>>Audubon Travel 2005

To the Ends of the Earth

 

Our world may be getting smaller, but roads less traveled still exist, many of them bejeweled with strange and extraordinary inhabitants, especially those of the feathered variety. In Audubon 's 2005 travel issue, you'll visit fiery flamingos foraging in the surf along a barely inhabited salt island in the Bahamas, raptorlike oilbirds navigating the darkness of a remote hideout on an island seven miles off the coast of Venezuela, and penguins teetering along a steep, icy slope in Antarctica. These destinations show that sometimes nature can benefit from the effect of a human footprint—whether it's the salt production on Great Inagua, the oil in Trinidad, or scientific explorations in Antarctica. So far such activities have helped protect these places from large-scale commercial development and tourism. Yet Great Inagua's shores face the inevitable threat of the resorts, industry, and agriculture that have despoiled other Bahamian islands. A land rush has begun along the route of Trinidad's proposed “eco-roadway.” And increasing numbers of tourists are cruising to the Deep South. Fortunately, these places have a chance of staying off the beaten path because their champions want them to. And that could make all the difference.