The Radio Vagabond

While I'm working on the next season you will get some flashbacks from the first two years of traveling. This episode was recorded in Juli 2017 in Alabama. See pictures here.

While I'm working on the next season you will get some flashbacks from the first two years of traveling. This episode was recorded in November 2016 in Malaysia. See pictures and video here.

While I'm working on the next season you will get some flashbacks from the first two years of traveling. This episode was recorded in November 2016 in Macau. See pictures and video here.

While I'm working on the next season you will get some flashbacks from the first two years of traveling. This episode was recorded in December 2016 in Chiang Mai. See pictures and video here.

While I'm working on the next season you will get some flashbacks from the first two years of traveling. This episode was recorded in marts 2017 in Beijing. See pictures and video here.

While I'm working on the next season you will get some flashbacks from the first two years of traveling. This episode was recorded in February 2017 in Cambodia. See pictures here.

While I'm working on the next season you will get some flashbacks from the first two years of traveling. This episode was recorded in August 2017 in Nicaragua. See pictures here.

While I'm working on the next season you will get some flashbacks from the first two years of traveling. This episode was recorded in June 2017 in The Bahamas. See pictures here.

While I'm working on the next season you will get some flashbacks from the first two years of traveling. This episode was recorded in August 2016 in Macedonia. See pictures here.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk I have been to my first WTM (World Travel Market) in London. It's a huge event where the travel industry meet every year and make deals. Also, a lot of travel influencers meet here and network with destinations and other brands. One of them is Skye Class from SkyeTravels.com that I've met many times before when I've been to travel media conferences around the world. Skye is from Beverly Hills and has been traveling full time like me. He's very professional in his approach and I feel I can learn a lot from him. Hope you feel the same. LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com See an bunch of pictures from WTM on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk This is part 2 of the special "Humans of New York" where I ask the same five questions to six New Yorkers. Here you will get their answers to "what is your biggest dream in life?" and "if you could go anywhere, where would you go?" In the end of this episode you can join me as I go to the top of the tallest building in the western hemisphere, One World Trade Center. This was the last episode of Season 3. I will reveal where I'm going in the next four seasons. LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com See pictures on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk Here is a special episode that I chose to call Humans of New York The Podcast. Here I ask the same five questions to six very different New Yorkers. Rafael, a Columbian that moved here when he was three. Bill, a 34 year-old New Yorker that I met one morning when I was taking a walk by the river. Cecilie, a 30-something Danish artist and singer songwriter that moved here to New York 6 years ago. Brian, a guy in the music industry that discovered Nora Jones. Fran, a music producer Elias, a caterer that is born in the Dominican Republic. In this episode you will get the answers to the first three questions: What's the best part about living in New York? What's the worst part about living here? If you were supreme leader of the city what would be your first executive order? Part 2 will be out in a few days. LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com See pictures on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk I've arrived to "The Big Apple", as it's been called. The greatest city in the world, the city that never sleeps. The city that's sp great that you have to name it twice. I've been here many times before and I'd almost forgotten just how great it is. If it wasn't for the fact that everything is so expensive I could live here for a longer time. When I arrive and see the skyline I almost peed in my pants. I'm staying in Brooklyn, from where it's easy to get into Manhattan. In this episode I go sight seeing and talk to a few locals. In other words: I take a big bite of the apple. You'll get two episodes more from New York. LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com See pictures on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk Here is another chat with an inspiring person in the travel industry. Today, I meet the host of the Break Into Travel Writing Podcast, Alexa Meisler. In her podcast, Alexa gives out a lot of tips on how to get success as a travel writer. I met Alexa at the first TravelCon convention in Austin. Another travel blogger arranges this event - and he's probably the biggest of them all: Nomadic Matt Kepnes. LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com See pictures on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk This is another interview with an interesting travel blogger, that you might find inspiring. Meet my good friend Roobens. Not only is he a cool guy that I've met at three travel conferences this year, but he's also a great travel blogger with an interesting story. He's a Frenchman who travels around the globe and blogs about his journeys and how it is to travel as a black European. Since Roobens (like me) has been to many travel media conferences this year, I ask him what he's learned. And he says that the biggest thing he's learned is that you have to hustle as a travel blogger. Next Friday I speak to Alexa Meisler from the BreakIntoTravelWriting Podcast. LINKS: Roobens blog Been Around The Globe Sponsor Hotels25.com See pictures on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk On my last night in Washington D.C. I was in the area of Union Station. Here I talked to an afro-American street musician. He calls himself "Unknown Pianist Number 100", and used to be homeless. He had a lot to share and that shows another side of the American capital. LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com See pictures on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk When I was planning my new lifestyle as a location independent traveler, I listened a lot to Extra Pack of Peanuts - a podcast from Travis Sherry. We met in Austin and became friends. In this episode of The Radio Vagabond Podcast, Travis shares his story and a lot of travel tips. Enjoy. LINKS: Extra Pack of Peanuts Jetto Location Indie Sponsor Hotels25.com See pictures on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk I continue my trip with Rob from TriphacksDC - and then I meet one of the many lobbyists who work here in the US capital. Rob recommended me to visit The Capital. Here I heard a lot about the history of the building. It takes an hour and is entirely free. Then I continued my walk with Rob this Sunday afternoon when there was an event going on at The National Mall. We are talking about the fact that Washington D.C. is not in any American state. Rob believes, like many others living in this district, that this should become the 51st state. That way the stateless district would consist of The National Mall and the area up to The Lincoln Memorial and the White House. So the only inhabitants of the district would be the president and his family, while the remaining 680,000 people would live in this new state. Rob also gives me more tips on how to "attack" Washington D.C. as a tourist. I meet the lobbyist, Ian Goldstein, in a park not far from The Mall. Just before I meet him, I'm back at the Washington Monument, located between the Capital Building and the Lincoln Memorial. In a large circle around this monument, there are flagpoles. I did not speak, but I guess that there are 50 flagpoles – one for each state in the United States. What was unusual about this particular day was that they were all on half-rod. This is because this is the day after the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas, where a man opened fire into a crowd at a concert - with 23 full or semi-automatic weapons from 32nd floor in a high-rise building not that far away from there. He just fired in the crowd and killed 58 people and injured more than 800. He managed to fire more than 1,000 shots, and it is to date the most deadly mass shooting done by a single person ever in the United States. Ian, the lobbyist, does not work with gun legislation, but he's close to where the decisions are taken. You can hear his take on what's going to happen now after the massacre in Las Vegas. LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com See pictures on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk I've started my second road trip in the USA. It will take me from North Carolina to New York, via Washington D.C., Atlantic City, and Philadelphia. On my way to American capital, I pass through Charlottesville. I wanted to see if I could find the statues that caused so much debate and violence in 2017. My first stop in D.C. I go to The Newseum, and then I meet with a local tour guide called Rob Pitingolo. I found his YouTube channel and found out that he has a company called TripHacksDC. Rob took me around "The National Mall" between The Capital and The National Monument. The place where people meet for the inauguration of the president. You know the area where there was so much talk about crowd sizes. Listen to this episode and learn a lot about Washington D.C. and life here. LINKS: See Rob's videos and listen to his podcast on TripHacksDC.com Sponsor Hotels25.com See pictures on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Before I started traveling, I listened to a lot of travel podcasts, watched a lot of travel YouTube channels and bought a lot of travel books - both audiobooks, e-books, and paper books. One book I got in both the audio and the paper version. That book was Vagabonding by Rolf Potts, and it inspired me to call myself The Radio Vagabond. I met Rolf Potts at the travel media conference TravelCon in Austin Texas just before he was to give the closing keynote in front of a room full of travel bloggers, YouTubers, and podcasters. It was fantastic to meet one of my heroes. One who inspired me a lot in my planning to go traveling. If you want to be inspired too, get the book Vagabonding. In my opinion, it's the best book about living this lifestyle. Period. Find the paper version on Amazon and the audiobook on Audible. LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com See pictures on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Next Friday you can listen in as I talk to another guy that has inspired me a lot. I started listening to his podcast Extra Pack of Peanuts, and he's got a company and another podcast with our mutual friend Jason Moore from Zero-to-Travel called Travel Indi and through their project "The Paradise Pack" they help people live a location independent lifestyle. He's even got an app that helps you find cheap flights called Jetto. He's an overall nice guy, and his name is Travis Sherry. On Monday morning you'll get another regular travel podcast where I'm heading to Washington DC, and pass through Charlottesville. You know the city where there were "fine people on both sides", according to Trump. I had to pass through to see the notorious statues.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk I got to Asheville and met a friend, that I made in Chiang Mai, and her sister. We had some outstanding food and crashed a party at a bankers convention. Back in Greensboro, I went to the International Civil Rights Center and Museum and bumped into the CEO, John L. Swaine. He tells me the story of how the Sit-In Movement started by four students right here and changed history all over the USA. LINKS: International Civil Rights Center and Museum Sponsor Hotels25.com See pictures on TheRadiovagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANSK UDGAVE: Radiovagabond.dk On the way back from picking up my housesitting host, Davina in Virginia we say a sign: "Tattoos, Coffee, and Bible Studies". That made us stop and we ended up spending an hour with Dr. T that runs the place. He's a very interesting man that grew up in Iran and was friends with The Shah's son. The next morning I got a speeding ticket. Not my proudest moment, so I had no protests. But I did protest when he wanted to give Davina a ticket for letting me drive without a license. He had never seen a Danish drivers license before, but it is valid in The USA. For the details on this, listen to this episode. LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

