The Best Destinations for (Virtually) Beating the January Blues

The Best Destinations for (Virtually) Beating the January Blues

We’re choosing to wave the January blues goodbye, flipping the phrase on its head and diving deep into an around-the-world dreamscape in blue.



Blue.
“What is blue?” the nouveau realist artist Yves Klein
famously asked. “Blue is the invisible becoming visible. Blue has
no dimensions, it is beyond the dimensions of which other colours
partake,” he concluded. From 1957 onwards, Klein worked mainly in
blue – today International Klein Blue is a Pantone staple.
Preceding Klein, Picasso also experienced a blue period lasting
four years from 1901 to 1904.

Spanning cobalt to cerulean, lapis to sapphire, “the blues” can
be all-consuming, particularly those of the January
variety. Instilling calm, confidence and connection, we’re choosing
to wave the January blues goodbye, flipping the phrase on its head
and diving deep into a worldwide dreamscape in blue.

Where to (virtually) beat the January blues this year…


Jodhpur

India

Dubbed the “Blue City”, Jodhpur is the second largest metropolis
in the Indian desert state of Rajasthan. Joining an arsenal of
colourful neighbours – the White City (Udaipur), the Orange City
(Nagpur) and the Pink City (Jaipur) among others – the Blue City is
best observed from mighty Mehrangarh fort, which towers over the
indigo enclave. It is unclear why locals began painting their
buildings in this colour. One theory suggests Brahmins – the
priestly class at the top of the caste hierarchy – wished to
indicate their caste-instigated traditions. Another suggestion –
the blue wash is simply a means of combating termites and other
insects. It may also have been applied in order to keep structures
cool.


Sua Ocean Trench

Samoa

Known colloquially as “The Big Hole”, this local Samoan swimming
spot in the South Pacific is quite possibly one of the most unusual
places to swim on the planet. A natural wonder, the Sua Ocean
Trench was formed during an ancient lava eruption and consists of
two large holes joined by a lava tube cave. The 30-metre, almost
perfectly symmetrical swimming hole is surrounded by lush
vegetation and filled with seawater, connected to the ocean by an
underwater cave. The only access into the secluded and sparkling
blue waters is via a single ladder with a small sitting/viewing
platform at its base.


Jardin Majorelle

Marrakech, Morocco

Yves Saint Laurent said: “A visit to Marrakech was a great shock
to me. This city taught me colour”. The late couturier came to the
North African city in the 1960s and in 1980 bought an abandoned
property and former palm grove on the outskirts of town. The
property was originally owned and designed by the French Artist
Jacques Majorelle. With a passion for botany, Majorelle created a
garden made up of exotic plants and rare species – including cacti,
water lilies, palms and bamboo – gathered on his travels. In 1937
the artist created an ultramarine blue known today as Majorelle
blue, and used it to paint the garden, which he opened to the
public in 1947. The gardens remain open, and blue, to this day.


Oia,

Santorini, Greece

An island shaped like a wonky croissant is heaven enough for us,
but Oia’s treats don’t end there. Photogenic for its romantic
sunsets, iconic caldera and cliff-top whitewashed villages,
Santorini’s star is the ultimate Greek Island village. Converted
peasant houses complete with blue shutters are etched along the
island, complimenting the surrounding expanse of oceanic blue. The
Church of Anastasis in Imerovigli is the blue-hued cherry on
top.


Chefchaouen

Morocco

Tucked high in Morocco’s Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen – known as
the Blue Pearl of Morocco – is so-called for its blue-rinse houses
and mosques. In contrast to Morocco’s primarily terracotta terrain,
each year the town is washed with a new coat of blue paint, a
custom which dates back to the 15th century. Jewish refugees
fleeing the Spanish Inquisition settled in large numbers in
Chefchaouen, bringing with them their tradition of painting things
blue to mirror the sky and remind them of God.


Joffre Lakes

Canada

Canadians are known for their sunny-side-up disposition but
their lakes remain oh-so blue. Joffre Lakes gleam with a bright
blue opaqueness – the result of a glacial silt suspended in the
water. The particles dance with the sun’s light and makes the water
appear bright green and blue in colour. Enveloped by the Matier
Glacier, keen hikers can set this as their endpoint. From
mountaineering to camping, wildlife viewing to fishing, it’s all
par for the course here.


Sultan Ahmed Mosque

Istanbul, Turkey

Known as the Blue Mosque because of the tiles used to decorate
the walls of its interior, this historic religious complex is
overwhelming in both size and design. Architect Sedefkâr Mehmed Ağa
combined Byzantine Christian and traditional Islamic architectural
elements to create the masterpiece. Lined by more than 20,000
handmade turquoise İznik tiles, the building’s upper levels are
also painted blue with natural light flooding in from more than 250
stained glass windows.


The Great Blue Hole

Belize

An underwater sinkhole of the deepest blue, The Great Blue Hole
of Belize is almost dreamlike in appearance. Believed to be Earth’s
largest in area, forming a perfect 1000ft-diameter circle on the
surface, the Great Blue Hole forms part of the Lighthouse Reef. The
navy blue pupil with an aquamarine border is estimated to be 430ft
deep, yet ds are decidedly short, lasting a mere eight minutes.
Still, with more than 100 types of coral and some 500 species of
tropical fish, the experience is sure to scintillate.


Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

Finland

You’ve no doubt seen the viral Pinterest image of glass igloos
dotted in the middle of an isolating snowscape. Located in the
Finnish wilderness, Kakslauttanen is a year-round resort (closed
only for the month of May) in Lapland, 250km north of the Arctic
Circle. The Northern Lights are the priority here and the resort is
right in the zone for optimal aurora viewing. Accommodation ranges
from wooden chalets to glass igloos. Considering how often
excursions to see the Lights are non-starters, catching them from
the comfort of your own bedroom is pretty appealing and will save
you the disappointing bus ride home.

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