The pandemic has had a devastating effect on the tourism industry around the world and digital nomads have been particularly affected by the events. In an instant, people living on the road had to find shelter and morph into a sedentary lifestyle. In my case, I chose to spend these hard times in my favorite country, even though it was one of the hardest hit by the virus. To keep my moral high, I needed to be near the ocean, connect with nature and surf my days away while waiting for the world to fix itself. What else could I do? I was asked to stay home… Might as well isolate in the ocean on a surfboard riding the waves! In This Article…1 Stuck in South America with borders closed2 Kitesurfing in Cumbuco, Ceara3 Life routine in Ceará during Covid4 Living in paradise!5 The Ocean and Kitesurf were my saviors6 A few selected pictures7 Pin to Pinterest Stuck in South America with borders closed Living […]
Read More...196 or 195 Countries in the world? Why I readjusted my count
For as long as I could remember, I had been counting the world as 196 countries. This number is usually considered one of the most popular counts by the travel community as a means of measurements. It amounts to the 193 countries recognized by the United Nations, plus 2 observer countries (Vatican and Palestine) and Kosovo which s part of the IMF and World Bank. Some even include Taiwan as a 197th. But once I got closer to finishing the world, I decided to backtrack and use another popular count: 195. This comprises the 193 and the two observers, but not Kosovo. It is not recognized as an observer and thus, not really qualifies as a full country. This seems to be the most accepted convention as of 2021. I have been twice to Kosovo and really enjoyed my time there. But I have decided that until it strikes the observer status, I would not count it in my official count of countries visited. Some […]
Read More...One Day in Rio de Janeiro
Here’s a little snapshot I wanted to share where I am at the moment. Spending time home in quarantine isn’t easy. At least I have the beauty of the marvelous city of Rio de Janeiro to keep my morale up while I can’t continue traveling around the world. I decided to have a little fun today. I took pictures of the view from my window at different times to compare them together, to show how the beauty of this city changes through time. I am constantly blown away by Rio which never ceases to impress me year after year, every single day, every single hour. The pictures are taken from my Lagoa apartment rental I found to spend the quarantine, overlooking the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. I took the first picture early in the morning at 7:00, where the sun wakes up from behind, lighting up Ipanema on the left side, where we see a little bit of the Atlantic ocean, and the Morro Dois […]
Read More...My Favorite Town in Cuba is… Trinidad!
Even better than Havana in my opinion, it is a perfect little picturesque and authentic village to spend two to three days while in Cuba. I felt transported back in the 19th century walking around its cobblestone streets and its colorful houses. The setup is just magical and nature as well. But be quick to come because I predict that its authenticity will disappear very soon as it is booming with construction at the moment. Hotels are popping everywhere and tourist traps will arrive soon after. If they say Cuba must be visited before it becomes developed, then Trinidad is to be number one on your bucket list. In This Article…1 What should you do there?2 Any restaurants to recommend?3 How to get to Trinidad?4 Trinidad in pictures… What should you do there? I enjoyed just walking around the old town. It’s so nice and feels so good to just observe how people are living. It just feels so colonial at the same time so […]
Read More...Overnight in Varadero from Havana
Most people who go to Varadero will be in an all-inclusive hotel and arrive straight at Varadero airport. I wasn’t in Cuba to be in this sort of hotel so Varadero was not my first choice of place to be as a base, I had chosen Havana for that. But I still wanted to see it so a 2 day visit was enough. Now that I’ve been, I can honestly say that even if it’s a tourist behemoth, it is a very beautiful beach. Even though it’s super touristy, it was really built on an amazing piece of Beach and the water is one of the clearest and bluest I have ever seen around the world rivaling with the Pacific ocean and even the Red Sea. A two-day trip to Varadero. This time around I wasn’t really into just hanging around all day at a beach and sipping mojitos and piña coladas all day. I had done that in 2002 and quite frankly I wasn’t […]
Read More...Viñales – Best Day Trip from Havana
