Flores Island, Azores

The Atlantic ends of the Azores and Portugal


Alagoin-green
Waterfalls flow down the walls and renew the water of Alagoinha.
Church of Lomba
Church of Our Lady Rosário da Lomba.
long pond
The Long Lake of Flores
View Panorama
An old traffic sign indicates another of the numerous viewpoints on the island of Flores.
Work is work
Rui Filipe Custódio, a young Florian who lives in Fajãzinha, returns to a milheiras to refill the basket with cobs.
the stream
Old mill buildings on the edge of a rocky stream.
Another Sunset
The sun sets below a layer of heavy clouds that darkens Fajãzinha.
A Little Florida Coast
Aerial view of the south coast of Flores island, near the capital Santa Cruz das Flores.
Trio of cattle
Cows on a tufted elevation near Morro Alto, the highest point in Flores
Nossa Senhora da Conceição Church
Facade of the largest church in Santa Cruz das Flores, the church of Nª Srª da Conceição.
The clue
The runway at Flores airport, which separates the capital Santa Cruz from the rest of the island.
Alagoinha waterfalls
Waterfalls flow down the walls and renew the water of Alagoinha.
Fajãzinha-Center
The center of the village of Fajãzinha, one of the oldest and most notorious on the west coast of Flores.
The Darkest of Lagoons
The Dark (and deep) Lagoa das Flores, neighboring Lagoa Comprida.
Generations of Corn
António de Freitas, Maria de Fátima and Rui Filipe harvest corn cobs.
Valley of Life
Panoramic view of the valley of the west coast of Flores where Fajãzinha was installed
Down hill
Cows descend a roadside slope on the island of Flores.
Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição
One of the several churches in Santa Cruz das Flores, one of the most imposing in the Azores.
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.

The relationship between Ilha das Flores airport and Santa Cruz, its capital, is close.

The city took advantage of a detached slab of the eastern coast. Get as tidy as you can, between the sea and the asphalt track that separates it from the island's inaugural slope.

A few miles to the north, Vila do Corvo is always on the lookout. It lives a mutual and supportive watch that attenuates the loneliness and smallness imposed by the endless Atlantic.

Flores Island and the Corvo in cash

The plane reveals them to both of them, one from each stream of windows. The houses of Santa Cruz, more and more defined as the landing approaches. Corvo's, nestled at the base of the mountain island, is just a glimpse.

We landed against a punishing wind. We disembark. In no time, we were ready to verify the native's promise at the rent-a-car counter: “Yes, but even if this is the last one, it will be the island you will like the most.” assure us of the beauty of your land.

We hurried to settle in and explore, determined to leave the city that had welcomed us for last.

We go around the airport and continue up the slope, pointing towards Ribeira dos Barqueiros.

A detour from the road takes us to the Miradouro do Monte das Cruzes and, this, to the elevated and opposite perspective of the airport runway and the capital, now on the other side, overlooking the ocean.

Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

The runway at Flores airport, which separates the capital Santa Cruz from the rest of the island.

We changed from the main coastal road to the ER2-2 which crosses the island in the middle. We advance through the highest stronghold of Ilha das Flores, a domain of almost only green, multiplied between ridges and undulating meadows and old craters sunk by lakes.

The Caldeiras, the Lagoons of a Verdant and Exuberant Island

These craters and lagoons are so abundant that the second viewpoint where we stopped was not only named in their honor but also reveals them in pairs: the Caldeira Negra (or Funda) and the Caldeira Comprida, side by side, neighbors, but different also in the water tone.

Lagoa Escura, Flores Island, the Azores and Portugal

The Dark (and deep) Lagoa das Flores, neighboring Lagoa Comprida.

The first is pitch black. The other is green, as if dyed by the surrounding vegetation.

To the north of these, Caldeira Branca and Lagoa Seca form a rival pair that enriches the Morro Alto Natural Forest Reserve, at the foot of the homonymous elevation and, with its 914 meters of altitude, the highest point on the island.

We take advantage of the proximity. We go down an unpaved road and conquer it in bumps and spots, flanked by incredible natural yellow and green walls of moss and lichens or by surreal extensions of balls stuffed with vegetation.

Small herds of hazel cows and steers find the incursion strange and climb to the top of the round tufts from where they watch us suspiciously.

