Malta
Pictured: Valletta Harbour
Malta was such an impressive small island and we were blown away by it’s diversity. We stayed in Rabat which is up on a hill away from the coast, but we took a day out on the water and explored all the other mini islands around Malta. Going through the Valletta Harbour was a history lesson in it’s own and you can appreciate all the different reasons why people want to call Malta as their home.
Türkiye
Pictured: Cappadocia hot air balloon ride
Turkey was so great to us! We spent 5 days exploring between Cappadocia and Istanbul, and the days flew by. We quickly learned about the history of Istanbul and it’s contribution to the rest of the world. We found that there are so many other incredible places to visit when in turkey and we look forward to being able to go back and explore them.
Israel
Pictured: Garden of Gethsemane
We spent almost a week in Isreal, spending time in both the big city of Tel Aviv and also in the historic part of Jerusalem. We absolutely loved getting to know both sides of the young country. Jerusalem is a must visit place for anyone curious about the history of mankind and the evolution of the early world. Tel Aviv reminded us of parts of California and 2 days was not enough to see all we needed to see there. There was a certain calmness to Isreal that we hadn’t felt other places.
Jordan
Pictured: Hike to The Monastery in Petra
Our time in Jordan was short, but long enough to see the highlights of Amman and Petra. Amman seemed like the most westernized country we could have imagined in Asia, which made it extremely easy to navigate. The Jordanian people were so kind to us and Petra was every bit of a dream that you can imagine. We were in the country during Ramadan, which helped us learn more about their month(s) long holiday. The highlight from the trip was the ~40 minute hike to top of the The Monastery in Petra.
Egypt
Pictured: 9 Pyramids Lounge in Cairo
We spent a total of 8 days in Egypt and each day was filled with incredible stories of ancient civilizations and discovery. Cairo is a chaotic and busy city, but is imperative to visit to see the pyramids, sphinx, and the Egyptian museum. The most redeeming part of our trip through Egypt was taking a cruise boat down the Nile River from Luxor to Aswan. It’s hard to imagine the calmness, beauty and serenity on the Nile after spending time in Cairo, but in order to get the full picture of what Egypt is about, you have to spend time outside of Cairo, and we found the best way to do it was via cruise.
Morocco
Pictured: Inara Camp in the Afgay Desert
We started our journey in Africa off in Morocco, with the first stop in Marrakech. Staying at the Royal Mansour was an absolute dream, and walking through the streets of the medinas was a creative and colorful playground. We spent time in the medinas, took a full day excursion out into the desert to ride ATVs in the sand dunes, visited the YSL museum, and checked out the beautiful architecture and mosques around town.
Portugal
Pictured: Padrão dos Descobrimentos
We were amazed at how beautiful Portugal is, and it was clear to us why so many people choose to retire there. Portugal is rich with history, and they’re deserving of our appreciation with respect to the many navigators that helped map out the world. We spent a few days in Lisbon, but the true beauty of Portugal is just a 30 minute drive out of the big city into the smaller, but well known, Sintra. The other neighboring coastal towns were also packed with charm and you quickly forget about whatever troubles you might find in a big bustling city. We look forward to going back to Portugal to visit the smaller towns outside of the big cities where you can see the old world foundations covered in natures beauty. We felt a mix of Malibu, Carmel, Lake Como and Crystal Cove all while in the Portuguese countryside.
Spain
Pictured: Plaza de Toros de Pamplona
Collectively we’ve spent almost 2 months in Spain; everywhere from the north Basque region in San Sebastian, all the way to the southern “Costa Del Sol” region in Malaga. We ran with the bulls, drank at the worlds top bars, relaxed on the beaches of Marbella, ate incredible tapas in San Sebastian, and toured the Alhambra in Granada. We look forward to going back and spending more time in Spain!
Uruguay
Pictured: Evening pool at Playa Vik in Jose Ignacio
Once getting to Uruguay we immediately realized that we were going to need to come back and spend more time in the future. Spending just 3 days in this laid-back but luxurious beach town was not going to cut it. We were surprised at how much it reminded us of Carpinteria (California). It’s the sleepiest beach town imaginable, with most shops and lunch spots not opening until noon or later. Don’t forget a mini siesta in between. Dinners were scheduled at 8pm, and that’s on the early side. It was an incredible way to see how Uruguayans and other international visitors can really kick back and relax.
Panama
Pictured: Catedral Basílica Santa María la Antigua de Panamá
We had a quick trip in Panama, but we feel like we got to see most of the highlights the country has to offer in our short time there. We, of course, went to see the Panama Canal in action and spent time walking around the city. We stayed mostly in the old town, but could easily see across the bay the high number of high rises in the downtown area.
Ecuador
Pictured: Galapagos Land Iguana on Seymore Norte Island
We spent over a week in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands and experienced all that the wet season had to offer. Trip highlights were seeing all the wildlife, just to name a few: Great Frigatebirds, Red-footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies, Darwin Finches, Blue-footed boobies, Galapagos Fur Seals, White-tipped Sharks, Galapagos Penguins, Mockingbirds, sea lions and more.
Activities on the cruise included: Adventure hikes, nature walks, deep water snorkeling, kayaking, lectures & leisure time at the beach
Colombia
Pictured: Umbrella street near Getsemani in Old Town Cartagena
We only had a few short days in Colombia, but already want to travel back. We stayed in the old town area, near Getsemani, which was an incredible area to stay in. The city is surrounded by an old city wall which made the interior feel insulated, safe, and full of old Colombian culture. The food was fantastic and the nightlife was also thriving.
Antarctica
Pictured: Selfie in the Active Sound on a Silver Sea cruise ship
It’s estimated that only 1% of the population has visited Antarctica. We spent 10 days, traversing Drake Passage on a Silver Seas cruise boat with 200 other Antarctican enthusiasts. It took about 2 days to pass from Chile to Antarctica, and our passage through ‘The Drake’ was a 1 out of 10 (meaning very mild). We saw all kinds of penguins, whales, seals, birds, icebergs, glaciers, mini avalanches; all while hiking on land and kayaking on water. We loved our time in Antarctica and plan to visit again in our future!
Japan
Pictured: A stroll through the markets in Asakusa near Kaminarimon Gate
Of all the countries we’ve visited, we’ve only said there are 2 we would see ourselves living in. Japan is one of those countries. We are so blessed to have spent 2 weeks in Japan, immersing ourselves in the more conservative and traditional Kyoto, and also the modern and creative Tokyo. We have many more trips back to Japan in our future!
South Korea
Pictured: Kwangjang Market in northeastern Seoul
South Korea was great to us! We spent 5 days exploring the city of Seoul, all the neighborhoods, all the bars, the different cultural pockets, and even made it up to the DMZ. The JSA was closed, otherwise we would have gone there too. We wish we had more time in South Korea, but look forward to when we can go back and explore more.
Vietnam
Pictured: Water puppet show at the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater
We spent 3 nights in southern Vietnam, in the city of Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City). We hit up everything there was to see in a short amount of time and packed our days with history lessons, great Vietnamese food, and speakeasy bars.
Singapore
Pictured: Merlion’s Park
6 days in Singapore and we still felt like we had more to explore! A few of the locals seemed confused that we would spend 6 days in Singapore (to the locals, Singapore can feel very small), but we found the city had a variety of things to offer. It may be a small island, but feels incredibly opportunistic.
