Completed the Seven Continents of the World

Pinoy Solo Backpacker journey to complete sightseeing the Earth's Seven Continents
2010 to 2019 #lakbaySevenContinents

Completed My Personal Choice of Seven Natural Wonders of the Philippines

Sightseeing the Seven Natural Wonders of the World

Completed the Seven New Wonders (Man-Made) of the World
#lakbay100 Quest Completed (2010-June to 2019-July)

Geologically, the continents largely correspond to areas of continental crust that are found on the continental plates. A continent is defined as a large unbroken land mass completely surrounded by water. The seven continents are North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. The island groups in the Pacific are often called Oceania, scientists consider them the remains of a continent.

Lakbay Seven Continents of the World beyond #lakbay100

Lakbay Seven Continents of the World beyond #lakbay100

Visited All 26 Countries of Schengen Visa as Philippine Passport holder

The quest to visit all Schengen Member States 2013-2024 as Pinoy Solo Backpacker

Schengen visa is a special document that allows a Schengen visa holder to travel freely within the 26 Schengen zone (European Countries) member states. Apply for the Schengen visa at the Embassy or Consulate of the Schengen country where you spend the most time. This visa is valid in all Schengen states for a stay of up to 90 days within a six-month period for a visit or tourism, but not for employment or family reunification purposes.

26 members of the Schengen Agreement are (1)Austria, (2)Belgium, (3)Czech Republic, (4)Denmark, (5)Estonia, (6)Finland, (7)France, (8)Germany, (9)Greece, (10)Hungary, (11)Iceland, (12)Italy, (13)Latvia, (14)Lithuania, (15)Liechtenstein, (16)Luxembourg, (17)Malta, (18)Netherlands, (19)Norway, (20)Poland, (21)Portugal, (22)Slovakia, (23)Slovenia, (24)Spain, (25)Sweden and (26)Switzerland.

* maximum of 6 months validity after issuance with a period of stay of under 90 days

* If you get a multiple-entry Schengen visa, you may leave and return any number of times within the 180-day period, but the combined stay within the region must not total more than 90 days. Important is the date of the actual entry, not the beginning of the visa validity. 

* Valid Schengen Visa holders of most of the nationalities can transit/visit other European countries of (1)Albania, (2)Bosnia and Herzegovina, (3)Bulgaria, (4)Croatia, (5)Cyprus, (6)North Macedonia, (7)Montenegro, (8)Romania, (9)Serbia, (10)San Marino and (11)Moldova. Some of these countries provide maximum 15-days stay in any period given in the Schengen Visa duration.

Visited All 26 Countries of Schengen Visa Agreement as Philippine Passport holder

Continent: Marvels of Europe (visited 43 of 44 Countries)

exploring the world's best tourist spots on a Filipino style budget backpacking

"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries." - James Madison

Interesting Facts about the Continent of Europe;
1. Europe is named after the Phoenician princess Europa of Greek myth who was seduced by Zeus disguised as a bull.
2. The whole Europe is only 2 % larger in area than Canada. Europe is the world’s second-smallest continent.
3. Europe is home to both the smallest country in the world, Vatican City State and the largest, Russia.
4. Many of the greatest empires in history were based in Europe. The British Empire was at one time the largest empire in the world.

Sightseeing the Continents; the Marvels of Europe

COUNTRIES OF EUROPEAN CONTINENT (43 of 44 = 97.73%)
CENTRAL		EASTERN		NORTHERN		SOUTHERN		WESTERN
1	Austria	10	Belarus	14	Denmark	24	Albania	37	Andorra
2	Czechia	11	Moldova	15	Estonia	25	Bosnia/Herzeg.	38	Belgium
3	Germany	12	Russia	16	Finland	26	Bulgaria	39	France
4	Hungary	13	Ukraine	17	Iceland	27	Croatia	40	Luxembourg
5	Liechtenstein			18	Ireland	28	Cyprus	41	Monaco
6	Poland			19	Latvia	29	Greece	42	Netherlands
7	Slovenia			20	Lithuania	30	Italy	43	Portugal
8	Slovakia			21	Norway	31	Malta	44	Spain
9	Switzerland			22	Sweden	32	Montenegro
				23	United Kingdom	33	N. Macedonia
						34	Romania
						35	Serbia
						36	San Marino
						XX	XXXXXXX

Northern Lights in Tromso (Sommaroy) 2024

My 2024's First Trip on my quest to go beyond #lakbay100... Jan. 28 to Feb. 26, 2024

2 Days Budget Solo Trip in Winter Svalbard (Longyearbyen)

My last adventure on my quest to visit all Seven Natural Wonders of the World (2015-2024)

Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis is a natural phenomenon that can paint the night sky with unearthly, surreal color. To observers at far-northern latitudes, they're a frequent occurrence, but many who live in more temperate climates have never seen them, even though they're sometimes seen as far south as 35 degrees north latitude. The Northern Lights usually circle the globe in a circular or elliptical "oval" centered on the earth's North Magnetic Pole, which is not at the same location as the North Geographic Pole, but rather is slightly offset in the direction of northern Canada. This oval is known as the "aurora oval". Aurora displays aren't strongest at the North Magnetic Pole; the area of greatest aurora activity is usually right under the aurora oval, which changes dynamically according to how the solar wind is flowing on any particular night

https://wikitravel.org/en/Northern_Lights#:~:text=The%20Northern%20Lights%20usually%20circle,as%20the%20%22aurora%20oval%22.

