Destinations

We started our trip in Maui for two reasons: we had enough points on Delta to get us there for a total of $11 and from there, flights to Australia were much cheaper and shorter. We spent 4 days on Maui (at a surf shack Airbnb in Wailuku for 3 nights and then one in Hana for another), then a night in Honolulu at a hotel to catch an early morning flight for Sydney. We snorkeled a few times, survived the road to Hana, enjoyed celebrating our 28th anniversary at Mama's Fish House, and did a sail to Molokini Crater. All and all, a great start to our year abroad!

Bonville is a tiny town on the east coast of Australia, about halfway between Sydney and Brisbane. We are doing our first Workaway here with Janine and John, expats from the UK who own a small hobby farm. In exchange for room and board, Brad and I have been weeding and taking apart wooden palattes. The farm is incredible, with emus and alpaca, highland cattle, chickens, and all sorts of birds. We've decided the call of the magpies sound identical to Bubo from Clash of the Titans. Janine has taken us to town a few times, and we've been able to walk the coastline and beaches. Think Monterey, CA. 

Dove on the Great Barrier Reef and visited the Daintree Rain Forest to see some crocs! 

After five days in Seminyak, we moved north to Ubud, the spiritual hub of Bali. We were there for three weeks, taking yoga classes, exploring the Monkey Forest, and getting our zen on. We absolutely loved the lifestyle, people, and food.

We had an amazing time on Ko Yao Yai staying at the Santhiya Resort. Look it up on Google- I can't describe it. Also did some scootering around the island, discovered some cool beaches, and enjoyed eating local food in the nearby village. Roti pancakes are our new favorite dessert. We then had four nights in Phuket- more scootering, more beaches (including "The Beach" during a trip out to Phi Phi Islands, made famous by Leo), more fried goodness. This time was a street donut dipped in condensed milk. I had them for dinner one night. After Cambodia, we circled back around to Bangkok to see a Muay Thai fight, the reclining Buddha, and to sample everyone's favorite fruit, Durian.

We were able to attend the 15th running of the Singapore Grand Prix! One of the few night races in Formula 1, Singapore did not disappoint, although it sure was hot. Danielle supported Williams and Brad was all in on Red Bull, but it was McLaren who stole the show with a 1-3 finish.

Brad left India ahead of me and after a quick stop in Dubai, spent a few days in Milan. Then he enjoyed a fabulous WorkAway with a furniture restorer outside of Palermo, Sicily. I met up with him there, and together we headed south for four nights in the charming town of Cefalu. After that, we went back to the mainland and drank and ate our way through the Cinque Terre, Parma, and Bologna. Good times.

What a crazy week! We landed in Dublin and attended the wedding of one of our old neighbors' daughter at a swanky real-life castle. Then we hopped over to London so Brad could finally see Big Ben and Parliament in person. We also got the chance to train up to Cambridge and pretend we were wealthy college kids. 

Christmas in Romania with the kids was crazy, but in a good way. We saw "Dracula's" Castle in Brasov, visited Europe's largest salt mine, and explored the fascinating Old Town of Bucharest. Mostly we hung out in our airbnb, working puzzles and playing games.

We spent four days in Nairobi in preparation for our six-day safari in Tanzania. We hit several parks, including Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. The highlight was watching three cheetahs take down a zebra and seeing all of the Big Five in the wild. While Brad returned to the States for a few weeks, Danielle stayed in Tanzania and volunteered with a Maasai community through IVHQ, helping at their school and in their permaculture fields.

Danielle continued her solo-travelling adventures in sub-Saharan Africa with a WorkAway in hot and humid Cotonou, Benin. She volunteered her time working at a primary school, playing with the 3 & 4 year olds and trying to practice her French. She also visited nearby Ouidah to learn about the history of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and the national religion of Voodoo.

We flew into Sydney (nine hours on Jetstar, Australia's version of Spirit, but it was actually a great flight and experience!) and stayed at an Airbnb in Rushcutter's Bay for four nights. Sydney has cheap and reliable public transit and is extremely walkable, so we were able to cover a lot of ground. The Opera House, Botanical Gardens, Harbor Bridge, The Rocks- we hit all of these in one day. We also visited both Manly Beach and Bondi Beach, taking a ferry to get to Manly and the metro/bus to Bondi. Very Californian feel. The only down side to this week was that the bathroom at our Airbnb was shared and across the hall. Made for interesting nighttime visits.