As a traveler, I often get asked the question: Isn't it difficult? Isn't it dangerous? How do I do this or that? Then imagine that you're in a wheelchair. - How do you fly as a wheelchair user? - Which hotels are the most accessible? - What beaches have powered beach wheelchairs? - How do you charge your electric wheelchair in a foreign country? - What cities are the most wheelchair friendly around the world? There are so many questions and so many obstacles. But that doesn't stop Cory Lee. He is a wheelchair user and is traveling the world and does a blog called Curb Free With Cory Lee. Here he shares stories to show other disabled people how to travel, where to travel, and most importantly, why a person with a disability should travel. I met Cory at TBEX in Corning New York where he did a truly inspiring keynote and received a standing ovation. And when I met him again at TravelCon in Austin. At the age of two, he was diagnosed with SMA - a rare condition that confined him to a wheelchair. Visit Curb Free With Cory Lee. TravelCon is a brand new conference organized by Nomadic Matt and his team - and was really great. There were a lot of great speakers there, and I already had a few of them on this podcast. Like The Vagabrothers in episode 15, Chris Christensen in episode 16 and the king of travel blogging, Nomadic Matt Kepnes himself in episode 18. And then I talked to a handful of other great people that you can hear in the upcoming Fridays. And of course, every Monday to can follow my journey from North Carolina to Washington DC, Atlantic City, Philadelphia and New York.

