LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Travel is the great transformer. When we visit a place, no matter how many times we’ve been there before, it has changed. And every time we travel somewhere, it changes us – sometimes in big, bold ways and sometimes in little ways that we don’t recognize until much later.

We’re embracing transformation in this issue with stories of changing cities, outlooks and landscapes. Jennifer Allford examines the rise of Instagrammable murals – how they’ve evolved from street art meant to make social statements to street art designed to make the ultimate selfie background (page 67).

Photographer Thomas Bouquin emigrated from France in 2009 to start a new life in Montreal and soon felt like he was losing his senses of discovery and connection to place. His photo series “Light Bright” (page 73) served as a challenge to look at his adopted city through a different lens.

And finally, writer Ted Alvarez travels to Hawaii to visit Kīlauea, one of the most dangerous volcanos on earth. Its eruptions are transforming both the landscape and the nature of tourism on the island forever (page 48).

While travel often starts off being about the destination and the journey from point A to point B, the best part is returning to where you started from with new ways of looking at the planet. Enjoy this issue on your way from point A to point B!