Cattle Morro Alto, Ilha das Flores, Confins of the Azores and Portugal

Cows on a tufted elevation near Morro Alto, the highest point in Flores

The summit of Morro Alto is not long in coming.

It reveals to us the various lagoons that we had passed and a shallow sea of ​​almost shallow vegetation that extended to the surrounding ocean.

We descended from the heights aimed at the west coast. Shortly after returning to the tarmac, we crossed Ribeira Grande.

We realized later, on the map, that it originates in the highlands, splits, flows in opposite directions and crosses the island from side to side.

In any Azores island, viewpoints abound. On Flores Island, it’s the same.

It is with great panoramic benefit that we continue to dwell on them.

Panorama, Flores Island, the Azores and Portugal

An old traffic sign indicates another of the numerous viewpoints on the island of Flores.

Then, Craveiro Lopes, perched on the cliffs facing west. From there, we glimpse the houses of Fajazinha dotting the deep valley dotted with small walled farms that housed the village.

The Settlers arrived from the Continent to the Isle of Flowers. Shortly thereafter, the Flamengos.

Fajazinha appears on the opposite coast to that where, in 1480, the settlement of the island began.

A Flemish man was responsible. Willem van der Haegen negotiated with Dª Maria Vilhena the original grantee captain rights of Diogo de Teive, which, in the meantime, passed from the Teives to Fernão Teles de Meneses.

This one – these are things of fate – died in 1477, victim of a stone, during a fight in a street in Alcácer do Sal.

The Flemish settlement lasted ten years. Overcome by isolation, Der Haegen moved to São Jorge. The settlement was only resumed in 1504, on the initiative of King Manuel I. Through the new captain-donator João da Fonseca, who promoted the arrival of settlers from Terceira and Madeira.

Six years later, several others settled, coming from different regions in the north of Portugal.

They settled in different areas of the island's coast, as determined by the allotment allocated to them and were thus tasked with cultivating wheat, barley, corn, vegetables, heather and pastry.

From Colonization to Intense Emigration

Lajes das Flores and Santa Cruz das Flores thus received their Charter Letters.

Even though it was divided into pockets that were semi-isolated from each other, the island's population finally caught on, also due to the stimulation of trade with merchants coming from Faial, Pico and Terceira .

We descend to the heart of Fajazinha, one of the villages that prospered until the middle of the 900th century. By that time, it almost reached 2011 inhabitants, but in 76 it had only XNUMX.

Fajãzinha, Ilha das Flores, Confins of the Azores and Portugal

Panoramic view of the valley of the west coast of Flores where Fajãzinha was installed

In the meantime, a good part of the population – especially the younger men – boarded whaling ships heading for the lands of North America: Boston, New Bedford, Provincetown, Natucket.

From the island of Flores, between 1864 and 1920, almost 10.000 people left. Despite the sermons of priests who tried to foist a thousand and one hardships of life on the final destination.

And of the authorities' concern to contain this population bloodletting with regular maritime patrols of gunboats.

Fajãzinha-centre, Ilha das Flores, Confins of the Azores and Portugal

The center of the village of Fajãzinha, one of the oldest and most notorious on the west coast of Flores.

There were both Florians and Azoreans from other places who moved to Flores Island in search of their opportunity.

The jingle of bald eagles (“20 dollar gold coins) displayed by returnees and the possibility of avoiding military service in African colonies that meant nothing to them always proved the most convincing arguments.

A Family Dedicated to the Rural Affairs of Fajãzinha

We look for where to park when we see a basket loaded with ears of corn moving below. Hold it with one hand.

We got into a conversation with the boy carrying it.

Even knowing that, in his view, the scene was just one of many agricultural endeavors, we praise him for its rural elegance.

Rui Custódio, Flores Island, Confins of the Azores and Portugal

Rui Filipe Custódio, a young Florian who lives in Fajãzinha, returns to a milheiras to refill the basket with cobs.

The young man reacts with much more sensitivity and acceptance than we expected. “Do you think? So get up there. They will see it differently. My family is there harvesting the rest.” We followed the suggestion.

We come across an already defoliated cornfield. And with António de Freitas, Maria de Fátima and Rui Filipe, three generations of smiling, easy-going Florenses who feel good about themselves.