DANISH: Radiovagabond.dk High Point, North Carolina is not a big city. It's got a population of around 107,000 people, but twice a year the population almost doubles when they host High Point Market where 70,000 people in the furniture industry meet. Even though the next High Point Market is only a few weeks away, the CEO of High Point Market, Tom Conley took the time to see me. How did this happen? And why is the worlds biggest furniture store in this small city? Join me in this episode where I'm looking for answers to these questions and many more.

DANSK UDGAVE: Søg efter "Radiovagabond" (ét ord). It's time for another interview with a traveler. Shane Dallas is from Australia and calls himself The Travel Camel. Shane has been to more than 100 countries but have decided to slow down on getting to new countries. Not that long ago he settled down in Kenya with his wife and daughter. I've met him on travel media conferences before and recently in TBEX Europe where he's the conference director. This is recorded in Upstate New York at TBEX North America, and we talk about traveling, Iran, the travel media industry, and the controversy of TBEX deciding to do a conference in Zimbabwe.

DANSK UDGAVE: Søg efter "Radiovagabond" (ét ord). North Carolina got some bad press a few years ago when they passed a new law - the so-called "Bathroom Bill", that bans individuals from using public bathrooms that do not correspond with their biological sex, as dictated by their birth certificates. Thank god this crazy law was repealed in may 2017. So it was quite fitting that I got the chance to attend Greensboro Pride and you can join me when I went for a walk in Main Street Greensboro. Here I met one of the hosts, a colorful transgender woman, called Anjelica. I also meet Eric Raudsep, who is "Libertarian". He's got "The Most Gayest Quiz" and one of the questions blew my mind: "Is it okay for gay men to be blood donors in the USA?" What do you think? Suddenly I see a few men with big wooden crosses preaching that it's a sin to be gay. It goes without saying that they are not that popular here with thousands of gay people. I speak to Julia, that is trying to tell people that they should ignore them and not be provoked. I was curious why they decide to come and talked to one of them. Next Friday you can hear another interesting chat to a fellow traveler. His name is Shane Dallas and he calls himself The Travel Camel.

DANSK UDGAVE: Søg efter "Radiovagabond" (ét ord). We take a small break from the regular travel podcasts to bring you another interview with an interesting person in the travel media industry. So if you're interested in the nomadic lifestyle and thinking of becoming a travel blogger, YouTuber or travel podcaster, you might find this interesting. Palle Bo: "Rick, you're the head honcho of this game." Rick Calvert: "Grand poobah, is what we like to call it. Palle Bo: "How long time have you been with the TBEX. Because it wasn't from the very beginning, as far as I understand." Rick Calvert: "Since 2012, when we bought TBEX. I actually started another event before that, called "Blog World" in 2007. So I've been actively involved in blogs since 2000, with travel blogs since 2007 and with TBEX since 2012." Palle Bo: "What's your background? How did you get into the whole game of travel blogging?" Rick Calvert: "I was a conference organizer. It was my job, I've done really really big events like a hundred thousand people. I used to work for a place; you may have heard of, called Comic Con. And I was a political blogger. I started a blog about politics, and this was again very early days, there weren't a lot of people doing that, and I wanted to go to a blogging show, and it didn't exist. So I started doing the research, and I'm like 'oh people would go to that?' And I created what we called Blog World. But we knew from the very beginning we identified these different segments that would be really important and political blogs was one of them and travel blogs were one of them. And we had a track for travel at Blog World. But Kim it started TBEX. And she's a travel blogger. So all the travel bloggers were going to TBEX. And in 2012 it was Gary Arndt the told me you should talk to Kim. You know I think Kim wants to sell TBEX and that's when we got involved." Palle Bo: And in recent years a few other similar or somewhat similar conferences have propped up...". Rick Calvert: "Imitators we call them." Palle Bo: "Do you see them as competitors or just extra angles on what you're doing?" Rick Calvert: "There are there's no other event that's the size of TBEX, that has the history of TBEX, that has the breadth of education is TBEX. So no, in that way no. Of course, there's always competition. You can only take so many trips a year, you've only got so much time. So yes that's competition. But we're friends with all those people and a lot of them got their start at TBEX." Palle Bo: "I didn't get the memo, that you can only do so many a year. I think I'm doing four this years. Plus two Nomadic Cruises. Yeah, I'm going all in this year. I don't know exactly how that happened. But for people who've never been to a TBEX, can you describe what goes on? It takes place in two days." Rick Calvert: "Yes, the conferences two days. You know, it's education. We have breakout sessions, some keynotes like today with Cory Lee was an incredible inspiration. And then there's speed networking where there are business meetings between the bloggers and the DMOs and the brands and very short eight minutes sit-downs. Who are you? What do you do? Do we have a good fit? Yes. Great, let's talk later. No. Nice to meet you. See you later. So you're not wasting time. And then there are trips that happened before the conference that the tourist board organizes, there are trips that happen after the conference of the tourist board organizes and then people apply to go on those different trips so people are on average for a TBEX attendee at a destination is ten days for the two-day conference. And obviously, a lot of people do stuff on their own. So like maybe you're planning a trip to New York already, said I'm coming there for TBEX, and I'll go to Niagara Falls while I'm there or whatever else." Palle Bo: "And there are around, as far as I know, 700 attendees?" Rick Calvert: "650." Palle Bo: "Is that is that the biggest?". Rick Calvert: "No, it's the biggest in North America in a couple of years now, were sold out. We couldn't have any more people here, and you can see how busy it is. Toronto was the biggest ever. That was 1200. But that was a bunch of Canadians because we were in a really big city and that was when everybody like just went "TBEX Crazy" that year too. But everybody said it was too big. So we've never wanted it to be that big again. We like this size. 650 is a good size." Palle Bo: I remember my very first travel bloggers conference was in Stockholm a week into my travel. And I thought "oh my god, I'm with my people." And since then I've been traveling fulltime, and now I'm one of the old guys here." Rick Calvert: "That's right. You're one of the grandfathers of travel podcasting". Palle Bo: How do you see the whole industry evolving from where we were five years ago, and where are we going?" Rick Calvert: "Well the first thing is that more creators are making a real living. There are a lot more people being successful that way. So that

