2022 Travels

Time for my annual travel blogging round-up, looking back at 2022.

Travel is still the most intense mode of learning and there is still lots to learn so I hit the road to12

countries! After a difficult start of the year (covid), it always went beter ! Enjoy my blog where 2022 brought me.

JANUARI : PERU

MARCH – Last minute cancelled > BARCELONA

2 days before the trip was planned i was tested positive for covid, and had to cancel this trip. Let’s enjoy some pictures from my first visit to Barcelona

APRIL : THE BIG WEST-AFRICA JOURNEY ( Sierra Leone-Guinee-Bissau-Senegal-Guinee-Mauritania)

SIERRA LEONE

There are many excellent beaches in Sierra Leone. Freetown Peninsula is home to beautiful, pristine and well serviced beaches, but the nearby Banana Islands and Turtle Islands are certainly home to other beaches you can enjoy, too.

GUINEE

Here are some impressions of my visit to The Republic of Guinea. This unknow country was part of my overland trip in West Africa. One of the most difficult parts in the world to travel independently. If you want to visit Guinea make sure you don’t miss Fouta-Djalon, sometimes spelt Fouta Djallon in English, is a mountain massif in Guinea, nicknamed “the water tower of western Africa” for its important rainfall.

My memories of Guinea will always be ones of such beautiful landscapes.

MAURITANIA

Mauritania was an awesome experience! It has so much to offer for a country that isnt visited a lot (yet), Ali and his team of great and experienced drivers made it even better.
I did so many great things, from visiting Terjit oasis to visiting the ancient city of Chinguetti, where they still got some books that are over 500 years old which are conserved by the foundation there, and also riding the sand dunes with the hiluxes. Best part of this trip was riding the iron ore train through the sahara desert.

SENEGAL

The last country during my big West-Africa trip was Senegal. A fantastic destination to discover that is situated on the coast of West Africa. Its neighbouring countries are Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Mali and Mauritania. This country is by far one of my favourite African countries and one of those African countries that feels a lot like Europe.

GUINEA BISSAU

Travelling around Guinea Bissau was a bit challenging. It was not easy to find transport to all the destinations i wanted to go…but at the end it went all fine.Contrary to the other former Portuguese colonies, Guinea-Bissau never became westernized. The Guineans maintained their traditions, religions and, last but not least, their fighting spirit. Through the centuries, they steadfastly resisted the Portuguese colonial rulers, and so, Portugal never managed to get a complete grip on the country.

JUNE: LONDON

We went to London especially for the long awaited ABBA concert. The city was also completely submerged for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Central Weekend

JULY: MALLORCA

Mallorca is the largest of the Balearic Islands and one of the most popular spots to choose for a holiday in the Mediterranean. It’s not hard to see why… the abundance of beach resorts, sheltered coves, limestone mountains and Roman and Moorish remains make it a destination perfect for relaxation with enough adventure to call upon whenever you desire. Even we went during the holiday-saison..we have found plenty of qiuet spot. Mallorca was a suprise!

AUGUST: CARTAGENA- SPAIN

Impressions of our visit to the beautiful city Cartagena-Spain.We went to a friends wedding.But if you’re looking for reasons to visit Cartagena, Spain, then you really don’t have to look far. As the second-largest city in southeastern Spain’s underrated Murcia region, Cartagena doesn’t get nearly the amount of attention it deserves, and this is a real shame. Packing in everything from a classic Spanish charm, perennially beautiful weather, local gastronomic specialities and incredible history!

SEPTEMBER: SARDINIA

Sardinian beaches contain absolutely clear waters along with thin and soft sand. This added to the incredible landscapes surrounding the coastlines, make this island’s beaches be a unique place for relaxing.But there is so much else to see and to discover. I love Sardinia !

