Tag: islands

The first impression my wife and I received in Athens was disappointing, perhaps due to the enormous expectations that most of us have created for the cradle of Western civilization. We are separated by more than 2,500 years since the Greek civilization reached its peak, and it is difficult for u...

Now that Omicron is on its way out, countries are loosening their travel restrictions as they gradually recover from the pandemic. For some countries, tourism represents over 30% of their gross domestic product. Commercial ads are working overtime to incite you to book something soon. How ...

The Faroese are not a friendly people. This was my feeling within an hour of landing at Vagar Airport that cold snowy afternoon in late November. I’d tried to board a bus and was met with stony silence from the bus driver when I asked if it was going to town. Neither did he offer to help...

One late morning this summer, I laced up my running shoes for another challenging workout on the island. Navigating through the Maltese landscape during a summer’s day is synonymous with enduring scorching temperatures. However, on this particular run, I encountered a surprising respite from t...

Allow me to tell the story of two separate encounters with a magical place on a remote Japanese island. Reaching it takes a full day of travel. Getting there, in a nutshell — take the bullet train from Tokyo across Japan’s main island, continuing through Kyushu to the final stop at it...

My alma mater liked to quote Founding Sister Catherine McCauley — “We can never say ‘it is enough’” — and perhaps that’s true. But not when we’re talking about racism. Last summer’s events surrounding the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery ...

The San Blas Islands of Panama form an archipelago along the Caribbean coast of Panama, east of the Panama Canal. We were headed to these islands late on a stormy night in an open boat not designed for ocean travel. It was the late 1960s, and this was a training mission for our para-SCUBA group h...

In the heart of the Pacific Ocean lies a cluster of islands unknown to most, shrouded in mystery and wonder. These islands are not just landmasses, but realms of untold adventures awaiting those brave enough to explore them. Among the myriad of islands, there is one that stands out — the Islan...

After decades, we already know quite a lot about the island’s history and its first inhabitants. However, it is still considered a mysterious place in the public opinion. To some extent, this is true. Scientists argue and discuss, for example, the still undeciphered local script called rongoro...