Borderlines.
Geography, history and geopolitics.
Award Winning Travel Writing
Borderlines is where ‘Prisoners of Geography’ meets travel blogging. This is Travel Tramp’s geopolitical column.
Learn how geography, politics and history shape the world around, as we answer deep travel questions from the road.
What makes a country a country? What’s the difference between a micronation and a microstate? Why did Transnistria declare independence from Moldova?
You can find answers to all these questions and more as I build a database of the world’s cartographic curiosities and geopolitical oddities.
Latest Border Stories
Is Macedonia a Country? Everything You Need to Know.
Is Macedonia a country? Technically, no, but from legends of Alexander the Great to modern-day naming disputes between sovereign European nations, here's everything you need to know. Okay, so there's no doubt that this article is going to stir up a political storm...
Where is Iceland? Everything You Need to Know.
Where is Iceland? Europe? North America? Is Iceland in the EU? Here's everything you need to know about Iceland's geography and geopolitics. The 'Land of Ice and Fire' is a bridge between continents. Straddling both the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates in...
Where is The Gambia? Everything You Need to Know.
Where is The Gambia? West Africa? Central Africa? Is The Gambia in Senegal? Here's everything you need to know. Dust filled the battered Mercedes as my friend Omar drove us along The Gambia's North Bank Road. We'd crossed the country's namesake, The Gambia River, in...
How Many Regions in New Zealand? Everything You Need to Know.
From Auckland and the Bay of Plenty to Waikato and Wellington, New Zealand has 16 distinct regions. Here's everything you need to know. A land of staggering natural beauty, New Zealand is divided into 16 distinct regions, each of which offers an insight into the...
How Many Countries Are in South America? Everything You Need to Know.
From Argentina and Brazil to Guyana and Venezuela, there are 12 countries in South America. Here's everything you need to know. Stretching from the streaming, humid jungles of Colombia, thousands of miles south to the turbulent channels and islands of southern...
How Many Countries Are in North America? Everything You Need to Know.
From Canada and Costa Rica to Mexico and the USA, there are 23 countries in North America. Here's everything you need to know! If you visit Iceland there's a great rift that marks the divide between the continental plates of Europe and North America. Standing on this...
How Many Counties in the UK (United Kingdom)?
From Aberdeenshire to Yorkshire, from England to Northern Ireland, how many counties are in the UK? Here's everything you need to know. The United Kingdom is a union of four distinct countries comprising England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Traditionally,...
How Many Counties in Northern Ireland? Everything You Need to Know.
From Antrim and Armagh to Down and Tyrone, there are six counties in Northern Ireland. Here's everything you need to know! Between cliffs carved by giants and rolling hills that sweep across emerald landscapes, Northern Ireland is traditionally divided between six...
How Many Counties in Scotland? Everything You Need to Know.
There are 32 Council Areas, formerly known as counties, in Scotland. From Aberdeenshire and Angus to Stirling and West Lothian, here's everything you need to know about how many counties there are in Scotland. From the windswept isles in the north to the Scottish...
How Many Cities in Wales? Everything You Need to Know.
How many cities are there in Wales? With Wrexham gaining city status in 2022, there are now seven cities in Wales. Here's everything you need to know. Too often I'm guilty of revering Wales only in terms of its natural landscapes, national parks, mountains and...
richard@travel-tramp.com