If you happen to make Havana your base for your next trip to Cuba, don’t forget to do a day trip to Viñales, which is such an easy trip to do as a day tour from Havana. You can do it yourself or do it with an organized tour and it will not cost you more than $60. Highlights are coffee plantations and most especially that tobacco plantations which you can easily visit and test by yourself by smoking a big cigar made in front of you. [TOC] How to get to Viñales from Havana? Some people prefer to stay overnight or to stay two days because of the nice little village that they can just stay and relax. But most people do it as a day tour as there’s not much more to do than what you can do in one day. That’s what I did. Also, by tsharing the cost on a shared tour becomes much cheaper than doing it by yourself because […]
Read More...Spending New Year’s Eve in Havana
I had long wanted to go back to Cuba since I first visited the island back in 2002. At the time, it was the typical all-inclusive hotel in Cayo Coco in the middle of the island so I couldn’t really say I had the real Cuban experience. Nevertheless, I remember I had been stung by the joy of the people of Cuba and since I this year I had the opportunity to go back, I thought to myself it could be a good experience to spend New year’s Eve in the country. In This Article…1 Havana the capital of joy2 Trying to live a normal life in Havana3 Do I recommend going to Havana? Havana the capital of joy If we can call Havana the Capital of rum we can also pro probably call it the capital of cigars, salsa and even fun-loving people too. For me time in the city, I rented a one-week apartment in the old town of Havana which was a […]
Read More...YEMEN – My 194th of 195 Country Visited – A One Week Expedition Across Socotra
Plunged into a Civil war since 2015, Yemen has been a difficult destination to visit on my quest to reach every one of the 196 countries of the world. I have been waiting for years to be able to go to Sana’a, the cultural capital of Yemen. But as I was planning to come in 2014, it became more and more dangerous for foreigners. It became too risky to make it to the country and soon after, the country fell into a never-ending war which is still raging strong at the time of writing this article. But even during wartime, there are always workarounds to enter a country. So how was it possible for me to spend a whole week in Yemen in 2019? The Secret was to go to Socotra, an island which is part of an archipelago of 4 islands located in the Arabian Sea, right on the tip of the horn of Africa. When I visited the island in November 2019, the national […]
Read More...What to do in a Few Days around Porec in Croatia?
After Rovinj, this is the other favorite for tourists looking for Beach and Sun in Croatia. Although Porec is a nice little medieval town, when speaking of Porec it is usually referred to as an area that stretches 37 km along it’s coast from north to south where several beach resorts are entirely devoted to mass tourism. Although Porec is still not as internationally famous as Dubrovnik and the Dalmatian coast, it isn’t a secret for Italians which flood the area every season and count for the vast majority of tourists seen, followed by a smaller proportion of Germans. In This Article…1 A Coast designed for Mass Tourism2 One of the best-preserved example of Byzantine Art3 Best 2 Days Itinerary in Porec4 Top 10 Things to do in Porec5 Top Rated and Recommended Cafes in Porec6 Top Rated and Recommended Restaurants in Porec7 Porec In Pictures8 Pin to Pinterest A Coast designed for Mass Tourism The town of Porec is actually pretty small, measuring only […]
Read More...Visiting The Magical Istrian Mountain Towns in Croatia
Though the Istrian Coast gather much of the fame for its pristine blue seas and beautiful Venetian towns, another side of Istria should not be missed while visiting the area. The Istrian interior, a mixture of rolling hills, fertile plains and pine forests with medieval hilltop villages is just as impressive and interesting, making a day or two visit an ideal way to gasp in the experience! If you are the kind of person who gets enchanted by Toscany style Plaines, the Istrian Interior is sure to impress you just as much. In This Article…1 Vineyard-dotted Hills and Medieval Towns2 Best 2 Days Itinerary in the Istrian Interior3 Top 6 Things to do in the Istrian Interior4 Top Rated and Recommended Cafes in the Istrian Interior5 Top Rated and Recommended Restaurants in the Istrian Interior6 The Istrian Interior In Pictures7 Pin to Pinterest Vineyard-dotted Hills and Medieval Towns The pace definitly slows down from the buzzing tourist lifestyle of the coast, but that’s actually a good […]
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