In this November issue we urge you to cast your vote for our NomadMania Travel Awards 2022 as today is your last chance to do so.
Now you can also subscribe here on YouTube to get a notification just before our Awards show goes live. Make sure you do that because you don't want to miss our 12 amazing panels with all kinds of travellers. You can also subscribe here and we will send you more details about when and where to watch, so you can relax without fear of missing anything.
We are also introducing some features that are fine-tuning our Milestones and Trips sections, about which you can read more below. Also, for diehard Series fans, you will have noticed our 'Top of the Tops' section - those unmissable places - has been expanding. We are reviewing all countries' entries and hope to 'complete' this by the end of the year, but please do share anything at all, from a cave to an architectural delight to a temple to a theme park - that you believe is an absolute 'must' for a traveller to experience.
In this issue, you will also get a chance to travel to a tri-border point together with our founder, who has decided to dedicate his retirement to becoming a travel vlogger. Just kidding, don't get your hopes up. But every now and then you will be able to join him on his travels and get a unique perspective of a man who's 'seen it all'. Or has he?
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Today's interview is the one that you don't want to miss, especially if you have been following the latest happenings in the world of renowned travellers. Luís Filipe Gaspar is a great traveller, one of the biggest to come from Portugal, an architect and a photographer.
We invite you to read and to join us on our mission of showcasing how different opinions don't have to divide us. We can all learn from them, if we truly want to do that.
Last, but not least, don't forget to check our Meetings section if you are in Australia these days. Dondon Bales from Philippine Global Explorers is organising a joint meeting of EPS and NomadMania in Melbourne and the rumour has it that he will be joined by two wonderful Russian travellers and our founder. We can neither confirm nor deny this.
Please contact Dondon for more details and, as always, let us know if you want to organise a meeting in your city, or any other city that you're travelling to. You can send emails to contact@nomadmania.com or message us through our contact form on the website.
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Important last minute update - we congratulate Rachel Davey and Martina Sebova from Very Hungry Nomads for finishing their project of reaching 195 countries! Make sure to check out their Instagram account if you haven't already. They finished just a day (or two) ago in Solomon Islands. Martina is the first Slovakian woman to visit all UN 193, while Rachel is among the first ones, if not the first. We are still investigating this. In any case, we wish them a warm welcome to this very small and exclusive 'club' of UN Masters. Well done girls!
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New on NomadMania - Milestones, Trips and a brand new Poll |
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If you have been filling out your Milestones on NomadMania like the proper traveller that we all are, you noticed that there are a number of items that don't even have to be manually ticked off. Instead, these items could be simply automated to match the rest of your profile.
From now on, this is exactly the case. Sections 3-6 of our Milestones have been automated and the items there will automatically be checked once you complete some of the series and lists they refer to. For example, if you have 'Visited every region in NomadMania's Central Asia megaregion', then this item will automatically be checked off once you mark the last region of Central Asia as visited.
Please note that these sections will be fully automated so you won't be able to manually fill them in. Conversely, sections 1 and 2 of the Milestones can only be filled in manually, so go ahead and check these out!
There is nothing further that you need to do here, though you are always welcome to check for possible mistakes and report them to our team through the Contact form on our website.
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Have you ever added any Trips to your NomadMania profile? This tool is slightly less popular and more complicated to use than our standard 'Quick enter' - an old name for our Regions section where you actually fill in your travelling history.
We urge you to check out Trips as well, as this is a great way to keep a track of your travels with more details and notes that only you can see. Proper journal, we say, with specific dates!
As of today, you will find it even easier, as we have finally managed to make this tool completely synchronised with the Regions section. Don't forget to click this 'brand new' button after adding new trips in order to get your regions match in both of the entries.
Why is this not automatic? We're glad you asked! You can actually use the Trips tool to plan the itinerary of your future travels and to add all new regions that you will be visiting on your next trip. This is why we left this one last step that confirms that all regions actually need to be synced, once you are done visiting them all.
