Some people travel and spend months or years in a location. I have never been so lucky.

But I have traveled to and through several countries in my life. I have, from time to time (but honestly, not too often) been asked to say what countries I have been to. The last was at Church yesterday. So I decided to make a list that I can easily access and let people see on their own terms. So here it is for the very small number of people that care! As I travel to other countries (or more in a country I've been to) I'll try to update this list. The list isn't long and even if I count the quick pass through spots or in for a meeting and back out, it isn't all that long. Let's start then at the bottom and work our way up:

I haven't really been to THESE locations ....

First the really boring ones. Places (mostly countries) I've been, mostly for less than 4 hours, I don't remember all the countries that should be in this list and I am not including any of the countries I simply flew over, these are either transiting through an airport, or flying in, having a meeting and flying back home (seriously - some in the old days before the internet where it was best to go to get documents signed.)

• Fiji, just passing through, but I got a lei, 1986.
• United Arab Emirates, just passing through
• Liechtenstein, passed through slowly by car on purpose - my host wanted me to have been here and seen it. So maybe this tiny country should be in my list of places I "know"! It took almost 20 minutes, driving slow, to get through the whole country the 'long' way.
• Mainland Portugal, 2020, twice
• Portugal out in the middle of the Atlantic ocean for about 14 hours (well, closer to Portugal than Nova Scotia Canada, so not quite the middle), 2020
• Hawaii, now, I know this is part of the USA, but I've been through it about 4 times, each time sequestered in the Qantas airport for 2 to 4 hours, able to see THE palm tree in Hawaii. Each time wondering why, even though Qantas flies people in from all over for about a 2 hour period, then all the planes leave over the next 2 hours, and there are food store, souvenir stores, restaurants - and 100% are closed, not even a vending machine. A captive, hungry, bored crowd, 5 or more nights a week. The Qantas staff say they keep trying to get the proprietors to open to serve these 1000's of hungry, bored customers but they reply "nah, I'd rather sleep than be open from 10 to 2 or 11 to 1".
• Italy: Well I was in a part of Switzerland that has gone back and forth between Italy and Spain. When I was there around 1995 I think it was, it was part of Switzerland, but I see it has now been given back to Italy. So ... I wasn't really in Italy, but I was in a town that is currently Italy, so I'm OK including it my list!

I've been to these, but not for very long ... go, get stuff done, leave...

Mostly for less than a day, I was 'really' in the country, but not for long

• Germany, several times (business meetings, just popped in for an ice cream, plus travel)
• Portugal, really just travelling through - but overnight, 2020
• England (one trip 2 lectures, several other trips 'through') Didn't ever find a fish and chips pub ... maybe next time. I've been through the airport a couple more times now.
• Austria (business meeting, I thought I was in Germany at the time!)

I feel like I've REALLY been here, but I don't feel I know them:

• Australia, several days each on 4 trips 1987, 1986, back when phone books were printed things and the one place I went to had a 3' tall stack that was "part of the Sydney phone book." Saw Crocodile Dundee, months before it was in Canada.
• New Zealand, once - nominally to buy a sheepskin, 1986, stuck an extra day or two due to a strike
• Switzerland, I used to go here 2 or 3 times a year for several years about a week or two each time
• Jamaica, honeymoon, a week, 1988, mostly sequestered away from the real population (I do NOT normally do that when I travel.)
• Spain, business, several contiguous days, 2020, before we knew COVID-19 was a thing
• Turkey, church business, about a week I think it was, maybe 10 days.
• China, nominally twice, though I left and came back so technically about 4 times
• Panama, several business trips, probably a lot more in the future, got my and my wife's 'Permanent Residency' cards to help with business around the world. (Long story short, one of the most important reasons is that The Canadian passport is one of very few around the world where the number changes with each new passport AND there is no reference in the current passport to any of the previous passport numbers. Makes international business a pain. Sigh. Long story - but meanwhile, getting to know and love the country.)
• Hong Kong (a special region, you need a passport and it uses up a visa entrance going back and forth to China)
• Singapore, business meeting, good portion of a day, rode the bullet train

Places I feel like I've been enough to 'know'. (4 countries)

• Costa Rica, many trips, last time hours before COVID-19 became "a thing". And now a couple times since COVID-19.

• Papua New Guinea, twice for about a month each, but it was in 1987 and 1986 and I hear that a lot has changed since then, so 'knew' is probably more accurate than 'know'.

• USA, Coast to Coast to Coast, many times, almost once a year, sometimes more than once.

• Canada (coast to coast but not 'to coast' - we've only been to the coasts represented in the flag as Liberal red bars, not our Northern coast.) I wouldn't say I 'know' the country, it is a huge country. But it is my home country so in some ways I know it the best, but on the other hand, I'm blinded by my belief I know it so I probably miss things that visitors would see. I particularly don't understand how Ontario and Quebec can have such ridiculous ideas compared to the well thought out ideas in Alberta! Of course they would say the exact same but in reverse, and there are 5 times as many of them than there are of us - so I guess they win.

• Mexico: Several times, once as a visitor, other times on week long mission trips.