Inle Lake: the farmers prepare the fields for the arrival of the rains.
ON FOOT TO INLE LAKE
One of the most interesting adventures to get to know Burma by boot and backpack is trekking to the inle lake , a hiking route of medium difficulty that began to become popular about six years ago.
myanmar (although I still like to call it Burma) is the hidden gem of Southeast Asia, a country still little visited by travellers. And one of the most interesting adventures to explore Burma is the trekking to Inle Lake, a 58 km hiking route and medium difficulty. The march begins in the small town of Kalaw and ends at Inle Lake, the second largest in Burma. The landscapes that it covers are not the ones that take your breath away, but what makes it so recommendable are the encounters with the peoples and ethnic groups of these places: the Danu and the Pao , farmers who live pending the monsoon rains, attached to the land and their ancestral customs.
The locals still dress in the traditional way: the men in their longyi skirts and the women in their bright orange turbans. To cover the 58 km of the trek it takes three days and two nights, but there are those who shorten it to do a single night or who add one more day to explore the shores of the lake. You sleep in private houses where there is always a clean stay and hospitality in abundance, or in Buddhist monasteries . And it is eaten in small local restaurants or in those bar-shops that have everything from seeds to buttons. The best time to do this is from October to January, what the Burmese call winter.
Paco Nadal between Buddhist stupas, on the way to Inle Lake.
LITTLE TRAVELED TRACKS
Although you would never have thought about it, Morocco is a true Eden for cyclists, and even more so in autumn.
One of the most recommended tours is the one that crosses the Atlas passing through Imilchil, the largest town of these high plateaus and where on Saturdays a weekly market is held where Berbers from the Aït Hdidou tribe come to buy fruit, vegetables and, above all, bridal trousseaus made by the local women's cooperative. It travels through grandiose and stark scenarios. Great mountains of pure stone, barren due to the erosion of the Saharan wind . But such a barren setting is full of life and old mud kasbash are common, many still inhabited, and small cafes lost in the middle of nowhere where they serve mint tea and couscous that resurrects a dying cyclist. The Moroccan company Argan Extrem Sport offers, for the most passionate, Six-day routes through the Atlas, with a support vehicle, local guides and accommodation (from €1,550 per person, equipment included) ; and for the most gourmets there is an option that includes a hammam after each end of the stage and in which you spend the night in charming boutique hotels (from €2,600 per person). It also proposes one-day routes through Marrakech and through small villages in the lower Atlas (from €35 per person).
Morocco, also by bike
ADVENTURE IN THE MINE
Beneath the rolling hills of North Wales lurks an underworld of abandoned mines. It is the stage where the Go Below Underground Adventure activities take place, which include boat rides on underground lakes, climbing vertical walls or the adrenaline rush Zip Below Extreme , in which 5 km are saved by stairs, via ferrata and nine zip lines, one of them 130 meters long.
mine adventure
MAURICIO HOYOS: A LIFE AMONG SHARKS
When Mauricio Hoyos saw the movie Jaws for the first time, the opposite happened to him than to the rest of mortals: he fell in love with these powerful animals. So much so that he has dedicated his life to studying them. This Mexican marine biologist is one of the world's leading experts on sharks and he spends more time among them than he does among humans. The video of him diving with the largest female bank shark ever filmed went around the world. Since 2011 he directs Pelagios Kakunjá , a marine research center specializing in large pelagics, such as sharks.
Why should we protect sharks?
As top predators, they help eliminate the weak and sick and maintain balance, thus guaranteeing biodiversity. A graphic example: if the sharks disappear from a reef, other predators will proliferate, such as the grouper. The grouper eats herbivores, which in turn eat algae. As a result, algae increase and the coral ends up dying.
What if diving we meet a shark?
We are big animals and having fins, a regulator and blowing bubbles is something very rare for sharks. In most cases, they are the ones who are scared of us. But if the shark swims in an exaggerated way, puts its fins down and makes sudden movements, it is better to retreat without losing eye contact with the shark, that is very important.
A life among sharks
Feeding (feeding sharks to observe them closely), is it harmful to the ecosystem or does it help raise awareness among the population?
in the Bahamas, a single live coral shark produces $250,000 , due to diving tourism, compared to the 50 that are paid only once when the fishermen catch the shark. A whale shark in Belize can generate about two million dollars throughout its life.
You often work on the island of Guadalupe, Mexico, why are there so many great white sharks there?
Isla Guadalupe is one of the most important white shark aggregation sites in the eastern Pacific. So far 166 sharks have been identified and return to the island year after year. Adults have been found to prey on elephant seal populations in winter, feeding on them as they arrive on the island after their migration to Alaska. And it is known that there are juveniles that remain on the island for more than ten months, so the island could be a secondary breeding area.
Any advice for someone who wants to dive with sharks?
let them start with moderate sized species , such as reef grays or lemons. It's a wonderful experience that will change your mind about these much-maligned animals.
* This report is published in the September 87 issue of the Condé Nast Traveler magazine and is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device.
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