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One of slides from our Trav and Ling presentation at ETF |
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By now you must've heard about our Poll that asks every member of our community - 'What is a visit'? Our world famous (well, they are getting there!) mascots Trav and Ling have been all over the world and are faced with many simplified or exaggerated situations in travel. Eventually they ended up in Yerevan, Armenia at the very first Extraordinary Travel Festival where our manager Milana presented their findings. It turned out to be a very popular presentation and the talks continue onward...
As we announced in Yerevan, that poll wasn't the final one. We are launching a new poll with Trav and Ling exploring some further travel situations, but also to validate (or not!) the results of our first poll.
We kindly invite you all to vote and to let your voice be heard that way. We really need your time to make this as representative as it can be, as the issue of 'what is a visit' concerns us all! We made sure to include as many proposals made by our members as possible. You are bound to have fun at some of the crazy scenarios, we promise!
The poll is going live right after our voting for the Awards shuts down - so, as of tomorrow, November 22nd and will last until the end of the year. Remember you can always find current and old polls here, under 'media' rubric in our main menu.
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Triple border - Switzerland, France and Germany | Travel with Harry Mitsidis |
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Our new video takes you travelling with our founder to one of those places that he likes visiting the most. As you might imagine, it's a bit quirky and not at all fancy.
Visit the tri-border of Switzerland, Germany and France with Harry Mitsidis in this short video and share your quirky travel "go to" places with us down in the comments!
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Stars of our Community |
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In this edition we want to draw attention to our Awards nominees, as we are closing the voting process soon. You can still cast your vote in 6 categories, but only until midnight PST of November 21st (so there is less than 24 hours left). Each and every one of our 31 nominees is an amazing traveller and person. We would give them all an award if we could, honestly.
So please read more about them, or simply click the button and choose your favourite any way you like. You cannot make a mistake as all of them are truly incredible individuals (or that one dynamic duo) and we invite you to also give them all a follow on social media if you haven't already.
Remember, there's less than 24 hours left to go!
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How to watch NomadMania Travel Awards? |
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If you are eager to watch this year's Awards Show as much as we are, then you must be wondering - well, how do I do it? The best way is to sign up here to our Awards mailing list and we will send you exactly two emails with links and timeline.
Another alternative is to go directly to this YouTube scheduled premiere and click the button "Notify me", so that you get a clear notification when our show goes live.
We kindly suggest doing both. Better safe than sorry, at least in this case.
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Israel - Metula panhandle - M@P region that you may not know
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The northernmost point of Israel is at Metula which is quite a drive away from any significant settlement but which is itself a sort of resort, so well-worth the diversion. There are plenty of guesthouses and restaurants to make for a quirky getaway.
For any border enthusiast, the best part of Metula is that it is surrounded on all sides by Lebanon. The border is just there, in front of you, with vehicles and people on the other side of this impenetrable border very clearly visible. There seems to be no problem for you to head straight to the actual border line, and we know of at least one person who has crossed (and back) at this precise point. We advise against trying, but it appears that nobody will forbid you from taking photos!
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Those buildings are in Lebanon |
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Info on the history of Medulla |
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Alaska Inn - very far from Alaska |
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The Interview - Luís Filipe Gaspar |
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Luís Filipe is the second biggest traveller from Portugal according to our Master ranking. We talked to him about his passions such as photography and architecture, but the most about his ultimate love - travel which revolves around UNESCO World Heritage Sites a lot of times. We also asked Luís about the conflict that he had with NomadMania's rules at some point and the whole outrage of a good part of travel community that followed and resulted with splitting the community for a moment in time. Finally, we are glad to see Luís back with us and we thank him for accepting this whole conversation. Please read along and enjoy getting to know another great traveller.
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Studio 8A, Lisbon, Portugal, 2022 |
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Hello Luís. Please introduce yourself to the NomadMania community, let us know you a little bit before we move on to your travels. Who is Luís, apart from travelling?
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I am Luís Filipe Gaspar, born in Lisbon in 1958 and I am an architect. Besides Portugal, I have lived and worked in 5 other countries, Egypt, Tunisia, Italy, Mozambique and Brazil and I consider myself a citizen of the world.