They share the same agricultural task and happily interrupt it to put up with us.

We talked about the beauty of Fajazinha and the peculiarities of its agriculture. Until it starts to cost us to delay their lives more and we say goodbye.

Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

António de Freitas, Maria de Fátima and Rui Filipe harvest corn cobs.

The Flow for a long time Caprichoso in Ribeira Grande

The phenomenal Ribeira Grande that we had crossed before crosses Fajazinha. For the story goes that, fed by the rains that so often soak the island, this same stream often passes from Grande to torrential, from blessing to threat and does serious damage.

José António Camões, a priest who preached Christianity in the parish, narrated his 1794 whim with realism: “There was such a flood and flood that not only brought down the said bridge, but not even the slightest trace was left of it, without a trace, the dicta stream leaving its natural bed which left a wide sand at a greater distance of 300 fathoms at the end of the sea. with an inexhaustible loss of the poor farmers who owned lands adjoining it, all of which were dumped into the sea."

As Father Camões also described, at a certain point, Ribeira Grande plunges into one of the most impressive waterfalls on the island, measuring about 200 meters.

Alagoínha: a landmark landscape of the island

Right next to the lake, the adjacent stream of Ribeira do Ferreiro spreads along the extension of the same cliff. It generates what has become the hallmark of Ilha das Flores: the waterfalls of Poço Ribeira do Ferreiro, better known as Alagoínha.

It's our next stop.

It took us a while to find the curved path made of large boulders nestled in the shade of a lush forest.

When we finish walking, we soon come across the almost vertical wall lined with the green of the vegetation that extends from the top to the surface of the lagoon.

Several bridal veils slide side by side down this green until they are integrated into the flow of their destiny. When the wind subsides, Alagoínha acts as a mirror.

It duplicates the scene above and the unique beauty of that place. It's hard for us to leave it.

Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

Waterfalls flow down the walls and renew the water of Alagoinha.

From Fajazinha, we move up the western coast towards Fajã Grande. There is also a huge waterfall there. It continues to erode its way down the majestic Rocha da Fajã.

Until it crashes ninety meters below, in Poço do Bacalhau, which, despite its name, is full of eels.

It is not the name that makes it either, but Fajã Grande has much more inhabitants than Fajazinha, over two hundred in 2011. The bulk of its fame comes, however, from another attribute.

It is the last of the western towns of Europe.

Ocaso, Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

The sun sets below a layer of heavy clouds that darkens Fajãzinha.

Islet of Monchique: the Last Rattle of the Old World

To the west, only the Ilhéu de Monchique remains, a volcanic rock thirty meters high. Barren, inhospitable and gloomy, this is the last European soil.

For centuries, it was used by ships to set their routes and check navigation instruments. Today, it serves, above all, as a reference for that geographic extreme.

The night that followed it rained in earnest. Rain with which, strangely enough, no other Azores island had still held us.

It continued, until well into the morning, but as soon as the sun rose, it chased away the weeping clouds and gave way to the calm.

Church of Lomba, Ilha das Flores, Confins of the Azores and Portugal

Church of Our Lady Rosário da Lomba.

We took advantage and ventured down the road that zigzagged south.

Passing through Caveira, Lomba, Fazenda das Lajes and Lajes das Flores, the seat of the Municipal Government and site of a recently altered sea port that changed the commercial order of things on the island.

We are enchanted by the insinuating façade of the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário. Just ahead, the viewpoint of the old fort over the port.

The fortress with which the village tried to defend itself from attacks by English corsairs that followed the one that, in 1587, left it looted and partially destroyed.

Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

Old mill buildings on the edge of a rocky stream.

The day before, we had gone from Fajãzinha to Fajã Grande. We were now on a short trip between Lajes and Lajedo. And an extension to the picturesque Monastery, the island's smallest parish with only 43 registered inhabitants, in 2011.

On the way, we pass by Rocha dos Bordões, a curious geological phenomenon in which a whole cliff façade has solidified with huge vertical grooves at the base.

Back to Santa Cruz das Flores

From there, we reversed the path towards Santa Cruz. In the capital, we enjoyed the various churches. We paid extra attention to the Matriz da Conceição, one of the most imposing in the archipelago.

