Kim Brown Seely

The water was blue and the torii gate standing knee deep in it was red. We walked toward it on a sandy path. My sister and I could hear the rustling of the forest to our left and the whispering of the sea to our right. The moment felt ephemeral, yet eternal. Young students in navy-blue sailor uniforms schooled around us, and the scent of pines drifted past, invigorating after the ship’s climate control. But then all of it was invigorating: the rustic simplicity of the iconic red shrine – arms raised to the sacred island it’s faced for hundreds of years – and the sleek cruise ship and cabin we were sharing for a week, a floating microcosm of French chic bumping up against the rarefied beauty of Japan.

Floating to Antarctica and Other Daydreams.

Hiking, biking, dogsledding, and guiding: From Zimbabwe’s plains to Puglia’s hills, lives lived out of doors make for great wisdom – and great stories. Eight adventurers share their thoughts on why it’s important to get outside and what we can learn from nature.

A search for healing – and leopards – in Botswana’s wide-open spaces.

Bits of white ice bob around our ship in the dark-blue sea, and every so often an iceberg floats by. It’s 5:30 am aboard National Geographic Resolution, but the sun hasn’t set all night. The vessel, on its inaugural voyage to the Arctic, glides silently up a bright fjord, and I’m up early – too excited to sleep – taking in the beauty while northern fulmars streak past like wingmen.

Pristine nature and a dose of fitness buoy a cruise in Baja California Sur.

Getting back to basics for a big celebration.

Blissful downshifting in Portugal’s undiscovered Alentejo region.

A journey to the end of the earth reveals that, sometimes, we need to go far to go deep.

An Indian exploration in two acts.

Big landscapes and intimate lodges on New Zealand's South Island.