He was impelled to launch himself into unspoilt rivers simply out of love and compulsion, and because, ever since he had first sat in a kayak, picked up a paddle and found himself alone in wild Nature, he didn't want to do anything else quite as badly.

ECONOMIST: Hendrik Coetzee, explorer, died on December 7th, aged 35

The only benefit of a difficult, costly visit is that relatively few people ever make it to Gorgona, which helps maintain its flourishing ecosystem and leaves you blissfully alone in incredibly wild surroundings.

BBC: Colombia��s prison turned paradise