It’s About Damn Time Was Madagascar really happening this time? Finally? I’d been so close on my last three trips to Africa, but no dice. Madagascar was one of the very last (if not the last) African countries to open back up after the pandemic. It absolutely tore me to pieces to be in Mauritius…
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Cutting Corners I’ll admit up front, my overnight stay in Zimbabwe barely counts as a country visit. We’d spent the last day just on the other side of Victoria Falls, in Zambia, where we enjoyed four excursions in less than 36 hours. Perhaps I should have saved at least one tour for Zimbabwe, but I…
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The Z’s Have It Zambia and Zimbabwe would be my final two mainland African countries. There was no particular reason why I saved this southern cluster of countries for last – it just worked out that way. Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe would all be visited on this trip. Breaking my usual solo-travel m.o., this…
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lusophone: adjective speaking Portuguese, usually as a first or main language. I adore the Portuguese language and feel so fortunate that I’ve been able to visit every country that speaks Portuguese. I am especially intrigued by Portuguese-speaking nations that aren’t Brasil or Portugal – other countries where the Portuguese colonists have left their mark through…
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I’m so Excited (And I Just Can’t Hide It) There was no doubt that Angola was the country I was most excited about on this June 2022, four-nation trip to clean up Southern Africa. I’d finish mainland Africa on this one. I was on the 10-yard line, with only 14 countries to go until I…
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Getting There It was super long journey to country #179. First, a train from San Diego to Los Angeles, then a 13-hour flight from LAX to Istanbul, followed by an eight-hour layover (and fun run into the city there), and then a ten-hour flight from Istanbul to Cape Town. There would be a 6.5 hour…
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Here We Go Again! This was the fourth time I’d make a dash into the city during a layover in Istanbul and, according to my calculations, the fifth time here, in total. Could be sixth – I’m losing count! In fact, there aren’t many cities in the entire world (outside of the USA, of course)…
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It was a fabulous mid-March journey, with five countries seen, three of them new ones toward my goal of all 193. Here’s a quick recap: Germany This was my third or fourth time in Germany, I’ve lost count. And like the others, just a quick stop: less than three hours in-town. It was my first…
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