Essay & Photographed by Michael AW

Marine biologists described GARDENS OF THE QUEEN AS A “WINDOW TO THE PAST”, a time capsule conjuring comparisons to what the Caribbean may have looked like 50 to 100 years ago.

If Christopher Columbus was alive today, the only place he would recognise on our planet would be Jardines de la Reina, “the Gardens of the Queen”, an archipelago of a thousand low-lying islands embraced by lush mangrove swamps. In his exploration of the Americas, Columbus discovered this magnificent outpost and named it in honour of Queen Isabella of Castile (the country that later become Spain). Since its establishment as a national park, Gardens of the Queen, has become Cuba's oldest and largest protected area. Strictly prohibited from any development, the Gardens have not changed since the time of Columbus. However, the great explorer could not have possibly seen the garden’s incredible splendour, as its secrets are largely beneath its wave. 

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“If life is but a dream, as poets say, a journey through the Galapagos is a journey of dream, a dream that is worth reliving again and again.” Michael AW

Galapagos is a must on everyone’s bucket list.  Beyond the norm of enjoying nature’s splendor at its finest, it is in the Galápagos where one becomes part of the wilderness on islands, above and below the water. Isolated from the mainland of South America, creatures on Galapagos lack an instinctive sense fear of humans and their benign curiosity means you are allowed some interaction.  

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