World Travel
To know who we are, look at where we have been:


I have had the opportunity to explore cultural aspects of the people in countries where I lived, worked, studied or visited in all continents. I have been to several of the most hostile territories in the world in the last 28 years, visiting amazing places and getting involved in dramatic and sometimes hilarious situations. Hiring a guide or joining organized tour groups always sounded to me as an insult   I've stayed in all sort of places, from the most luxurious chain hotels to the most simple and rudimentary Buddhist Temples at the foot of the Himalayas. I've visited remote tribes in many countries and witnessed religious rituals in extremely remote islands. Having three meals per day, or spending a week without eating any solid food, sometimes didn't make much difference. Crossing the Sahara Desert, leading scientific expeditions searching for oil in remote locations where almost nobody had ever been before, and getting used to extreme temperatures of -30ºC to +52ºC was part of my daily routine. At different times, I have shared my apartment with colleagues from 31 nationalities and have directly supervised engineers and scientists from 58 different countries. I discovered a new species of crab in East Timor, and took DNA samples from whale sharks in Mozambique. I've visited most of the gigantic professional telescopes and astronomical observatories all over the world, often being invited to stay overnight to observe. I've also traveled solo overland across the whole African continent for almost a year, hitchhiking, taking local slow public buses and collective taxis, cargo trucks and canoes, having crossed eleven war zones unarmed and without a body guard, carrying only 8 kg of luggage, often documenting what I saw with tens of thousands of photos; all this was inexpensive and extremely rewarding at the end. I was in Beirut during the civil war, and visited most of the obscure Eastern European countries during the Iron Curtain period. I also became an eyewitness to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's assassination. I was in Kenya during an earthquake, saw volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, Guatemala and Italy (a few kilometers away from Mt. Etna's mouth during its memorable 2002 eruption), devastating hurricanes in Barbados and in the Northern Marianas, a huge tornado in Georgia and even ran a Marathon climbing the Swiss Alps. However, my exploratory marathon throughout the world is far from over. Lately I've been revisiting places already familiar to me. At each visit I rediscover new facets of cultures that if seen by untrained eyes, would go unnoticed.

The following list follows the Travelers' Century Club official List of Countries. The TCC was founded in 1954 in Los Angeles by the world's most widely traveled individuals. Membership in the TCC is limited to those travelers who have visited 100 or more countries of the world. I've been a member since 1994 and have visited over 250 countries and territories. The number after each country or state name means 'how many times I've visited', if I've been there more than once:

Africa  (slide show)  New!

Algeria
Angola
Benin - 2
Botswana - 2
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabinda
Cameroon
Canary Islands - 3
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Ceuta
Chad
Congo (Brazzaville)
Congo (Kinshasa)
Djibouti - 3
Egypt - 6    I have lived here !
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia - 2
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Ivory Coast
Kenya - 4
Lesotho
Liberia
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Morocco - 4
Mozambique
Namibia - 2
Niger
Nigeria

Rwanda - 2
Sao Tome & Principe
Senegal - 3
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Somaliland
South Africa - 6
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania - 2
Togo - 2
Tunisia
Uganda
Western Sahara - 2
Zambia
Zanzibar
Zimbabwe

Asia

Afghanistan
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Brunei
Cambodia
China
East Timor
Georgia
Hainan Island
Hong Kong - 2
India - 3
Indonesia (Java) - 2
Japan
Kalimantan
Laos
Lesser Sunda Islands - 2
Macao
Malaysia - 2
Moluccas
Myanmar
Nepal
Pakistan
Philippines - 3
Sabah
Sarawak
Singapore - 4
Sri Lanka
Sulawesi
South Korea
Sumatra
Taiwan
Thailand - 6    I have lived here !
Turkey
Vietnam
West Papua - 2