DANSK UDGAVE: Søg efter "Radiovagabond" (ét ord). I'm in High Point, North Carolina. A small city, known as The Furniture Capital of the World. Not only do they have the world's largest furniture store, but they also host a large furniture market twice a year, where the city's population almost is doubled when 70-80,000 people come to the city. Another thing that High Point is known for is to produce the iconic American yellow school buses. I'm going to be housesitting a month here. I was connected to Davina van Buren via TrustedHousesitters.com. She's the owner of a house, two dogs and a lot of plants that I have to take care of. After the first week, Davina returned to the house and asked me to drive her to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. It's a couple of hours north of High Point, and I thought it would be a good time to talk to her about the city, about the state and herself.

I'm in Atlanta where I'm staying with my old friends from Denmark, Lars, and Marianne. Lars and I used to do a morning show on the radio back in Denmark, and they offered to host me a week here. Join me when I visit CNN started by Ted Turner back in 1976. At the time it was the world's first 24-hour news channel, and while they currently have studios around the world, CNN has its headquarters right here. The same goes for Coca-Cola, and here I also did a tour. I saw their museum, which shows the history of the iconic company. They also show a movie, and there is an area where you can taste hundreds of different flavors that they make around the world. In a large area, you can walk around from continent to continent with a cup and sample the many different kinds of sugary water. It sounds quite silly and very American, but I thought it was quite exciting to see. Atlanta is the capital and largest city in the US state of Georgia, and the main city in the ninth largest metropolitan area in the United States. The city itself has just under half a million inhabitants, but looking at the population of the metropolitan area, the figure is over 6 million. Over the past 10 years, this population has been increased by more than one million people, which, according to Wikipedia, is the fourth most substantial absolute growth among all metropolitan areas in the United States. Lars says it's a mecca for trading in this part of the United States, and so they have the world's largest airport. "There is so much happening all the time, so it's an exciting place to live," says Lars. One evening Lars asked me if I wanted to go playing soccer with him and his friends. I thought it would be an excellent way to get some exercise. And maybe a beer with his friends after the game. It turned out that we were going to play against a Mexican team. And they were really taking the game seriously. It was almost turning into a physical fight, and the referee had a busy night. One afternoon, I found out that Ed Sheeran was scheduled to play that same evening in Atlanta, and I managed to get a ticket. Lars and Marianne couldn't go so I decided to go alone. I got into an Uber and went to a concert. James Blunt was the opening act and although he probably is most famous for making ballads like "You are Beautiful," he managed to hype up the crowd before the little red-headed Englishman went on stage. Sheeran was almost three hours alone on stage with his guitar and his loop pedals, and he was fantastic. What an outstanding talent. So I filmed a lot with my phone, and when the concert ended, there was only 20% battery left. Usually, I always have a power bank so that I can give my phone little extra power, but I forgot it that night. Along with maybe 15,000 others I went outside. I ordered an Uber and just saw that I was being picked up by a gray Honda with a license plate that ended in 4144. And then my phone died. Not only did I not know where to wait for it and I could not communicate with it, but I also did not know where I was going. I just copied Lars and Marianne's address into the app. In other words, I would be screwed if I did not find the Uber. After 45 minutes it appeared miraculously, and I ran after it. I managed to make it stop, and I was saved. On my way to my next stop in North Carolina, we stayed in Charlotte, which is a beautiful city I would like to return to and experience more.

