The first measurable snowfall in New York City in nearly two years. Voters braving wind chills of minus-35 degrees at the Iowa caucuses. Texas, the Deep South and parts of the Southeast plunging into uncharacteristic below-freezing temperatures.
11.01.2024 - 09:03 / forbes.com / Art
The Caribbean has always boasted some of the best scuba diving in the world and in one island, Grenada, it’s gotten even better. The Grenada Tourism Authority has unveiled 31 new sculptures to be added to the Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park, creating a symbol of art, conservation and cultural pride in the country.
The unveiling of the new sculptures is part of a rehabilitation and upgrade initiative for the world’s first underwater sculpture park, which celebrates artistic expression and cultural richness by embracing the preservation of marine life. Adding a touch of local ingenuity, four mesmerizing sculptures - La Diablesse, Mama Glo, Bélé Dancer and Leatherback Turtle - created by local artist Troy Lewis were recently unveiled. The La Diablesse and Bélé Dancer, as well as the Coral Carnival, were inspired by a local design competition run by the Grenada Tourism Authority. The sculptures will rest as part of the underwater landscape, offering an enduring testament to the interplay between creativity and sustainability within the marine environment and diving world.
While many people choose to go scuba diving to see these structures, snorkelers can also view the art work from the surface.
What’s really interesting about these sculptures is that they seem frozen in time, half-buried in the sandy bottom and covered in coral and surrounded by colorful fish.
Some of the more popular sculptures include Vicissitudes, a ring of life-sized children holding hands and The Lost Correspondent, a figure sitting at a desk with a typewriter. The artist, Jason deCaires Taylor, turned the sea into an art gallery. Parrotfish, angelfish, and vibrant coral-dwelling creatures swim around and make their home in the sculptures and nearby reef. You can also see turtles and other marine life swim by. Each installations tells a unique story of the ocean's symbiotic relationship with human creativity.
Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique have over 50 dives sites including colorful coral reefs, spectacular shipwrecks, exhilarating drift dives and the underwater sculpture park.
Another popular dive is the Bianca C, known as the Titanic of the Caribbean. The Bianca C was a mammoth cruise liner that met its tragic fate off the coast of Grenada in 1961. Today, it can be found on the ocean floor, an imposing structure that attracted divers seeking a glimpse into the past. Schools of barracuda patroll the decks, and lionfish hover near the entry points.
Grenada's underwater world wasn't just about the large wrecks and sculptures; it was also a haven for macro photography enthusiasts. Tiny seahorses, flamboyant nudibranchs, and elusive pipefish hide among the coral branches.
Night dives are also very popular in Grenada, with
The first measurable snowfall in New York City in nearly two years. Voters braving wind chills of minus-35 degrees at the Iowa caucuses. Texas, the Deep South and parts of the Southeast plunging into uncharacteristic below-freezing temperatures.
Luxury cruise line Seabourn wants to help travelers escape the cold in style — and for less — with a big winter sale that has up to 25 percent off fares.
When we talk about traveling to upstate New York, with its fall foliage and shimmering lakes, the land above and beyond New York City is never called what it was known as for a thousand years—the homeland of the Haudenosaunee, ‘the people of the longhouse.’ The Haudenosaunee were a confederation of five (and later six) nations known to colonizers as “the Iroquois Confederacy"—the Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, and Tuscarora—who lost much of their land after the Revolutionary War.
It’s no secret that New Orleans, the 300-plus-year Louisiana port town situated along the banks of the mighty Mississippi River is known for it’s spirited revelry, jazz music, butter-rich food, buzzy cocktails (the Sazerac was born here) and annual Mardi Gras celebration — commencing this February. For leisure and business travelers looking for a quiet respite, you’re in luck. Below, the best of Crescent City’s outdoor spaces, leafy parks, natural beauty boutiques, healthy eats, spas and hotel offerings.
London, Rome, Tokyo, Cancún and Las Vegas, some of the most visited destinations in 2023, are still among the top places travelers are searching to go to this year, according to the travel sites Kayak and Hopper.
The passport you hold is a powerful tool when it comes to effortlessly visiting countries around the world.And some passports provide far more access than others, according to the Henley Passport Index.The just-released 2024 index shows that for the first time in 19 years of producing the ranking, six countries are tied for the top spot of having the most powerful passports.The countries leading the ranking are France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain—meaning citizens from all of these countries are able to visit 194 destinations around the world either visa-free or by obtaining a visa-on-arrival.The Henley Passport Index is the only ranking of its kind and is developed based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA). The index compares 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.While Japan and Singapore have made it into the number one slot for the past five years running, according to CNN, the European countries that are now also ranked number one on the list is a new development.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival. It’s a big milestone for the festival, which takes place January 18-28 in Park City, Utah. The years following COVID have been muted, with parts of the festival taking place virtually. This, of course, impacted party attendance and the overall festival vibe, which traditionally does a full takeover of Park City’s historic Main Street corridor. The sense is that 2024 will restore Sundance to its full capacity, which also means Hollywood will truly bring the party to Park City this year.
The White House says it is making progress on the charging network the country needs to enable long road trips in electric cars.
With its immense buttress roots and leathery green leaves, the northern rātā tree isn’t to be underestimated. Carried on the wind, its seeds land in the canopies of neighbouring trees and begin to germinate. Then, over hundreds of years, each individual seedling’s spidery roots wrap around its host, eventually entombing it and consuming the rotting trunk.
Sitting at the Cave Bar at Rock House, on the Turks & Caicos Islands’ main island Providenciales, it’s easy to think that you’re on an island in the Cyclades: the resort is hilltop; built into a 75 foot limestone cliff; overlooking turquoise water and surrounded by walls composed of chiseled white stones. Mark Durliat, CEO of Grace Bay Resorts, of which this resort is a part, and his wife honeymooned in Greece, apparently, and transferred the romantic ambience (and Mediterranean cuisine) they encountered there to this nearly two year old resort. And it’s working: I checked in at the same time as a newlywed couple from New York and every day other couples were lined up by the pool, in the hideaway hillside terraces and on the 130 foot jetty decked out with loungers.
Nevada is getting a brand-new state park this month. It’s one every would-be Indiana Jones (or maybe more like the Ross Gellers among us) will love, and as a bonus, it’s within a quick driving distance to The Strip.
Iceland's glaciers, black sand beaches, and the chance of catching the Northern Lights attract well over a million visitors a year. But it wasn't until November that I visited the tiny island nation for the first time, on a reporting trip.