This was us exactly one year ago.
Holy Smokes! Can you believe it? Today, November 6, 2015, marks one entire year on the road! This is kind of mind-blowing. A year…a full year! You know what that means – it’s time for a celebration!! Grab the candles and party hats! A drink if you’re into that sort of thing. Now. On the count of three: One. Two. Three: HURRAAAAAAY!!!!!!!
Hurraaaaaaaay!!! Now THAT’S our way to celebrate – chocolate cake and M&M’s. Yeah!
We were supposed to be home back in September, but one thing lead to another (mainly one house-sitting assignment lead to another, extending how long our travel funds lasted) and here we are – Adare, Ireland to be specific, on the trip of a lifetime with no plans to come home before February. There really aren’t adequate words to describe just how awesome it’s been, but “awesome” really is the closest, if over-used, word.
Like most adventures, it’s the people who make or break the experience, and part of what has made this trip so fantastic are all our friends, family, fellow-travelers and (we think) complete strangers following us. Thank you. Thank you! THANK YOU to everyone who Likes, Favorites, Shares, Retweets or Comments on our blogs and posts.
We initially built this website so our moms could follow along. Hopefully they’re still enjoying it! You’ve all joined in over the months we’ve been exploring and it’s been so much more meaningful for us to be able to share our journey with you. We have always enjoyed writing, but the reader-participation has made it infinitely more fun. After we send out a blog or put up a post on Facebook or Instagram, we literally can’t wait to see who will be the first to like it or comment. We both predict who will weigh in on a particular topic or like a certain photo. I can always put down money that my brother, Karen N or Shari will like anything with a dog in it. Aaron’s art posts will always get a response from his dad, mom and all his art friends. My engineering posts will get little or no response, but I chalk that up to engineers being introverts and you can’t judge them for not commenting – they are quiet like that, so just back off the engineers. And Aunt Casey will weigh in on everything…and we love it! It’s like we get to re-live every fabulous part of the trip over and over again.
Happy indeed!
In honor of our Map-A-Versary we’re taking a little walk down NoMapRequired Lane with some of our favorite photos. We have a LOT of favorites, and they change day to day, so we decided to simply pick two or three per country that bring back great stories for us. Some we’ve posted before, others are brand new, but we hope you enjoy them and we invite you to comment on your favorite memory, too! We’re betting on you at this very moment! Thanks for being here with us!
Cheers,
Anner & Aaron, on the road for a full 365 days now!!!!
COSTA RICA
Our very first stop. Just after we arrived in our very first hostal in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Exhausted. Overwhelmed. A little bit scared….but still smiling!
The very first art photo of what would be many, many to come!
One of the longest canopy walks in the world – through the famed cloud forest of Costa Rica.
PANAMA
Traditional dress in the old quarter in Panama City, Panama. I remember the tree full of pelicans just across the way.
Street artist in action. Saw SO many artists here, but this one struck a chord with us. Panama City, Panama.
ECUADOR
Feliz Navidad! Children’s parade on Christmas Eve. It lasted all day – like 10 hours! Cuenca, Ecuador.
Proud of recognizing that this was an “ave” on a “llave” (bird on a key). My (Aaron) Spanish is doing a-ok!
Copper basket weaving with Marco. This was the first time Aaron worked with a local artist and after this experience we were hooked. Little unplanned workshops would become a theme for the rest of the trip. Cuenca, Ecuador.
Time to get the sheep! We “helped” our host mom gather the sheep during our home stay in Namarin, Ecuador.
PERU
Kinda gotta lead with Macchu Picchu. So lucky to get a sunny day!
The. Cooolest. Boots! Cusco, Peru.
Something we saw over and over again were lawns being cut with weed whackers, hand clippers…or even a scissors. This was a huge lawn and there was a crew of 25 working on it. Sooo labor intensive. Cusco, Peru.
Carnaval!! It was another loooong parade, lasting all day. This guypersonified the joy of the day. Cajamarca, Peru.
BOLIVIA
Jump! Jump! The Train Graveyard in Uyuni, Bolivia.
Salar de Uyuni, aka, the Salt Flats of Bolivia. Totally mind-blowing experience. Plus we had the most fun with these people here.
CHILE
Cueva de Los Manos, aka the Cave of Hands. Took a huge detour to see the art and in the process met a couple of travelers we would run into for the rest of our time in South America. We plan to look them up in Europe this winter! Santa Cruz, Argentina.
