After being nominated by both D Travels ‘Round AND Breakaway Backpacker, I figured I might as well give this a shot. So here I go on the bandwagon! Welcome to our Travel A-Z!
A: Age you made your first international trip
I personally don’t count Mexico as I was brought up in El Paso and we used to go over the border (pre 9/11) for lunch. Shaun and I experienced our first international trip via our honeymoon at a ripe old age of 20/21.
Needless to say I was the only one old enough to rent a car on the island and had to drive on the wrong side of the road and shift with the wrong hand… but that is a story for another time.
Oh, and no, we don’t suggest ever getting married that young. 🙂
B: Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where
Bogota at the Bogota Brewing Company by far! Central and South America just isn’t know for fab beer and I’m glad we could find some.
C: Cuisine (Favorite)
Japanese: Our first “real” tip abroad we arrived at our host family’s house to be greeted by homemade sushi that housemom, Hideko, had made us and picked up from the market that afternoon. I had no clue I would fall in love with Japanese food. It seemed so bland from afar.
D: Destinations. Favorite. Least Favorite. Why.
Favorite: Hiroshima, Japan. Not only did we get to see a Japanese baseball game but got to experience the Peace Memorial Museum and the friendliness of the people there. It impressed the hell out of us and always stays on our mind.
Least favorite: Veracruz, Mexico. Hell, I didn’t even write about it. Dead fish and seaweed all over the beach and we were warned by a local to be careful on the main boardwalk due to gangs doing driveby shootings often. Seafood was overly expensive for being by the sea as well. Oh, and did I mention the Gulf of Mexico is ugly? Don’t waste your time.
E: Event you experienced that made you say ‘Wow’
Again, our baseball experience in Hiroshima. There just hasn’t been anything like it.
F: Favorite mode of transportation
Bullet trains: Less gas guzzling and you cover an insane amount of land in a short amount of time. I was seriously hoping that the U.S. would catch on but it isn’t looking too good.
G: Greatest feeling while traveling
We can do anything we put our mind to. Not only have we overcome several fears but have made this nomadic lifestyle work for us. There are so many times where I am overwhelmed with the feeling, “I can’t believe we are here.”
H: Hottest place I’ve traveled to
Palenque, Mexico. 110 degrees at night. We were with Jaime from Breakaway Backpacker and even though we barely knew each other at that time, we all stripped down to our undies and sat on our bed, sweating, under the ceiling fan.
I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where
We are yet to experience this one. The only thing I’ve noticed is how different the customer service is between the States and the rest of the world. I guess working in the service industry made me have high expectations.
J: Journey that took you the longest
We were determined to get to Montanita, Ecuador for New Years Eve and it went as follows.
Medellin taxi -> Colectivo taxi to the airport -> Airplane to Quito -> Taxi to bus terminal -> Overnight bus to Guayaquil -> Morning bus to Santa Elena -> Bus to Montanita
Total time: 22 hours
K: Keepsake from your travels
I wholeheartedly believe in corny souvenirs from places. Shaun and I are magnet collectors and have them from almost every country we have been to (we forgot Honduras and Panama).
L: Let down sight. Why and where?
I very much air my grievances with the Panama Canal. Shaun and I are World Wonder Collectors and this one.. well, yeah. While the engineering is awesome, watching boats go through the locks is REALLY BORING.
M: Moment where you fell in love with travel
On our honeymoon in Barbados we saw so many things that opened our eyes to travel opportunities. Whether it be the beautiful Bottom Bay, watching monkeys eat bananas, or touching our first anemone, our imaginations were set aflame.
N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in
We took advantage of a sale in Las Vegas and booked a suite in Treasure Island. Seriously man, I don’t think I’ve ever been so spoiled. Marble floors, TWO bathrooms, a hot tub, and our own elevator to our floor… Good lord.
O: Obsession. What are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?
Animals. Our trip in Costa Rica made me realize that I am totally a nature nut when it comes to that. I’m scared about how long I would be willing to camp out a spot to see something. Penguins, here I come!
