Visas: What Visas?
I've cycled toured in Europe extensively over the last two years: a continent with something for everyone's taste. If you like wilderness, head north: Iceland is unique: black volcanic desert and huge vistas toward white snowfields on clear days. Northern Scandinavia is special too, late Spring and Summer with twenty-four hours of daylight. If you like ancient culture, towns dating from the first millennium, head South. I liked my day in Pompei in Southern Italy, not that I'm big into ancient ruins. I come from Ireland where Norman castles from around 1100AD are part of the landscape. I am lucky to have so much within a few weeks cycle. And with a European passport can visit it all without the hassle and time restrains of visas. Also my passport allows me visa-free movement in the Americas. South America is fantastic. I haven't been to Asia, Turkey notwithstanding. And the only part of Africa I've been to is Morocco; though, I've designs on Southern Africa. But both continents have large blocks of countries with notorious visa requirements entailing time restrain on travel. I couldn't be assed with states that make it difficult to visit them. Countries are just territories demarcated by lines on maps; if I can't enter without a visa, I'll go somewhere else instead, only requiring me to turn up and fill in a tourist card at either a land border or at an international airport; such as, the Americas, Australia-New Zealand and countries on the margin of Asia and Africa. If Russia, or China for instance, allowed free ninety days access, plus the possibility of an extension, to European Union passport holders, I would visit. But what does it matter. I can cycle in Finland where the landscape is much the same as Northern Russia. And I can find other examples, locations to replicate other parts of this large restrictive block. When you're cycling, what does it matter what the country is called. Furthermore what is the attraction of setting foot in all the worlds continents. Over the years I've come across the traveller that visit a country for a few days, just to be able to say later, they've visited this country and that country and they've been to X number of countries. Seems vacuous, like accumulating fancy shoes. Almost all the countries, numbering around thirty (which I've no desire to increase much), I've been in, I've been back to at least a second time. Some I really get a feel for. I will revisit much the same countries this time. Nothing is written in stone, but theoretically I'll set off in February aiming for Italy, from there perhaps the Former Yugoslavia, back through Northern Italy with Spring well advanced; onwards to Southern France and Spain, whereupon, I wish to fly-out to South America. I am flexible and will keep an open mind, but prefer not to have the bother of visa documentation. The famous "Paris Dakar" rally relocated to South America a few years ago due to security. In it's new venue it has all the desert the race had in it's former Sahara location. Likewise from the traveller's perspective, Europe, South America and other places which don't require paperwork and visiting a nation's consulate in advance, have infinite space, enough to satisfy my curiosity for a lifetime's bicycle touring.
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