Around the World in 717 Days

Posted on Thursday, January 23, 2014

CHANDLER, ARIZONA – When we left the United States in November of 2011 we were in search of an adventure. We didn’t intend on traveling for any finite period of time. There was no big list of countries that we planned to visit, and we definitely didn’t intend to circumnavigate the world. Every day we made decisions regarding which direction to head or where to spend the next week or month and every day we were surprised by what laid around the corner. The constant discovery and unending challenges and lessons are what made our trip worth continuing. Combined, they are why our journey lasted much longer than either of us (or our family and friends, for that matter) imagined.

Starting with Latin America, we traveled by land between Mexico and Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: January 23rd, 2014 | Filed under: Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Japan, Kenya, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Planning, Poland, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Travel Updates, Turkey, USA, Vietnam | Tags: Arizona, going home, how we've changed, The end, travel changes you, what we've learned, wrapping up | No Comments »

Life on the Rio San Juan

Posted on Thursday, January 26, 2012

MONTE CRISTO RIVER LODGE, RIO SAN JUAN, NICARAGUA – Over two weeks ago, and after three full days traveling through four different countries, we were more than excited to arrive at the Monte Cristo River Lodge along the Rio San Juan, deep within the Nicaraguan rainforest. A fishing lodge and eco-tourism hotel less than ten miles north of the Costa Rican border, Monte Cristo is the home and business of Nicaraguan/American owner, Alfonso Agustin Llanes. On a small portion of his land, Alfonso built twelve cabins and over the years has created an extraordinary staff of employees to tend the grounds and take care of the many guests who come to visit Nicaragua at it’s finest.

Getting to the Rio San Juan from Guatemala City was slightly complex, consisting of almost thirty hours of actual travel time, by way of two taxis, three buses and one boat. Our first leg of the voyage fortunately allowed us almost an entire day in Read the rest of this entry »