Ahhhh Juan Pablo!!! Hands down our very best accomodation was here. JP took such good care of us: feeding us more than our own mothers do, taking us on drives around town, and actually walking us to our seats on our bus when it was time to go. Our brand new friends, the truly fabulous TJ and Taylor, were there with us every step of the way. We would end up spending a week with them in Buenos Aires and taking tango classes together. Going to look them up when we’re back in the states. Puerto Varas, Chile.
ARGENTINA
Really fun art – little vehicles made from watch parts and ceramics. We spent about an hour chatting with the artist in an open air market. Talking with other artists has been one of our favorite pass-times while traveling. Mendoza, Argentina.
Crack up EVERY time I see this! Mwhahahha. Outside the horse track in Buenos Aires. I also crack up seeing Aaron’s hair cut. He usually asks for 3-4 inches in the states…he was thinking metric and told the Spanish speaking barber 3-4 centimeters.
TANZANIA – Safari
Simba! We saw an unbelievable collection of amazing animals on Safari and it’s really not fair to only pick one or two, but if we have to pick, we pick him. Tanzania.
The Elephant. Have about 20 photos of this guy…swear we will print and frame them all. Safari in Tanzania.
Our first visitor from home, Aunt Casey! We had so much fun together on safari. Tanzania.
TANZANIA – On Our Own
The Indian Ocean is just spectacular. Our guide David (on the right) took us on a road trip along the Tanzanian coast to see it from many different towns and villages. David made this one of the most special parts of our trip. Saadani National Park, Tanzania
OH! The fabrics in Tanzania. Next to the animals, this is what I think of. Tanga, Tanzania.
TANZANIA – Zanzibar
Long sunsets, fishing boats, kids diving into the Indian Ocean…. Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Gotta show off the doors. Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Oh yes, the S.S. Hip Hop. Zanzibar, Tanzania
SOUTH AFRICA
From the top of Table Moutain, Cape Town, South Africa.
Our second visitor from home, our good friend Lisa joined us for some wine tasting. Cape Town, South Africa.
MONGOLIA
Love, love, love this pic – moving day in Mongolia. Khazaks move about every three months. Altai Mountains, Mongolia.
Maybe my favorite photo of them all. Altai Mountains, Mongolia
First day of school. Town of Altai, Mongolia.
BALI
Warm, calm (mostly!), clear water teeming with huge, beautiful schools of fish and coral. We miss you so! Menjangen, Bali, Indonesia.
Nothing says Bali like the fresh fruit juices. We miss you, too. Sanur, Bali, Indonesia.
ENGLAND & WALES
Baaaaaaaah. Wendover, England.
The huuuge London Eye ferris wheel built for the London Olympics.
We’ve gotten totally hooked on street art! I think Aaron’s written 6 blogs already and we’ll be posting Dublin soon. This was one of his favorite pieces in London.
IRELAND
Just love the weird texture in the middle of the river. The River Shannon. Foynes, Ireland.
Love patterns. We see them everywhere. Going to be a blog post someday, we’re sure. This one is in Dublin Castle. Dublin, Ireland.
Our next set of visitors! PapaBarr and Miss Grace. Dublin, Ireland.
Taken just today here in Adare, Ireland.
So with that, here’s to another 3 months of travel! We look forward to sharing the rest of it and our re-entry into the US with you all!!
Thanks again!
Less than a week until we’re off to country #14 – Spain! The adventure continues!!!
Enjoy your writing. Love the pictures. Always makes for a good day when I hear from you. Congratulations on the one year mark. Blessings on the rest of your travels. Just saw the salt flats on PBS last night!!
Hooray to one full year of adventure and a few more months to go!
November 6th is another momentous occasion, my grandmother turned 100 years old on Friday!
Love looking back at all the places we’ve visited vicariously through you’re adventures. Thanks for making it possible for us to go on this trip with you. It’s been fantastic for us as well.
Love ya!
Heidi
We are in South Africa now and I sampled the ice cream per your recommendations and it was good. I am celebrating a birthday here and in our hotel, there was a special plate with truffles, Happy Birthday spelled out in think chocolate, a tart with chocolate ganache, puffy pastry and more. We start our game drives tomorrow. We will also go to Victoria Falls late in the week and fly home on Nov. 19th. Both India and South Africa have been great experiences.
I enjoy reading all your posts and we are glad that things are going to well that you can extend your trip.
Hope to see your mom when we return.
Mary K
So glad you liked the ice cream! When it’s good, it’s good!
Hope the game drives and Falls were amazing – we hope to get to the Falls next trip to Africa…whenever that may be. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
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