Joseph "Rich" Francis is a travel writer and full-time traveler of more than 10 years. He's lived on multiple continents and in a hodgepodge of different destinations, from the beach towns of the Mexican Pacific to the idyllic isles of southern Thailand, the ski centers of the Alps to the historic cities of Central Europe. He's a niche expert in surf-travel and adventure travel, and has published work in leading travel brands like Lonely Planet, The Culture Trip, and Seeker.
Today, you can find him blogging about the latest in surf destinations over on The Surf Atlas or about the latest bars in Krakow on KrakowBuzz. You can also find his portfolio site at JosephRichardFrancis.com.
From the soaring, mist-mantled summit of Mount Liamuiga to the powdery Caribbean beachfronts of Oualie, Frigate Bay and Cockleshell, the historic French-flavoured, Anglophone capital of Basseterre to the craggy volcanic chutes of the Black Rocks, the formidable palisades and bunkers of Brimstone Hill to the clattering railway tracks of the old Plantation era, there’s plenty …
From the soaring grass-clad mountains of Mount Nimba in the north to the lagoons and roaring Atlantic waves of the south, the mist-topped rainforests where chimps live in the west to the sweeping plantations of cocoa and plantains in the east, the Ivory Coast represents one seriously huge slab of West Africa. Yes, the nation’s …
Scattered out in the midst of the south-eastern Caribbean in an array of sparkling bays and cacti-topped cays, St. Vincent and the Grenadines have long represented a picture of quintessential exoticism and laid-back Carib living. Largely off the tourist map, this archipelago of small islets and rocks boasts a long history of French and English …
From the boulder-spattered beaches of Virgin Gorda to the hidden smuggler and onetime pirate coves of great big Tortola Island, the secluded sands of pretty Jost Van Dyke to the reefs and lobster gardens of Anegada, the British Virgin Islands (that’s just the BVI for short) are a picture of the pristine and paradisiacal Caribbean …
Off-the-beaten-track Trinidad and Tobago is an interesting little place. Unlike many of its Caribbean neighbors, this duo of mineral-rich, oil-heavy islets close to the coast of Venezuela does not depend on tourists for survival. Yes, there are palm-fringed beaches and luxurious hotel resorts; there are misty rainforests and breath-taking tropical jungles, soaring mountain ranges and …
The scarred island of Montserrat has endured more volcanic eruptions than any other in the region in modern times. A huge chunk on the southern edge of this small speck in the midst of the Lesser Antilles chain is still demarked by an exclusion zone, deemed too unsafe for both travelers and locals. The cause? …
Rising from the underwater Cayman Ridge to form the trio of large islets that are the Cayman Islands, this archipelago territory of Britain’s has become synonymous with high-living, money and luxury and is a popular destination among the Caribbean Islands. That’s largely thanks to the booming wealth of cities like George Town, known the world-over …
Aloft atop the swells of the Atlantic Ocean some 1,000 kilometers from North Carolina and a whopping 1,500 from the Caribbean mainstay of Puerto Rico, the curved archipelago of Bermuda has one foot in the tropics and another firmly in the Atlantic Hurricane Belt. Influenced by its long English colonial past, the towns here are …
Haiti has been rocked by disastrous earthquakes (the most recent in 2010) and beset by political turmoil in the last century, not to mention overshadowed by the nearby likes of Dominican Republic and Jamaica, meaning this half of Hispaniola Island remains largely undeveloped and untrodden. However, those who do opt to head to this off-the-beaten-track …
Floating like a butterfly in the midst of the Leeward Islands, Guadeloupe’s duo of main islets – Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre – stretch out like two fluttering wings. But oh how different they are! In the west, Basse rises to mist-topped, waterfall-doused peaks that belch plumes of sulphuric volcanic ash into the humid airs. In the …