Call of the Wild With Andrea Ferolla

A thunderous spectacle straddling the border of Brazil’s Paraná state and Argentina’s Misiones province, the Iguassu Falls form the largest waterfall system in the world. In the Tupí-Guaraní language, the name comes from ‘y’ (pronounced ‘ee’), meaning water, and ‘'ûasú’, meaning big or great. Local legend speaks of a deity spurned when a beautiful woman, Naipí, fled with her mortal lover, Tarobá, in a canoe; enraged, the deity is said to have split the river, creating the mighty falls and casting the couple into eternal descent.

VISIT IGUASSU FALLS

At 3,812m, Peru and Bolivia’s Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake on Earth. Here, still blue waters reflect the white tipped peaks that encircle it and house more than 530 aquatic species. Life thrives both below and above its surface with the Uros people living on ‘floating islands’ woven from totora reeds that grow in the shallows. These buoyant homes speak of ingenuity and deep harmony with nature, where every reed is both shelter and sustenance.

VISIT LAKE TITICACA

Winding like a ribbon of silver through pine forests and fertile strath, the River Spey has flowed beside Scotland’s communities since ancient times. Deeply entwined with traditions of salmon fishing and whisky distilling, the river remains a living artery of Highland life. Today, watch for ospreys plunging for salmon and otters gliding through the shallows at dusk. Highland folklore adds a touch of enchantment, telling of shape-shifting water spirits known as kelpies, or ‘each-uisge’, said to appear as white-maned horses rising from the river’s depths.

VISIT THE RIVER SPEY

On a corner of Madeira’s north coast lies a coastline shaped by fire and softened by the sea. The natural saltwater pools of Porto Moniz are ringed with volcanic rocks that allow ocean waves to spill in, forming crystal clear basins. Here, swimmers can drift between warm sunlit shallows and refreshing surges from the Atlantic, creating a haven where nature has carved out its own spa and every dip feels like discovery.

VISIT PORTO MONIZ

In this forested pocket of Mexico, the ground opens to reveal secret worlds. The cenotes that are unique to the Yucatán Peninsula once provided the ancient Maya with vital water and, at times, served as places of sacred offerings. More than 6,000 of these limestone sinkholes are scattered throughout the peninsula, where sunlight filters through jungle canopies to illuminate clear, sapphire-blue pools below. Taking a swim here feels like entering the earth’s own secret chambers, suspended between nature and ancient history.

VISIT MEXICO'S CENOTES

The Camargue is a vast plain of shimmering brine lagoons on France’s south coast, separated from the sea by slender sandbars. Wildlife flourishes in these salt-kissed waters; flamingos gather in rosy flocks while white Camargue horses roam freely across marshland. Life here is lived in close rhythm with the tides and seasons; traditional cattle ranches, saltworks and fishing huts coexist with protected nature reserves, preserving a landscape that feels wild yet peaceful.

VISIT PIVOINE