Innholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2020 i AFAR

FOR OUR SECOND annual AFAR Photo Awards, presented by United MileagePlus, we asked you, our readers, to enter your best travel photos in five categories: cities, food, outdoors, people, and style and design. We received more than 3,000 submissions, and the entry fees raised nearly $4,000 for Learning AFAR, our nonprofit foundation that sponsors travel for underserved young people. Here are the winning photographs. • For more, including additional juror favorites, go to afar.com/photoawards. GRAND PRIZE WINNER “Fixing Nets” DIEP VAN In Phan Rang, Vietnam, women wearing traditional bamboo hats use old-fashioned sewing machines to repair fishing nets. PEOPLE “Aibubu” ELLA MACK Aibubu, a Kyrgyz girl attending the 2018 World Nomad Games, sits for a portrait. FOOD “Irish Mussels” SHELL ROYSTER While on a trip through western Ireland, the photographer…

The Bahamas In 2019, Hurricane Dorian devastated the northern Bahamas, but the archipelago’s dozen or so other islands were not affected. Nassau, with its popular resorts Baha Mar and Atlantis, and more low-key spots such as Cat Island, are ready to welcome guests. To see the Bahamas by ship, book passage on Virgin Voyages, the new cruise line from Richard Branson’s group. Virgin will launch its first ship, the Scarlet Lady, in April, and itineraries will include a full-day stop at Virgin’s new private Beach Club on Bimini in the western Bahamas. —LYNDSEY MATTHEWS Guadeloupe On February 1, JetBlue launches its first direct seasonal flights between New York’s JFK airport and Pointe-à-Pitre. In advance of the new flights, the Club Med La Caravelle resort, which opened in 1974, unveiled a…

ADVENTURE DESTINATION Patagonia Argentina and Chile share this region, where there are Andean peaks to trek, lava fields to mountain bike, and plenty of fauna to spot on a safari-style game drive. Travelers can search for condors flying overhead, track pumas, or watch guanacos—cousins to llamas. U.S. ROAD TRIP California Highway 1 The route stretches more than 650 miles along the coast of the Golden State. Among the many pleasures it offers road-trippers are the scent of sea salt in Malibu, glimpses of redwoods in Big Sur, and memorable views of the Golden Gate Bridge. CULTURE CAPITAL, EUROPEAN CITY Paris Paris is always a good idea. Of note this year: Several new restaurants were awarded Michelin stars, including La Poule au Pot; the Hotel Lutetia was recently refurbished; and a…

While much of the country is dealing with winter weather that’s just shy of snowmageddon, Scottsdale is basking in sunshine and 72-degree days. It’s the perfect recipe for chasing away the chilly winter blues. So, don’t let winter’s gray skies get you down – join us, and warm up in Scottsdale! 1 HOT AIR BALLOON FLIGHTS In a landscape as panoramic as the Sonoran Desert, there’s no better way to soak it all in than on a hot air balloon flight. You’ll drift along with the breeze as your pilot guides the balloon high into the air for expansive scenic views or dips close to the ground for a glimpse of wildlife and native vegetation. Every ride ends with a champagne toast to commemorate your flight. 2 HOT STONE MASSAGES…

Getting There United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and JetBlue all fly nonstop from New York City; American Airlines flies nonstop from Miami. Neighboring islands Vieques and Culebra are easier to visit now, as ferry tickets can be purchased in advance online via porferry.com. Eat In San Juan, fashion designer Gustavo Arango recently transformed his flagship atelier into 1334 Ultra Lounge, a festive, globally influenced restaurant where art, food, and style collide. Oenophiles go to Bottega for Spanish wines paired with tapas. Hotel El Convento welcomes two new restaurants, Santissimo and Singular, from the group behind the world-renowned bar La Factoría. Puerto Rico’s most famous restaurant, José Enrique, which features locally sourced ingredients, recently reopened closer to the beach. Vegetarians will love the casual Peace n’ Loaf, which serves vegetable-forward pizzas…

IN LATE SEPTEMBER, in Oregon’s Deschutes National Forest, my family and I happened upon a perfect mountain lake. We had the whole thing to ourselves, save for some butterflies and the afternoon wind rustling lightly through the trees. In that moment, I sat on the sandy beach, taking in the hush of the scene around us, and marveled at the ponderosa pines and maple trees in the distance. At AFAR we’ve been talking a lot about the perils of overtourism—too many people going to the same place, at the same time, to take the same picture. The beauty of travel is that it isn’t a monoculture, and we want to keep it that way. The most obvious way to combat overtourism is to go to places that aren’t overrun, to…

I rode shotgun in a pickup truck headed inland from the coast. My guide, Alex Camacho, and I snaked up past the edge of town into farmland, the mountains a huge green wall in the distance. It was a beautiful Caribbean day, sunny with a few dark clouds that would either drench us or pass quietly by. We were going into El Yunque, on the eastern side of Puerto Rico, the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. national forest system. Alex is in his early 30s, with long curly hair and a quick smile. He said, “Welcome to my backyard,” motioning toward our destination. “I come here in the early morning or evening when no one is here, and it is the most peaceful place in the whole world.…

WE CLAIM OUR USUAL SEATS ON THE OPEN UPPER DECK OF THE PUBLIC FERRY AS IT SLOWLY SWIVELS AWAY FROM A CHAOTIC PIER ON ISTANBUL’S HISTORIC PENINSULA. THE AIR PRACTICALLY THROBS WITH THE REEK OF OIL FUMES AND GRILLED MACKEREL. Our boat ploughs away northward, heading up the Bosphorus, the 20-mile strait with one shore in Europe, the other in Asia, that both splices and binds this city where two continents meet. We churn past Karaköy, the neighborhood at the mouth of the strait on the European side, where a new cruise ship port is under development, onward past the neo-baroque sprawl of Dolmabahçe Palace, where the Ottoman sultans moved in the mid-19th century and helped bankrupt their empire with their marble-encrusted, chandelier-crammed extravagance. The air is fresh now; the…