USA
White privilege in the outdoors: the AT hikers who broke the law
Two thru-hikers lied and broke the law this year to finish the Appalachian Trail. Should we dismiss it as a daring adventure or tackle what lies deeper? The first thing to admit before I begin is that I’m a person who follows the rules. I never cheat at games or quizzes despite being stupidly competitive. I hate being late to meetings or gatherings and I’ve even been known to Google “how late to arrive at a dinner party” because I know it’s impolite to turn up on time (the consensus is 15 minutes). Maybe this compulsion comes from some innate sense of properness but, more likely, it’s a trait inherited from my immigrant parents. They arrived in the UK in the 1960s, a time of heightened racial tension. During my childhood, I came to notice a change in my father whenever he interacted ...
13 stunning natural phenomena
From the famous northern lights to the lesser known sea of stars, we share elusive natural phenomena from across the globe As Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken made history this week as the first astronauts to launch to orbit on a private spaceship, the world took pause to watch. Given the turmoil of our times, one observer quipped, ‘Congratulations to the Astronauts that left Earth today. Good choice.’ The off-the-cuff comment was amusing, but also surprisingly poignant for it reminded us of the damage being wreaked by humans – not only on each other but the planet itself. Seeing the curvature of the Earth reminded us of the extraordinary natural phenomena that exist right here at home. Below, we share the best of them. 1. Aurora Borealis The Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the northern...
10 things park rangers wish you knew
From grizzly bears to bugbears, five park rangers share the vagaries of their unique job There’s no doubt that nature is flourishing under lockdown. There are heartening stories of the Himalayas emerging from Indian smog, moles in the UK being seen above ground and deer wandering the streets of Japan. Sadly, these phenomena will likely end not too long after lockdown, as humans return to business as usual. In an effort to remind readers – and ourselves – to re-engage with nature as responsibly as possible when we’re allowed to return, we asked five park rangers to share some things they wish we knew. The rangers are based in the US (and remain unnamed for the sake of discretion), but nearly all their points are applicable worldwide. We hate it when you disrespect the park...
International borders: 10 remarkable frontiers
From mountains to libraries, we take a look at some of the most extraordinary international borders to be found across the globe Over the last few years, we’ve seen an impressive collection of new websites, blogs and social media accounts dedicated to ‘travel porn’. They’re filled with big, sweeping images of fairytale lands and precarious precipices. Sometimes, like this incredible piece on architectural density in Hong Kong, they’ll depict urban decay or stifling poverty – always gilded by the photographer’s lens. At Atlas & Boots, we always wanted to strike the right balance between travel porn and more in-depth content; the type that provided some previously unknown knowledge or insight. We’re using the current downtime to update some old content and came across this post about unu...
Man jailed five years for trafficking 18-year-old girl to Libya for prostitution
Twitter A 66-year-old man was on Thursday sentenced to five years imprisonment by a Federal High Court, Makurdi, Benue State, for trafficking an 18-year-old lady to Mali for forced labour and prostitution. The man, Lawrence Ogonna, was said to have connived with some other people who are currently at large to trafficked the said teenager from Makurdi to the North African country. Justice Hassan Dikko of the Federal High Court found the man guilty of a three-count charge of organising foreign travels for prostitution and assisting to traffic the victims contrary to sections 18 and 13(4)(c) of Trafficking in Perons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015. He was dragged to the court by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons. He, however, got an opt...
Nigerian nationals in US now to be evacuated Saturday
Luc Doan/Foursquare The federal government has announced that the evacuation of the first batch of Nigerians from the United States will take place on Saturday, May 9, as against Sunday, May 10, 2020 that was earlier announced. It added that the Ethiopian Airline aircraft would depart Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey, on May 9, 2020 at the estimated time of 19:15 hours and arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja on May 10, 2020, at the estimated time of 11:15 hours. The Consulate General of Nigeria in New York in a statement dated May 5, 2020, and made available to journalists on Thursday, added that only 270 passengers would be accommodated in the evacuation batch. It stated categorically that the mission would attend to applicants on a first come, first served basis a...
Climbing the seven summits: a route to the top
Climbing the seven summits – the highest mountain on every continent – is an improbable dream of mine… but that’s the beauty of dreams I have always loved trekking and climbing. I usually spend several weeks of any given year on the grades of the Scottish Highlands or Welsh Snowdonia or ideally further afield such as the Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland or the K2 base camp trek in Pakistan. It was one of these trekking trips – to Tanzania in 2010 – that ignited something new inside me. It was while climbing Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, that an idea, an ambition, began to formulate. My hobby deepened into passion and I realised that I wanted to achieve something great: to climb the seven summits, the highest mountain on every continent. Mountain Continent Altitude Tech....
10 books to transport you to the world’s most visited countries
Sample the world’s most popular destinations without leaving your home On a normal spring day, you can expect the Champ de Mars in Paris to be teeming with tourists. This vibrant swatch of green offers iconic views of the Eiffel Tower and hosts droves of visitors every year – possibly as many as 80 million. France is after all the most visited country in the world. With a pandemic sweeping the globe, however, the Champ de Mars and France’s other iconic attractions – the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sacre-Coeur – lie largely empty. The same goes for Spain, the USA, China, Italy and the other most visited countries in the world. There are of course ways to experience these countries without physical travel. Below, we list 10 books that will transport you to the world’s most...
17 megadiverse countries of the world
We profile the world’s megadiverse countries, from obvious contenders like Ecuador and Brazil to one or two surprise entries It should be comforting to know that a mere 17 countries hold more than 70% of the world’s species. It should be easy to rally this small group of ‘megadiverse countries’ to protect the planet’s extraordinary biodiversity. Alas, some of these countries are also the world’s biggest consumers and polluters. In July 2000, the UN’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre recognised 17 megadiverse countries which hold the majority of Earth’s species and high numbers of endemic species (i.e. those unique to an area or country). To be termed megadiverse, a country must have at least 5,000 of the world’s plants as endemics and have marine ecosystems within its borde...
Star struck: exploring the world’s Dark Sky Reserves
International Dark Sky Reserves are protected areas that offer exceptionally starry nights. We review the 16 places that hold this hallowed status They sound like something out of Star Trek, these ‘Dark Sky Reserves’ – like they may have been conjured one evening in a lively LA writers room. Unlike the ‘Delta Quadrant’ or ‘Delphic Expanse’, however, International Dark Sky Reserves actually exist. We at Atlas & Boots hadn’t heard of them until our recent trip to New Zealand‘s Aoraki Mackenzie, one of the world’s 16 Dark Sky Reserves. Governed by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), Dark Sky Reserves are defined as follows. A public or private land possessing an exceptional quality of starry nights and nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natu...
