In August 2011, Seychelles will be on fire. In addition to the usual summer heat and high tourist season, sparks will fly with the kickoff of the eighth official Indian Ocean Island Games, a sports tournament involving athletes from islands in the southwest Indian Ocean. The event is a source of great pride for Seychelles.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has a well-deserved reputation as host of the biggest Carnival celebration in the world. Nowhere else on earth is this gloriously wanton Christian holiday of feasting before fasting quite as grand in scale. In fact, all over Brazil, wild and massive celebrations compete for the Carnival spotlight. This makes it easy to forget that Carnival is celebrated with the same passion and gusto in many other parts of the world as well!