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Brazil

Fernando de Noronha

Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, around 354 km (220 miles) offshore from the Brazilian coast. The main island has an area of 18.4 square kilometres (7.1 sq mi) and had a population of 3,012 in the year 2008. The area is a special municipality (distrito estadual) of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco (despite being closer to the state of Rio Grande do Norte) and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its timezone is UTC−2h. The local population and travellers can get to Noronha by plane or cruise from Recife (545km) or by plane from Natal (360km). A small environmental preservation fee is charged from tourists upon arrival by Ibama (Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources).

The climate is tropical, with two well-defined seasons. The rainy season lasts from March to September, the rest of the year sees little rain.

The islands of this archipelago are the visible parts of a range of submerged mountains. Consisting of 21 islands, islets and rocks of volcanic origin, the main island has an area of 18 km² (7.1 miles²), being 10 km (6.2 miles) long and 3.5 kilometres (2.170 mi) wide at its maximum. The base of this enormous volcanic formation is 756 m below the surface. The main island, from which the group gets its name, makes up 91% of the total area.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Brazil

Porto de Galinhas

Porto de Galinhas is a beach in the municipality of Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil. Porto de Galinhas is a major tourist destination. The beach is famous for its bright-water beaches and the natural pools. It is part of the municipality of Ipojuca, and located 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of the state capital, Recife.

It has been voted “Best Brazilian Beach” for the eighth time in a row by the readers of Voyage & Tourism Brazilian magazine. According to this magazine, the main reasons given are the beauty of the natural pools (the closest to the coast in all of Brazil, the ecological trails, the hotel infrastructure and the proximity to a large city and airport in Recife.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Indonesia

Lombok

Lombok (population 2,950,105 in 2005) is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It is part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is roughly circular, with a “tail” to the southwest, about 70 km across and a total area of about 4,725 km² (1,825 sq mi). The provincial capital and largest city on the island is Mataram.

The Lombok Strait marks the passage of the biogeographical division between the fauna of the Indomalayan ecozone and the distinctly different fauna of Australasia that is known as the Wallace Line, for Alfred Russel Wallace, who first remarked upon the distinction between these two major biomes.

The island’s topography is dominated by the centrally-located stratovolcano Mount Rinjani, which rises to 3,726 m (12,224 ft), making it the third-highest in Indonesia. The most recent eruption of Rinjani was in May-June, 2009, which was a small oozing eruption of ‘Gunung Baru’ (New Mountain). The volcano, and its crater lake, ‘Segara Anak’ (child of the sea), are protected by a National Park established in 1997. The southern part of the island is a fertile plain where corn, rice, coffee, tobacco, and cotton are grown.

The island’s inhabitants are 85% Sasak whose origins are thought to have migrated from Java in the first millennium BC. Other residents include 10-15% Balinese, with the small remainder being Chinese, Arab, Javanese, and Sumbawanese. Since the Sasak population typically practice Islam, the landscape is punctuated with mosques and minarets. Islamic traditions and holidays influence the Island’s daily activities.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Indonesia

Gili Nanggu

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Tanzania

Zanzibar I

Zanzibar (pronounced /ˈzænzɨbɑr/) is a semi-autonomous part of the United Republic of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres (16–31 mi) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, informally referred to as Zanzibar), and Pemba. Zanzibar was once a separate state with a long trading history within the Arab world; it united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964 and still enjoys a high degree of autonomy within the union. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City, and its historic center, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.

Zanzibar’s main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism. In particular, the islands produce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. For this reason, the islands, together with Tanzania’s Mafia Island, are sometimes called the Spice Islands (a term also associated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia). Zanzibar’s ecology is of note for being the home of the endemic Zanzibar Red Colobus and the (possibly extinct) Zanzibar Leopard.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Chile

Easter Island

Easter Island (Rapa Nui: Rapa Nui); (Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile annexed in 1888, Easter Island is widely famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai (pronounced /ˈmoʊ.аɪ/), created by the early Rapanui people. It is a world heritage site with much of the island protected within the Rapa Nui National Park. Historically the island has experienced a collapse of its ecosystem, with extinction of many of its prehistoric species; these events were associated with over-exploitation of the island’s resources. The underlying island geology is one of extinct volcanoes.

