Journal

"Kamchatka makes you feel like an explorer," says Tobias Woggon when contemplating the Russian peninsula often labeled one of the least populated and remote corners of Earth. A landscape carved by active volcanoes, thermal springs, and geysers—it has only recently opened up to the world after 50 years of Soviet military zone restrictions. Delve into one of the wonders of Nordic Cycle.

With a history of mining, tiny Makatea in French Polynesia hopes to use climbing and other forms of ecotourism to grow and rebuild its community with a sustainable focus. Once a population on the brink of extinction, Julie Ellison explores how a tiny, former mining island in the South Pacific Ocean carved a new culture from its rocky forms.

Situated on a lagoon, overlooking Mayan ruins, the thatched-roof property is lush and jungle-like. There are only four rooms, adorned with agave-fiber linens, minimalist stone bathtubs, and breezy hammocks for swaying away the day. Kari Molvar on a hammock swinging retreat that overlooks an ancient Mayan ruin, as told in Be Well.

The belt of the Ukrainian Carpathians was a plateau rich with rivers, seasonal fauna and flora, and wildlife. But human exploitation of the land is visibly changing the landscape beyond recognition. Ukrainian photography duo Synchrodogs have developed a visual message that hopes to bring awareness to the vanishing Carpathian panorama.

The cornerstone of brunch and ubiquitous in trendy cafés, the avocado's climb to stardom this millennium has been of Biblical proportions. They evolved to become a mainstream staple on the kitchen tables, but a consumer hunger has shed light on an environmental emergency unfolding across some of the world's most biodiverse forests. We find out more about a developing crisis high in the mountains of the Dominican Republic.

From tropical meals prepared for hungry travelers to cooking classes offered by refugees, whether in Berlin or Brooklyn, the culinary world abounds with people driven by the same desire: to build stronger communities and span cultures and generations through the time-honored tradition of getting strangers to break bread together.