Weekly travel reads: Hiking to the Vatican

[The Travel Wire #67] Lagoons of Lençóis Maranhenses, Yangon, and more travel reads.

Travel reads

• I hiked right up to the Vatican’s back door on this underrated Italian camino [Adventure]

• Brazil’s lagoon-filled desert you can hike barefoot [BBC Travel]
“Lençóis Maranhenses looks like a desert, but it’s alive with shimmering pools, remote villages and ancient paths that only local guides know how to read.”

• Yangon: What is life really like in a city at war? [Ilona Vinogradova]
“Why the hell would you travel there? And some brutally honest words about ethical and intentional travel.”

• Into the wild [Tales of the Orient by Simon Ostheimer]
“How a side journey on the way to climb one of China’s most famous peaks, became an adventure all of its own.”

• The stilt villages [Odyssey And Meaning]
“Living on water in Aguégués, Benin.”

• China broke our brains [Brent and Michael Are Going Places]
“We expected to be shocked and transformed. We were.”

• Why tourist shops suck [Souvenirs]
“They sell imitation culture – not the real thing.”

• Traveling to meet who I used to be [Be Back By Dinner]
“A journey isn’t just about finding yourself. It’s about encountering who you used to be.”

• The tourist facade & the spectacle of Porto [Rewear&Care]
“How heritage tourism gives the illusion of authenticity.”

• Don’t bunch up. Spread out. [The Conscientious Traveller]

• The ten best books about travel of 2025 [Smithsonian Magazine]