DANSK UDGAVE: Søg efter "Radiovagabond" (ét ord). In the latest episode of The Radio Vagabond Podcast, we visited an orphanage in the northern part of Nicaragua. I was there with my new friend John Pappas. He's a successful businessman from Canada that retired and is now a philanthropist. He's now giving back to the children from needy families of Nicaragua by putting a lot of time and money into an orphanage here. Also, he's supporting a young 19-year-old girl. "I always thought that my purpose in life was to make as much money as I could, but eventually I'm just going to take it in a box or leave it here because when I go, I have no one to leave it to. You definitely need to work hard but you also need a reason to be", he says. "A lot of people say 'why do you do it?' and 'you help them so much', and I say 'no no, it's what they give us, is tenfold what we give them." John, says that it's like when you adopt a child, you're not saving a child - it's more the child that is saving you." NICARAGUAN CIGARS Then John wanted to show me a small place where they produce high-class cigars. According to John, the Nicaraguan cigar is outstanding. And on the way there he tells me that it's not possible to buy Nicaraguan cigars here in Nicaragua. It's crazy, but because of the tax laws, you have to export the cigars and then re-import them. All the cigars produced here in Esteli are for export only, so they don't promote their own cigars here in their own country. So the tourists can walk away with fake cigars or Cuban cigars but can't walk away with local cigars. And then we entered the small place. Around 25 people are sitting around a few long tables rolling and shaping the brown tobacco leaves into big cigars. I can tell that these people know their craft. They've done this before. ALEX, THE STREET ARTIST John introduced me to Alex, the most successful street artist here in Esteli. He was a street artist pioneer, and around 20 years ago he was doing graffiti. Back in 1997 he was approached and was quite surprised. He didn't even know how talented he was. This meeting changed his life. At the time he didn't really know much about what he was doing but had this raw talent. And when he met two other talented street artists, he knew what he wanted to do in his life. Now, 20 years later, Alex is "the king of street art" here in Esteli. He's got his own crew, they do a lot of work for the cigar industry. He's even ventured into music. MANKU LAKE PARADISE In this episode, I also take to back to the lake close to Granada, where I met Fernando in the first episode here from Nicaragua. Here we were talking about the cattle company he runs where investors make a little money and help local farmers here at the same time. Go back and listen to episode #080 to hear this. We're in a beautiful area close to the lake, Lago Cocibolca outside Granada - and right here is where there are a lot of small islands - in Nicaragua, they call them Las Isletas. Getting to Manku Lake Paradise is a bit of a drive, but worth it. Even though it's only 7 miles (10 km) from Granada it takes 20-30 minutes to get here, since the last half of it is on a bumpy dirt road. But once you get here, the rate of your pulse will slow down. It's so beautiful and quiet, and it's impossible to be stressed here. There's a big round restaurant area without walls overlooking the beautiful lake, Lago Cocibolca, and the pool. We can also see a few of the small islands. It is truly a paradise. Fernando tells me about the place and takes me for a walk down to the lake - and after that horseback riding. 365 SMALL ISLANDS "Las Isletas" as the locals call them were formed when a big volcano erupted here thousands of years ago and threw huge rocks into the lake. They differ in size. The smallest is around 1000 sq.ft (100 sq.m.) and the biggest is around one hundred hectares. There is a community of about 1200 people living on the islands. Most of them here are fishermen. A few days earlier I was on a boat ride and saw that some of the islands have hotels or luxurious houses. There are also uninhabited islets with only some palm trees growing on it. I also saw a small island where the only inhabitants were a group of little monkeys. I GOT THE MAN FLU As you might remember from the first episode here from Nicaragua, I live in a beautiful big hotel apartment in a place called Paraiso Granada. Here I spent a week in bed. In the beginning, I thought it was food poisoning, but I found out that it was a simple flu. The "Man Flu". So I felt sorry for myself. For me, it was 4-5 days of basically just sleeping. And there I was, all alone in a strange country feeling sorry for myself. And after a few days, I realized that I wasn't alone. I had sent a message to the Dutch hotel manager, Ellen, and all of a sudden she came knocking on my door. With soup, juice, fruit, and a few tablets that might make my stomach ache go away. I speak to Ellen, a few hours before leaving about this. Also

DANSK UDGAVE: Søg efter "Radiovagabond" (ét ord). I'm driving in the mountains with my new friend John. We're 105 miles north of Managua that we passed on the way from Granada. And we're getting closer to the Honduras border another 60 miles north of there. We start this episode driving through some farmland that is mainly used for the tobacco industry. Mostly they produce cigars in this area - and that is what keeps this city alive. According to John 99% is supported by the cigar industry. I met the guy in the car in the restaurant where I'm staying in. His name is John Pappas and we became instant friends. Sometimes you meet someone where you just click, and this was one of those times. Three things I notice immediately with John: He's got a beautiful tattoo with greek gods that covers his entire right arm, he's almost always smiling and he always always has a cigar. Most of the time it's not lit - he just sits with it, like most other people would sit with a smartphone. Because John is a cigar-man. And a philanthropist with a big love for Nicaragua. And then he's Greek/Irish Canadian. He speaks English even though he's is born and raised in Montreal, Quebec in the French-speaking part of Canada. His father is of Greek descent and his mother is of Irish descent. After having been very successful building a restaurant chain in Canada he decided that he needed a purpose and a change, and he retired and got in contact with some friends in the tobacco industry here and said: "I want to give back to a country that I love and help the children" One of his friends here found an orphanage here and together they've been supporting it. He tells me that it's hard when you're working with an NGO like SOS that runs hundreds of orphanages around the world, to tell them that you want to be a part of deciding what the money goes for, but after a while, they managed to do so. In this episode, you can hear when we're driving in a poor neighborhood. We're on a dirt road with tiny houses on each side and a huge building at the end of it. That's probably the largest tobacco factory in the area. John wants to show me the orphanage he's working with. And as we're approaching we can see a little bit of a difference. We see less garbage, freshly painted, and everything looks a bit nicer. This is a Sunday morning and a quiet day here. It's not normal for guests to be able to visit this orphanage so I feel lucky that John would take me there. John tells me that most of the children are not orphans. Most of the children are abused in multible ways. And the thing with sexually abused children is a big problem in this country. I've heard someone say that maybe one out of three children has been abused here. So they have a rule that all males should leave the orphanage before the sun goes down. Even John, that they know. But the rule makes sense. Also, this is a country with so many young single mothers. I was told that many men have no responsibility and just move on to the next woman after he made her pregnant, and John confirms this. 13 million children are born every year to mothers between the ages of 15 and 19. In fact, almost 25% of all births in the country are from teenage women. And around half of the women in the country give birth before they're 20 years old. Abortion in Nicaragua is completely illegal. At the orphanage, we walked up to the room where the activity is taking place. The door and the windows are open so we can peek inside. And we see that this is an activity for 25 teenagers. They are being tough on "life" as John calls it. John told me that one day some of the staff here at the orphanage came across a 13-year-old girl in the city. 13 years old - and very pregnant. So they walked home with her and met her mother. She was 27 … and very pregnant. Both mother and daughter were about to give birth any day. And as they were talking … on walks the grandmother. She was around 45 and ALSO very pregnant. So three generations of Nicaraguan women, all very pregnant. And apparently, it was the same guy that had made all three pregnant. The mother's boyfriend that had made both her, her mother and her 13-year-old daughter pregnant. We walk around the area for more than an hour. John tells me more about what they do and all the different projects he's involved with. Mostly it's the little extra things that can help improve life there. Like draining a swamp in the area and turn it into a ball pitch, taking the kids to football when the local team won the championship, throwing a party or things like that. He tells me that there's really only one father figure who works there with the young boys. And we just happen to run into him. John always wanted to be a father himself… But things didn't turn out that way. Until one year ago where he adopted an 18-year old girl. Well, not legally, but he supports her and she calls him dad. And he scares off the boyfriends. John has found his purpose in life. Right here in Nicaragua. In th