We are still looking for the forts that the city has been building over the years, victim of the urgency to repel the frequent attacks.

Flores Island, Azores and Portugal

One of the several churches in Santa Cruz das Flores, one of the most imposing in the Azores.

As far as we've walked, no close-up view fascinates us as much as the one we had revealed on the first day, from the Mount of Crosses. There we hurried back.

We re-appreciated the harmonious setting of the confines of the now nicknamed Hawaii Portuguese and we waited for a plane to arrive to land.

Ours left soon, so we were forced to put an end to the discovery of Flores Island and return to the island. Terceira .

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.
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.
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.
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.
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

Angra do Heroísmo is much more than the historic capital of the Azores, Terceira Island and, on two occasions, Portugal. 1500km from the mainland, it gained a leading role in Portuguese nationality and independence that few other cities can boast.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Okavango Delta, Not all rivers reach the sea, Mokoros
safari
Okavango Delta, Botswana

Not all rivers reach the sea

Third longest river in southern Africa, the Okavango rises in the Angolan Bié plateau and runs 1600km to the southeast. It gets lost in the Kalahari Desert where it irrigates a dazzling wetland teeming with wildlife.
Mount Lamjung Kailas Himal, Nepal, altitude sickness, mountain prevent treat, travel
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 2th - Chame a Upper BananaNepal

(I) Eminent Annapurnas

We woke up in Chame, still below 3000m. There we saw, for the first time, the snowy and highest peaks of the Himalayas. From there, we set off for another walk along the Annapurna Circuit through the foothills and slopes of the great mountain range. towards Upper Banana.
A Lost and Found City
Architecture & Design
Machu Picchu, Peru

The City Lost in the Mystery of the Incas

As we wander around Machu Picchu, we find meaning in the most accepted explanations for its foundation and abandonment. But whenever the complex is closed, the ruins are left to their enigmas.
Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela
Aventura
PN Canaima, Venezuela

Kerepakupai, Salto Angel: The River that Falls from Heaven

In 1937, Jimmy Angel landed a light aircraft on a plateau lost in the Venezuelan jungle. The American adventurer did not find gold but he conquered the baptism of the longest waterfall on the face of the Earth
good buddhist advice
Ceremonies and Festivities
Chiang Mai, Thailand

300 Wats of Spiritual and Cultural Energy

Thais call every Buddhist temple wat and their northern capital has them in obvious abundance. Delivered to successive events held between shrines, Chiang Mai is never quite disconnected.
Ribeira Grande, Santo Antao
Cities
Ribeira Grande, Santo AntãoCape Verde

Santo Antão, Up the Ribeira Grande

Originally a tiny village, Ribeira Grande followed the course of its history. It became the village, later the city. It has become an eccentric and unavoidable junction on the island of Santo Antão.
Fogón de Lola, great food, Costa Rica, Guápiles
Lunch time
Fogón de Lola Costa Rica

The Costa Rica Flavour of El Fogón de Lola

As the name suggests, the Fogón de Lola de Guapiles serves dishes prepared on the stove and in the oven, according to Costa Rican family tradition. In particular, Tia Lola's.
Bride gets in car, traditional wedding, Meiji temple, Tokyo, Japan
Culture
Tokyo, Japan

A Matchmaking Sanctuary

Tokyo's Meiji Temple was erected to honor the deified spirits of one of the most influential couples in Japanese history. Over time, it specialized in celebrating traditional weddings.
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.
Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang, Laos, Through the Mekong Below
Traveling
Chiang Khong - Luang Prabang, Laos

Slow Boat, Down the Mekong River

Laos' beauty and lower cost are good reasons to sail between Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang. But this long descent of the Mekong River can be as exhausting as it is picturesque.
Coin return
Ethnic
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.
Sunset, Avenue of Baobabs, Madagascar
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio

days like so many others

Cobá, trip to the Mayan Ruins, Pac Chen, Mayans of now
History
Cobá to Pac Chen, Mexico

From the Ruins to the Mayan Homes

On the Yucatan Peninsula, the history of the second largest indigenous Mexican people is intertwined with their daily lives and merges with modernity. In Cobá, we went from the top of one of its ancient pyramids to the heart of a village of our times.
Camiguin, Philippines, Katungan mangrove.
Islands
Camiguin, Philippines

