Upcoming Africa Trip centered on South Sudan; Timbuktu, Mali, and Liberia

This trip focuses on: 1) returning to South Sudan to visit the nomad cattle tribes which I was unable to visit back in 2018 when I first visited South Sudan due to the civil war just ending and visiting them wasn't feasible; 2) returning to Mali to visit Timbuktu which was unvisitable in 2020 when I originally visited Mali due to Islamist-Extremist and the lack of safety, and 3) visiting Liberia which I planned to visit at the end of March 2020, but was canceled due to COVID concerns and airport closures. As presented in the table below, 6 of the 16 days were basically spent in airports and airplanes. 

2/19	✈️ Newark USA  to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2/20	✈️ Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Juba, South Sudan
2/21	Overnight w/ Dinka
2/22	Return to Juba
2/23	Overnight w/ Mundari
2/24	Overnight w/ Mundari
2/25	Return to Juba
2/26	Free day - Juba
2/27	✈️ Juba, South Sudan to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2/28	✈️ Addis Ababa to Bamako, Mali
3/1	Free Day - Bamako
3/2	✈️ Timbuktu
3/3	✈️ Bamako, Mali to Monrovia, Liberia*
3/4	City Tour - Monrovia
3/5	Chimpanzee
3/6	✈️ Monrovia, Liberia to Newark, USA

*Bamako, Mali -> Conakry, Guinea -> Lome, Togo -> Accra, Ghana -> Monrovia, Liberia.  7am to 6 pm! 😩😩

Spain Degustation Tour

Date	Restaurant	Location	Booking Status	Time	2021 World Ranking
15 Sept	Asador Etxebarri	Axpe	Booked	13:30	#3
12 Sept	Disfrutar	Barcelona	Booked	13:30	#5
16 Sept	Mugaritz	San Sebastian	Booked	20:00	#14
17 Sept	Elkano	Getaria	Booked	13:00	#16
10 Sept	DiverXO	Madrid	Booked	20:00	#20
14 Sept	Azurmendi	Larrabetzu	Booked	13:00	#49
13 Sept	Nerua	Bilbao	Booked	13:00	#53
16 Sept	Arzak	San Sebastian	Booked	13:30	#94

Travel Logistics

10 September, Saturday morning arrive in Madrid 

11 September, Sunday fly to Barcelona  

13 September, Tuesday early morning fly to Bilbao

13 September to 18 September rental car 

18 September, Sunday late afternoon fly to Madrid, then back to US 

 

Socotra Island, Yemen

 Tour Company: Welcome to Socotra

Getting Ready: Wikipedia Socotra Island

Socotra Island, Yemen - Blue Dot on Map (below)

Blood Dragon Trees

It wasn't my original plan.. but this is the outcome of extensive travel

If I visit the 13 countries listed below I will've visited all the 193 U.N. countries in the world. It wasn't something I wanted or set out or wanted to do or planned to do...but it is what it is....over then next three years I plan to visit the remaining 13 countries... why not?

Caribbean - Very Easy
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Jamaica
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Grenada
Antigua and Barbuda
Dominica
Saint Kitts and Nevis

Slightly More Difficult 

Liberia 
Yemen 
Venezuela 
North Korea 

Planned Travel

UPDATED 6 September 2019

Karadoram and Pamir Highway
9/10/19 to 10/1/19

Israel and Palestine
10/2/19 to 10/12/19

Cairo, Egypt
10/13/19 to 10/15/19

Socotra Island, Yemen
10/16/19 to 10/23/19

Equatorial Guinea
10/25/19 to 10/27/19

São Tomé and Príncipe
10/28/19 to 11/3/19

Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova (group 3 to 4)

11/4/19 to 11/15/19

Trinidad and Tobago
11/16/19 to 11/20/19

Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana 
11/21/19 to 12/1/19

Columbia
12/8/19 to 12/15/19

Venezuela
12/16/19 to 12/22/19

USA
12/22/19 to 1/2/20

Planning: Marshall Islands

Planning: Nauru

Planning: Taiwan

Mauritania
1/21/20 to 1/27/20

Mali, Burkina Faso
1/28/20 to 2/15/20

Maldives
2/16/20 ro 2/26/20

Liberia, Chad, Central African Republic