Three years ago, Kyle and I decided we'd start saving to travel. We didn't quite know how or where, but we knew we wanted it, and wanted it way more than anything else we could spend our money on.
Two years later we had sold our cars and our furniture, stored some things in Dad's basement, and we set out for adventure. Full of travel lust, last January we wrote Why I Travel.
Since then, we've accomplished what we set out to cover: traveling from Mexico to Argentina. We've traveled around 18,000 miles through 14 countries. We slept in 114 different beds, wonderfully bedbug free. We mainly traveled by bus (195 of those), although we flew over the Darian Gap between Panama and Colombia and to meet up with family (4 planes). We also took 36 boats and countless taxis, although foot and bike are our favorite ways to get around. We did all that, and managed not to get robbed.
We also volunteered 1,068 hours; we each read over 20 books; and we uploaded over 6,000 photos from our trip. Nearly 15,000 people have visited our website in the past year, with over 45,000 pageviews. A post of how much money it's all cost will come soon.
The numbers are interesting, but certainly not the highlights. We've met so many wonderful people, smiled, and cried tears of joy and frustration. Here are some thoughts about our year of travel, and if we've missed any questions you'd like answers to, don't hesitate to ask.
1. How have you changed from a year of travel?
The thing I feel the most is a new appreciation of time. This past year, we've lived time rich and "money poor" (I put it in quotes, because even with a $66/day budget, we live well enough). My old life was more money rich and time poor, with time constraints and schedules. I love the feeling of time passing-by people watching in a plaza or just walking around a town. Of having the time to talk with someone in a shop or turning down a street just because you can. I also stop and smell the roses, frequently.
I also thirst to be in nature. I've always been outdoorsy for a city girl, but more than ever I want to hike that mountain in a distance and get dirty on the trail. I'm always happiest outdoors with the sun shining down on me.
2. What did you learn about Kyle?
Wow, quite a bit. We were together a little over 2 years before we got married, and married 3 months before we traveled, and with all the time we've spent together this past year, I always joke it feels more like 4 years. In a good way of course. I used to appreciate his nuances, but now I know them even more. I've figured out that I know he's happy he "sings" along to the bass lines in songs, and I know that joyful expression when he hears a new word in conversation that he'd just learned. I love that stuff.
There's also no denying we've squabbled about everything you can possibly think of in the past year: which bus to take, what a word means in spanish, where our bag of lost medicine went. We've learned how to communicate better, out of desire, but really out of necessity.
3. What was your favorite place?
Two countries I want to go back to the most are Colombia and Mexico, partly because they have my two beach paradises, Playa Zipolite and Parque Tayrona. It's hard to compete with sleeping in hammocks perched over the Caribbean Ocean.
Outside of that though Mexico has the best food in Latin America, fun-loving people, great cities, and overall, it's just so colorful. Colombia is the best travel gem in Latin America, largely because most people just get nervous when they hear about it and they avoid visiting. In reality, it's largely very safe, and full of friendly people, cultured cities, and beautiful nature.
I have to give a shout out to Leon, Nicaragua, which has fabulous hiking and great locals. Definitely my favorite place in Central America.
4. And your least favorite place?
Hmmm... In general we avoided crappy places and got the heck out of them if we ended up there. In general border towns and port towns suck because they revolve around stuff moving through and often have much less to offer. An exception and place I would definitely not go back to is Isla Ometepe on Lake Nicaragua. I might have liked it better if it didn't give me a stomach bug.
5. What was your favorite experience(s)?
After a year of bus jumping and bed hopping, it's hard to narrow it down to favorites. Most of all I feel lucky to have lived my dream of traveling like this. It's one thing to read history or see photos in a book, but there's no competing with standing in front of thousands year old ruins or amongst nearly formed volcanoes.
6. What would do differently?
Not too much, but I'd have spent a little less time in Central America and more time in South America. We spent 8 months in CA and 4 in SA - mainly because we were in El Salvador 3 months volunteering. Otherwise, we tried to keep as loose of an itinerary as possible, and I wouldn't change much.
7. What advice would you share to travelers doing a similar trip?
Less is more. In general, people pack too tight of itineraries. We meet a lot of people that say they wish they had more time places, regardless of whether they're traveling for 3 weeks or 3 months. If you have a week, go to one or two places and enjoy them. Less destinations means you spend less of your time traveling and have more time to appreciate the depth of the places you visit and more time to take it all in.
I'll also pass along a few websites we frequent when considering places to stay: www.hosteltrail.com and www.hostelworld.com, because we've figured out that were you stay heavily influences your impression of a place.
And I'll close with one last piece of travel advice: write. It may not be great, but it doesn't have to be, it's about recording your ideas and reflecting on what you experience. If you don't mind the connection to technology, I highly recommend blogging - keeping our blog has been very rewarding. It's connected us with people world-wide, and met our two top goals:
1. keeping in touch with the people we care about
2. connecting a wide audience with the world, as we see it.



We're silly and adventurous, computer geeks and yoga peeps.
January 30, 2009
Nancy
February 01, 2009
Bessie
January 30, 2009
Linda
February 01, 2009
Bessie
January 31, 2009
Anne Kellogg Reed
January 31, 2009
deadra
Safe Travels
deadra:)
February 01, 2009
Bessie
For now, I'll be back visiting fam in March, and we don't really know what our next chapter will have in store for us, but we surely need to re-charge the bank account!
January 31, 2009
barbie
February 01, 2009
Bessie
January 31, 2009
selena
February 01, 2009
Kristine Williams
February 02, 2009
Bessie
February 02, 2009
Julian
Learning how to scabble with your spouse and keep it civil is a trait that too few couples learn. To get that early in your relationship, will be a valuable asset for years to come. Also it does not hurt at all that you two enjoy each other company. (What a concept!)
February 02, 2009
DADDIO
Wonderful commemoration of an historic year in your lives...
VERY WELL DONE, TRAVELERS!
Get back here quickly, write yourselves a kick-ass travel book, sell 300,000 copies and then take off for another year of travel!
Until you get all of those copies sold, you may live in my garage since you don't really NEED plumbing now...
and mow my lawn this summer for extra cash!!!
I'll share some fine California wines with you...
along with your favorite Rising Sun cuisine made from ingredients other than tomatoes and corn meal for a change of pace!!!
:>).... :>)) ..... :>)))....... Argentina Rocks!!! Time for another Kyle heavy metal video!!!
January 09, 2012
Taina
You can't imagine my happiness to find you guys blog!!!
I'm gonna try to resume and you will understand it:
1. It all began because I wanted to learn spanish;
2. I chose Guatemala, did lots of research and then discover the airplane tickets were too expensive;
3. Where I go to learn spanish?
4. I chose Argentina... and then I thought: I love tango...
5. Searching for tango videos 3 days before my trip to Argentina, I found a video on your youtube channel... and then the blog!!!
I'm 28, almost 29 (march/2012) and I just quit my job to begin a lifestyle similar to yours!
Congrats for the site! Congrats for your adventure and thank you for sharing the experience!
Love,
TainĂ¡