The world according to Sam Kelly
Mountain/Desert/Ocean/Jungle... which one are you?
I get sea-sick easily and haven't yet done any real desert or jungle travel, but coastal mountain ranges are stunning and there's something undeniably impressive about the Andes...
What was your first great travel experience?
A trip to Juneau, Alaska, to visit a school friend who'd moved out there, in 2000. I was sixteen and that was when the bug really bit.
What has been your favourite journey?
For 'journey' rather than 'trip' or 'holiday', my recent travels round Spain win by default - from Barcelona to Valencia to Granada to Seville to Cádiz, back to Seville, then to Córdoba, to Madrid, to Salamanca and back to the capital...
What are your Top 5 places worldwide?
Buenos Aires for the spirit and soul of a great city which surely will know better times again; Cádiz for sun-drenched laziness; Barcelona for jaw-dropping architecture and a great party during the Festes de La Merce; Havana for sights and locals that teach as much about the ways of the world as they entertain you, and Juneau for sheer, jaw-dropping, staggering, overwhelming beauty.
Recommend a special place to stay
I have been fortunate to stay with friends and family in many of the places I've been, but of the hostels I stopped in on way round Spain, Casa Caracol in Cádiz deserves a mention. Being the city's only hostel must make it so tempting to slack off and lower standards - but I enjoyed it so much I want to go back and work there for a while at some point...
Which three items do you always pack?
My Swiss army knife, my camera and at least two good books.
Which passport stamp are you proudest of?
Uruguay, just a little further off the tourist trail than most visitors to Buenos Aires ever manage to get...
Which passport stamp would you most like to have?
A Cuban one - but they wouldn't let me have it! Aside from that, always the next one; which means Mexico, since I won't get one on entering Lisbon.
Where or what is your guilty travel pleasure?
Eating out every day whilst hosteling round Spain for six weeks, because I'd been looking forward to and planning the trip for eighteen months so why on earth would I want to spend it in the hostel cooking?!