Canada
Manitou Springs
A prairie lake so mineral-dense that floating is involuntary fronts a small resort town.
Swimmers sit upright in the water as if on invisible chairs. The lake stretches shallow and bright under enormous Saskatchewan sky.
Little Manitou's dense mineral water, long gathered for healing by Plains peoples, floats every visitor and fills Canada's largest indoor mineral spa at the shoreside resort. Watrous keeps the era of spa trains alive in period detail. The buoyancy is the attraction; the prairie quiet is the cure.
Couple
Float together, then let Watrous's spa-era quiet finish the day.
Family
The buoyant water delights children with the indoor pools as weather cover.
- Little Manitou's mineral density makes floating involuntary.
- Canada's largest indoor mineral spa works the same water year-round.
- Watrous preserves the spa-train era in period detail.
Danceland's licensed buffet feeds the dance-hall nights by the shore.
The Watrous Bakery covers the pastries and coffee between soaks.
Lambert's Bay
South Africa
Thousands of Cape gannets crowd an island reached on foot from a fishing harbour.
Antiparos
Greece
A cave so vast that the Marquis de Nointel held Christmas Mass inside it in 1673.
Taketomi Island
Japan
Water buffalo pulling carts through coral-walled lanes on a turquoise coral island.
Oualidia
Morocco
A saltwater lagoon where oyster beds gleam at low tide and flamingos wade.
Algonquin Park
Canada
Loon calls cross mirror lakes at dawn in the park that taught Canada to canoe.
Lunenburg
Canada
A UNESCO port of painted clapboard climbs from a harbour that still rigs tall ships.
Cathedral Grove
Canada
Douglas firs eight centuries old stand within steps of the island highway.
Shubenacadie River
Canada
The Fundy tide charges upriver twice daily, turning a calm brown river into surfable waves.