If you enjoy looking at a map and wondering what life is like in the places you’ve never heard of, here are ten names to look up. Some are island nations, others are territories with their own identities, and one is a mountain region whose recent history has reshaped life there.
We start with the freshwater pools of Vanuatu, cross the English Channel and the Irish Sea, and finish in the South Caucasus. How many of these places could you find on a map without searching for them?
3Cook Islands
The Cook Islands are a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand. Rarotonga is home to the capital, Avarua, where coastal roads run below steep green ridges.
Aitutaki has a different feel. Small islets dot its broad lagoon, and getting out on the water is one of the best ways to see it. If you’d choose Rarotonga for a mountain walk, you’d choose Aitutaki for a day on a boat.