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER : ALGERIA

Algeria is the largest country in Africa and by far one of the most challenging countries I have ever visited when it comes to obtaining a visa. Algeria has a fantastic diversity of landscapes, with the Sahara desert in the south, beaches along the Mediterranean sea to the north, mountains that offer excellent hiking during the summer, and skiing opportunities in the snow during winter. Algeria also has an extremely rich history with 7 World Heritage sites and is one of the most socially developed countries in the whole of Africa. I really liked the country; I would put Algeria into my top 50 countries I have visited in the world. The people were super friendly, the food was good, it was easy to get around, and the country had endless sites to discover, especially when visiting Algiers.The week in the Sahara was magical.

DECEMBER: BANGKOK-THAILAND

Back to Thailand. Still my second home.

Happy new year from Bangkok

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2021 Travels

Time for my annual travel blogging round-up, looking back at 2021.

2021 was again not an easy year for any of us as passionate world travelers . We started the year off with another lockdown, and since then it’s been a second year of covid, cancelled plans, bad news, and endless negativity and arguing all over the media. The best thing I could do was waiting to receive my 2 vaccines before buying flighttickets to avoid disappointments.

This year I still managed to travel, returning to cities and visiting new ones.The first part of the year I have explored more of Belgium and France and during the second part of the year if have travelled to the Middle East , Asia and Africa.

Travel is still the most intense mode of learning and there is still lots to learn so here is my blog where 2021 brought me.

Belgium  Limburg Genk- Kalmthout

Kalmhoutse Heide

Iraq ( Kurdistan)

Belgium – Waloon- Thuin

France- Opal Coast

Cabo Verde

Belgium- Chimay

Spain – Madrid

In Madrid

Saudi Arabia

Al Ula Old Town

Peru

Huacacina
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2020 Travels

For passionate world travelers, 2020 was not an easy year. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought travel and tourism to a near-standstill. My plans to explore Senegal, Crete, Suriname, Algeria and the Dominican Republic have been cancelled by airlines where I’ve bought the tickets or other countries do not issue visa for some time.

Since my home base is located in Belgium, I took the advantage to make several trips to nearby countries such as France and Holland. Only once in 2020, I was able to travel outside Europe. Turkey was a kind of celebration, because exactly 25 years ago Turkey was my first destination by plane.  During December my wife and I have spent a lovely time at four of the Canary Islands.

I’m curious about how travel will look like in a post-COVID-19 world. No one knows when the coronavirus pandemic will end. No one knows when authorities will lift travel bans but still my hunger to explore the world is big. I keep planning new travels but no one knows when I’ll actually be able to take them. There’s only one thing that I should expect in 2021 with any certainty: It’s uncertainty.

Travel is still the most intense mode of learning and there is still lots to learn so here is my blog where 2020 brought me.

JANUARY 2020 : THE BAHAMAS

Pigs on white sandy beaches @ Bahamas
Junkano Carnival

MAY 2020 : EAST-BELGIUM

Malmedy & 3 landenpunt

JUNE 2020: BRITTANY – FRANCE

Honfleur- Mont Saint Michel-Brittany

JULY 2020: VERSAILLES – FRANCE

Check all pictures of our visit to Versailles (Paris) on www.myworldtrips.com

JULY 2020: CONDROZ- BELGIUM

City of Namur in the Condroz region in the south of Belgium

JULY 2020: ALSACE & VOSGES- FRANCE

Samm wine villages in the Alsace region in France

AUGUST 2020: WADDEN ISLANDS- HOLLAND

Texel : The juwel of the Wadden Islands- Holland
Zaanse Schans

AUGUST 2020: THE VOER REGION- BELGIUM

The Voer region is a walkers paradise

SEPTEMBER 2020: POPERINGE & The Hop – BELGIUM

Poperinge is famous for it’s hoppe beer

SEPTEMBER 2020: FLEMISH ARDENNES- BELGIUM

Exploring the Flemish Ardennes

OCTOBER 2020: TURKEY

Istanbul and Bodrum region

DECEMBER 2020: THE CANARY ISLANDS

El Teide National Park- Tenerife
Exploring the beauty of Tenerife
La Palma
La Palma island
Fuerteventura
La Oliva- Fuerteventura
Corralejo Dunes- Fuerteventura
The beauty of Lanzarote
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