We stayed for two weeks with Ellie and Graham at their home on Lamb Island, in South Moreton Bay, about 30 km from Brisbane. (What's a kilometer?!) They are a very active couple in their late seventies who are renovating a small house. We helped mostly with landscaping and yardwork, but Brad also put his grout skills to work in the showers and answered some IT questions. It was a great experience, although very different from Bonville. For starters, we shared a room in their home. We did have our own bathroom, but it had a composting toilet, which was new! They had a beautiful view of the water on their back porch, which is where we spent a lot of our time. The island is only accessible by ferry and is very small, but on our off days we were able to explore the local area. Our best day was on North Stradbroke Island, where we finally saw a koala, along with kangaroos and giant vampire [read fruit] bats.

We stayed with Brad's high school friend and enjoyed five days of surf, sand, and scooters.

Just a quick weekend in Amed before we left Bali. We loved the slow pace of this beach town, known for its black sand beaches and fantastic snorkeling. We saw a sea turtle. eels, puffer fish, ballyhoo, an eel garden, a sea snake, blue starfish, clams, and tons of reef life and cool coral. We also both sunburned the bejesus out of ourselves because we're idiots.

We loved Cambodia! We stayed in Siem Reap at a wonderful boutique hotel called the Monthara. Because it was rainy season, we were the only ones there! The nearby Angkor Archeological complex is truly magical, as was the food. And it's the cheapest place we have been so far. Definitely a must visit country if you are in SE Asia.

We toured the sites of the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, & Jaipur) together and then Brad left for Dubai/Italy while I went to Rishikesh for a two-week meditation and yoga retreat. India is ... a lot. It's beautiful and overwhelming and spiritual and messy. Hard to describe in a few words but everyone should go at least once in a lifetime.

We started our tour of the Iberian Peninsula with five nights in Porto, Portugal, where we got to hang with Maddie and her roommate Hannah. We loved Porto! Gritty, charming, vibrant... great city all around. Then it was on to another work exchange, this time in small village about 30 km from Ronda, Spain. We picked olives, pruned trees, did some painting, and got to indulge in the fruits of our labor with some fantastic olive oil sampling. After six nights, we moved on to an Airbnb in Mollina, Spain, within about an hour drive to Seville, Granada, and Cordoba. We had a rental car and split quiet work days with big city adventures. We checked Granada's Alhambra, Cordoba's Mosque-Cathedral, and Seville's Plaza d'Espagne. Then we headed north to Madrid for an impromptu Parents Weekend with Maddie. We saw her campus, visited her apartment, and took her out for food. On our drive back to Porto, we spent the night in Guimareas, Portugal, voted the most beautiful European city in 2022. We agree!

We spent a lovely 2.5 weeks in weird and wonderful Sarajevo, where east meets west. We learned about the history of the former Yugoslavia and the Bosnian genocide, ate incredible foods, and took a day trip to the UNESCO World Heritage town of Mostar.

We loved Jordan! We were in Amman for six days (where we explored the city and day-tripped to the Dead Sea) before heading to Petra and it's unbelievable archeological sites. After Petra, we headed into the Wadi Rum Desert for a six-day WorkAway in a Bedouin camp. We then returned to Amman for another ten days, enjoying the fantastic people, culture, and food.

Danielle spent two weeks in Rwanda doing a WorkAway with a lovely family in Musanze. While there, she hiked Volcanoes National Park to Dian Fossey's camp and gravesite and explored the Twin Lakes region. She also visited the Genocide Museum in Kigali and learned about the ongoing efforts to heal from the tragedy and prevent future genocides.

Reunited after 6 weeks in Tunisia! We enjoyed some much-needed downtime in Sidi Bou Said, exploring this quaint town and visiting nearby Carthage and Tunis. It was Ramadan, so the days were quiet. But the sun was out, the orange trees in bloom, and the views of the water from our place were breathtaking.