The Bijagos Islands Are Paradise, But Not as You Know It | Vogue

"On first inspection, the Bijagos, located 50 kilometers off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, has enough island paradise cliches for at least a dozen over-written press releases. This 88-island archipelago has blue sea, palm trees, and deserted beaches with clean white sand. There are saltwater hippos inhabiting one island, and nesting sea turtles on another. In 1996, it was declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve. When I visited two months ago, in the middle of a trip along the coast of West Africa, I lay in a hammock on a hill, looked out across the bay, and wondered if this was the closest I would ever get to a billionaire’s holiday. And yet, the Maldives this is not. (It’s safe to say that Elon Musk will not be summering here any time soon.)" - Tom Ford