Entrades

The Seychelles: Better than just paradise

Imatge
I had heard the name Seychelles Islands many times. But it was not until I considered to travel there that I actually learned the most basic things about them. I knew that they were an independent country formed by a group of islands in the Indian Ocean and that they were famous for their beaches. All of it is true. But there is so much more about this little island country. The Seychelles are home to only 100.000 people! (which I find fascinating considering that my small hometown of Mataro is larger). We spent 6 days and calculated that we probably crossed paths with a high percentage of those holding a Seychellois passport. The small country is the richest in Africa (yes, it is considered to be part of Africa). Even if most people live a simple life without many luxuries, one can feel that the lucky inhabitants of the islands are far away from poverty. The main reason is their political stability and the generous income from tourism.  American tourists started visiting the islan...
Publica un comentari a l'entrada
Més informació

Bornholm: The island of sunshine

Imatge
 It took me too long to visit Bornholm. I spent almost 3 years living in Denmark without going to what the Danes like to call "Solskinsøen", the island of sunshine. If you read this from the Mediterranean shores it might sound funny, but Bornholm is actually one of the places with more hours of sunshine in the Baltic Region. On July the 10th, @albertlopezdemoragas described the island as follows: The island of Bornholm lies in the middle of the Baltic Sea, between Germany, Sweden and Poland but has been Danish for centuries. During the Cold War it was the easternmost point of NATO and it is still a very crucial geopolitical location. Danes have made solskinøen their favourite vacation spot and during the summer season it hosts more than its usual 40.000 inhabitants.  You can tell that I am a pretentious poet, that I repeat myself, and that I love my geopolitical references. I said that I visited Bornholm too late because it has all the ingredients that attract me about a plac...
Publica un comentari a l'entrada
Més informació

Lithuania: My first time alone

Imatge
I first properly met the idea of Lithuania many years ago. I always tell people that I have learned half of what I know on Youtube. Not sure if this is a good sign. But the fact is that I once encountered a video about Lithuania's fight for freedom and independence. The short video presented the tragic events of January 1991, when the Soviet Military forces killed 15 innocent Lithuanians that were defending their country's liberty. The main clash happened at the TV Tower in the capital city of Vilnius. The Soviet Union collapsed at the end of that same year, which meant that Lithuania and many of the other Republics were free after decades of occupation. The tragic events of the TV tower were accompanied by the beautiful song "Laisvė/Freedom". This video made a big impression on me. It helped me understand the meaning of independence for the Baltics and other nations. And it helped me understand why they fight so hard to support Ukraine and its people during this diff...
Publica un comentari a l'entrada
Més informació

Sri Lanka: My first time

Imatge
My 3 weeks trip to and around Sri Lanka in February 2022 was a first time in many aspects. My first time travelling so far without my family, my first time in Asia besides Western Turkey, my first time bag packing and the first time in South East Asia. We call them first times because they are usually not "only times". I hope this will be the case, because this trip has inspired me to do something similar many more times in my life. I have always enjoyed travelling and I have been lucky to experience many parts of the world as a child, thanks to the trips with my family. However, these trips have mostly been to countries that are fairly similar to mine. I had always had the desire to discover those places I knew were so different. This desire became stronger after I moved to Denmark. Here I discovered that many young students like myself had interrupted their studies in several occasion to go on long and meaningful trips to remote places of our globe. I knew I wanted to do th...
Publica un comentari a l'entrada
Més informació