Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue Nine i JRNY Travel Magazine

Nestled in the lush hills of St. Lucia’s Labrelotte Bay, Windjammer Landing Resort has undergone a breathtaking transformation. The resort blends Mediterranean charm with Caribbean warmth, offering new luxury villas, stunning Ocean Point Residences and revamped amenities. From private pools overlooking the sea to chic outdoor spaces perfect for lounging, Windjammer is the ultimate tropical escape. The resort’s fresh design combines natural wood, soft neutrals and vibrant blues, capturing the island’s essence. Whether dining on locally sourced cuisine or relaxing by the beach, Windjammer promises a serene getaway, steeped in comfort and style. NEED TO KNOW GETTING THERE The resort can arrange car and helicopter transfers from St Lucia’s international airport, which is served by direct flights from the UK. BEST TIME TO GO St Lucia enjoys year-round balmy temperatures.…

Best known for its aboriginal culture, diverse landscapes and abundant wildlife, Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) has so much to offer the adventurous traveller. Explore the NT’s rich history and aboriginal culture dating back nearly 65,000 years, from traditional practices to contemporary arts and more. Experience the varied and striking terrain of the outback by land, water or air – from helicopters to hot-air balloons over Alice Springs. Discover unique flora and epic views as you hike along scenic trails, swim in crystal-clear waterfalls and gorges, or camp beneath the southern sky, surrounded by breathtaking scenery the whole time. Savour local cuisine made from fresh, regional ingredients: join a gourmet food tour in Darwin, dine under the stars at Uluṟu, or enjoy a sunset dinner cruise through Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge, to…

It’s just after sunrise and a swash of greys, yellows and blues fills the vast mudflat seascape in front of me. Crepuscular rays appear from dense cloud on the horizon and illuminate a tangle of wind turbines in the distance, as if they are the heavenly answer to something. I’m witnessing this scene from my digs for the night, Eemshotel in the Dutch port city of Delfzijl. It looks like an oil rig, jutting unattractively into the sea, yet the whirling cheep of oystercatchers, the crackle of receding water in the mudflats and a blizzard of barnacle geese flying low over the water makes it feel more like being in a bird hide. This straddling of both the land and sea – industry and nature side by side – seems…

The warriors filed into the narrow street, tribal markings gleaming on their skin. They crouched in turtle formation, turf-covered shields aloft, awaiting command. These were Iloilo City’s Dinagyang festival dancers: high school students. The Dinagyang warrior is to Filipinos what the cheerleader is to Americans: popular, desirable, the peak of physicality. Their costumes represented the first people of the island of Panay: the indigenous Ati. Panay’s inhabitants today have a mixture of Ati, Malay, Spanish and Chinese heritage. My family and I watched from the cheap seats on Quezon Street, cradling our three-in-one coffees made from powdered milk and industrial quantities of sugar. We’d been here since 6:30am, avoiding the Tetris-like squeeze of Iloilo traffic on Dinagyang Sunday. Some photographers in the media pit had been here since 1am. Most…

Dust devils appear, whipping up sand in a circular frenzy like mini tornados. These stretch and expand 65ft into the sky with incredible ferocity and remind me of the gyrating inflatable tube men that inhabit car forecourts. They seem to be alive, angrily scooping up pale sand from the valley floor, flinging it up into the sky then back down to earth again. My vantage point is the roof of an eight-storey tower at the Hotel Valley Ho. Built in 1956, just five years after Scottsdale was incorporated, this property has kept much of its original ’50’s style. Though Scottsdale has expanded from a one-square-mile dot on the map to the sprawling city it is today, only a few buildings remain from the original settlement, including a 1930s adobe church,…

AHEAD OF US IN THE GRASSES, STREAKS OF ORANGE, OCHRE AND BLACK START TO MATERIALISE INTO A FAMILIAR SHAPE A huge Lucozadeorange sun ripples above the horizon, painting the sky with brushstrokes of pink, claret and blue, as our Land Cruiser bounces down the track, kicking up yellow dust into the morning air. There’s been a sighting of two male lions but they are less than 800yds from the edge of the park so we’re in a race against time to reach them before they go out of bounds. Our driver and ranger Ruan Mey, his loaded rifle perched strategically on the dashboard, is rushing us to the northern reaches of Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, 30 miles from the Mozambique-South Africa border. Donald Temba, our tracker, points right and Ruan punches…

It looks like a doddle. The web of rigging leading up to the first platform of Sea Cloud Spirit’s 190ft main mast feels sturdier than a worn Dr Martens boot, while 1st Officer Anatoly Maslov wraps me in a cacophony of clips and hooks. But the higher I climb, the more the ropes narrow. Footing has to be more precise and looking down suddenly becomes a sweat-inducing proposition. With the crew barking out helpful instructions from above, I hang back at an unnatural angle and heave up the futtock shrouds to the safety of the solid platform. Distant faces on the deck below crane their necks skywards and break out in applause. Given that this was the merely lowest of the mast’s perches, I feel a little like a child…

The drive to Mersea Island is stressful. Not because of the M25 (curiously devoid of traffic jams), bickering kids (left with the grandparents) or even my decrepit car (still working for now), but because of the Strood. This half-mile causeway that connects Mersea to mainland Essex is generally flooded by any high tide of more than 4.5m – and today’s is expected to be over this. With high tide due at 12.30pm, and the road occasionally impassable for as much as two hours because of it, we set off extra early. In the end, though, we don’t realise that we’re on the Strood until we reach the other side and are greeted by a sign saying ‘Mersea Island’: farmland had given way to what I assumed was marshland, patchworked with…

Northeast of Córdoba, Argentina’s second city, urban sprawl gradually gave way to pancake-flat farmland grazed by dairy herds. A series of nondescript towns were interspersed between the vast estancias, each with a pastel-shaded bus station, deserted plaza and pack of slumbering dogs. Periodically, we passed an industrial plant – one made butter and cheese, another produced Bimbo-brand bread – and dealerships selling tractors and combine harvesters. Over the course of the three-and-a-half-hour journey, the bus, half empty to begin with, steadily emptied until it was just me, the driver and a young police officer with a gun in a holster watching football highlights on his phone. Eventually, we pulled into the small town of Miramar de Ansenuza to be greeted by a cartoonish flamingo statue the height of a two-storey…

NEED TO KNOW GETTING THERE Royal Jordanian Airlines flies daily to Queen Alia International Airport from both London Heathrow and Stanstead airports. GETTING AROUND Guided tours are the best options for visiting remote or less-accessible sites. Exodus offer a 12-day Jordan: Culture & Nature In-Depth tour visiting all of Jordan’s UNESCO sites, plus nature reserves as well as the classic highlights. You can also base yourself in Amman for day trips to Al-Azraq, As-Salt, Jerash, Quseir ‘Amra and Qasr Al-Harranah with local tour operators. BEST TIME TO GO The best time to visit Northern Jordan is during the spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) when the weather is mild. During these seasons, the landscape is particularly vibrant, with blooming wildflowers in spring and golden hues in autumn.…