channel of Lake Inlé
Nature
Inle Lake, Myanmar

The Dazzling Lakustrine Burma

With an area of ​​116km2, Inle Lake is the second largest lake in Myanmar. It's much more than that. The ethnic diversity of its population, the profusion of Buddhist temples and the exoticism of local life make it an unmissable stronghold of Southeast Asia.
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.
Lenticular cloud, Mount Cook, New Zealand.
Natural Parks
Mount cook, New Zealand

The Cloud Piercer Mountain

Aoraki/Mount Cook may fall far short of the world's roof but it is New Zealand's highest and most imposing mountain.
Guest, Michaelmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
UNESCO World Heritage
Michaelmas Cay, Australia

Miles from Christmas (Part XNUMX)

In Australia, we live the most uncharacteristic of the 24th of December. We set sail for the Coral Sea and disembark on an idyllic islet that we share with orange-billed terns and other birds.
Characters
Look-alikes, Actors and Extras

Make-believe stars

They are the protagonists of events or are street entrepreneurs. They embody unavoidable characters, represent social classes or epochs. Even miles from Hollywood, without them, the world would be more dull.
Cahuita, Costa Rica, Caribbean, beach
Beaches
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.
Bathers in the middle of the End of the World-Cenote de Cuzamá, Mérida, Mexico
Religion
Yucatan, Mexico

The End of the End of the World

The announced day passed but the End of the World insisted on not arriving. In Central America, today's Mayans watched and put up with incredulity all the hysteria surrounding their calendar.
Flam Railway composition below a waterfall, Norway.
On Rails
Nesbyen to Flam, Norway

Flam Railway: Sublime Norway from the First to the Last Station

By road and aboard the Flam Railway, on one of the steepest railway routes in the world, we reach Flam and the entrance to the Sognefjord, the largest, deepest and most revered of the Scandinavian fjords. From the starting point to the last station, this monumental Norway that we have unveiled is confirmed.
Replacement of light bulbs, Itaipu watt hydroelectric plant, Brazil, Paraguay
Society
Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Power Plant, Brazil

Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Power Plant: Watt Fever

In 1974, thousands of Brazilians and Paraguayans flocked to the construction zone of the then largest dam in the world. 30 years after completion, Itaipu generates 90% of Paraguay's energy and 20% of Brazil's.
Coin return
Daily life
Dawki, India

Dawki, Dawki, Bangladesh on sight

We descended from the high and mountainous lands of Meghalaya to the flats to the south and below. There, the translucent and green stream of the Dawki forms the border between India and Bangladesh. In a damp heat that we haven't felt for a long time, the river also attracts hundreds of Indians and Bangladeshis in a picturesque escape.
Asian buffalo herd, Maguri Beel, Assam, India
Wildlife
Maguri Bill, India

A Wetland in the Far East of India

The Maguri Bill occupies an amphibious area in the Assamese vicinity of the river Brahmaputra. It is praised as an incredible habitat especially for birds. When we navigate it in gondola mode, we are faced with much (but much) more life than just the asada.
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.