Pictures: A Thousand Words
Let me say first that your articles are wonderful. I have been a subscriber for more than five years. Your writers do a grand job of describing all the island spots. But all in all, nothing could be finer than the photos that accompany each article. The stories couldn't be complete without the pictorial fulfillment that helps describe them. For example, the photos of Palm Beach, Aruba, which depicted the beautiful water and sand, bring to memory the warm sand and prevailing trade winds blowing through your hair. Or go to the article on St. Lucia, with pictures of live volcanoes and tropical birds, which bring to mind the smell of those volcanoes and the songs from those colorful birds. Or the solitude you get from the photos of Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye in Belize. With that you can see how each pictorial review only enhances the words that describe each review. My hat is off to the photographers. -- John T. Rose, Bealeton, Virginia
Editor's note: We're with you, John. ISLANDS is very fortunate to work with some of the best photographers in the world. See what you think of the photos in this issue, especially Bob Krist's images from the Big Island of Hawaii and what R. Ian Lloyd discovered in Sumatra.
Moorea Magic
I am a monthly reader of your magazine and I enjoy it very much. My wife and I are traveling to Moorea this September and we are interested in obtaining the date of a past article in your magazine that inspired this upcoming trip. Do you have an archive list that would show an article published around 20 years ago about a family from California that was on vacation in the South Pacific? They found Moorea so beautiful that they decided to move there after returning to California for a few years. If you have the date of that article or any other ones about Moorea, I would appreciate that information so I can attempt to locate those particular islands magazines. -- Richard Fankhauser, via e-mail
Editor's note: We will look in our library to try to find that article. In the meantime, the past three years of ISLANDS magazines are online, including the April/May 2008 issue with another California family who moved to Moorea. Just go to islands.com and click on "digital version." Visit islands.com/moorea for the most recent content on the island. And if you end up moving there too, let us know!
Winning Voyage
I just wanted to let islands know what an honor it was for me to be selected as one of the winners of your 2007 Photo Contest and to have my pictures published in the magazine. I am still talking and bragging about it to this day. I would also like to let you know that I have finally redeemed my prize from the contest and traveled to Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Resort & Spa, in Cabo San Lucas. It was an amazing resort with breathtaking views. I had a wonderful time and would like to share some of my pictures from the resort with you. I thank you again for the opportunity and hope to enter future contests with your magazine. -- Michael Lam, via e-mail
Editor's note: That is all great to hear, Michael. Our next Photo Contest will be the biggest ever. Visit islands.com/photos for more info.
Question
What's your picture-perfect island daydream?
In the islands.com poll, 38 percent of you picked "a golden sunrise over Maui."
Scene Stolen
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your short article "The Scene Stealer" (April/May 2008 issue). It brought back so many great memories. My husband and I visited Oahu for the first time in February 2004, and we fell in love with the island and the people. We have gone there every year since then. On one of the trips we visited the Kualoa Ranch. We went on an ATV tour and it was so awesome! We rode into the valley and stopped to take some pictures. You could almost feel the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park roaming the area. I would highly recommend this for everyone to do. It was breathtaking to be on the mountain overlooking the beautiful water. We loved the ATV tour so much that we are talking about doing it again on our next trip. Keep up the good work. -- Lana Hurt, Colcord, Oklahoma
Editor's note: The opening "Get Here" photo for the Discover section is always fun to pick. See if this photo (July/August 2008 issue p. 16) inspires you to book a trip to Chile.
"What's Next" Winner
Linda Shelly of Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania, was selected from among the readers who correctly identified Wilson Island on the "Guess What's Next" photo page in the April/May issue. Shelly, who says she recognized the Voyages Hotels & Resorts island because a friend of hers had visited the area and showed her photos, wins a prize package courtesy of ISLANDS magazine. Look for more on Wilson Island, including an interactive map, a photo gallery and related articles at islands.com/wilson. For your chance to enter this month's contest, see if you can guess the location of this photo (July/August 2008 issue p.116).
Greetings From Ko Samui
ISLANDS photo editor Lori Barbely recently returned from this island paradise off the eastern coast of Thailand. Here's the postcard along with her fresh tips:
- Trek through Samui's jungle on the back of an elephant.
- Dine under the stars at the Chomtalay Restaurant.
- Enjoy a cozy table for two on the beach; choose your entree from a selection of fresh seafood and watch the chef grill it to your specifications.
- Monkey around at Samui's Monkey Training School, where primates learn how to harvest
coconuts. Hire a boat and spend the day exploring Ang Thong National Marine Park. - Climb at the park to the top of Mu Ko and see the emerald Lake in the Mountain.
- Fly nonstop from New York to Bangkok, then catch a flight to Ko Samui on Thai Airways.
- Learn more at samuitourism.com.
Send the ISLANDS editors an e-mail at feedback@islands.com to comment on anything in the magazine or online.