How to Photograph Aurora with a Smart Phone

https://www.auroracourses.eu/northernlightsphotography

ISO - Set your ISO to 1,600 or higher to make sure the image is bright enough.

Shutter Speed - 10 seconds or longer—this gives the light more opportunity to be captured on film.

Exposure - Adjust to lower, as too much light might wash out the stars and auroras in the sky.

Focus - focus to infinity so that all elements in the sky are crisp and in focus.

Northern Lights in Tromso (Sommaroy) 2024

2 Days Budget Solo Trip in Winter Svalbard (Longyearbyen)

My 2024's First Trip on my quest to go beyond #lakbay100... Jan. 28 to Feb. 26, 2024

6 Days Budget Solo Trip in Winter Norway (Tromso) 2024

Svalbard (Longyearbyen) is considered as my northernmost visit at 78°  latitude. My southernmost was in Cuverville Island, Antarctica (2019) at -65° latitude.

Winter Solitude beyond the Arctic circle #norway #Alaska #svalbard

Svalbard is the northernmost tip of Europe and, a few research bases aside, its settlements are the northernmost permanently inhabited spots on the planet. Located between the 76° and 81° parallels, they are far more northerly than any part of Alaska and all but a few of Canada's Arctic islands. Svalbard is a group of Norwegian islands located between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and the Norwegian Sea. The islands are directly North of continental Norway. Since 1920 they have been an integrated part of Norway.

https://wikitravel.org/en/Svalbard

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SVALBARD

timezone - UTC +0100H   capital - Oslo    language - Norwegian    currency - Kroner (NOK)

visa - Philippine passport holders need to apply before arrival (Schengen Visa Agreement).

01. The name Svalbard means ‘cold shores’

02. One night in Svalbard lasts for three months during the winter.

03. Svalbard is an excellent place to see the northern lights.

04. Svalbard is home to the four northernmost settlements in the world.

05. Longyearbyen is so far north it is just 814 miles from the north pole.

06. The Global Seed Vault is located in Svalbard.

07. You don’t need a visa or residency permit to live and work in Svalbard.

08. Svalbard is classified as an Arctic desert.

09. There are no trees in Svalbard.

10. Svalbard is home to some of the world’s northernmost airport, restaurant, church, hotel, settlement

11. In Svalbard there are more polar bears than people.

12. There are more snowmobiles than people in Svalbard.

2 Days Budget Solo Trip in Winter Svalbard (Longyearbyen)

6 Days Budget Solo Trip in Winter Norway (Tromso) 2024

My 2024's First Trip on my quest to go beyond #lakbay100... Jan. 28 to Feb. 26, 2024

Winter Europe 2023 (My Norway first visit)

My first visit to Norway was in Winter 2023 (my first Winter European trip). Norway was the 38th country on my quest to visit all 44 countries of Europe and the 135th country on my journey beyond #lakbay100 Countries (presently at 141).

Norway (Norge or Noreg) is the westernmost, northernmost—and in fact the easternmost—of the three Scandinavian countries. Best known for the complex and deep fjords along its west coast which stretches from the North Sea near Denmark and Scotland into the Arctic Ocean and has borders with Finland, Sweden and the northwestern tip of Russia.

https://wikitravel.org/en/Norway

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT NORWAY

timezone - UTC +0100H   capital - Oslo    language - Norwegian    currency - Kroner (NOK)

visa - Philippine passport holders need to apply before arrival (Schengen Visa Agreement).

1. The world's longest road tunnel is in Norway at 24.5km long.

2. Modern and ancient skiing were invented in Norway

3. Norway rocks the Winter Olympics.

4. Europe's biggest herd of wild reindeer lives in Norway.

5. Norway’s rail journeys are voted the best in Europe.

Norwegian Basic Phrases:

Hæ / Halló (Hi/ Hah-low) = hello          Já / Nei (y-ow / ney) = yes / no

God dag (gud dag) = good day          Ha det (ha det) = bye

Takk (tak) = thank you          Unnskyld (un-shin) = sorry

6 Days Budget Solo Trip in Winter Norway (Tromso) 2024