“After 635 nights in Corrientes, Argentina—chillin’ in my pandemic penthouse—we’re on the road again, Kim. Yee-Haw!”
We climbed back in the saddle of our Kim’s View caravan on December 1st, 2021 and scored Kim’s View-Brazil, our first new country since Uruguay in February 2020, at killer Iguaçu Falls to narrowly avoid a no-hit shutout in 2021. Phew!
Kim’s View—2022 By The Numbers
***
1—Hall-of-Fame Kim’s View in Petra, Jordan
2—Base camps; Istanbul and Cairo
2—Group tours with armed escorts; Pakistan and Nigeria
5—Group tours total
10—New countries with a Kim’s View
13—UNESCO world heritage sites explored / enjoyed
155—Countries with a Kim’s View at year-end
635—Nights in Corrientes, Argentina weathering the 2020-21 Covid-19 shit storm
***
2022 started with an uneventful month in Paraguay before we set up Kim’s View base camp in Istanbul, Turkey and then—only because my Turkey visa expired—Cairo, Egypt. We created ten Kim’s Views this year to bring our total to one hundred fifty five.
***(click the flag for the 2022 Kim’s View)***
Kim’s View Hall-of-Fame
We only scored one Hall-of-Fame Kim’s View this year among ancient sandstone temples in Petra, Jordan. Petra is a tourist trap, but it’s still awesome. I jumped on the crowded bandwagon for Petra’s Treasury and Monastery, and now I’m a fan of the Nabateans.
Coolest Kim’s View
But THE coolest Kim’s View of 2022 is in Lebanon at the Byblos Citadel. Byblos is the birthplace of our English alphabet. Kim’s View-Byblos overlooks the Mediterranean among the tombs of Egyptian kings and next to the Alphabet Pavilion, a modern art exhibit celebrating global alphabets. Considering your San Diego State degree in French and our love of languages, Sis, this Kim’s View is tres cool.
Rookie Mistake
No matter how many places I’ve visited, Sis, I still make travel blunders; I was oblivious to the GCC leaders’ conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and booked an Airbnb less than 3 kilometers away from President Biden’s hotel and Uber taxis—my only form of transportation in The Kingdom—couldn’t reach me because of the road closures and security clusterfuck. I was stuck for two days walking in 100+ degree heat searching for a decent Kim’s View. Doh!
Phoenician Treasure Hunters
Lebanon is the coolest country we visited in 2022 and Lebanese locals like to remind visitors that they are Phoenician. A quick historical review reminds us that the Phoenicians were kicking ass way before the Greeks and Romans. Oddly, my favorite experience in Lebanon was getting swindled with fake Phoenician coins.
On The Road Again
Since we escaped our pandemic penthouse in Corrientes, Argentina, these are the Kim’s Views we’ve scored …
Kim’s View-2023 Travel Plan
Our Kim’s View world map is more colorful than ever, Sis, but forty five “countries” still need a Kim’s View.
Kim's Views End 2022
We’ll complete our mission if we score fifteen Kim’s Views in each of the next three years. Our toughest challenge will be ignoring the US State Department’s “Level 4 – Do Not Travel” warnings.
“This is the toughest part of our Kim’s View world tour.”
To stay safe, Kim, our travel style has evolved from reaching a continent and just hopping on a bus, to “following the flag” on dorky group tours. Thankfully, adventure tour companies target country-counters like me and offer group tours to “destinations your mother would rather you stay away from.”
I love the simplicity of group tours, I don’t need to do any logistics work whatsoever so I can focus on getting great shots, chatting up locals, and, most importantly, having fun. But the truth is, tour groups are a bunch of kiddies being wheeled around by babysitters. Traveling solo or with a partner is—and will always be—infinitely cooler. Traveling is like home improvement; you score extra style points when you do it yourself.
We have many options for group tours to Syria, Libya, and CAR, but at the moment, Americans can’t get visas for Syria or Libya. When we’re back in South America and the Caribbean, we’ll get a Kim’s View at Angel Falls in Venezuela—Chevron just cozied up to their dictator Maduro, so maybe that’ll increase my chances of getting a tourist visa. And Russia and Belarus will have to wait until Ukraine finishes kicking Russia’s ass.
Our 2023 travel plan is to explore the Level-4 vacation hotspots of Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Iran. And in mid-January we’ll relocate our Kim’s View base camp from Cairo to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to visit the surrounding countries.
I’m excited about exploring exotic Ethiopia, but I’m not excited about the steep learning curve in Addis; where can I crash cheaply but comfortably, how do I get around, where can I buy groceries, how do I extend my visa? Et cetera. Et cetera.
*** (check out our flickr world map)***
I’m weary from traveling, Sis. Today is my 2,652nd day away from home in San Diego. I crave familiarity, normality, and simplicity. I miss family and friends, especially around the holidays. I’m dying to eat carne asada burritos and fish tacos. I want to watch live baseball at Petco Park and football at Qualcomm SoFi. Nowadays, when I return to my noisy, dusty Cairo apartment after search-&-enjoy missions, it takes longer and longer to recharge.
I don’t need to go home until two hundred countries have a Kim’s View—and I’m grateful to be Back in the Saddle—but we need to complete our mission sooner than later. Vamos. KV