DANISH VERSION: Radiovagabond.dk This episode is dedicated to the people of Nicaragua. Right now the country is going through the worst trouble since the civil war ended in 1990. Hundreds have been killed since the protests broke out in April this year. I did talk to people who were unhappy with the president and the system but when I was there in August 2017, everything was peaceful. I really hope that everything will come back to normal, so the country can prosper. MY NEXT HOME IN CENTRAL AMERICA My flight from Chicago touches down in Managua in the afternoon and after a 45-minute drive to Granada, I arrive at my next home. It's a called Paraiso Granada. The next two and a half weeks I'm staying in a wonderful apartment here in the center of Granada. It's way bigger than what I need. I have two big bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a huge living room. At the end of that, there is a wonderful kitchen. Total luxury. I'm on the first floor and from my balcony, I have a great view of the courtyard and the pool right next to the restaurant. Paraiso Granada is about 5 minutes walk from Calle La Calzada, a lively street with a lot of restaurants and bars, and at about 6 blocks from the biggest lake in the country, Lago Cocibolca. Granada is a city in western Nicaragua 27 miles south-east of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. With an estimated population of 125,000 Granada is Nicaragua's sixth most populous city. A DUTCH MANAGER OF THE HOTEL The hotel manager, Ellen Winter is originally from The Nederlands. She came to Nicaragua in 2001 and is now living in Granada with her family. And her extended family - as she calls the staff at the hotel. I ask Ellen what it's like managing people from another continent than what we're used to in Western Europe. She tells me that the can feel that the education level is not as high, so sometimes she has to say things many times. But she also sees the staff coming up with ideas on their own. Ellen says that the city hasn't changed so much since she came to the country 16 years ago. Maybe more cars, more traffic, and more tourists, but other than that not too much. The people are still happy and friendly. And that's the number one reason why she fell in love with this country. - In Holland we have to make appointments two weeks in advance, Ellen says. Here if I call friends and invite them to come over, people will show up. People here work to live and not live to work. She's got a Nicaraguan husband and two children, a 4-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl. And none of them speak any Dutch. It's all only Spanish. I WENT TO SPANISH CLASS One of the things, I promised myself to do when I got to Central America, was to find a Spanish teacher to improve my Spanish. So I find a teacher and get five days of private tutoring. The day before my first class I do a warm-up alone with one of the language apps out there. I feel it's a good way to get my level just a little bit up before I meet my teacher, Vanessa. And once in school, I meet in her in a small classroom. We're at a table in one corner and we start talking. In Spanish. I'm lucky to get a good teacher. She doesn't allow me to speak in English but is good at understanding my broken Spanish, and corrects me when I'm saying it wrong. I'm not mentioning her name. With the current situation in the country, it's not safe for her, with what she says at the end. In the episode, you can hear us talking about my travels. I tell her that I'm trying to visit all the countries in the world. "Todo los paises en el mundo". As you can hear in the episode, my Spanish is anything but perfect. But also you can hear me doing my first Spanish interview after five days. It's still not good but definitely better. CATTLE COMPANY HELPS LOCAL FARMERS I also met Fernando Montiel, the General Manager of a cattle company with 3,000 cattle. He tells me of the idea behind the company. Basically, it's to help the local farmers and make money while doing so. The company lets the farmers take care of the cows, and together they get a better price for the cows at the slaughterhouse. This can potentially double the income of the farmers. And the investors make money at the same time. Truly a win-win situation. NICA TIME Maybe you remember my episodes from the Bahamas where we talked a lot of talk about "island time". You know, where the locals have a relaxed view on meeting times and appointments. The same thing exists here. They just call it "Nica-Time" and when I ask Ellen if there is anything bad to say about life in Nicaragua, she tells me that this is the thing that annoys her the most. Even after 16 years in the country she still can't get used to this. DISCLAIMER Through my part-ownership of a group of radio stations that I co-founded back in Denmark, I also own a small part of Paraiso Granada, the cattle company and an eco-lodge called Manku Lake Paradise (that we will hear more about in the next episode. I mean every word I've said in this episode, and e

