World’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge

 

This new destination isn't for the faint of heart. 

On Monday, the world's largest pedestrian suspension bridge  will open in Portugal and will offer adventure-seeking visitors unique views of a surrounding waterfall, gorge and river.  

The 516 Arouca bridge gets its name from its length — it's about 516 meters — and is located 176 meters above the Paiva River.  

It takes about 10 minutes to walk the entire length of the bridge, which is held up by steel cables and also features a see-through metal grid walkway, allowing guests to really take in all of their surroundings. 

Ahead of the official inauguration ceremony on Sunday, local Arouca residents got a chance to cross the bridge on Thursday. 

"I was a little afraid, but it was so worth it," said Hugo Xavier, one of the first to walk across the bridge. "It was extraordinary, a unique experience, an adrenaline rush."

The bridge will be open to everybody over the age of 6 and guides will accompany all visitors.  

Local officials and residents hope the new bridge will bring an influx of visitors to the area as soon as travel is widely permitted again.  

"It is a breath of fresh air for our land because it will attract more investment, more people," a tour guide told Reuters.  

The previous record-holder for the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge is Switzerland's Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge. Opening in 2017, the 495-meter-long bridge offers breathtaking views of the Alps.

Meanwhile, the United States' longest pedestrian suspension bridge is located in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It comes in at just 208 meters.

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Italian hermit leaving after 32 years

After more than three decades of calling the small Italian island of Budelli home, Mauro Morandi is being forced to leave its pink-sanded shores.

Morandi, 81, has been the caretaker of the island, off the coast of Sardinia, since 1989. That year, he stopped at Budelli on his way to the South Pacific when his catamaran broke down and decided to stay after learning that the caretaker at the time was retiring. The story has inspired his nickname as Italy's Robinson Crusoe.

Now, Morandi is deciding to leave after five years of being threatened with eviction by local authorities. In 2016, the island's private ownership went bankrupt, and the land eventually became public after back-and-forth between a potential New Zealand buyer and the Italian government.

The situation prompted a Change.org petition for Morandi to be able to stay.

"I have given up the fight," Morandi, who has been living in a former World War II shelter on the island, told reporters . "After 32 years here, I feel very sad to leave. They told me they need to do work on my house and this time it seems to be for real."

The La Maddalena National Park authorities have plans to turn Budelli island into an environmental education destination.

Morandi won't be moving far, though: he will live on La Maddalena island and said that his day-to-day life won't be too different.

"I'll be living in the outskirts of the main town, so will just go there for shopping and the rest of the time keep myself to myself. My life won't change too much, I'll still see the sea."

"I hope that someone can protect it as well as I have," he said of his beloved Budelli.

Aricle from People