PHOTOGRAPHS: STEVE RYAN, TEC PETAJA, EMMANUELLE ANDRIANJAFY, ROB GREIG
Over the past decade of editing Lonely Planet magazine, I’ve occasionally been asked what binds our community of readers together. Our readership has a weird breadth to it, so its unity doesn’t especially come from age, gender, income or ethnicity. The common ground is an attitude: a happiness to try something new and to view the world from diferent perspectives. We aim to track down contributors who can deliver on just that. In the pages of this latest issue, you’ll learn what it’s like for a blind traveller to encounter the Mona Lisa for the irst time (p45); a New York Times writer from San Francisco summits volcanoes and downs mai tais, in a bid to explore the language of Hawaii (p46); and a photographer from Madagascar, resident in Senegal, captures the diverse soundtrack of the country she has settled in (p86). Our 10th-anniversary celebrations hit their peak in the next issue, for which I’m excited to announce we’ve recruited a special guest editor: Bear Grylls! Whether he’s paragliding over Everest, strolling through Alaskan wilderness with President Obama, or inspiring a new generation in his role as Chief Scout, no one better embodies an optimistic, open-minded spirit of adventure.