An Island of Fire Surrended to Water

With more than twenty cones above 100 meters, the abrupt and lush, Camiguin has the highest concentration of volcanoes of any other of the 7641 islands in the Philippines or on the planet. But, in recent times, not even the fact that one of these volcanoes is active has disturbed the peace of its rural, fishing and, to the delight of outsiders, heavily bathed life.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Winter White
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
Almada Negreiros, Roça Saudade, Sao Tome
Literature
Saudade, São Tomé, São Tomé and Principe

Almada Negreiros: From Saudade to Eternity

Almada Negreiros was born in April 1893, on a farm in the interior of São Tomé. Upon discovering his origins, we believe that the luxuriant exuberance in which he began to grow oxygenated his fruitful creativity.
Basotho Cowboys, Malealea, Lesotho
Nature
Malealea, Lesotho

Life in the African Kingdom of Heaven

Lesotho is the only independent state located entirely above XNUMX meters. It is also one of the countries at the bottom of the world ranking of human development. Its haughty people resist modernity and all the adversities on the magnificent but inhospitable top of the Earth that befell them.
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.
Boat and helmsman, Cayo Los Pájaros, Los Haitises, Dominican Republic
Natural Parks
Samaná PeninsulaLos Haitises National Park Dominican Republic

From the Samaná Peninsula to the Dominican Haitises

In the northeast corner of the Dominican Republic, where Caribbean nature still triumphs, we face an Atlantic much more vigorous than expected in these parts. There we ride on a communal basis to the famous Limón waterfall, cross the bay of Samaná and penetrate the remote and exuberant “land of the mountains” that encloses it.
shadow vs light
UNESCO World Heritage
Kyoto, Japan

The Kyoto Temple Reborn from the Ashes

The Golden Pavilion has been spared destruction several times throughout history, including that of US-dropped bombs, but it did not withstand the mental disturbance of Hayashi Yoken. When we admired him, he looked like never before.
Zorro's mask on display at a dinner at the Pousada Hacienda del Hidalgo, El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Mexico
Characters
El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Mexico

Zorro's Cradle

El Fuerte is a colonial city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. In its history, the birth of Don Diego de La Vega will be recorded, it is said that in a mansion in the town. In his fight against the injustices of the Spanish yoke, Don Diego transformed himself into an elusive masked man. In El Fuerte, the legendary “El Zorro” will always take place.
Sesimbra, Vila, Portugal, View from the top
Beaches
Sesimbra, Portugal

A Village Touched by Midas

It's not just Praia da California and Praia do Ouro that close it to the south. Sheltered from the furies of the West Atlantic, gifted with other immaculate coves and endowed with centuries-old fortifications, Sesimbra is today a precious fishing and bathing haven.
Motorcyclist in Sela Gorge, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Religion
Guwahati a Saddle Pass, India

A Worldly Journey to the Sacred Canyon of Sela

For 25 hours, we traveled the NH13, one of the highest and most dangerous roads in India. We traveled from the Brahmaputra river basin to the disputed Himalayas of the province of Arunachal Pradesh. In this article, we describe the stretch up to 4170 m of altitude of the Sela Pass that pointed us to the Tibetan Buddhist city of Tawang.
Serra do Mar train, Paraná, airy view
On Rails
Curitiba a Morretes, Paraná, Brazil

Down Paraná, on Board the Train Serra do Mar

For more than two centuries, only a winding and narrow road connected Curitiba to the coast. Until, in 1885, a French company opened a 110 km railway. We walked along it to Morretes, the final station for passengers today. 40km from the original coastal terminus of Paranaguá.
Society
Arduous Professions

the bread the devil kneaded

Work is essential to most lives. But, certain jobs impose a degree of effort, monotony or danger that only a few chosen ones can measure up to.
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.
Jabula Beach, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Wildlife
Saint Lucia, South Africa

An Africa as Wild as Zulu

On the eminence of the coast of Mozambique, the province of KwaZulu-Natal is home to an unexpected South Africa. Deserted beaches full of dunes, vast estuarine swamps and hills covered with fog fill this wild land also bathed by the Indian Ocean. It is shared by the subjects of the always proud Zulu nation and one of the most prolific and diverse fauna on the African continent.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
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.