Talking about myself without talking about travel is difficult since my life is intertwined with this dream that I outlined very early and that I have been obsessively pursuing - that of knowing the world.
This urge to travel came early on with the first trips I took, accompanied by my parents and which were essentially road trips to Spain. At the age of 16, I decided to do my first interrail through Europe with a friend and it was then that I really felt that traveling was exactly what I wanted to do, always. And so it was, I enjoyed every second of that trip and when I returned home, I opened a world map on my bedroom floor and started marking all the places I wanted to go to. I did the math. I added up all the vacations I would have throughout my life and I realized that, at the age of 16, I was already late in getting to know the world. It was then that I started "chasing losses", traveling desperately, escaping whenever possible. I even sold ice cream at the fair, sold books door-to-door to have money to go on my travels.
Besides the determination with which I chase after this dream, I am also passionate about Architecture (a passion I discovered at an early age as well) and in a way travel also feeds this passion, which has certainly contributed to my great compass, which is to visit all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Photography is another of my great passions. If there is something that can never be missing in my luggage, it is my camera that will allow me to capture a moment, a sensation, and make it last forever.
And that is basically who I am, an incorrigible traveler who tries to absorb the world and likes to share it, through the lens of his camera, with everyone.
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Climbing Mont Blanc, France 2003 |
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How and when did you start travelling systematically? What was your main inspiration?
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At the age of 16, after my first interrail, I decided then that I wanted to see the world and that I was overdue on that mission. From then on, I never stopped. I did 5 or 6 more interrails with friends, determined to get to know Europe from end to end. When I felt that I had "Europe in my hand", at the age of 29, I left the old continent and spent 5 weeks in India and Nepal. It was a very enriching trip, and it gave me a lot. Then I went to China, also for 5 weeks, but this was a country that gave me a little less than I had anticipated.
Step by step, I coloured each of the points I had marked on my world map, and the desire to know more and more grew stronger. When I had already visited 74 countries, I had an encounter that led me to be more systematic in this life project. A chance meeting in Suriname with José Megre, a Portuguese traveler, undoubtedly an inspiration, who showed me that I still had a long way to go and that one of the ways to organize myself would be to join a travelers' club that would help me define and achieve my travel plans. So I joined ‘Most Traveled People’ and became, shall we say, a more professional traveler.
Right now, I am practically retired, I manage to travel about 4 months out of the year, which is great. In fact, I live to travel but it is important to mention that from the first moment until today I don't travel to escape life, I travel so that life doesn't escape me.
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Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador, 2006 |
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You reached the final country of UN 193 in 2019. What are your next travel aspirations? Do you have any new ambitious goals or how are you travelling these days?
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That's right, I finished the countries in 2019, with my trip to Nigeria. I felt like I had finished the first rung of my dream, so to speak. It was as if I had finally read all the pages of the book and that from then on it was time to really get to know them, now with another peace of mind.
I already have a series of trips planned, namely one to the North Pole, leaving Russia by boat, one to the Pacific (to the Cook Islands, Tokelau, Norfolk) and another, soon to come, that will start in Ushuaia, Argentina, passing through Falkland, South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, Ascension and ending in Cape Verde.
My goals now are to get to know all the UN+ territories and, ideally, all the regions of the world. Of course this sounds strange but I want to get to know everything there is to know and, of course, continue to pursue UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This list never ends, it is always being updated, so I will always have trips to make and new goals to achieve.
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Cartagena, Colombia, 2007 |
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Boats of San Andrés archipelago, Colombia by Luís Filipe (click the photo to see the source) |
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Let us move on to some recent events. You travelled to Russia this summer. Let’s open this topic by saying something about your trip. Was this intentionally done, with some carefully thought out plan behind it or was this just a part of some of your other trips?
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This trip of mine to Russia was already more or less planned, but with everything that was going on, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to go there to see how the country was at this time. I traveled through Kazakhstan and this was beneficial because it allowed me to get to know some Russian regions on the border with this country that I didn't know yet. I also took the opportunity to visit 3 or 4 more regions north of Moscow. And I was also able to take the pulse of the country at a time of conflict.
