Editor’s Note: People Make the Difference

For me, sometimes the essence of a destination isn’t so much the sights, as fascinating as they may be, but the people who live there. I’ve found that some places are more blessed than others with genuine souls who are willing to share their lives with those of us who temporarily inhabit their world. And no, I’m not talking about performance art or scheduled stops at crafts markets. Not the kind of culture found at cultural venues in a city, either. I mean living, breathing, ordinary everyday culture.

In my experience, the roots of a civilization are found in the quiet backwaters, the places at the edges of the map, where locals still beam and eagerly relate their personal experience when asked a question. Where, as a visitor, you can see where the locals live and step inside their shoes, imagining, if only for a few minutes, what life would be like for you if you lived here, too.

My husband and I found one such place in the laidback fishing village of Placencia, in Belize (Tropical Flavors: Southern Belize). While the area has recently been “discovered,” the influx of visitors hasn’t yet tipped the balance toward mass tourism. Locals still go about their daily routines of fishing, playing with their kids, shopping in dark, narrow, mom-and-pop grocery stores and cooking up regional specialties for sale in tiny cafes — the same food they serve their own families. And somehow, despite the busyness of their lives, they are willing to take the time to share their world with people such as me.

A common element of these types of communities is geography: In my experience, some of the most welcoming people live in relatively isolated areas. Matthew Kadey finds the warm-hearted locals of Inishmore Island — a remote outpost off the wave-washed Atlantic coast of Ireland — to be a respite from the fast-paced modern world. (See Time Travel: Ireland’s Inishmore Island.)

Kadey’s story is among a trilogy of stories about Ireland in this issue’s Special Section, Intriguing Ireland. In Westport: Now This is Ireland, Jennifer Eisenlau returns to one of her favorite West Coast Irish cities, which was recently designated a heritage town.

Ireland was once considered by many to be off the beaten track, a pastoral place where old traditions reigned. While you can still find places where the old traditions are alive, since the 1990s, Ireland has been riding the crest of a wave of economic development and globalization. One of the symbols of this economic tidal wave is today’s Dublin, a burgeoning metropolis drawing young EU software engineers and visitors alike. You can get a sense for the throbbing nightlife of this newly energized capitol in The New Dublin: Party Central.

From Ireland to Malaysia, Jamaica to Montreal, this issue brings you a sense of places near and far. I hope you’ll have the opportunity to explore some of these countries and regions for yourself someday, and when you do, I hope you’ll take the time to have a good conversation with a local and learn what life is really like in their corner of the world.

Happy Travels!

Leslie Forsberg
Senior Editor