It was not until I was finally in the car when I had one of those, “Dude, what the f*** are you doing” moments, as I saw loads of dudes with guns on the side of the street and then a truck with one of those giant blasters. More Balls Than Brains? I’ve been pushing…
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This place played tricks on my mind. Was I in Italy or Africa? Was it 2018 or 1938? Eritrea was like nowhere else I’d ever been, and its people were as fascinating as its architecture. And why was the spaghetti so good here??? AARP Member-in-Training Getting old is starting to get tough. I tire out…
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Just Plane Scary The first real-life observation that I was somewhere that isn’t your standard vacation destination was the airline. I consider myself a pretty seasoned traveler, but even I hadn’t heard of Tarco Airlines. They were on the EU’s list of banned airlines, but I don’t think that bothered me as much as they…
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Locked Out There are only a few countries in the world that are considered tough to get into. Contrary to popular belief, North Korea isn’t one of them; they welcome tourists with open arms, literally rolling out the red carpet, as they put on a show for anyone in the outside world that dares to…
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I certainly wanted to see Cairo and its magnificent pyramids in broad daylight, but sometimes life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. First, Some Travel Details, Woes and Challenges Here are some travel notes about scheduling difficult trips. You can skip this if you like, by scrolling down until you the first…
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I wrapped up 2018 and brought in the new year with a huge voyage featuring one of the most aggressive and jam-packed schedules that I’ve ever put together. Here’s a quick recap: Fun with Geography: The Path Geographically, this was one of the most interesting and complex routes I’d ever assembled. I’d start in Cairo…
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One of These Things is not Like the Others Martinique was a quick but worthwhile stop on the way home from tagging my last country in the Americas, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. At the time (November 2018), there was no direct flight to and from St. Vincent (except from New York which was out…
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The Long Road In I was just about to lose my patience, as I watched in horror as the meter in my taxi from the airport to the hotel surpassed the $100 mark. I’d been in this damn car for an hour and couldn’t take another roundabout. Just when I thought “we must be here…
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