We loved Turkey…. and kebabs. Turkey is one of the few places we have been where we could easily see ourselves living. Istanbul is a vibrant, classicly modern city with culture spewing out its ears. Turkey has so much to see that our measly 13 days barly even scratched the surface. Turkey shot right to the top of our list of places to return to.

Syria, on the other hand, was too complex a society to even begin to get a handle on in the few days passing through so I will reserve my opinion until the next time…

(Be sure to check out the Turkey and Syria photo gallery here)

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Oh Jordan, you bastion of hope in a land of uncertainty. We left Egypt exhausted from being pushed, dragged, and swindled. We needed a place of rest and Jordan came to our aid. We wandered the ruins of Petra, swam… or floated , rather in the Dead Sea, ate falafels until we nearly burst, scaled the dunes of Wadi Rum, learned a great deal about the peace and love of Islam, and enjoyed beyond words an amazing culture and people.

We can’t wait to come back to Jordan. For such a small country it holds an abundance rewards. It was even more stunning coming from the conflict ridden land of Egypt. The king should be very proud: his subjects are some of the kindest people we have ever had the pleasure of meeting…

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Egypt… I have no idea what to say. We loved it, we hated it, we can’t wait to come back, and couldn’t be happier to leave. We had some awesome times in Egypt. We stood in awe of the great Pyramids, enjoyed the laid back feel of Dahab, got lost in Cairo’s markets and became thoroughly addicted to shisha. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, we broke our only rule: don’t travel with expectations. We came to Greece expecting too much and now we couldn’t be happier to leave. It wasn’t all bad though. We saw the ruins of Athens and Delphi, we drove through the countryside of Tinos, stood in awe as the waves crashed over the marble beach and ate tons of fantastic food.

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We had a lovely vacation in Spain! While the prices will surely force us into indentured servitude down the road it was a very nice way to chill out between two cultural extremes. We enjoyed the beautiful parks, had a great time exploring the castle in Segovia, feasted on all you can eat octopus and calamari until we were ready to burst, but most of all we were blown away buy a stunning Flamenco performance. Read the rest of this entry »

We had an amazing time in South America. We stood witness to the biggest party in the world (carnival Rio), enjoyed some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, met tons of fantastic people, ate and drank our hearts out, watched the sun rise over Machu Picchu, surfed, climbed, and had more experiences than can be put into one run-on sentence. Read the rest of this entry »

Ahh, Peru. We have strongly mixed feeling about Peru. We had a fantastic time at Machu Picchu and in the Sacred Valley, Saben learned how to surf, we viewed some of the most stunning scenery from our first class bus seats, and played video games like 10 year olds at the Larcomar. Read the rest of this entry »

We LOVED (most parts of) Bolivia. It is most definitely one of our favorite countries we have ever been to. The countryside is astoundingly beautiful, the people are generally nice and helpful, they speak Spanish and not Portuguese, everything is dirt cheap, and the Bolivian traditional dress is stunningly colorful and intricate. Read the rest of this entry »

Ouch! Brazil hurt the budget, but it was worth every penny. We had a fantastic time in Brazil! We really had a hard time coming up with anything we disliked. We got to do some really fun stuff in Brazil: we caught and ate killer fish, cheered like locals at the Botafogo soccer game, partied it out at carnival, enjoyed some of the most pristine beaches in the world, and stood in awe at the raw power of Iguazu Falls. Read the rest of this entry »

Well that flew by pretty fast! Seems like just yesterday we were closing up shop on our home and now we are 4 countries in. We had a great time in CA and are super excited to come back! We walked the cobbled streets of countless cities, got lost and found our way, walked some of the most beautiful beaches in world, discovered a new world under the waves, developed a great appreciation for the simple life, and most of all enjoyed the company of many travellers and locals alike– these are the moments that truly last. Read the rest of this entry »