Mongolia

MONGOLIA, Land of Chenggis Khan

Have to admit I had to look this up. Mongolia is not your average tourist destination. I knew it was the land of Chenggis Khan who ruled somewhere in the 1200’s, of the eagle hunters and camel herders, and they love wrestling. I didn’t really know much more about it. But that is going to change right now.

It is big, about 1,5 million km2 (4x Germany) and only has 3 million people, of which more than 50% live in the capital, which we noticed first hand, the traffic is gruesome. Then about 20% are nomadic or semi-nomadic, it is the world’s most sparsely populated country. As we would notice later much of it’s area is covered by grassy steppe, some mountains in the north and west, the Gobi Desert in the south. Desertification is one of the biggest problems, there is hardly any agriculture but it is one of the 10 countries with best natural resources. So now you know!

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Finland in winter

I REALLY WANT TO SEE REINDEER !

After two futile attempts at photographing reindeer and/or aurora in Norway we decided to try our luck in Finland, actually so far north in Finland that we were in Lapland. We land at Kuusamo airport at around 10am, meaning shortly after sunrise, and it was a white winter wonderland that greeted us as we headed for our cottage in Ruka, a 30min drive north. 

This is what driving in Finland is like

The cottage turns out to be the most beautiful log cabin situated on the shore of a frozen snow covered lake called Hakojärvi. Wow, I could live here if it just wasn’t so damned dark all the time ! The sun is already setting when we go for a short exploratory walk in the snow, it will be gone by 2pm, 4 hours of sunlight a day, oh boy, that doesn’t leave us much time for photography. 

Our wonderful home for the next 5 days

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Tansania, the Bush & Beach adventure

TANSANIA 2024:  THE BUSH & BEACH ADVENTURE

Imagine Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, the migration of thousands of  wildebeest, Ngorongoro, Stonetown on Zanzibar… there are so many spectacular things to see here, World Heritage sites, and we’ve never been there ! And all the lovely beers they have… High time we went !

Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Safari, Savannah, the choice is yours !

Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Safari, Savannah, the choice is yours !

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POLAR BEARS AT 78°N

SVALBARD RE-LOADED

Halfway between the northern tip of Norway and the North Pole, at around 78°N lies the archipelago of Svalbard. It’s most famous and well known island is probably Spitzbergen, that’s where we started our tour.

The two of us, posing in front of the Virgo parked in the ice

We did this trip before, but crazy us, we wanted more ice, so this time we decided to go earlier, the middle of April. As we arrive in Longyearbjen there is definitely more snow and ice, and it is bloody cold. Temperatures are at -15°C and there is a strong wind blowing, chill factor double plus. That’s what you get ! 

We got what we wanted…

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SACRED MASKS OF BENIN

Sacred Masks and Voodoo Festival

with FROST PHOTO TOURS

Benin, West-Africa. Not your average tourist destination, that’s exactly what I like ! It is hot, it is humid, I have never sweated so much in my life, but it is sensational, so colorful, friendly and laid back easy, this country is very special and so totally cool. To be honest, before I traveled, I  had to look it up on the map, West Africa is big and has many countries….Now I know where it is, and will never forget !

Didn’t know much about Voodoo either, but we soon learned that Voodoo is a religion, not some scary cult. It is a peaceful way of life aligned with the natural elements. They have divinities like Christianity has angels and a God they call the Fa, and when they celebrate it is like the carnival in Brazil or Venice, with splendid dresses, tons of spectators and lots of music and ecstatic dancing.

I jumped at the chance and joined this cultural photo tour with Kirsten Frost. I am picked up at the airport by our driver Moise, (pronounce Moh-iz) in full body, extremely colorful dress. Just that made me smile, and I had really good hopes that this trip would become awesome, which it definitely did.

Welcome to Benin

In case you didn’t know where it is

DAY 1: GANVIÉ, GRAFFITI & THE AMAZONE

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