DANISH VERSION: Search for Radiovagabond (one word). When I was at TBEX Travel Bloggers Conference I met Michael Huxley from the Bemused Backpacker. Not only he's a great guy, but he's also got one of the biggest travel blogs in The UK. In this episode, I sit down with Mike and he's sharing a lot of great advice for travel bloggers and for people thinking about becoming one. LINKS: Thank you to Michael Huxley from The Bemused Backpacker. Get his books here. Travel conferences: TBEX, TravelCon, and Traverse. Sponsor Hotels25.com Music with license from FindTheTune.com Pictures on TheRadioVagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANISH VERSION: Search for Radiovagabond (one word). In this episode, I meet one of the legends in the travel blogger business. His name is Gary Arndt and we sit down for a short chat about what he does. We also talk about his trip to Antartica. LINKS: Thank you to Gary Arndt from Everything Everywhere. The Global Travel Conspiracy Podcast This Week in Travel Podcast Sponsor Hotels25.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

DANISH VERSION: Search for Radiovagabond (one word). Today I speak to Jen Ruiz from Jen on a Jetplane. She's got a travel blog packed with stories and travel tips. And she wrote a book about how to get cheap flights. LINKS: Visit Jen on a Jetplane. Get Jen's book "The Affordable Flight Guide". Sponsor Hotels25.com Music with license from FindTheTune.com Pictures on TheRadioVagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

DANISH VERSION: Radiovagabond.dk We're doing something special this week. Five short chats with travel bloggers. One every day until Friday. Today we meet Adam Rickys from New Zealand. His project Bucket Vision has close to one million followers on Facebook. LINKS: Bucket Vision on Facebook. bucketvision.com Sponsor Hotels25.com Music with license from FindTheTune.com Pictures on TheRadioVagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

DANISH VERSION OF THIS PODCAST: Search for Radiovagabond (one word). Welcome to a special week on The Radio Vagabond Podcast - before I continue on my journey next Monday from Nicaragua. From today until Friday you will get a new episode every day. Five conversations I had with travel bloggers that I met a conference in The Czech Republic recently. I will speak to wonderful talented people from Israel, New Zealand, USA, Puerto Rico and England. Meet Adam Rikys from Bucketvision, the legend Gary Arndt, Jennifer Ruiz from Jen on a Jetplane and Mike Huxley fra The Bemused Backpacker. Today I speak to the Youtubers Ashley Fairfield and Rotem Metuki from A Couple of Dreams. The first time I met them was in South Africa where we stayed at the same hostel. LINKS: Thank you to Ashley & Rotem from A Couple of Dreams. Find deres YouTube channel here. Sponsor Hotels25.com Music with license from FindTheTune.com Pictures on TheRadioVagabond.com Follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

DANISH VERSION: Search for Radiovagabond (one word). With a population of only 77,000, Racine, Wisconsin is not a big city, but has the largest North American settlement of Danes. When Danish immigration begins in the 1840s, Racine quickly becomes "the most Danish city in America" with 10% of all Danes in the USA. This is still visible now; as I drive into the city I see a lot of Danish flags and shops with Danish names. In this episode of The Radio Vagabond Travel Podcast, I'm in Racine, Wisconsin, 75 miles north of Chicago, to visit a Danish bakery. And to find out if I can get a taste of Denmark, or just an Americanized version of it. HOW DANISH BECAME DANISH At the time of the immigration to Racine, The Danish Bakers Association goes on strike back in Denmark in the 1850's, and bakers from Vienna, Austria are brought to Denmark to fill the need of skilled baking. They use their knowledge of dough folding to create new types of pastries. The Danish bakers see this and add additional ideas, fruits, and fillings. Danish Dough and Pastries as we know it are born. This particular kind of pastry is called "Danish" throughout the world, but in Denmark, we call it "Wienerbrød" – which translates to "Bread from Vienna." Kringle is introduced to Racine at the turn of the century; at that time, the Kringle was still in its traditional "pretzel" shape with a limited number of fillings. A number of family-run Danish bakeries were opened in the 1930's. THE OLESEN FAMILY COMES TO RACINE Finding it difficult to sustain himself and his six children in Denmark, Anton Olesen sets off for America in the hope of a better life in the beginning of the 1920's, and two years after arriving he scrapes enough money to bring his teenage son Christian to Racine. Christian finds a job in a local bakery, and after learning the baking trade for 25 years, Christian Olesen opens his own bakery with a partner in May 1949, naming it O&H Bakery. Racine customers begin to request more filling in pastries, particularly in Kringle, leading to Racine bakers creating a new oval shape for Kringle to satisfy their customer's desires. In 1956, Dwight and Lady Mamie Eisenhower receive a Kringle as a gift, proclaiming it publically as one of their favorite pastries. Christian's son Ray and his wife Myrna purchase the business in 1963, and in 1982 Eric Olesen, the third generation of Olesens take control of the bakery. In June 2010, President Barack Obama stopped at an O&H Bakery before hosting a town hall meeting on the economy and jobs later that afternoon, and in July 2013, after over a century of it being made in Racine, Kringle is signed into law as "The Official State Pastry of Wisconsin." MEET ERIC OLESEN In this episode, I go for a tour of O&H Bakery with Eric and also meet a part of the 4th generation of the Bakery. Not only do we talk about bread and pastry, but also about the culture and the part about being an American with Danish descent. How much of the traditions get watered down over time. LINKS: Thanks to O&H Bakery Sponsor Hotels25.com Music with license fra FindTheTune.com See pictures on TheRadioVagabonc.com Also, follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and on YouTube.

