A global nomad's pursuit to see all 195 countries, 39 territories, & 9 de-facto nations
August 14, 2019
I was completely sidelined by severe fatigue today, sleeping 18 hours for the second consecutive day. I didn’t get out of bed until sunset, meaning I lost this entire day and didn’t get any sightseeing done.
I had planned to visit Goree Island today, but that will have to wait until after I return from Saint-Louis (where I’m traveling to tomorrow). It sucks to have lost the entire day today due to my sleep disorders.
August 13, 2019
I was hobbled by my sleep disorder today during my second day in Senegal’s capital, sleeping nearly 18 hours. But despite feeling terrible, I dragged myself out of the hotel for a nice 5½-mile walk, seeing a good deal in just a couple hours.
Set out at 5:40 for a 5½-mile walk around central and southern Dakar. First I walked half an hour (1.65 miles) south to Cap Manuel, the southernmost point of Dakar. It overlooks Goree Island, famous as the last African stop for many slaves loaded onto ships for transport to the Americas.
August 9, 2019
Had a delicious lunch and headed out for some groceries and a brief look around during my first day in Senegal’s capital, but otherwise took it easy and took care of a bunch of tasks. I’ll begin sightseeing in earnest tomorrow.
Got up at 11 a.m. Watched TiVo on my phone. Gawd it sucks to be hungry and not have any food. Today was a day to relax, get situated, and make sightseeing plans. I was still sleepy after arriving late last night from Barcelona, Spain, via Lisbon, Portugal. I came to Senegal after finishing a 17-night Caribbean and trans-Atlantic cruise aboard Costa Pacifica.
August 8, 2019
Greetings from Senegal, my 128th country! I flew here from Lisbon, Portugal, (LIS) on TAP Air Portugal. This flight put me over 1.5 million miles flown! To be precise: 1,501,728.
I arrived at LIS at 1:56 p.m. after flying there from Barcelona (BCN) at the conclusion of my 17-night Costa Pacifica Caribbean and trans-Atlantic cruise from La Romana, Dominican Republic. So glad I have a United Airlines/Star Alliance lounge membership! I had a seven-hour layover at LIS before my connecting flight to Senegal. I headed to the TAP Premium Lounge.
July 29, 2019
We crossed the Prime Meridian today while sailing from Gibraltar toward Barcelona on the final full day of this 17-night Caribbean and trans-Atlantic voyage. I enjoyed the excellent weather and got lots of planning done for my next few trips to West Africa and Eastern Europe.
This 17-night Caribbean and trans-Atlantic cruise has been a mixed bag. It started with a horrendous boarding experience in La Romana and a nightmare of onboard customer-service problems. The food and service aboard Pacifica has been mediocre, but the excursions I went on at seven ports of call were generally excellent and quite enjoyable.
I’ve been on Costa twice before, so I’m aware its service isn’t great. But I’ve sailed with the Italian cruiseline three times because of its excellent itineraries and good prices. Will I sail on Costa again? It all depends on the routing and cost! But it’s definitely not a cruiseline I recommend for the onboard experience.
Costa Pacifica crossed the Strait of Gibraltar this morning, then I had an absolutely delightful shore excursion in this United Kingdom territory – my 17th territory visited on my Quest for 243. Add the 127 countries and three de-facto nations I’ve been to and my new count is 147 (60% of the way there).
Gibraltar is one of the smallest territories or nations on Earth with just 2.5 square miles (6.5 square km) of land. That’s about 10 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Spain ceded the territory to the UK in 1713. It is also one of the least populous with just 29,461 residents.
July 27, 2019
Experienced a gorgeous day sailing along the Moroccan coast from the Canary Islands toward the Strait of Gibraltar today. Got a lot of travel reading done for my upcoming European destinations as well as some other work. Spanish cuisine was offered outside for lunch, and tonight was the farewell gala dinner.
Tomorrow we’ll arrive in our final port of call on this 17-night Caribbean and trans-Atlantic cruise, the United Kingdom territory of Gibraltar. I’m excited as this will be a new territory for me.
Stepped on land for the first time in a week, enduring numerous headaches trying to get online to accomplish many West Africa planning tasks. Did not go on a shore excursion today since Mom and I were here just a few months ago.
Land ahoy! At 3:37 a.m. we were already only 31 miles from Tenerife Island, Canary Islands, Spain, after an uneventful and mostly smooth six-day Atlantic Ocean crossing from St. Lucia. Tenerife, population 890,000, is the most populous of the seven principal Canary Islands.