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mww.com home   the traveling man >>        Global 1: The Big One        Global 2: The Little One        Still global: Short Ones   the private man   the career man blogspot.com home © mww.com MMIV-MMVI				[ the traveling man ] The Big One   (Chronological List of Destinations) (for Top 50 Top 10 of all photos click here) 1. Europe Summer 2003 I flew into Zurich, Switzerland, to visit friends in Konstanz and Munich before spending time with my mom in northern Germany and on the old Mediterranean island of Malta. Next, I embarked upon my InterRail journey via Dresden, Prague and Budapest, with a side trip to Paris. Along Lake Balaton I continued to Venice and the Tuscany region of Florence, Sienna and Pisa. I enjoyed La Spezia and Cinque Terre, followed by a time in Naples and on the island of Capri. I finally crossed the Adriatic Sea to Greece, where I explored the Peleponnese peninsula, eventually reaching Delphi and Athens. Time to relax, so I went island hopping through the Cyclades. A long visit to Madrid and the obligatory Oktoberfest stop in Munich completed this summer. (Europe Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version. 2. South America Fall 2003 I rented an apartment in Buenos Aires and went on many short trips from there. I begun with a long-distance bus trips to Mendoza and a ferry crossing to Uruguay. A combined bus/plane trip to the Iguazu waterfalls and a bus trip to Swiss Argentina followed. Most spectacular was the long trip to Easter Island, followed by a trip to Patagonia and Torres del Paine. Ready for some sunshine, I flew to Brazil and enjoyed Rio de Janeiro, with a road trip to Florianopolis and Santa Catarina Island. Finally, in December, it was warm enough to embark on the big fjord expedition on the Navimag freighter to southern Patagonia, all the way to Punta Arenas and Ushuaia. (South America Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version. 3. Japan via Europe and Mexico From Argentina to Germany for my birthday, from Germany to Spain for Christmas Eve, from Spain to Mexico for the holidays, and from Mexico to Japan in time for New Year's Eve... what a trip! Once in the land of the rising sun, I thoroughly explored Tokyo on foot, went on a day trip to Nikku and its shrines, and then took the bullet train to Kyoto. I wandered around old royal palaces, visited the monkey park and the founding places of Zen Bhuddism, and ran around the old Emperor's residences. After returning to Tokyo I enjoyed a trip to the Hakone circuit with its nice lakes, views of volcano Mt. Fuji, and smells of sulphur mines. I ended my stay with visits to the January Grand Sumo tournament, one the biggest sporting events of the year. (Japan-Europe/Mexico Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version. 4. South Pacific Winter 2004 With Fiji as my home base, I begun exploring the Mamanucas and Yasawas to the northwest of the main island, Viti Levu. I continued to the Kingdom of Tonga, where I focused on the pristine central Ha'apai group of islands. Hopping back and forth across the dateline, I ventured to both main islands of Samoa before returning to Fiji. Another week on the northeastern islands of Taveuni and Vanua Levu and it was time for a brief stop-over in Sydney. New Zealand's south island was next, just to kill a few days before finally heading for the Cook Islands, where I relaxed on Rarotonga and Aitutaki. The two months came to an end in Melbourne, Australia. (South Pacific Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version. 5. Europe Winter 2004 Via Singapore and London I flew into Zurich to visit friends in Konstanz, Germany. A week of snowboarding in the Swiss-Italian Alps of Livigno was beautiful but then I got news from the bomb attacks in Madrid and went there to visit my beloved city, friends, people. I continued to Helsinki for a few days before seeing the Eurovision Winter Olympics and my friends from Madrid over in Norway. Only three weeks total and it was back to the sunshine of Australia! (Europe Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version. 6. Australia Spring 2004 Returning from Europe, I immediately continued to the island of Tasmania. I visited wildlife parks and the the surrounding areas of Hobart before heading back to Melbourne. I took a look at Phillip Island and the southern coast; I also went on a short trip to Sydney. I headed west to Perth and Freemantle to relax for a few weeks. Back into the tropic north, I went on overland expeditions to Kakadu and Litchfield parks while in Darwin. Via Sydney I left for southern Africa. (Australia Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version. 