Travel is great because of its ups and downs. Overcoming its struggles and conquering its obstacles. Its highs are worth it because it takes a piece from you right before it becomes all worth it. So yes, travel is not all sunshine and rainbows, but we love talking about both our highs and our lows. Why? Because both are treasured memories that have been part of some amazing growth.
So, what have we been up to?
- Discovering that heating was not typical when asking our hostel in Alexandrina where the thermostat was. Egypt gets much colder than you could have thought.
- Our first hospital visit was a result of a dog attack in Fethiye. There are a lot of stray dogs in Turkey, and they can get aggressive. We were walking back to our accommodations up a narrow pathway and I must have gotten too close. I received 2 shots and was to return for 3 more. When we were told we had finished we tried to pay and to our surprise, all services were free for tourists. We thought that this must have been a mistake and checked twice before leaving.
- Experiencing our first hot air balloon ride with a daredevil who had no fear. We had another staff member on his day off fly with us and he sat on the edge of the basket which was terrifying to watch. I never knew someone could be that comfortable as such extreme heights.
- Cherry blossom chasing in Japan. We didn’t know how magical the blooms of Japan could be. Everyone was impressed with them, young and old, it didn’t matter. It felt like a fairytale, and we got to see them for 4 weeks as we watched for peak blooms all over the country.
- Missing our first flight. When we went to check in with Ryan Air, they told us the gate has been closed for a while and we watched the plane head to Italy without us. We had to take any flight we could find to Italy and catch a train to Pompeii. The most expensive mistake ever. I cried for so long as Johnathan kept his composure.
- Loosing my go pro while river rafting in Peru. The last thing we did before the end of the ride was jump into the water. I seconded guessed it but thought it may be fun. Once in I saw that go pro had detached from the harness. In a last-ditch effort, the guide checked the raft, it was gone. I think now that I would have been better off in the raft.
- Downhill mountain biking in Peru was our first biking tour ever. This was such an amazing experience we never knew we would enjoy. Ridding down a winding road with snow capped mountains felt amazing. We will try to add more bike experiences when we can.
- Sunrise at Mount Sini. This was both an extreme low and extreme high. This hike started at 2am in the dark. Part of the way up my shoes cut open the backs of my heals and I got blisters on my feet. The entire way up I was shaking for fear heights. I was worried about being too slow and missing sunrise for Johnathan that I cried, which slowed me down even more. The pain combined with the shakes made getting to the top before the sun peaked over the horizon seem like an impossible reality. So, when we made it and saw how bright it was, we thought that we had missed it. We were shocked to see that the sun was just a few minutes away and that we made it to the top to see the main event. Johnathan stayed with me and encouraged me the entire way.
- Our group on our Croatia cruise was amazing. They all made that experience so memorable. We were worried about having a young party boat or a group of retired folks. But our diverse group was so much fun, and we talk to so many of them still today. A supper supportive and encouraging group.
- Arriving in Istanbul to be greeted by a snowstorm on my birthday. Not only was the weather suppose to be suited for shorts. My suitcase broke before we caught our connecting flight, so we had no time to report the damage. We caught a local bus with the assistance of the staff, which ended up dropping us off 30 minutes away from our hotel. I was not please to walk with a broken suitcase.
- Breaking my suitcase for a 2nd time walking through the town of Simi. Our situation was quite memorable because the restaurant staff asked us during our visit if we were the ones with the broken suitcase.
- Ridding on the back of scooters with 2 friendly locals who rushed to help us make our ferry. Luggage and all. They told us we would never make it by walking, they dropped everything and shuttled us as quickly as they could. We were amazed by their generosity. We made it with less than 5 minutes before the ferry departed. Simi you will be remembered.
- Forgetting my crossbody during a photo stop on our ATV tour in Cappadocia. 10 minutes after we left, I noticed we have forgotten it next to the fence. I notified our guide who called back to café. They located it and he went back to grab it once we stopped for sunset. I was so happy as our money and credit cards were in the bag. We were so lucky to get it back.
- Being stopped in Spain when boarding the train because we didn’t pay for luggage. We had translated our way through purchasing the tickets but were blindsided by the expensive cost for luggage that needed to be paid before boarding. Turns out it was in the fine print. We had never had a check in process like this before when boarding a train. Yes, they check everything.
- Getting food poisoning in Jordan. This happened in Aman and had us bed ridden in our hotel. We were unable to get very far and 2 kind soles we met at Petra came to our rescue and brought us food, medicine and helped us get through our first sickness abroad. Miguel and Janice helped us see the good in people.
- Being picked up from the ferry port and driven to get our car rental by our Home Exchange host in Guadeloupe. Her generosity and kindness were amazing. She didn’t want us to rely on unreliable local transportation. She even guided us to her place afterwards and gave us a tour of her home. This place looked to be out of a magazine, overlooking the ocean with its own private pool and billiards table. It was such a peaceful and relaxing place to be. A highlight.
