HaveYouBeenHere 2019 SteemitWorldMap Travel Contest: my entry

Hi there my Steemian friends and followers!

One of my favorite applications that is regularly used by the majority of the Steemian travel community is @steemitworldmap (the team is made up by these amazing Steemians: @martibis, @livinguktaiwan, @choogirl, @lizanomadsoul and @itchyfeetdonica, kudos to you guys!) and they are currently hosting an awesome challenge that I am excited to join with this post.

The challenge is called HaveYouBeenHere 2019 SeemitWorldMap Travel Contest and its aim is to make the users of @steemitworldmap relive their best travel memories from the past year through a special post. You can find out more about the rules and conditions of the contest here.

Each participant´s entry should include 4 of his or her favorite travel posts published on Steem in 2019 so here are mine.

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POST 1: COCORA VALLEY, COLOMBIA

My first pick was easy and I will tell you why. Hidden in the pristine wilderness of the majestic Colombian Andes, the Cocora Valley is probably the most beautiful place I have visited in my life so far. It´s very hard to do justice to the beauty of such an extraordinary place with photos but I tried to do so with this post:

Beauties of Colombia: mesmerizing Cocora Valley - part 1

I visited the Cocora Valley in May 2019 but the memories from this incredible corner of the world will stay in my my mind and heart forever. Here are some photos from the post:

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POST 2: HOLBOX ISLAND, MEXICO

The remaining picks of my entry were much harder to decide on as I was privileged to visit many beautiful places last year but out of those, a few are sticking out a bit more than the others and one of them is definitely the Holbox Island.

Located just off the northern coast of Mexico´s Yucatan Peninsula, Holbox is the epitome of the tropical paradise. Majestic coconut palms, incredibly soft white powdery beaches, crystal clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea, abundant wildlife both on land and in the sea - Holbox has it all. Here is the main post I dedicated to this wonderful Mexican island:

Beauties of Yucatan: natural appeal of the enchanting island of Holbox

And here is a bunch of pictures I took there:

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POST 3: MORAVIAN-SILESIAN REGION, CZECH REPUBLIC

My third pick will take us to my beautiful Czech homeland. I was there for just a few months last year but long enough to enjoy the most out of the autumn season that gets incredibly colorful in the Czech Republic. I headed outside to capture the charm of Czech nature getting ready for the winter many times and made a few posts about it. This one is my favorite:

Landscape Photography: roaming around Czech wonderland in fall

The photo collection included over 20 photos. Let me pick 5 for you now:

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POST 4: AZORE ISLANDS, PORTUGAL

The final destination of my entry is where we are based right now. Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, some 2 thousand kilometers from mainland Europe, the Azore Islands are a remote volcanic archipelago that belongs to Portugal. Unspoiled by mass tourism (yet), the islands are known for breathtakingly beautiful landscapes and seascapes. I am currently hosting a weekly series called "Beauties of Azores" where I share the charm of this exquisite place through photo posts. Here is one of them:

Beauties of Azores: stunning views of volcanic lakes around Sete Cidades

And a little photo sample from the post:

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So these are some of my most amazing travel memories from the last year :) I wish I could include more travel posts in here as I really had the honor and pleasure to see so many wonderful places in 2019 but the entry should contain just 4 posts so that´s my choice.

Thank you so much @steemitworldmap for coming up with this amazing fun challenge and for everything you have been doing for the travel community of Steem. You guys rock!

Also, I would love to see my Steemian friends and fellow travelers join this challenge! Go ahead and share some of your most memorable travel moments from 2019 with us guys ;) It´s fun.

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This post was created by me for the Steem blockchain exclusively.

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Thank you for visiting my blog. If you like posts about #nature, #animals, #ecology, #crypto, #traveling, #photography and discovering secrets and beauties of the #world, feel free to follow me as these are the topics I mostly write about. Have a wonderful day and keep on Steeming! :)