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Longyearbyen, Svalbard, 2016 |
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What did you discover while there? What was different from the general picture that the media was painting during that time to the rest of the world?
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I found a quiet Russia, a well-organized Moscow city and a feeling of safety in the streets. I had the clear feeling that the international sanctions imposed on the country were not affecting the population, as everything functions normally. The only two things that I obviously noticed a big difference was the fact that foreign credit cards did not work and the internet did not work either. This reality even brought to mind the interrails I did in the 1970s, when I always had to travel with cash in hand and sleep in the places I found, without the possibility of making reservations.
I also noticed a lot of counter-information, but I think it's important to mention that the war with Ukraine also opens the Russian news, and much of what we see here on TV is also shown there. I believe that it is contextualized in a different way and seen from the Russian perspective, of course.
From what I’ve been talking about and what I have been hearing on the streets and in transportation, I can say that it is not the main topic of conversation and the feeling I have is that many Russians, either for or against the position of their country, see the war in Ukraine almost as a civil war, in regions that, for them, had no great political definition.
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Eko Hotels Lagos, Nigeria, 2019 |
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This trip was against NomadMania’s guidelines at the time and we ended up blocking your account for some short time. What followed was a very charged and emotional discussion within the travel community and travellers splitting in two sides. You received enormous support, but so did the opposing side. It all culminated and ended with NomadMania creating what we called a referendum, as everyone that logged in had to cast a vote. We will address the referendum later, but can you please explain to us - how did all this influence you and why did you feel so strongly against NomadMania, or anyone for that matter, placing judgment on your travelling choices?
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As a traveler, I couldn't not be outraged by my block on NomadMania. Traveling to Russia does not place me as an advocate of this or that political stance. It simply makes me a traveler who wanted to go to Russia at that moment. As a traveler I have no limits, let alone political limits. If that were the case, I could not go to Russia and Belarus, but neither could I go to North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Israel, China and the African continent then, where there are so many violent dictatorial regimes. The traveler has to be free, he has to be immune to these political issues, otherwise he will have giant constraints.
As such, NomadMania’s attitude, which I saw as authoritarian and even dictatorial, outraged me because I believe that a travelers' club should be neutral, in political or other matters.
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Expedition to the South Pole, Antarctica, 2019 |
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A lake in Antarctica by Luís Filipe (click the photo to see the source) |
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How do you react when you are not able to travel - either in general or to a specific place? Let's look back to the pandemic lockdowns, but also some specific examples such as this one. What feelings does this stir up in you?
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Not being able to travel to one place or another attacks my freedom to go, to be a citizen of the world. In this particular case it affected me most of all this paradox: a travelers' club preventing members from having the freedom to be. To me that doesn't make any sense.
As far as the pandemic blocks are concerned, I have fortunately always managed to travel. Of course, in the first phase, when almost all countries were closed, I felt more trapped and even considered traveling to an island where I could dedicate myself to my website (luisfilipegaspar.com) and travel in another way, so to speak.
Fortunately, soon after, I realized that, although with many constraints, it was possible to travel and so I went. It was a very strange time for a traveler. I found myself standing still seeing the Frankfurt airport empty, for example, many world heritage sites closed (museums, churches...) or empty. But I managed to move around and go feed my thirst for travel.
The lesser freedom in Covid times did not affect me the way the NomadMania blockade did, in the sense that the latter was a decision based on a political issue that, in my opinion, cannot be brought into the world of travel. Otherwise we would have a plethora of banned trips.
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Lisbon City Marathon, Portugal, 1999 |
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Why is travel freedom so important, in your opinion?
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Traveling and freedom are almost synonymous, so to speak. When I travel I feel an immense freedom. I am a citizen of the world and, as such, I should be free to go where I want.
In the same way that when I visit a place I do so without any preconceived ideas, I don't judge its characteristics or compare it to other places because that wouldn't be fair, I also don't understand that I have to take this or that political position and travel or not travel to this or that region for such reasons.