The history of Easter Island is rich and controversial. Its inhabitants have endured famines, epidemics, civil war, slave raids and colonialism, and the crash of their ecosystem; their population has declined precipitously more than once. They have left a cultural legacy that has brought them fame disproportionate to their population.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Thailand

Koh Lipe

Koh Lipe (Thai: เกาะหลีเป๊ะ) is an island in the Adang-Rawi Archipelago in the Satun Province of Thailand.

Koh Lipe is a tiny island in the Andaman Sea located 70 km off the southwest coast of Thailand near the Malaysian border. The Thai name is transliterated many different ways into English. The most common names in English are Koh Lipe, Koh Lipeh, Ko Lipey and Ko Lipe. Koh Lipe is part of the Tarutao National Marine Park and is directly south of the larger islands Ko Adang and Ko Rawi and about 50km from the island of Tarutao. It was settled by a band of sea gypsies originally from Malaysia, known as the ‘Chao Lei’ people or also known as Urak Lawoi. This island has four main beaches: Sunset beach, Sunrise beach, Karma Beach and Pattaya beach. Accommodation from grass huts to air-conditioned bungalows can be found on these beaches. It is possible to walk around the entire island in little over an hour.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Malaysia

Langkawi

Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah (Malay: Langkawi Permata Kedah) is an archipelago of 99 islands (an extra 5 temporary islands are revealed at low tide) in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border. On July 15, 2008, Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah had consented to the change of name to Langkawi Permata Kedah in conjunction with his Golden Jubilee Celebration. By far the largest of the islands is the eponymous Pulau Langkawi with a population of some 45,000, the only other inhabited island being nearby Pulau Tuba. Langkawi is also an administrative district with the town of Kuah as the capital and largest town. Langkawi is a duty-free island.

On June 1, 2007, Langkawi Island has been given a World Geopark status by UNESCO. Three of its main conservation area in Langkawi Geopark;Machincang Cambrian Geoforest Park, Kilim Karst Geoforest Park and Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest park.(Island of the Pregnant Maiden Lake). These three parks are the most popular tourism area within Langkawi Geopark.

Langkawi is particularly known for its beaches which are among the best in Malaysia. Some of the most popular are Pantai Cenang, Pantai Tengah, Burau Bay, Pantai Kok, and Datai Bay. Pantai Cenang is a picturesque beach with seemingly unending stretches of fine white sand. The beach is contoured by tall coconuts and casuarinas. Pantai Tengah is separated from Cenang by a small cape. Burau Bay, fringed by rocky outcrops, is the favorite place of migratory birds in Langkawi. Pantai Kok is a peaceful beach with the backdrop of limestone hills. Datai Bay has wonderful combination of forests and sea.The milky beach is backed by lush forest.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Cuba

Cayo Blanco


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Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia (French: Sainte-Lucie) is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. Its size is 620 km² with an estimated population of 160,000. Its capital is Castries. The island nation has been the home of two Nobel laureates, Arthur Lewis and Derek Walcott, and so can claim the distinction of being the nation with the most such honorees per capita in the world.

Saint Lucia is one of the Windward Islands, named for Saint Lucy of Syracuse. It was first visited by Europeans in about the year 1500 and first colonised successfully by France who signed a treaty with the native Carib peoples in 1660. Great Britain took control of the island from 1663 to 1667 then went to war with France over it fourteen times, and finally took complete control in 1814. Because it switched so often between British and French control, Lucia was also known as the “Helen of the West Indies.” Representative government came about in 1924 (with universal adult suffrage from 1953) and from 1958 to 1962 the island was a member of the Federation of the West Indies. Finally, on February 22, 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations. The island nation celebrates this every year with a public holiday. It is also a member of La Francophonie. About 20.9 % of the population of Saint Lucia live on less than US$1.25 a day.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)