Friday, March 27, 2015

Where is Fernando Po?

On January 23 I wrote about native islander, Eliza Ella ("Miss Lizerella") Styron O'Neal (1890-1953), who never left the island in her entire 63 years (except to venture a mile or so out into Pamlico Sound in a small boat).

That got me thinking about how things have changed, and how widely traveled present-day islanders are. I mentioned this to my daughter Amy, and she posted a question on Facebook for Ocracoke islanders: How many different countries have you lived in or visited?

At last count, there were 143 places, some of which I had never heard of (including Fernando Po)! They are listed below. I know some of them are territories of other countries (e.g. Anguilla), are actually parts of larger countries (e.g. the Galapagos Islands), have been altered (e.g. the Czech Republic is part of the former Czechoslovakia), are special regions (e.g. Hong Kong), or may no longer exist as separate countries (e.g. East Germany).

However, this list (literally, from A to Z) includes places in the spirit of Amy's question. I even wanted to include Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation in north central Montana, where I lived in the winter of 1968-1969, because it felt like a foreign country (or, more honestly, I felt like a foreigner in their country).

I know this is an incomplete list, but I think it's pretty impressive. Islanders, please leave a comment if we haven't included some place you have lived in or visited, and all readers, please leave a comment with suggestions for exotic places we might want to visit:
 
Andorra
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua
Argentina
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Bequia
Bermuda
Bonaire
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cayman Islands
Chili
China
Columbia
Cozumel
Cuba
Croatia
Curacao
Czechoslovakia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
East Germany
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
England
Equatorial Guinea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fernando Po
Fiji
Finland
France
French Polynesia
Galapagos Islands
Gambia
Germany
Ghana
Goa
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guam
Guatemala
Haiti
Hawaii (before it was a state)
Holland
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Johnston Atoll
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kwajalein Island
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Lesotho
Luxemburg
Macao
Majorca
Malaysia
Martinique
Mexico
Monaco
Montserrat
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands
Nevis
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Norway
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Rhodesia
Romania
Russia
Saba
Saipan
San Marino
Saudi Arabia
Scotland
Senegal
Siberia
Sicily
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
South Viet Nam
Spain
Sri Lanka
St. Kitts
St. Lucia
St. Maarten
St. Thomas
St. Vincent
Ste. Barthe
Sudan
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanganyika
Thailand
Tortola
Trinidad
Turkey
Turks & Caicos
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Virgin Islands
Wales
Yemen
Zanzibar

Happy travels to all! And we hope Ocracoke is always on your list of favorite places to visit or to call home.

This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the Ocracoke Orgy. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news032115.htm.

9 comments:

  1. Debbie Leonard9:04 AM

    Since there is no "O" country...I suggest Orlando because it's a different world there! ;)

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    Replies
    1. Or Ocracoke :-)

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    2. Anonymous10:03 AM

      Well, there IS a country already on the list, that ought to qualify as an "O": Österreich . Which is what the natives of that country call Austria. ;-)
      Bisse

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  2. My job travels the last 3 years had me all over the planet. The locales not on your list: Kosovo and Oman. Oh, and St. Barts (honeymoon back in 1991). Will be on Cracoke in a week for Easter. Not soon enough!

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    Replies
    1. Forgot to also mention Montenegro just this past summer while on a cruise.

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  3. I am glad I have a current passport because I have a hankering to travel after reading that list. Oh, and Indiana is now a foreign country so add that!

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    Replies
    1. Daily reader of P.H.&L.H.12:55 PM

      As if you need an incentive to wander.
      I have been trying to find a word for the opposite of wanderlust, which would describe how I feel about travelling.
      Unlike you, Lou Ann, I have no "gypsy in my soul."
      Is there a word for that?

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    2. How about "Lizerella-ist" for someone who doesn't like to travel? (If anyone doesn't get this, please re-read the post.)

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