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2022 is out and this article is a look back at Sandalsand’s travels and articles. It was another exceptional year. There was only one trip abroad, but in return it gave more time to domestic travels in Norway. Also, read up on my bucket list for the coming year(s).
Sandalsand publishes impressions on two websites: Global and Norge (Norway). There are also profiles on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.
The world in 2022
Travelling abroad
2022 was the year that the pandemic loosened its grip on world travel, although challenges remained high for parts of the year, in parts of the world. In February I made a visit to London, postponed from the year before. But that was it. Like the years before I spent my vacation in domestic (Norwegian) destinations.
The Sandalsand Global website
Last year I stated that this website is if not dead, then in most respects dormant. Looking back on 2022, I published eight new articles – a slight increase. I have 36 articles waiting to be written and published.
On the other hand there are as many as 927 posts to be enjoyed, along with 31 pages (accessible through the menu items). In addition, I have spent a lot of time to increase the reading experience (SEO) of this site. Many posts and pages have been upgraded and improved throughout the year.
The number of views of the site was much better then the previous two years, and made it to more than 17,000. Still, this is way below the good old times.
It is clear that Sandalsand Global, which has text in English and the whole world as an arena, faces a much sharper competition. Nevertheless, it is obvious that with little new activity, Google sends fewer visitors to Sandalsand.
The articles with the most hits in 2022
- Paintings about travelling
- Poems and quotes on trains
- International backpacker routes
- Destinations
- Norway
Norway in 2022
Travels and experiences in Norway
In retrospect, 2022 was a good year for travelling, at least for me. There was room for three long road trips. One went to the inner parts of Eastern Norway, to which I had only briefly visited years ago. The next trip went to the very-most northern part of the country, in Finnmark county. The third road trip was an even more extensive one in the northern regions of Norway.
To my great satisfaction I have over the last few years travelled most roads in North Norway. Other travel activity was limited to my own county, Rogaland, in the south.
The Sandalsand Norge website
This website is used to convey experiences from my own country, in Norwegian. Readers of Sandalsand Norge received 65 new articles in 2022. This is less than the two previous years, but on par with my own ambitions. This means that an average of more than one article are published each week.
As always, I lag behind in describing this year’s travels, and I have some exciting themes up my sleeve that go beyond the pure travel descriptions. Altogether, I have a list of 65 items.
I have continued my work to optimise the web pages for search engines, in order to rank higher on the hit pages of (especially) Google. For some search terms, Sandalsand ends up high on the front page, and that is the ambition for almost all articles on this website. This means that more people click in, and can be inspired to explore Norway.
At the turn of the year, the website consists of 854 published articles plus 43 permanent pages. The number of pictures is approx. 16,500. They are from 229 municipalities, i.e. 64% of all municipalities in the country. You readers clicked on the pages more than 140,000 times. That is even with last year, the second best year ever.
The articles with the most hits in 2022
- Advent, adventssanger og adventsvers
- Tekster til julesangene – de kjente og kjære
- Er Tromsø Nordens Paris?
- Kunst rundt Oslo rådhus
- Skogsturer året rundt i Melsheia, Sandnes
Other social media
For Sandalfilm, my YouTube account, the number of views passed 928,000. The increase is very low. It is clearly related to a zero growth in the number of videos.
I uploaded 10 new photos on Sandalgram, which is my Instagram account. The number of followers is 452, roughly the same as the year before. On Sandaltweet (Twitter) I irregularly share interesting articles. However, I do not engage in discussions or direct communication with other Twitter users. The number of Twitter followers at the turn of the year was 6,095, which is lower than the year before.
When we look at 2022 in retrospect, my own activity on the social media decreases. Sandalsand on all channels is read and seen to a lesser extent than in previous years. The exception in 2022, as before, was Sandalsand Norge. New activity spurs click rates.
Bucket list
For several years I have published my bucket list of places I want to travel. Find the previous years at the bottom. Here is the update for 2023 (and beyond):
Africa
- Morocco. All those amazing towns on the coast and in the mountains. (1-2 weeks)
- West Africa from Senegal to Nigeria. It would have been nice with a road trip through half a dozen countries, but quite difficult. (3-4 weeks plus).
- East Africa south of Sahara, with safari as part of the trip (2-3 weeks).
- Rwanda, the country with a terrible past is reinventing itself.
Americas
- Caribbean island hopping, in particular the southern part and the Antilles. Perhaps even on a cruise, one of my taboos. Visiting multiple islands is not easy to accomplish apart from with airplanes, and prices are not favourable (2-4 weeks).
- USA from New York to San Francisco. Flights between several places and perhaps a train journey across the plains just to sense the distances (2-4 weeks).
- Central America and more: So many wonderful locations, and I have to date missed them all. High on the list is Yucatan (Mexico), Costa Rica and Colombia.
Asia
- India is a long-time favourite (2-4 weeks) and I have just began to savour it.
- Sri Lanka in the south is a rapidly rising star, recommended by many.
- Iran is opening up to foreign visitors, but is still very much off the beaten track for a number of causes. Iran is one of the oldest civilisations on Earth, holding on to their history with pride. Tourism is rapidly on the rise, so I’ll better get there soon. (1-2 weeks)
- Israel: Been here before, long time ago, but I spent too little time. Round trip in the country for a week, perhaps also a beach holiday with the family by the Mediterranean or Red Sea. (1 week)
- Vietnam. I have visited most of SE Asia, but not Vietnam yet. There is a lot to discover both in terms of nature and culturally significant places. (1-2 weeks)
Europe
- Georgia (country): Their food and wine is good, the Black Sea coast is fine for sun bathing and inland there are some nice cities and villages in the Caucasus. It would be wise to combine Georgia with neighbouring Armenia and perhaps even Azerbaijan. (1-2 weeks)
- Greece, to Athens and the Peloponnese on a road trip to eight World Heritage Sites. (1 week)
- Saint Petersburg: Extreme treasures and immense museums, as well as a fascinating history in every respect. Other European cities are also beckoning for weekend trips, particularly Belgrade and Ljubljana.
- Old Norse settlements in the West: Shetland, Orkney and Greenland. (1-2 weeks)
Oceania
- Pacific island hopping on a round the world ticket to make the journey cheaper (3-4 weeks).
- Australia and New Zealand: For some reason I have never really fancied Australia, on the other hand I really should go there. Perhaps next year.
Read more
Find all year-end reviews and bucket lists for the coming years on this page.
