Freddy’s List of Countries

People often ask where I’ve been so I started a list.  I tried to go through and add the dates of each visit since that kind of tells a story, too.

1. 1. USA
   2. Canada *
   3. Panama 1987
   4. Germany 1990
   5. Saudi Arabia 1991
   6. Italy 1991, 2014, 2016
   7. Vatican City or The Holy See 1991
   8. Mexico 1999, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
   9. Ireland 2010, 2015, 2017
   10. Puerto Rico 2011
   11. Jordan 2011
   12. Israel 2011
   13. Palestinian Territories 2011
   14. Jamaica  2012
   15. Bahamas 2013, 2014, 2016
   16. Colombia 2013
   17. Haiti 2013
   18. Dominican Republic 2013, 2016
   19. Guatemala 2013
   20. Honduras 2013
   21. El Salvador 2013
   22. Spain 2014
   23. Andorra 2014
   24. France 2014, 2016
   25. Monaco 2014
   26. Switzerland 2014
   27. Liechtenstein 2014
   28. Austria 2014
   29. Netherlands 2014
   30. St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands (USVI)  2014
   31. Tortola, British Virgin Islands (BVI) 2014
   32. Northern Ireland 2015
   33. Isle of Man 2015
   34. Portugal 2015
   35. Madeira 2015
   36. Azores (layover on São Miguel Island and fuel stop on Santa Maria Island) 2015
   37. Guyana 2015
   38. Suriname 2015
   39. French Guiana 2015
   40. Trinidad 2016
   41. Tobago 2016
   42. Iceland 2016
   43. England 2016, 2017
   44. Finland 2016
   45. Lithuania 2016
   46. Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia) 2016
   47. Latvia 2016
   48. Poland 2016, 2017
   49. Wales 2016
   50. Bulgaria 2017
   51. Jersey 2017
   52. Guernsey 2017
   53. Russia 2017

   Micronations (Do they count?)

   1. Seborga 2014
   2. Saugeais 2014
   3. Užupis Republic 2016

   Uncle Sam handled the immigration officials for my trips to Panama, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, so I didn’t need a passport until 1990.  I applied for my first one to travel to Italy in 1991 to visit some friends.  The only other stamp in that first passport was a business trip to Mexico.  The company I worked for at the time had suppliers in Mexico and it was considered a hardship to visit them, especially the maquiladora sites along the Texas border.  The traveler in me, however, compelled me to volunteer for every trip possible.  I loved it, right down to the border crossings to Reynosa, Juárez, Matamoros, and Acuña.

   The time gap from 1991 to 2010 is a story as well.  That period matches the arrival of my children and a financial crunch caused by my first marriage that prevented me from traveling the way I dreamed.  I did keep my passport current but it remained unused.  When social media entered my consciousness, I lived vicariously through trips my friends posted.

   Then, it all changed when Bella and I started dating.  She is the consummate traveler and already had plans for Ireland when we got together.  That’s the only stamp in my second passport.  It expired in February of 2011.

   Now I’m living my dreams and my passport is filling up.

   ~Freddy

   *We live in the Metro Detroit area, which includes Windsor.  I have crossed into Canada so many times I’ve lost count.  I remember crossing before passports were required.  Additionally, I essentially lived in Toronto for two years on a work assignment.