Our Trip Around the World!

Our trip around the world has come to an end. We thought we would calculate the total miles traveled, number of countries and cities visited, and types of transportation taken. Throughout this trip, we have taken every possible transportation method: trains, planes, buses, tuk-tuks, taxis, and ferries. We even rented a car in Costa Rica and drove around the countryside! It is bittersweet to end our global adventure!

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Here are the Stats for Each Country

Nicaragua

• 9 Cities Visited: Managua, Big Corn and Little Corn Islands, Bluefields, Granada, Ometepe Island, Playa Santana, Gigante, & San Juan Del Sur
• Modes of Transportation: 5 planes, 2 ferries, & 7 buses
• Total Miles: 3,918 including our flights from the US

Highlights: Living with a Nicaraguan family and taking Spanish lessons in Gigante. Basking in the sun on the beaches of Little Corn Island. Scooting around the island of Ometepe while gazing at active volcanoes and dodging wild horses!

Costa Rica

• 5 Cities Visited: La Fortuna, Jaco, San Jose, Pacuare, & Puerto Viejo
• Modes of Transportation: Rented car, 3 buses, and dugout canoe
• Total Miles: 547

Highlights: Volunteering La Tortuga Feliz to help save Leatherback Turtles where we were fortunate enough to witness an adult lay her eggs, and got to release 215 baby Leatherbacks into the ocean. Driving across Costa Rica in a rental car down extremely steep, unpaved roads with no visibility up in the Cloud Forest. Gawking at sloths at the Jaguar Rescue Center in Puerto Viejo. Swimming underneath La Fortuna waterfall and petting wild iguanas.

Colombia

• 9 Cities Visited: Cartagena, Minca, Santa Marta, Tagonga, Medellin, Guatapé, Salento, Cali, and Ipiales
• Modes of Transportation: 2 planes, & 8 buses with one border crossing
• Total Miles: 1,791

Highlights: Climbing the 714 steps to the top of El Peñol in Guatapé. Hiking around the hilltop town of Minca and swimming in Pozo Azul. Graffiti tour of Comuna 13 in Medellin, and taking public gondolas up to Arvi Park. Getting searched for contraband in Tayrona National Park. Horseback riding in the countryside of Salento where we thought we were going to die! Playing Tejo which involves throwing heavy metal pucks at exploding gunpowder while drinking beer: you do the math.

Ecuador

• 6 Cities Visited: Quito, Baños, Guayaquil, Puerto Lopez, Montanita, & Cuenca
• Modes of Transportation: 6 buses & 1 ferry ride to Isla de La Plata
• Total Miles: 1,035

Highlights: Canyoning in Baños and jumping off waterfalls. Soaking our bodies in natural hot springs. Eating Hornado: look it up! Visiting El Mitad Del Mundo outside of Quito. Seeing my first humpback whale tail splash on our trip to Isla de la Plata to see Blue-footed Boobies. Crawling through the caves behind Cascada Pailon del Diablo.

Peru

• 6 Cities Visited: Mancora, Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Puno, & Cusco
• Modes of Transportation: 7 buses
• Total Miles: 2,227

Highlights: Hiking Colca Canyon a few hours outside of Arequipa. Sandboarding and riding dune buggies in Huacachina. Sunning ourselves on the beach of Mancora after freezing in Ecuador. Having the Incan site of El Tipon outside of Cucsco to ourselves! Gazing at the Incan sites of the Sacred Valley which inclued Ollantaytambo and Pizac. Climbing to the site of Saqsaywaman to take selfies. Freezing our butts off to climb Rainbow Mountain.

Argentina

• 6 Cities Visited: Buenos Aires, Iguazu, Salta, Cafayete, Purmacarma, & Humahuaca
• Modes of Transportation: 1 rented car & 3 fights
• Total Miles: 3,454

Highlights: Dodging the infamous coatis on the way to Iguazu Falls. Renting a car and driving around the Salta Region. Eating the tenderest steaks and drinking the finest wines while maintaining our travel budget. Hiking around the canyons and deserts in Cafayate. Driving to the viewpoint of Hornocal, the 14 colored mountain.

African Safari

• Total Countries Visited: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, & Zimbabwe
• Total Cities Visited: Cape Town, Windhoek, Swakopmund, Livingstone & Johannesburg. We also visited the Okavanga Delta, Etosha National Park, Chobe National Park & numerous campsites.
• Modes of Transportation: Safari van shared with 22 strangers, that are now good friends!
• Total Miles: 13,970 including flight to get here from Argentina

Highlights: Hiking Lion’s Head, photographing penguins on the beach, visiting the Cape of Good Hope, and walking around the botanical gardens in Cape Town. Driving across Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia with 22 strangers. Watching baby elephants get stuck in the mud and playing in watering holes. Seeing all types of wild life: elephants for days, zebras walking through our campsite, lions guarding dead elephants, and wildebeest stampeding through the Okavanga Delta. Comparing Iguazu Falls with the spectacular Mosi-oa-Tunya from both the Zambia and Zimbawe side. Ending with a canyon swing and whitewater rafting the Zambezi River.

