A travel editor's still large bucket list includes South America and Africa

Got to talking with family the other day about travel lists, and the places we still want to go. And I realized there are still so many places on mine.

I think most folks figure a travel editor goes pretty much all over the world. But there a ton of places I've never been.

Here are a few. And if anyone has suggestions, please let me know! EMAIL: jbyers@thestar.ca

1. SOUTH AMERICA. I guess I used to figure I'd get stories from this part of the world and that I needed to spend more time in places our readers go to more frequently, such as Europe. But now I look back and think, "Hey, dummy, how come you never have checked out Rio or Buenos Aires (see photo) or the wineries of Chile? I mean, the Inca Road and Machu Picchu get a lot of coverage. Ditto for Patagonia. But there's still a ton I'd like to see, including some of the coast of Brazil and, of course, the Amazon.

2. AFRICA. I once spent three days in Dakar, Senegal but that was covering an International Olympic Committee meeting. I got to see the city a bit and interview the parents of former Toronto Raptor Mamadou N'Diaye. And I got to visit Isle Goree, an island where captured Africans were gathered before making horrible voyages to North America on slave ships. It's a colourful and fascinating but also,ofcourse, very sad and tragic place. I've never made it to Egypt or Morocco or the plains of Kenya or anywhere in South Africa. Needless to say, a safari would be awesome.

3. CAMBODIA. This is pretty high on my list. Yeah, I know; everyone goes to Angkor Wat. But there's a reason some places get a lot of tourists. It's usually because it's a pretty cool place.This explains why tourists go to the Golden Gate Bridge but not so much the Hayward-San Mateo Bridge in the SF Bay Area suburbs. Anyway, I'd love to check out Cambodia and maybe Laos some time, and maybe see some of the islands of Vietnam down in the south. They look pretty cool.

4. MARQUESAS ISLANDS. I've got a real thing about South Pacific culture and this place looks awesome. Remote and artistic (former home to Gauguin, Melville and others) and beautiful, with jagged cliffs and thick jungles and gorgeous water. Definitely near the top of the old bucket list.

5. CANADA'S NORTH. I got a small taste of the Yukon on a recent trip to Whitehorse and Kluane National Park but I'd love to see the Nahanni (see photo) and some of the more remote, beautiful places in the Northwest Territories.

6. PORTUGAL. How I've never made it to Portugal, I have no idea.I just haven't. But I'd love to see Lisbon and the beaches of the Algarve and to explore wineries in the north and eastern parts of the country.

7. SOUTHERN SPAIN. Never been to Seville or Grenada. The village of Ronda looks beautiful and I'd love to check that out some time.

8. SANTORINI. Another must-see spot that has somehow evaded my passport.Come to think of it, the only Greek islands I've been to are Hydra, near Athens and just for a few hours, and Paros, way back in the 1980s. Gotta check out Croatia and the islands of Turkey, as well.

9. UTAH NATIONAL PARKS. I grew up in California but have never visited Zion or Arches or any of those cool-looking areas. Also,I have somehow missed the Custer Battlefield in MOntana, even though I'm a student of the battle and a fan of native American history.

10. MALDIVES. I know it's not that exotic in terms of history or culture (from what I know, anyway), but it just looks so cool and remote, and there are few things in the world that are more enjoyable than an overwater bungalow.

Of course, there are a million great places I HAVE been to. So no complaints at all. Just that this is such a huge, amazing world....