In Chicago, I meet Ric Gazarian, who also travels a lot. And then he's hosting a podcast called Counting Countries, where he talks to some of the few that has traveled to all the countries in the world - or are very close to having done so. On a sidewalk café in downtown Chicago, we meet for a chat about Ric's own story as an avid traveler and how he finds the balance of traveling a lot and still maintaining a home base in Bangkok where he lives now. Visit Counting Countries by clicking here.

I've arrived to Chicago, one of the biggest cities in the USA. Even though I'm only going to spend a few days here, I really feel at home here. In this episode I go to the legendary Wrigley Fields, where I meet some baseball fans, I go out for a beer with my Couchsurfing host, Lee, I eat Chicago-style deep-pan-pizza with my old friend, Kurt, I'm a guest on the legendary WGN Radio and go to see a 2'nd generation immigrant Kirsten that runs a Danish bakery. Yes, a lot can happen in 24 minutes.

In this episode, I'm in Ohio. On my way from Indianapolis to Toledo, I drove through Walnut Creek, which is famous for its large Amish community. I stayed with David - a lobbyist and former Republican politician. He used to live in Washington DC but now has moved back to Toledo. Dave and I had a long talk about Donald Trump. We talk about the Billy Bush tape, fake media, Hillary Clinton, and why he voted for Trump despite his dislike towards him. You can also join me as I run out of gas on my way to Detroit, and get unexpected help from a random stranger. Also, I saw something weird in Dave's backyard. Episode sponsor: Hotels25.com

In this episode, I'm in Indianapolis, Indiana, where I'm staying with an Indian Couchsurfing host. She is very kind and cooks me a wonderful Indian dinner the first night. So I offer to cook a typical Danish dinner for her on the second night. With beef. Not ideal when she's Indian. To cook in someone else kitchen was also not without problems. Also, you can join me when I go to Indianapolis Motor Speedway and get a private tour with Berny. This is where they drive the legendary Indi500, and kisses bricks.

I continue my road trip through the United States and have arrived in the music capital of the world, Nashville. Here I'm staying with Steve, my Couchsurfing host. He's a musician and just to mention one he's apart of a fake punk band called Snake Vomit. They specialize in playing 20-second songs with funny titles. But he's also part of a few other bands where they actually rehearse and play in the same key. Steve and I visit a local restaurant that is so good at making spicy chicken that they don't have to be good at anything else. Also, I visit Athens right here in Tennessee and the local Toastmasters Club where I win the speaking competition of the day. And then I decide to get a tattoo of a drawing that my daughter made in 30 seconds. All this and much more in this episode of The Radio Vagabond Podcast. You can see Steves band Snake Vomit here - and his adventure rock band, Lipstick by clicking here.

Before we continue my American road trip I've got an extra episode for you that I hope you will find just as interesting as I found making it. Because sometimes I run into some interesting people that I just have to talk to and share with you. This happened when I was attending the Traverse conference in Rotterdam in May. It's an event for travel bloggers and here I met Natalie and Robson from Brazil. They are traveling the world full time like me – and they document their journey on their blog loveandroad.com. Nat & Rob are a smiling outgoing couple with an interesting story, so I pulled them aside for a chat.

Chattanooga is a smaller city in the state of Tennessee. I stayed there one night and made friends with my Couchsurfing host, Casey. We talk about the city, the area, paddleboarding, murals, and "global weirding", as Casey calls it. Episode sponsor: Hotels25.com

In this episode, I visit Gip's Place, the legendary Juke Joint in the small sleepy city, Bessemer in Alabama. Here I meet the 97-year-old Henry "Gip" Gipson. Gip's Place has been operating since 1952 and many of the big names of rock and blues have played right here in Gip's backyard: James Brown, Elvis Presley, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and many others. Watch the PBS-documentary about Gip's Place by clicking here.

On my way to Alabama, I passed a little sleepy city called Clarksdale in Mississippi. Here I find The Rock & Blues Museum and then it's also home to "The Voice of God". Join me on a drive through the state that Justine in Memphis calls Trump Country and that the people here call Sweet Home Alabama.

In this episode, I continue my chat with my Couchsurfing hosts, Tracie and Maureen about their city. Also, I visit The Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King JR was killed 50 years ago. Today it's a part of The National Civil Rights Museum. And then I go for a drive around Memphis with my next host, Justine. She's not a big fan of Trump and the people that voted for him. But she has a gun. Or does she?

I'm moving from At. Louis to Memphis, where rock'n'roll was born. Join me in a conversation with my Couchsurfing hosts, to Sun Studios, Beal Street and Graceland. Here I make myself unpopular when I tell them that I come from Randers, Denmark, hvor my friend Henrik Knudsen has made a replica of Graceland.

In St. Louis I spend a lot of time in their wonderful Forrest Park. An outdoor movie theatre, musical, the best zoo in The United States and then I try to go to the art museum there. Twice. Also, I go to the top of The Gateway Arch and eat Ted Drewes Custard. In this episode, I also share the story of how I told a lie to the owners of the house I'm taking care of when the dog ran away after I set off the fire alarm. Not my proudest moment.