Caribbean

Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda - 4
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados - 9    I have lived here !
Bonaire - 2
British Virgin Islands - 2
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Curacao - 2
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Dutch Leeward Islands - 5
French Leeward Islands - 2
Grenada - 4
Guadeloupe - 2
Haiti
Jamaica
Martinique
Montserrat
Puerto Rico - 2
San Andres & Providencia
St. Kitts & Nevis - 2
St. Lucia - 3
St. Maarten - 4
St. Vincent & Grenadines - 3
Trinidad Tobago - 7   I've lived here !
Turks & Caicos Islands
American Virgin Islands - 2

Central America

Belize
Costa Rica - 3
El Salvador
Guatemala - 2
Honduras - 2
Nicaragua
Panama -3
San Blas Islands
 

Europe

Åland Islands
Albania
Andorra
Austria - 2
Balearic Islands
Belarus
Belgium - 6    I have lived here !
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Corsica
Crete
Croatia
Cyprus (Republic of) (South)
Cyprus (Turkish Fed. States of) (North)
Czech Republic
Denmark - 2
Dodecanese Islands
England - 11
Estonia
Finland
France - 8
Germany - 16
Gibraltar
Greece - 2
Greenland
Guernsey
Hungary
Iceland
Ionian Islands
Ireland - 2
Isle of Man
Italy - 5
Jersey
Kosovo
Lampedusa
Latvia
Liechtenstein - 2
Lithuania
Luxembourg - 2
Macedonia
Madeira
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands - 3
Northern Ireland
Norway - 4    I have lived here !
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Sardinia
Scotland
Serbia
Sicily
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain - 6
Srpska
Sweden - 5
Switzerland - 4    I have lived here !
Transdniester
Turkey - 3
Ukraine
Vatican
Wales

Middle East

Abu Dhabi - 12    I have lived here !
Ajman
Bahrain
Dubai - 6
Fujeira
Iran  
Jordan
Kuwait - 3
Lebanon - 5
Oman
Palestine
Qatar  
Ras Al Khaimah
Saudi Arabia - 3
Sharjah - 2
Syria - 4
Umm Al Qaiwain
Yemen  
North America

Canada
Mexico - 2

USA (34 states on 57 different visits):
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona - 3
California - 9
Colorado - 2
Connecticut - 2
Delaware
District of Columbia - 2
Florida - 17

Georgia - 3
Hawaii - 2
Illinois - 7
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana - 2
Maryland
Massachusetts - 2
Mississippi
Missouri
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York - 12
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania - 2
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Texas - 3
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington - 2
Wisconsin
 

Pacific Ocean

American Samoa
Australia
Bismark Archipelago
Cook Islands - 2
Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Yap) - 2
Fiji - 3
French Polynesia - 2
Galapagos Islands
Guam - 2
New Caledonia
New Zealand - 2
Niue
Northern Marianas
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Samoa - 2
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Vanuatu - 2
Wallis & Futuna

South America

Argentina -3    I have lived here !
Bolivia
Brazil    I live here !
Chile - 2
Colombia - 4
Ecuador
French Guiana - 2
Guyana - 2
Paraguay - 3
Peru - 2
Suriname - 2
Uruguay
Venezuela - 6    I have lived here !

 
Hours traveled by train in the US:      75
Hours traveled by train in Europe:      499
Hours traveled by helicopter:             2,000+

The following are two very interesting web sites about famous world travelers:
- Viajeros Notables, by Jorge Juan Sánchez of Spain.
- Most Traveled People, by Charles Veley of the USA.


We have been featured in several newspapers and most Brazilian travel magazines.

I will try to add photos for each individual country in my spare time, hopefully in late 2008, if I'm not traveling :-)
Please note that my pictures were never supposed to prove my capabilities as an amateur photographer, but to conserve memorable moments and share them with others... I am a lot more a traveler than a photographer or a writer...

Home    Astronomy    Running & Scuba Diving    Other Interests    Curriculum Vitae    After-Thoughts

Last updated 17 Apr 2008
Statistics for Reaiche.com
Copyright © 1996-2008 Paulo M. Raymundo. All rights reserved.

E-mail: webmaster@reaiche.com