Photos from a rarely seen paradise

In the wake of John Bruno’s report from the Galapagos, I bring you happier news from the Equatorial Pacific, nearly five thousand miles farther west: there are still wildernesses on Earth.

I was lucky enough to spend May and June in the engine room of a sailboat heading south from Honolulu, as crew with the Sea Education Association. After crossing more than a thousand miles on the open ocean, we rested for a few days in the lagoon at Palmyra Atoll, then sailed for Kingman Reef, a sandspit in the middle of an empty horizon. It’s a trap for unsuspecting ships, and has only ever been reached by a handful of human visitors. Below the surface are some of Earth’s most pristine coral reefs, home to more sharks than I’ve ever seen, and other absolutely astounding wildlife…

photos by Zena Cardman, Mike Lipnick, and Caleb Kruse

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