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The Atlas

Africa

29 Oct

Art & Design Flourishing in Cape Town

Cape Town is one of the world’s great cities.  The setting alone is worthy of top billing.  And then you have a vibrant culinary scene, a fascinating flora and fauna representative of its microclimate, a diverse population and the logistical advantage that makes it a gateway for visits to the wine lands, to the garden route and north into the...

6 Jul

Securing the Great Migration

The Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in Tanzania supports the most diverse migration of grazing mammals on earth. As anyone who has witnessed this spectacular wildlife event will tell you: it is almost inexplicable until you experience it in person. This year, the herds descended on Singita Grumeti, which makes up 350,000 acres of this vast grassland habitat,...

25 May

Meditations #82

It is there in the eyes of a face different from ours halfway around the globe, in the fingertips of an artisan’s handshake, in the steady gaze of a child, the truth that more connects us than separates us, that we can communicate deeply and without words. That we are one family. Travel is how we weave this psychic web.

11 May

Singita Leopard

It’s not unusual that animals will go to the airstrip as dusk falls and the air temperatures cool, for the tarmac retains the heat of the day.  This afternoon, in Sabi Sands South Africa, we followed a mating pair all afternoon, finally arriving at the Singita airstrip.  There was one final encounter between the two (viewable on instagram)...

26 Feb

Jung and Africa

Carl Jung loved the Africa he knew.  When he visited Kenya and Uganda in 1925 he found, in his inimitable way, deep meaning in what, for someone else, might seem insignificant.  He had a fine eye for detail and, it appears, an outgoing nature which allowed him an intimate access to the Africans he met.  Marveling at the flooding of the world with...

29 Dec

Rwanda: Weaving For Peace

In 1994, when the genocide came to an end after 100 days, almost 1 million Rwandans had been massacred and 2 million displaced into neighboring countries.  Decimated physically and spiritually, this landlocked country which, said one survivor, felt as if it belonged to another planet during that hell, rose slowly from the ashes.  22 years later,...

12 Sep

Nick Brandt: Big Life Foundation

Big Life was co-founded by photographer Nick Brandt and award-winning conservationist Richard Bonham in September 2010. Since its inception, Big Life has expanded to employ hundreds of Maasai rangers—with more than 40 permanent outposts and tent-based field units, 13 vehicles, tracker dogs, and aerial surveillance—protecting 2 million acres of...

12 Sep

Nick Brandt: Inherit the Dust

Many wonderful photographers have documented the African bush and its wildlife, but no one’s work, in my book, is as honest, as stunningly beautiful and as poignant as that of Nick Brandt.  For many years, Nick has photographed exclusively on the African continent, particularly in East Africa’s Tanzania and Kenya.  His mission has...

27 Feb

Meditations #63

Photo: Beverly Joubert I am poised between heartache and rage For the slash, burn and fouling of our world. We must rally. There are conservation initiatives that deserve our support Please consider donating to Rhinos Without Borders http://www.andbeyond.com/conservation-community/rhinos-without-borders.htm and read 2015 AfroThropic newsletter https://www.lisalindblad.com/afrothropic.pdf

30 Jan

Meditations #62

Monolithic churches, cut from single blocks of granite, were excavated top down rather than constructed from the bottom up.  Eleven of them were created in a few short years of the 12th century, built by men, they say, who were aided by angels. Descend into the earth’s fastness to the spiritual core of the Coptic faithful. Photograph by Dominic...

18 Dec

Meditations #61

These are the shapes of a perfect world.  Would that we didn’t have to live so close to reality. Dance even when you are sad; love even when times are hard. Seek out those who share kindly, and be compassionate, be hopeful. A new year is upon us. Photograph:  Jeremy Lindblad Location: Kenya

3 Aug

Island Of The Blessed

Egypt might not be the first place you would consider traveling to these days, but the Siwa Oasis may strike you as it did Herodotus — “an island of the blessed.”   Accessible by charter, by train or by 9-hour bus ride from Cairo, the Siwa depression lies in the Western sector of Egypt and just 50 miles to the east of Libyan border....

25 Jun

Meditations on Travel #56

Vermillion walls with sea green trim, these houses, built cheek by jowl on this rocky lip fronting the Atlantic and the New World beyond, had been warehouses of misery, holding pens with a single exit — the “last door” as it was called – a bolted gate through which men, women and children, Africa’s black gold, were thrown on to waiting...

18 Jun

Mali #2

Wide and sluggish, clogged in places with sansevieria, smooth as satin in others, the River seems to feed a country.  Capitaine and catfish, fresh and dried, are on offer everywhere, and the emerald gardens along the Niger’s bank, watered painstakingly with calabashes, produce the most astounding vegetables.  The Niger is a highway, an irrigation...

13 Jun

Mali #1

Along the roadside the women walk dressed to kill in costumes fit for a party.  Stitched by market tailors, the women take infinite care and infinite pleasure in decorating themselves.  In a land where even a Ziploc bag cannot keep the dust at bay, I have yet to understand how women emerge from their mud brick houses, no cupboard or chest for storage,...

10 Mar

Practice Makes Perfect

A friend of my son took this wonderful video while on safari in Tanzania. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YEyzvtMx3s Pelican story charming, outcome happy. Now to the camera. GoPro is the most versatile camera on the market and has transformed how we experience  travel.  Immersed in the moment’s activity, capturing speed and detail,  GoPro...

8 Feb

Ubuntu

Boyd Varty is the fourth generation custodian of Londolozi, one of the preeminent wildlife reserves of Southern Africa.  He is a man of huge soul, sharp intelligence, deep compassion and, so important, great humor.  His book, Cathedral of the Wild, will be released on March 11. What a discordant world we live in.  Every day we hold the full range...

23 Dec

Meditations #51

“Je reviens au bon Dieu,” said the Hatian mother, crushed by her despair. The helpless, the hopeless, the forgotten show heartbreaking endurance. Now is the time to extend a hand. We wish you a fullfilling 2014

3 Nov

Chem Chem Safari

Chem Chem, a relatively new Tanzanian property, is composed of two camps – Chem Chem principal Lodge and Little Chem Chem.  The main safari lodge, pictured above, is located in southern Manyara, a gorgeous park with flamingo-filled Lake Manyara, iconic lions draped on tree branches, and lovely landscapes dotted with palm trees.  Little Chem...

27 Sep

Meditations #50

Go, before the insistent voice of caution ensnares you, before your fears convince you to stay put. Early travels are an education in themselves, teaching, among other important lessons, what you are capable of when faced with the unknown. I’ve always wished that travel were a requirement and not a privilege.

Follow the road

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