Thanks to the implementation of a coastal highway in the 1980s and the government's subsequent infrastructure investments, Natal is now the largest city in Brazil's Rio Grande do Norte. Visitors are drawn to its beautiful beaches, white sand dunes and a diverse cultural experience. The city also lays claim to having some of the cleanest air on the continent as well as the world's largest cashew tree, the Cajueiro de Pirangi, which produces roughly 70,000 nuts annually.

The white limestone bottom of this freshwater lagoon makes the vibrant aquamarine waters look even brighter. This blissful escape is perfect for kayaking or lounging and has smaller crowds than some of the more well-known tourist towns.

In northern Mexico, it is the capital of Chihuahua State and known most for the hairless dogs that bear the same name. Pancho Villa operated out of the surrounding mountains. It is a major mining and cattle raising center. The smelting plant employs many of the citizens.

Stretching across central Oman, the Wahiba Sands offer a dramatic desert landscape of rolling dunes that shift in color with the changing light. This vast sea of sand is home to towering ridges and open plains, creating an otherworldly backdrop for exploration.

Make friends with Rostock, one of Germany's most beautiful Hanseatic cities - where the Baltic Sea laps the shores of Mecklenburg/Western Pomerania and the air tastes slightly salty, where old-fashioned sailboats provoke nostalgic longings, and where brick gables reach into the sky.