Wallis and Futuna

10 January 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Plaque commemorating the attachment of Wallis and Futuna to the French Republic in Mata Utu © flickr.com - Brigitte & Heinz/cc-by-sa-2.0

Plaque commemorating the attachment of Wallis and Futuna to the French Republic in Mata Utu
© flickr.com – Brigitte & Heinz/cc-by-sa-2.0

Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands, is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast, Samoa to the east, and Tokelau to the northeast.   read more…

Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea

23 August 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Orcas near Unimak Island © Robert Pittman - NOAA

Orcas near Unimak Island © Robert Pittman – NOAA

The Aleutian Islands—also called the Aleut Islands, or, before 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain of 14 main, larger volcanic islands and 55 smaller ones. Most of the Aleutian Islands belong to the U.S. state of Alaska, with the archipelago encompassing the Aleutians West Census Area and the Aleutians East Borough. The Commander Islands, located further to the west, belong to the Russian federal subject of Kamchatka Krai, of the Russian Far East.   read more…

Chuuk Lagoon in the Pacific

17 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Tonoas and Etten © Motoki Kurabayashi/cc-by-sa-4.0

Tonoas and Etten © Motoki Kurabayashi/cc-by-sa-4.0

Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,800 kilometres (970 nautical miles) northeast of New Guinea and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, 225 kilometres (140 mi) around, encloses a natural harbour 79 by 50 km (43 nmi × 27 nmi), with an area of 2,130 km² (820 sq mi). It has a land area of 93.07 square kilometres (35.93 square miles), with a population of 36,158 people and a maximal elevation of 443 metres (1,453 ft). Weno city on Weno (formerly Moen) Island functions as both the atoll’s capital and the state capital, and is the largest city in the FSM with its 13,700 people.   read more…

Tijuana in Mexico

6 February 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Urbaner44/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Urbaner44/cc-by-sa-4.0

Tijuana is the most populous city in the state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality and the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area. It is just south of California and it has a close proximity to the Mexico–United States border which is part of the San Diego–Tijuana metro area.   read more…

Papeete on Tahiti

5 February 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Balou46/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Balou46/cc-by-sa-4.0

Papeete (Tahitian: Pape?ete; old name: Vai?ete) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, of which Papeete is the administrative capital. Both the President of French Polynesia and French High Commissioner reside in Papeete.   read more…

Marquesas Islands

27 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Nuku Hiva © Moerani Manate/cc-by-sa-4.0

Nuku Hiva © Moerani Manate/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Marquesas Islands (French: Îles Marquises or Archipel des Marquises or Marquises; Marquesan: Te Henua ?Enana (North Marquesan) and Te Fenua ?Enata (South Marquesan), both meaning “the land of men”) are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Their highest point is the peak of Mount Oave (French: Mont Oave) on Ua Pou island, at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level.   read more…

Viña del Mar in Chile

3 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

© panoramio.com - Andrew Latham/cc-by-sa-3.0

© panoramio.com – Andrew Latham/cc-by-sa-3.0

Viña del Mar ( meaning “Vineyard of the Sea”) is a city and commune on central Chile‘s Pacific coast. Often referred to as La Ciudad Jardín (“The Garden City”), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile’s fourth largest city with a population of 324,836 (according to the 2008 census). Viña del Mar is also part of the Greater Valparaíso area, the country’s second largest metropolitan area (pop. 935,602, 2017 census), after the Metropolitan area of Santiago. The Greater Valparaíso Area is home to five municipalities: Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Concon, Quilpue and Villa Alemana.   read more…

Cabo Blanco in Peru

2 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - Ministerio de la Producción de Perú

© flickr.com – Ministerio de la Producción de Perú

Cabo Blanco is a fishing village in northwestern Peru, 3 km northwest from El Alto, Talara, Piura. It was famous in the past among big-game fishermen and today is a noted surf break. The village takes its name from the light coloured nearby mountains.   read more…

Theme Week Hawaii – Kauai

28 December 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Ke?e Beach at Ha?ena State Park from the Kalalau Trail © flickr.com - MattWright/cc-by-2.0

Ke?e Beach at Ha?ena State Park from the Kalalau Trail © flickr.com – MattWright/cc-by-2.0

Kaua?i, anglicized as Kauai, is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km²), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kaua?i lies 73 miles (117 km) northwest of O?ahu, across the Kaua?i Channel. The island’s 2020 population was 73,298. Styling itself the “Garden Isle”, Kaua?i is the site of Waimea Canyon State Park and Na Pali Coast State Park. It forms the bulk of Kauai County, which also includes the small nearby islands of Ka?ula, Lehua, and Ni?ihau.   read more…

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