Welcome to the World’s Smallest Country!
I’m taking you right into the middle of the largest of oceans: to the north there’s American Samoa, to the east the Cook Islands, to the west Tonga, and a little further away Fiji... The rocky coastlines of this island appear to have been carved out over thousands of years by the furious force of the ocean. The South Pacific’s breakers pound away at Niue, a small island of just 100 square miles (260 km2). This is one of the smallest countries in the world, with a population of just 1,500. Niue, a self-governing country in free association with New Zealand, is the least populated country in the world after the Vatican.
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Publié le
26/09/2024
Par
Jonathan Jagot
Numéro :
198
Parution :
Nov.
/
Dec.
2024
A final wave drives our catamaran onwards, and with it our fatigue from a week at sea. We discover a calm and relaxing bay, and we float on translucent waters over a bed of coral. The seabed is carpeted with astonishing biodiversity. Huge crevasses sink into the water, and a few large shadows disappear into the darkness...Ashore, the locals seem very discreet. Nobody wanders around, everything seems dead. Perhaps this is due to the importance the locals attach to their dead. There are dozens of cemeteries all around the island. Some graves date from the 19th century. Other, more recent graves …
