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20 interesting facts about Paraguay
The most interesting facts about Paraguay, from a double-sided national flag to the ‘Heart of South America’ American essayist P.J. O’Rourke once quipped that Paraguay was “nowhere and famous for nothing.” He then took a business trip there, fell in love with the country and promptly moved there. While we can’t say we felt the same striking attraction, we certainly appreciated Paraguay’s history and authenticity. The small and struggling country is a steamy subtropical land of remarkable contrasts with a tragic and torrid history filled with violence and loss. Despite our relatively short stay, we came across a wide range of interesting facts about Paraguay, the best of which we share below. Interesting facts about Paraguay 1. More than 80% of Paraguayans are ...
10 best day trips from Yerevan, Armenia
From the world’s oldest winery to medieval monasteries, we share the best day trips from Yerevan, Armenia’s Pink City After trekking the Highlander Svaneti and exploring Kazbegi in Georgia, I had a few days before my flight home so I hopped across the border to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Known as the Pink City for the volcanic rock used in its state buildings, Yerevan is a city with many faces. With evidence of settlement dating back to the 8th century BC, Yerevan is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities. While most of its ancient structures have now been removed, built over by Soviet-era tower blocks and monuments, the city still retains several alluring features – not least its position in the shadow of the fabled Mount Ararat. Today, following Armenian independenc...
Self-drive Uganda: 7 routes to suit every itinerary
From three-day jaunts to two-week tours, these self-drive Uganda routes are crammed with bucket-list views Here at Atlas & Boots, some of our best memories were made while we were watching wildlife. One of our favourite experiences was our self-drive safari through Nambia, which offered close encounters with lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants and more zebras than we could count. The 17-day trip stuck a fine balance of organised tour and independent travel. We didn’t have to concern ourselves with logistics – that was all taken care of – but still enjoyed the flexibility that comes with the open road. Gunter Nuyts/Shutterstock A self-drive safari in Uganda offers flexibility We are keen to return to the continent – next time to East Africa – to explore the savannahs and jungles o...
9 best things to do in Kazbegi, Georgia
We share the best things to do in Kazbegi, Georgia’s spectacular northern frontier hiding in the clouds of the Caucasus After trekking the Highlander Svaneti, I headed for Kazbegi in northeastern Georgia. Surrounded on three sides by Russia and occupied South Ossetia, the nature-packed borderland is famed for its rich medley of deep green gorges, snow-capped summits and implausibly-placed medieval churches. The region’s main town is Stepantsminda (more commonly known as Kazbegi), huddled in the lee of the imposing Mt Kazbek which at 5,054m (16,581ft) is Georgia’s third-highest peak and the seventh-highest in the Caucasus Mountains. Unsurprisingly, hiking takes centre stage in this dramatic destination, with Stepantsminda the perfectly positioned gateway to the region’s mountains and valley...
The travel that changed me: Mark Vanhoenacker
As a commercial pilot and best-selling author, Mark Vanhoenacker has seen the world from a rare perspective. Here, he tells us about life in cockpit Growing up in the small town of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Mark Vanhoenacker spun the illuminated globe in his bedroom and dreamt of distant cities. Streets unspooled, towers shone and anonymous crowds bustled in cities where Mark could be anyone – perhaps even himself. Now, as a commercial airline pilot, Mark has spent nearly two decades criss-crossing the planet, touching down in the cities he imagined as a child. Mark revisits these cities month after month and year after year, and has seen them grow and change in a way few of us ever will. Mark first wrote about his experiences in the best-selling Skyfaring, followed by How to Land a...
Trekking the Highlander Svaneti in Georgia
Trekking the Highlander Svaneti offers an authentic taste of Georgia’s unspoilt northwest, a region as beautiful as it is remote Just 20 years ago, Svaneti was considered a danger zone. Today, with an embarrassment of snow-capped 4,000m peaks, enchanting villages dotted with tower houses and gleaming glaciers standing sentry over meadows of wildflowers, Svaneti is a paradise for hikers. Located in the remote northwest of Georgia, on the slopes of the mighty Caucasus Mountains near the border with Russia, wild and mysterious Svaneti has seen a tumultuous history including marauding Mongols and murderous blood feuds. Following independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union and the ensuing Georgian Civil War, the frontier region became a safe haven for criminals on the run. Atlas &a...
