The bigger the better, the more the merrier: The world's two largest cruise ships have finally met.
29.12.2023 - 18:39 / nationalgeographic.com
Junkanoo, a polychromatic burst of music, dance, storytelling, and parades practiced in the Bahamas, was recently inscribed on the 2023 UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It’s the first intangible—a practice, skill, tradition, or craft—in the island nation recognized by the international cultural organization.
A Bahamian New Year tradition since the 18th century, Junkanoo revolves around pulsing street parades, enlivened by cowbells, whistles, horns, and goatskin drums. Many participants don bold outfits created in communal studios called “shacks,” where elders teach youths costume design, an experience considered a rite of passage. Parades are held annually on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day throughout the Bahamas—with the largest parade in Nassau, the capital city.
Junkanoo is among many unique New Year events across the Americas, from sinking sardines in Maine to illuminating firework shows in Aruba.
Here are four ways to celebrate the start of 2024 besides watching a ball drop in New York City’s Times Square.
In Aruba, vivid pyrotechnic shows called klapchi light the skies on New Year’s Eve. “Many times, neighbors will join forces to create one massive display,” says Emily Garcia, spokesperson for Aruba Tourism Authority.
Tourists aren’t allowed to set off fireworks at their hotels, but they can see memorable klapchi events at several resorts, including the Ritz-Carlton Aruba, Renaissance Wind Creek Aruba Resort, and Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino.
Gray whales, which migrate along the Oregon coast from mid-December to mid-January, create “a symbolic spectacle, representing the cyclical nature of life and renewal,” says Allison Keeney, Travel Oregon communications manager.
(Whale watching is booming. Here’s how to do it responsibly.)
From December 27 until January 1, volunteers staff 15 coastal locations to help visitors see the thousands of gray whales cruising south to warmer Mexican waters. Prime spots include Neahkahnie Mountain Overlook, Cape Meares Lighthouse, Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint, Cape Foulweather, Umpqua Lighthouse, and the Whale Watching Center at Depoe Bay. Volunteers point out whales between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., explaining their migration and offering stickers and educational pamphlets. Visitors can also book a trip with Whale’s Tail Charters, Dockside Charters, or Tradewinds Charters to get a closer glimpse of the creatures.
At midnight each New Year’s Eve, New York City drops a ball in Times Square, and Key West lowers a conch shell amid revelers near the water in Florida.
But in tiny Eastport, Maine, an eight-foot-long illuminated sardine descends into the main square for revelers to kiss as the clock strikes 12. Fireworks
The bigger the better, the more the merrier: The world's two largest cruise ships have finally met.
A highly anticipated newcomer towers along the hustle, bustle, and traffic of Miami's busy coast. And for good reason: PortMiami's newest 1,198-foot-long resident was recently crowned the world's largest cruise ship.
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This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with John Barnhart, a 32-year-old who left Tampa, Florida to travel, and work, around the world.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Diane Higgins, one of the 155 people who survived the "Miracle on the Hudson" crash alongside her mother, Lucille Palmer, in 2009. It has been edited for length and clarity.
As someone who grew up in Wisconsin and moved to New York City a decade ago, I enjoy analyzing the similarities and differences between the two regions I call home.
During the pandemic, doing jigsaw puzzles became a form of meditation for me (and thousands of others) and I’m still doing them four years later. Puzzles have come a long way from the dusty old landscapes and cat illustrations you may still have on your basement shelf; dozens of new brands (many of them women-owned) have popped up and they’re creating beautiful, unique, statement-making works of art that are fun to do and worthy of framing.
It’s a common dilemma most travelers face when booking a dream vacation: how many days are you going stay in one place? It's a choice that can be the difference of having perfectly enjoyed the time in a city, and being somewhere just a little too long. This week, the dilemma spilled over into an online discourse on Reddit where hundreds of travelers weighed in on which cities require the most amount of days to visit, and which can be skipped over. One of the top cities that travelers felt needed extra time is Tokyo. The city has a population of 14 million across 847 sq. miles, while for comparison, New York City is only 468 sq miles. “Definitely Tokyo, if we're counting the Tokyo Metropolis. Just the city proper requires 10-14 days to explore its variety and sprawl,” one traveler wrote in support of the Japanese city in the tread.
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Amtrak is making it easier to travel around the Big Apple from the bustling streets of New York City to the soaring peaks of the Adirondacks, the thundering roar of Niagara Falls, and beyond with a buy-one-get-one ticket sale.
It was 2:38 p.m. on August 21, 2017, when day turned to night. That was the precise moment in Greenville, South Carolina, when the moon, passing between the sun and Earth, fully blocked our view of the sun.
With a rate of $1190 for the cheapest room, New Orleans emerged top of the rankings.