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Iguazu National Park, Argentina, 2007 |
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Flamingos of Salar de Uyuni by Luís Filipe (click the photo to see the source) |
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What did you think of NomadMania’s referendum and its results? What about the after-math?
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First of all, I didn't expect the outrage to start coming from travelers all over the world. I received several phone calls from around the globe showing solidarity for the situation I was in and that was surprising and at the same time it made me realize that many think like I do, there should be neutrality on these issues and that doesn't mean being in favor of this war. I am totally against the war, which is decimating Ukraine and destroying its people. Going to Russia or Belarus at this time does not mark any political position of the traveler, not least because he should not adopt it, in this or any other conflict.
As for the result, I was happy to be reinstated and that it is precisely in the travelers' hands to decide.
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Post Office at Kanton Atoll, Kiribati, 2016 |
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You must be aware that all this doesn’t come easily to our Ukrainian members and travellers in general. What are some ways that we can support them better, in your opinion?
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As I have already mentioned, I am totally against war, this war or any other. I am very sorry that a country and its people are being destroyed.
As a traveler this is what I can say: I don't agree with war and that my travels don't position me as a supporter of one side or the other of the conflict.
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Expedition to Paulet island, Antartica, 2004 |
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Finally - what did you learn from all this? From your travel to Russia and from the whole experience with the travel community splitting and then again merging into one?
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I think this further attested to my conviction that the freedom of the traveler is fundamental, that it cannot be hurt by political motivations, and that, fortunately, many think as I do.
I was very angry to see the community divided, but to see it coming together again gave me the certainty that the war could not do more damage to this large group of people who are just running after the dream of knowing the world, in all its perspectives.
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Chobe National Park, Botswana, 2006 |
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Gazelles, at the Okavango river, Botswana by Luís Filipe (click the photo to see the source) |
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Now, let’s leave this whole experience behind us and let us continue talking about you and your travels. Can you share some dearest travel stories with us?
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I have countless stories, and I often say that my travels are a bit of a misadventure. But I can tell you two curious ones.
One happened in Guinea Conakry. I was arrested while photographing fishing boats and found myself in a tiny cell with water up to my waist. Fortunately, as I have always managed, I kept calm and explained to the police that I did not mind being arrested but that there was no reason for it. I was simply photographing the boats. I then asked to go to the French embassy and there, calmly and with the help of the consul, I was able to get my passport and camera back and continue my trip.
Another interesting story happened in Mali. I was trying to get to Djenné and after getting on a bus with a handwritten ticket on a paper towel from a café terrace, the driver told me to get off saying that that was my stop. This was late at night. I could see a sign that said "Djenné 70 Kms" and the lights of the bus moving away from me until they disappeared on the horizon. There I was, alone, under a sky full of stars, in the middle of the desert. Quietly thinking that I should stay away from the rocks where there might be snakes, but that I was going to spend a different night deciphering all the constellations.
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Diving in Ilheu Rolas, Sao Tome, 2005 |
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A beach in Sao Tome by Luís Filipe (click the photo to see the source) |
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What is your most preferred travel style? Where do you go first and what is something that you never miss to see in a place you visit?
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My compass has always been the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. From very early on I realized that this would be my primary goal. I organize my trips with UNESCO World Heritage sites in mind, so as to get to know as many as possible and those that interest me the most. However, it is true that I like to leave one or another undiscovered. That way I always have a good excuse to come back.
In each region I visit, I also try to absorb the daily life of the people, get to know their culture and have one or another gastronomic experience. Not that I'm looking for this or that restaurant with Michelin stars, but for places where I can get to know the local cuisine well. It is also important to mention that in more complicated places, where food is not easy to find, I take care of myself, especially if I am traveling alone. I have had beer and peanuts for days at a time to avoid some intestinal disease that would throw me into a bed in the middle of nowhere.
I can also mention that, as an adventure lover, I also like, in places where this is possible, to practice some more radical activity, such as diving, skydiving, ballooning, or, for example, sleeping in the middle of the desert. These are experiences that enrich my trip and that I will not fail to do if there is the possibility.