20 interesting facts about Svalbard
We share the most interesting facts about Svalbard, collected on our expedition to ‘the last stop before the North Pole’ Svalbard is said to be Europe’s last great wilderness. This archipelago of ice, rock and permafrost lies midway between Norway and the North Pole and is accordingly untrammelled. Measuring 24,209 sq mi (62,700 sq km), Svalbard comprises nine main islands, chief among them Spitsbergen, home to the de facto capital, Longyearbyen. Very little grows in Svalbard and it’s shrouded in darkness for much of the year, making it one of the most hostile places on earth. While ostensibly part of Norway, Svalbard operates as a separate entity with its own quirks and customs. Here, we share the most interesting facts about Svalbard, gathered on our 8-day expedition to the ‘last stop be...
Visiting Ny-Ålesund, the northernmost settlement in the world
Kia reckons with a palpable sense of desolation while visiting Ny-Ålesund, the literal edge of civilisation There are places and moments in my life which have felt far removed from civilisation: the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, the Atacama Desert in Chile, Lac Abbé in Djibouti, Paradise Bay in Antarctica, and 81°17’5’’N in the High Arctic. These places have one thing in common. They are untamed and uninhabited. They have felt wild because they are wild. They can be dangerous, even fatal, in the wrong conditions. It’s fair to say that these are frontier places – but none have felt so strikingly bleak as Ny-Ålesund on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. Here, it’s not the wildness that strikes you but the opposite: the tiny huddle of buildings that dare at civilisat...
Making Waste less Wasteful
In rural British Columbia, Catalyst Agri-Innovations Society is harnessing the power of poop. Abbotsford, BRITISH COLUMBIA— It takes no more than an Uber ride with the window down across Abbotsford, B.C. to notice that you are in Canada’s agricultural capital. The scent of Cedar and Spruce that envelops most of the Fraser Valley, the Southwestern region of British Columbia that neighbors Washington State, is overpowered by the farm smells of wheat, fresh grass and, especially, cow feed—in all parts of its cycle. The odor of cow manure grows faint to new visitors after a few days, and some locals don’t detect it at all, but, despite living in the area for years, Chris Bush couldn’t leave it alone. That odor was a sign of a problem with local agriculture; one he wondered if he could fix.&nbs...
The travel that changed me: Melanie White
In a new memoir, former yacht chef Melanie White examines the dark side of luxury travel. Here, she explains why her story had to be told At age 22, Melanie White is flying high. Good grades at school? Check. Reliable university degree? Check. Steady graduate job? Check. Her feet are firmly planted on the ground until she finds herself plunged into the superyacht industry – despite having been on a boat only three times in her life. Melanie White As a yacht chef, Melanie must devise, develop and deliver fine dining menus for some of the wealthiest people on the planet, all while learning how to run, sail and race a multi-million-pound yacht on the job. She is forced to adapt to a wholly unnatural life, largely confined to a crammed galley and bunk bed with live-in colleagues. Amid the...
Longyearbyen: a walking tour of the world’s northernmost town
Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost town, is easily seen on foot. We share our tried-and-tested route for exploring this remote outpost It’s okay. You didn’t come all the way to Svalbard, anchored in the Arctic Ocean roughly midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole, to linger in Longyearbyen. You don’t need to “eat like a local” here or “get under the skin” of the destination. It’s just not that type of town. There has never been an indigenous population in Svalbard. The first humans arrived on the archipelago just over 400 years ago to hunt and whale. As a result, local populations of wildlife were decimated with several species brought to the brink of extinction. Fortunately, decades of conservation work have seen vast tracts of land protected and wildlife number...
Building a Global Mangrove Movement
Mangrove ecosystems provide community livelihoods, function as biodiversity hotspots, and help mitigate the effects of climate change, but efforts to protect them have been patchy and localized. A few organizations have banded together to change that. NAYARIT, Mexico— Oscar González Díaz takes a closer look at the mangroves surrounding a small patch of earth and vegetation, one of few remaining in this part of the lagoon. The leaves are sparse, but they will regenerate once the rains pick up and increase the ratio of freshwater to saltwater in the Chumbeño lagoon, connected to the ocean on Mexico’s Pacific coast. A fisherman from Francisco Villa, one of the villages along the lagoon, González Díaz is also a community monitor in this area of the Marismas Nacionales Nayarit biosphere reserve...
