PLANNING and MY DAILY ROUTINE
Taking a long trip – 2 years driving around Europe – requires a great deal of daily planning and routine. My average day is 16-18 hours long. I almost never take a day off and do nothing. It can be very exhausting, but that is the way I can see and do as much as I do in the limited time I have. At 66 years of age, I may not be able to continue this for much longer, feel a certain amount of personal pressure, and am basically in a “hurry” to see and do as much as I can.
My present goal is to be the #1 traveler of all time in Canada. Secondly, I want to lead the world in the Series portion of Nomad Mania. As I write this in July 2020, I am about 83 on the Masterlist, but #9 on the Series list. I saw the most new NM regions (156) in the world in 2019. I would have also been first in Post Trip but did not do this. I am sure I see more of each country than 99.9% of travellers. I try not to have to return to any country I have seen.
1. Europe and Schengen Visa Zone. Theoretically, non-Europeans are only allowed to be in the 28-country Schengen Visa countries for 90 days at a time, then must be out of the zone for 90 days before returning. Fortunately, this rule was not actively enforced when I traveled through Europe. This may be attributed to traveling in a van in and out of Schengen so frequently (especially in Turkey, the Balkans and Eastern Europe) that I think it would be too complicated to enforce. This rule initially determined my general itinerary for Europe with periods of roughly 3 months in Schengen. My time outside the zone have been spent in a. United Kingdom and Ireland b. Balkans (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia) c. Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Moldavia and Belarus) and d. Middle East (Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq (Kurdestan) and hopefully Syria).
2. Nomad Mania. Most active world travellers use this travel web site to track, suggest and record their travels. Prior to 2018, it was called Best Traveled but then over 47,000 “places” and “things to do” were added and the name was changed appropriately to Nomad Mania. I am the ultimate Nomad maniac. I used to use travel guide books like Lonely Planet or Rough Guide to guide my travels, but now almost exclusively use Nomad Mania.
The website has two parts: a. Masterlist: Composed of 1301 regions in the world (think 50 states in the USA, 10 provinces and 3 territories in Canada) and b. Series of over 47,000 “places” in 55+ categories: World Heritage Sites, Tentative WHS, Sights, Museums, Borders, Castles, Palaces and Forts, Religious Temples, Villages and Small Towns, Cities organized by continent, Wonders of Nature and many more. For each region, I copy the Nomad Mania web page for the geographical region. As it is listed by series, I reorganize and format the region by city and small town.
3. Google Maps. It is important to download the Google Maps that are in future travel. I then use Google Maps to transcribe this list by bookmarking every region with all the sights. For places not found offline, I then go online and bookmark those. Google Maps has 3 types of bookmarks: Favourites, Want to go and Starred places and I differentiate the sights using the different bookmarks. World Heritage Sites get a distinct mark.
4. Planning the route. The day before, I will go through each area and plan my route, trying to see as many bookmarked sites as I can in the most efficient way. I put them in order in Word on my computer.
5. Research. If I have time and data access on my phone, I like to do some research on each sight and add that. Use Google and/or travel guides. Download free Lonely Planets and other guidebooks from the web site www.gen.lib.rus.ec to use for research and to write the eventual post.
6. I bring my computer with me and write as much as possible about each site as I see them.
7. Making posts. At the end of the day, I construct the post using all the information I have obtained that day and use Google search and guidebooks for information. When I have wifi access, I post the region on my web site, including the dates of the visit. I like to also add photographs at this time. I then go to Nomad Mania and tick off all the places I have seen. It is important to keep this up on a daily basis and not fall behind. In this way, my web site is usually up to date within the last 2-3 days.
I update my Country List.
FUTURE TRAVEL PLANS.
2019
May – July 2019: Eastern Europe – Romania, Moldavia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Stockholm, Poland.
July – October 2019: Central Europe – North/Central Germany, Eastern France, Switzerland, Southern Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary.
October, 2019 – January, 2020: Drive from Hungary and Romania via Bulgaria to Turkish Thrace, trying to see as many sites I missed on my first time through.
Middle East – North and Central Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran Oct 12-24 tour, Turkmenistan Oct 24-29 tour, Kurdistan Iraq, Southern Turkey, Syria?, Cyprus.
Greece – Dodecanese Islands (Rhodes, Kos, Patmos), North Aegean Islands (Lemnos, Lesbos, Samos, Chios). Mount Athos, Pelogos Islands, Cyclades (Santorini, Mikonos), Corfu.
Ferry from Greece to Venice, Italy. Find long-term parking for my camper van (Verona Italy)
January 7, 2020: Returned to home in Canada
The only places in the above I missed were: Cyprus, Cyclades Islands Greece.
2020
January – March, 2020: Organize trip through Mid West USA to see all the states I have not been to plus Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in Canada. Finish writing “Hiking and Climbing the West Kootenay”, start organization 2021 trip through West Africa.
Mid March – July, 2020: Mid West USA, Caribbean Greater Antilles (Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic), Quebec (Gaspe, eastern townships), Newfoundland, Nova Scotia. Backpack Ayuttuk National Park on Baffin Island (10 days July 1-13 – this is my “dream” trip and actually looks like it may happen).
I eventually traveled through 32 states seeing 19 new NM regions in the Mid West USA. Because of COVID-19, all museums and many attractions were closed, gas prices the cheapest in decades, parking easy and traffic minimal. I completed a 14-day quarantine in the Quality Inn in Fredericton, New Brunswick. It was not possible to enter Nova Scotia nor Labrador/Nfld unless I was willing to complete a 14-day quarantine.
Nunavut was likewise closed with the quarantine necessary in Ottawa and a signed medical certificate to enter the territory. I also did not go to the Greater Antilles.
Drive towards home in British Columbia north of Great Lakes as not possible to reenter the USA because of COVID-19.
2023
South Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somaliland, Somalia.
Jan. Home to get a new passport
South Asia. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand. See regions and NM series items missed in past trips.
Bangladesh
Afghanistan
China. See many regions rapidly, Yunnan and Sechuan with Anna.
April – July
South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea. Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, South Africa, Madagascar, Comoros
Indonesia. Sulawasi, Kalimatan
Papua New Guinea
Australia. Buy car.
Young Pioneers Least Visited Countries Tour. Kiribati, Micronesia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa
Caribbean. ABC islands, St Vincent and the Grenadines. Country #193??
2o23-24 and the rest of my life.
Switzerland.
Utah 2 weeks
Road trip Mexico to Panama.
Asia: Japan (Hokkaido), South Korea, China, Pakistan (enter over Korakoram Pass from Kashgar, China), India (Kashmir, Ladakh, NE seven states),
Relax and enjoy retirement. Life Goals. Learn to become an artist. Play bridge, golf, sea kayak, hike.
Spend winters in:
1. Southwest USA – Arizona, California, St George area Utah.
2. Mainland Mexico (Mexico City and Puebla are high on my list)
3. Baja Mexico.
Spring and autumn: sporadic trips to Colorado Plateau.
Spend summers on Vancouver Island, West Kootenays and Rocky Mountains of Canada, the best sea kayaking and hiking in the world.