- One of the most frightening experiences ever was when I lost my hearing while in Dominica. I had some ear pain but thought it would pass. Once my hearing went, I know things had escalated. I went to the infirmary looking for a solution and was directed to a local ear, nose, and throat specialist. Dr. Irving Pascal. We waited until all his patients were seen and he was able to fit me in. It had sounded as if the world had turned off. What had happened? Was this permanent? I didn’t know.
He explained to me that I had 2 ear infections and that 1 had completely closed. He gave be a stint to open one ear and I needed to administer drops in both. I had a follow up appointment to remove the stint and instructions to keep using the drops for 1 week. During our first visit we found out that they were a cash only establishment and didn’t take card. We had no cash. He so kindly allowed us to get money and come back to the second appointment and clear our bill.
- While walking the jetties one morning in Georgetown, Malaysia we were invited in one of the homes on our way back down the pier. He took us on a tour, and we were shocked that he would invite strangers so easily into his place. He explained the homes history and how long it has been in his family. He now lives in Kuala Lumpur and travels back and forth a few times a year. He offered us juice boxes and his welcoming attitude will make us remember Georgetown and their jetties forever.
- At the start of our journey Pet Sitting, we didn’t land our first sit in Denmark after our interview. The pet owners were looking for someone more local and were worried we could cancel as foreigners. We were on our cruise in Croatia when this happened and shared the news with the other passengers. 2 of them from Bristol so graciously said that they would be happy to have us watch their cat Juno if we are interested in a visit. We took some time to think about it and altered our plans to stay in the UK for a while. To this day we can call Lauire and Vickey some of our best friends. We love them both.
- We met the group we would hike to Machu Pichu with, and we were not sure how it would be because we were the oldest of the group. Day 1 had our biking and rafting adventures. Everyone got along. While day 2 had our longest day of hiking. This group was the most supportive group I could have asked for. At every stop they were encouraging, and no one once complained that anyone was slow. The three girls, Eliza, Sam, and Faith were my cheerleaders. My appreciation for them can not be put into words. We walked into the night, but all made it with smiles. After the tour I found a video Johnathan took when I was approaching a check point at a bridge, and you can hear the girls in the background trying to choose a song to sing as I walked up in celebration. I was so emotional I had to hold back tears. I have been part of bad groups who just got upset with anyone who walked too fast or too slow. Just mean and grouchy people. This group of Kevin, Jessica, Eliza, Sam, Faith, and Ryan really restored my faith in people, and it opened my eyes to how great some people are. Cheers for making this tour one for the record books.
- When arriving in St. Lucia we had plans to catch the local bus to our accommodations. Turns out the locals are not a fan of tourists using the local minibus and they were not forthcoming in showing us the bus stop. We tried to change plans and grab a taxi, but our route was not profitable enough for the drivers, so we kept getting passed between them as they looked for batter fares. We were finally saved by our host who came down to pick us up and drive us to her place. She even stopped so we could get money at the ATM because the one at the airport was not working.
- Boarding down sand dunes in Huacachina ended with a lot of blood when Johnathan hit a bump at the end. He split open his upper lip and should have gone to get stitches. The tour guide tried to tape him up and we spent all night trying to stop the bleeding. He now has a nasty scar across his philtrum and for the first time is starting to look normal. 3 months later
- In Dundalk, Ireland while pet sitting, Johnathan’s iPhone stopped working. He regularly listened to it while in the shower and we have used it for underwater recordings multiple times without issue. It said he could not charge it because it was wet. He dried it with rice and disassembled it to help along the process. We couldn’t get it to turn back on. We googled ways to fix it, and nothing was helping. We went to a repair shop, and they told us it could not be repaired. Water damage voids the apple warranty. We were so shocked as apple had advertised the phone to be water resistant up to a few feet. We had never taken the phone deeper than they claimed it could go. It was official, he had to replace his phone.
- But did we need 2 phones? While in Dublin I lost Johnathan. While in our large hostel. I dropped off our luggage in the holding area and turned around and he was nowhere to be found. I peaked in a few nearby rooms and waited for 30 minutes hoping he would return. But no luck. I asked the staff to check the cameras and began to panic. He couldn’t take this long in the washroom, what had happened? 45 minutes later I found him sitting 2 rooms over in a lounge hidden by a vending machine sitting on a couch. He thought we had agreed to come here and didn’t know what happened to me. I was so worried and decided that should we get separated; a phone was a necessity. This couldn’t happen again.
But there are no apple stores in Ireland, only authorised retailers. After just over 1 month we were in Spain, and we headed to Apple in Barcelona to pick up Johnathan’s new phone. An expensive purchase. But we were at least able to claim the taxes when leaving the EU.
- Getting our first speeding ticket was very memorable. Johnathan was the lucky one that got pulled over while speeding on the way from Wadi Rum to Aman Jordan. We handed over all the requested documentation, including our international driver’s licence. When we returned to drop off the car the rental agency made it very clear that they knew we were pulled over and we had to pay the ticket. They waived the admin fee of 30JD because of the extra gas we had in the car. If you look up online speeding tickets in Jordan, foreigners get pulled over very regularly while locals are going twice as fast. So do not try to keep up with the flow of traffic. Just follow the posted signage.
More to Come as our Travels Continue …..