Sri Lanka

• 9 Cities Visited: Colombo, Mirissa, Ella, Kandy, Sigirya, Dambulla, Trimcomalee, Arugam Bay, & Unuwatuna
• Modes of Transportation: 3 flights to get there, 2 trains, 1 private car, 6 buses, & 3 tuk-tuks
• Total Miles: 6,921 including flights to get here from Johannesburg, South Africa

Highlights: Taking the famous Ella to Kandy train ride through tea plantations. Catching an epic photo of a train over the nine arches bridge in Ella. Watching the sunrise at Pidurangala Rock. Taking a try at surfing in Arugam Bay. Beachbumming in Mirissa and Unawatuna. Sampling curries every chance we could and taking a cooking class to make the tasty Dahl Curry. Losing a flip flop on the trek to find Secret Beach.

India

• 12 Cities Visited: Kochi, Varkala, Madurai, Kodicanal, Bangalore, Hampi, Goa, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Agra, & Ranakpur
• Modes of Transportation: 2 flights, 4 trains, 1 private car, & 4 buses
• Total Miles: 2,611 including flights to get here from Sri Lanka

Highlights: Being the first two people in line to enter the Taj Mahal! Enduring third class on an 8 hour train ride. Temple hopping in Hampi. Photographing the white, blue, and red cities of Udaipur, Jodhpur, and Jaipur. Relaxing with cows on the beaches of Goa.

Bali, Indonesia

• 7 Cities Visited: Denpasar, Canggu, Lembongan Island, Ubud, Lovina Beach, Pomuteran, and Kuta
• Modes of Transportation: 6 buses & 1 ferry ride
• Total Miles: 3,885 including flights to get here from India

Highlights: Eating western food in Canggu after two months in South Asia. Scooting through the rice fields and trekking down many steps to the Nungnung Waterfall. Getting attacked again by monkeys in Ubud. Swimming in the crystal clear waters of Lembongan Island. Eating Babi Guling: do your research!

Thailand

• 1 City and 4 Islands Visited: Phuket, Kamala Beach, Koh Lanta, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao, & Bangkok
• Modes of Transportation: 1 flight, 3 buses, & 4 ferries
• Total Miles: 2,235 including flights to get here from Bali, Indonesia

Highlights: Island hopping: Koh Phangan, Koh Tao, Phuket, and Koh Lanta. Snorkeliing through the green cave off Koh Lanta. Climbing to the top of Koh Nang Yuan for an epic view of the island. Sampling street food and experiencing what “Thai Spice” is. Chinese New Years in Bangkok. Eating our faces off and drinking Chang beer at the Ratchada Rot Fai Night Market in Bangkok. Experiencing the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho and climbing Wat Arun temple.

Cambodia

• 4 Cities and 1 Island Visited: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Battambang, Kampot, Koh Rong Sanloem
• Modes of Transportation:
• Total Miles: 9,011 including our flights home to San Francisco, CA and flight to get here from Bangkok, Thailand

Highlights: Visiting the killing fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum to learn of the tragic history of the Cambodian people at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Chasing bats in a tuk-tuk at the bat cave of Phnom Sampov outside of Battambang. Lounging by the pool on Koh Rong Sanloem. Catching the sunrise at Angkor Wat and then temple hopping before it got too hot and crowded. Getting a cabana with our friend Darron at Cambo Beach in Siem Reap. Riding bikes and scooters around Kampot. Kayaking the Green Loop outside of Kampot.

There were so many highlights on this trip and couldn’t list them all. We chose to keep the lists shorter, and hope it gives you all a glimpse into what it was like for us throughout this past year!

Totals

• Total Countries Visited: 15
• Total Cities Visited: 85
• Total Flight Miles: 41,389 = 27 flights
• Total Miles Overland: 20,216 = 46 bus rides, 7 ferries, 5 trains, & countless tuk-tuks/Rickshaws/collectivos/cyclos
• Total Distance Traveled: 61,605

We set a goal to travel around the world and consider this a true accomplishment! It wasn’t always unicorns and rainbows. There were plenty of ups and downs along the way: emergency room visits to battle pneumonia, ear infections, bad rashes, Bali Belly, Delhi Belly, Montezuma’s Revenge, shat pants and this is just what Clay endured! We gave up a lot to make our dream to travel the world come true, and honestly we have no regrets. We have grown so much from this both personally and as a couple. It’s rare to get to spend 12 months, 24/7 with your partner. Although at times wanted to kill each other, we wouldn’t change one bit of it. This experience has brought us much closer and strengthened our relationship. We look forward to the next chapter in our lives!