7. Southern Africa Spring 2004 My Africa adventure began in Cape Town and on the Cape Point peninsula. I drove to the ostrich farms of Oudtshoorn, to the coast of Knysna and Port Elizabeth, and north into the Kingdom of Lesotho. After some pony trekking I went hiking in the Drakensberg mountains and drove to the coast south of Durban for some diving. Heading northeast I passed St. Lucia wetlands and entered Swaziland. From there, I spent a weekend in Mocambique before turning north into Kruger National Park. I closed the circle by checking out Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto. I wasn't done yet so I flew north to Victoria Falls and experienced both the Zambia and the Zimbabwe sides. Another trip took me into Botswana and Chobe National Park before continuing via Livingstone, Johannesburg and Nairobi to the Seychelles. (Southern Africa Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version. 8. Indian Ocean Spring 2004 The first few days were spent exploring Mahé, main island of the Seychelles, before hopping over to the beautiful islands of Praslin and La Digue. I decided to take advantage of relative proximity so I hopped on a plane to Mauritius, where I barely escaped my burning hotel during the first night. After exploring the west coast for a few days I decided to make it even further and flew to La Réunion, where I criss-crossed the volcanic island by car. Back-tracking all the way to Nairobi, I stopped again on Mahé on the Seychelles to spend some more time with the friendly host family I had met. (Indian Ocean Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version. 9. East Africa Summer 2004 A few days in Mombasa, then I embarked on a first trip through Masai Mara National Park. Back in Nairobi, I joined the overland truck to go to Uganda. We passed again through Masai Mara, stopped in Kampala, and established our base in the last village at the foot of the Virunga volcanos, Kisoro. A memorable expedition took us into Congo (Zaïre), to its friendly people and to fulfill the dream of seeing the rare mountain gorillas in the highland jungle. We relaxed at Lake Bunyoni, visited the chimpanzee sanctuary on an island in Lake Victoria off Entebbe, drove past the source of the Nile in Jinja, and explored Laka Nakuru. Heading south into Tanzania, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park were pur nature and wildlife. I finally reached Dar es Salaam and relaxed in the sunshine of Zanzibar. (Eastern Africa Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version. 10. Near East Summer 2004 Acclimatisation in Tel Aviv went fine, apart from a bomb explosion on my first morning near my hotel. Undeterred, I set out to explore the country, first to the east. Floating in the Dead Sea during scorching afternoon heat is a strange experience, as is crossing the Judean Desert and wondering what people might have liked about this unforgiving landscape. I wandered around the Old City of Jerusalem and visited all the sites so important to religious folks (I did more architectural analysis and people watching, to be honest). The next time I set out on a trip from Tel Aviv I went to the Gaza Strip and continued all the way south to Eilat at the Gulf of Aqaba. Day trips into Jordan and to Egypt's Sinai peninsula followed before returning to the de-facto capital for a final night on its beaches. (Near East Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version. 11. Arctic Circle Summer 2004 I arrived at midnight and was welcomed by sunshine in Reykjavík. I walked all over the city before heading out of town to the ancient site of Thingvellir, the Gullfoss waterfalls and the home of Geysir and Strokkur. I went swimming in the geothermal Blue Lagoon waters and started on my quest to circle the entire island. I saw the glaciers of Vatnajökull at Skaftafell National Park, the iceberg lake Jökulsárlón, and went all the way north to Lake Mývatn and to Akureyri. After my return to Reykjavík I flew to Kulusuk on Greenland. From there I continued by helicopter to Anmagssalik (Tasiilaq), where I enjoyed the Arctic summer between huskies and icebergs. Another night on the runtur in Reykjavík and I returned via London to Berlin. (Arctic Circle Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version. 12. Europe Summer 2004 After a few weeks in northern Germany I flew to Budapest, from where I continued into Romania by train, via Bucarest to the Black Sea. From Constanta along the coast into Bulgaria, I relaxed at the Golden Coast at Varna and at the Sunshine Coast in Nesebar, north of Burgas, before entering Turkey. Some shopping in Istanbul and I took a bus south via Izmir to Bodrum, from where I started this year's island hopping in Greece. The Dodecanese islands of Kos, Rhodes and Karpathos were on the menu, followed by the big southern island of Crete. Returning to Germany I took part in a class reunion before venturing to Munich for my annual Oktoberfest stop. Some more days in Madrid and it was back to America via London. (Europe Summer 2004 Top 10 photos) Click map for larger version.