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Diving Stuart Coves Cessna, New Providence, Bahamas, 2004 |
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Skydiving in Boituva, Sao Paulo, Brasil, 2006 |
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What has changed in travel in the past 20 years? What do you think of younger fellow travellers, the ones that merge with the technology and live off of that?
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I think that today we have more facilities to travel, or to put it another way, we have more tools at our disposal and this allows us to complement our trip. It also allows us to share our trip with a lot of people and that's also very interesting. As a photography lover myself, having several platforms where I can show the world through my lens is fascinating. Technology, when used for good purposes, is a great complement and I believe it doesn't interfere, negatively, with the essence of the trip.
Having new travel companions and younger travel companions, with other experiences, is always positive. Each person always brings us something new, a perspective, a different way of looking at things. Above all, it's great to find people who see the journey as much as I do, who share my passion for discovering the world.
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Curitiba, Parana, Brasil, 2008 |
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Do you have some words of advice for someone who is currently just thinking about travelling and thinks that they cannot make it? Where to start and how to go on?
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First of all, I think that if it's a dream, it's always possible to make it come true, as long as you plan and keep in mind that sometimes, in order to achieve a goal, you have to give up some things. I gave up, for example, having children or buying new cars, in order to run after this dream of getting to know the world.
When people ask me where to start, I believe that it is always important to start by getting to know your own country well, your roots. This is what I did. I bought a book ("The most beautiful towns and villages of Portugal") at the time I was also doing interrails around Europe and got to know my country well. I think that knowing your country well is fundamental. Then the continent we are in, even for the sake of ease. And from there on out into the world, according to each traveler's interests.
Then there is other advice that I usually give, namely to make your trips well planned, with a plan A, B and C and very practical tips, so that the trip isn't too complicated, like never checking luggage - which is a waste of time - and never booking a hotel. Although, nowadays, I already make some reservations, because I have to, even because there are countries that require a letter of call from the hotel in order to give us a visa. But I make the reservations the same day or the day before, never too far in advance, also because I leave myself free to, for example, be in a place and want to stay one or two nights more, which were not planned to be there. Having reservations made would take that freedom away from me, and the feeling of freedom while traveling should not be compromised.
In fact, the most important thing is to go, without preconceptions and ideas about what you will or won't find. Let each place surprise us and enrich us as travelers and as people.
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Staybridge suite, Itaim Bibi, Sao Paulo, Brasil, 2011 |
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We made it to our signature question. If you could invite any 4 people, dead or alive, to a dinner party, who would it be and why?
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There are many people I admire and with whom it would certainly be a pleasure to dine, but I think I can list four dinners that would leave me with my heart full. The first of these would be with my parents. Unfortunately my father is no longer with us and to be reunited at the table with him and my mother would be wonderful. It was with them that I made my first trips and that I felt that I was really very happy traveling. They started by telling me places to see, then I started telling them, and that was very curious.
Another important person on this road I have been traveling was José Megre, now deceased, and it would also be very interesting to see him again. José Megre was a Portuguese cross-country racer who traveled about a million kilometers by car in expeditions to all continents. He knew all the countries recognized by the UN, with the exception of Iraq. We met, by mere chance, twice around the world. The first time was on the ferry between Guyana and Suriname in 2006, and we talked about this dream we shared of traveling the world. It was he who made me realize that, with 74 countries (which were the ones I knew at the time), I still didn't know practically anything and who, in essence, guided me to take important steps from then on, namely to join travel clubs (he referred me to Most Travelled People, at the time), so that I could be more methodical in the trips to be made and the goals to be achieved.
Two other people I can mention here are the writers Bruce Chatwin and Paul Theroux. Bruce Chatwin for the books he wrote about Patagonia, which is one of those places in the world that I find really enchanting, and Paul Theroux, for being, like me, a lover of trains. I have taken almost every known train route, several times, and it always gives me great pleasure to travel on rails.
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Interrail trip, Buckingham Palace, London, UK, 1975 |
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We thank Luís Filipe for sharing his personal photos with us here at NomadMania.
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