P: Passport stamps. How many and from where?
Our passport is quickly filling up and I’m totally excited. We have Barbados, Japan, UK, Spain, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and soon to be Peru so far. This year we’re adding even more!
Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where.
Volcan Cuexcomate in Cholula, Mexico. It is the smallest volcano in the world and definitely lives up to it. Totally worth the time to get out there for a good chuckle.
R: Recommended sight, event, or experience.
The Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA. It is a bit out of the way to get out to it but I’ve never seen anything so impressive in my life. All I could do is mouth WOW for the entire time we were staring at it.
S: Splurge. Something you have no problem forking over for while traveling.
Always food. On one of our last nights in Japan we set out for Roppongi to eat at one of the famous restaurants, Gonpachi, and forked over $100 per person for our meal. Was it worth it? TOTALLY. I had shaved bacon as thing as tissue MELT IN MY MOUTH!
T: Touristy thing you’ve done
Totally hit up most of the must see places in London, including the London Eye, which one of my favorite pictures was taken. We’re all about touristy things. You better expect that cliche Machu Picchu picture!
U: Unforgettable travel memory
Gah this one is hard! Snorkeling with dolphins when we were getting our Advanced Scuba certification. Just putting your ears in the water you could hear them chatting to each other. One of the most special travel moments so far. What amazing creatures!
V: Visas. How many of them and for where.
None. That will be fixed one day. 😛
W: Wine, best glass while traveling and where.
I just became a wine person before we left. We’re looking forward to Argentina and Chile for this reason.
X: eXcellent view and from where
The top of Volcan Santa Maria. It was hell getting up there and the views were BREATHTAKING. I was living my dream of being in the clouds.
Y: Years spent traveling
I think we’ve officially pushed the boundary of 1 year between all of our travels. How cool!
Z: Zealous sports fans and where
Shaun got to see a futbol game in Xela, Guatemala that blew his socks off, even if the home team didn’t win. People went nuts!
Agreed about the canal! Loved the concept of the locks, was generally overwhelmed by the whole experience.
Glad you made the longest journey to Montanita if only so we could party!
That’s a great picture of London with the Houses of Parliament all lit up, so clearly playing the tourist was worth it.
Absolutely love the first picture of you two snorkeling! I am really enjoying this A-Z “event”. Your story about being hot in Mexico made me laugh. My hottest experience was also in Mexico. For some reason it made me remember a visit to Waco Texas when I was a wee child. I don’t know how hot it was but it was HOOOOOOTT.
I remember how hot you guys and Jaime were! So glad you got to travel together for as long as you did 🙂
Looking forward to when we’ll finally be able to meet! Already thinking about what we can have for dinner O:-)
Palenque is the hottest place I’ve ever been too! I’ve never sweated so much in my life. My friend thought she was going to pass out while we were at the ruins
@C&C: Thank you! I almost feel bad for not liking it.
@Steph: And you guys were totally worth every second.
@Emily: TOTALLY. I love playing tourist though.
@Heather: Awesome! We will be dropping by some time in mid August on our way to Delaware. 😛
@Jesse: It really is just unGODLY hot there. Like, it should be like that anywhere in the world. There were times Shaun thought I was going to have to go to the hospital. I just couldn’t drink water fast enough.
You two have so many awesome adventures in your list. The photo from the top of the London Eye is especially breathtaking. I went to London in the winter and the Eye was closed for repairs. Seeing your photo made me want to go back just to ride it 🙂 How long did you stay in Japan with your host-family?
@Debbie: Thanks for stopping by! I always love to see your comments. Waco can get pretty hot – Central Texas, due to humidity, is hardcore!
@Patricia: Thank you! I feel like we’ve done so much this past year lol. Looking back is so weird. You should go back if you have a chance – the view is AWESOME!
As for the host fam, it was actually the host fam of our friend who let us crash there while traveling through and visiting. We were there off and on for 2 weeks.