2018: a year in the life

As I’m writing this article I’m seeing all sorts of pictures flowing by on my social media feed with happy new years’ wishes, champagne, selfies and the like.. all the way from Sydney, Myanmar, Moscow. It’s currently 2:17 pm in Puerto Limón, December 31st, it’s 30°C (quite a low temperature for the Caribbean), the sun is shining and the birds are singing from the top of their lungs. So basically it’s just a regular day in Costa Rica and nothing will assure you this is the end of the year as we know it. When I’ll publish this article the vibe of the day will be exactly the same, which is assuring in return. 

It’s great to be back in CR and to be able to take a moment to reflect on 2018. At the start of this year (2018 I mean) I just went with the flow and rolled from one thing (and country) into another. When I had to decide whether or not to go on this long trip I had this line from the song “No no no” of Beirut (the band) in my head: “If we don’t go now we won’t get very far”. That kind of helped me making the plunge. Ever since I’ve been travelling the Americas; south, central, north and central again, with Costa Rica as a focal point! 

Now here comes a bit of a cliche (ye be warned), but yes I’ve seen so many awesome spots last nine months and I’ve met so many cool persons that it’s just a lot to grasp. I felt especially grateful that I was able to talk to everybody, literally. I realized this in Copán, Honduras, when I was having a long conversation in Spanish with a 72-year-old gaucho. He told me all about the politics in the area and I thought it was just pretty neat that I could understand everything. It also made me realize I’d probably never be able to have such an experience in, let’s say, Cambodia or China. 

I didn’t really visualize my trip beforehand and I can assure you it’s a perfect way of travelling; having no expectations of what life – or even the next day – will bring you, or what a place will look like. That concerns 2019 as well. As this is the last day of 2018 I realize that I’ve absolutely no idea what next year will look like. Heck, I literally don’t even know where I’ll be next week around this time. The only thing I do know is that I feel as flexible as a gummy bear currently and that I just feel grateful for every experience I get. We’ll see what happens! I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I think it won’t be boring.

Below a little sum-up of where I’ve been last year. I hope I’ll still have this website in, let’s say, fifty years, so that this virtual notebook will help me keep my own memory alive!

January 

Darmstadt (Germany), Holland

We returned from Costa Rica to Holland with our dog Chapo right before Christmas (splendid timing) and I spend the last and first days of the old and new year with the German part of my family near Darmstadt. Chapo went along too, immediately embracing this second European country in her furry little head. 

The rest of the month was all about visiting friends and family again, all around Holland. But mainly it was about Chapo chasing cats and me chasing Chapo all around Holland. 

February

Holland, Switzerland, Berlin

After a skiing trip with Chapo and Jori in Switzerland (and a short visit to Bern) we were finally able to visit friends again in Berlin, supertoll jawohl! 

March

Holland

March was for thinking ahead and deciding what to do in the upcoming months. With a couple of very icy days in Holland (ice skating! snow ball fight!) and the first flowers a week later, weather wise this was also a very strange month.  

I had to say goodbye to Chapo at the end of March, which was hard obviously. Thankfully I was able to leave her with my parents (I already knew this was a possibility before taking her back to Holland) who probably even take better care of her than I would myself.

However, I was considering bringing her along the trip. I knew it would be hard travelling around with her, but that wasn’t the part I was scared of. It wasn’t easy bringing Chapo to Holland, paper wise, and was afraid something would go wrong at one of the borders, that she might had to be detained. I heard of someone who’d been through the same, even with correct vaccinations and all of that. Moreover, I wasn’t planning on going so long abroad at first. Anyway, in the end and in hindsight I think this was the correct decision. So bye bye doggo. 

April 

Peru, Bolivia, Chile

In the last days of March I set foot on a plane to Peru, where I saw Jori again. Via the many restaurants of capital Lima, we tried to avoid the many bird droppings while cruising the islands in the Paracas Reserve, went biting the dust during a sandboard session in the deserts of Huacachina, saw the mysterious Nazca Lines from the sky, dwelled in the white city of Arequipa and stayed with one of the Uros families on an island at Lake Titicaca.

The absolute highlight in Peru was both our 2-day hike in the Colca Canyon ánd the 4-day hike along the 51 km / 31 miles of the Camino de Salkantay. The Salkantay trip was a savage trekking; one that was perfect to push the limits a little, enjoy the gorgeous mountainous and tropical landscapes and chewing some coca leaves. At the end of the trekking we arrived at Machu Picchu.

After Cusco, were we met some family members, we hopped from the very intense and chaotic Bolivian capital that is La Paz into the lip-chapping dry area of Salar de Uyuni. For many adventurers, this area is the sole reason for planning a trip to Bolivia. I was surprised that apart from the salty, white crusty terrain, the desert has so much more to offer. The diversity and the colours just keep on changing, and once you’ve left the white plains, amazingly enough you can even find a lot of nature and wildlife. 

I left Jori behind in Bolivia and made it to the nearby Chilean town of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile’s answer to Santa Fe. With its friendly strays running around town, rose-red sunsets on the ever present Andean mountain range in the backdrop of town, the starry night skies, the creative scene and dusty roads it was hard resisting the desert charm of this pueblo.

May 

Chile, Argentina, Paraguay 

In the bus from Chile to Argentina I met a couple of other travellers and I joined them on a little roadtrip through the north of Argentina. The little towns along the Quebrada the Humahuaca, with the many rainbow mountains and cacti dotted deserts, were so gorgeous.

We also drove along the wine region of Cafayete before returning to the colonial city of Salta. After a trip to the lush town of San Lorenzo I travelled to the ‘swiss like’ region of Tafí del Valle. From there I took a bus all the way to the mellow town of Posadas, in the east of Argentina, close to the border of Brazil. On the other side of the river in Posadas I could see the town of Encarnacíon, located in Paraguay. Reason enough to go country swapping for a day. 

Unfortunately I got bitten by a dog near one of the jesuit temples of San Ignacio, which left this ‘rabies imaginaire’ behind with a lot of uncertainty. After a trip to a hospital (I’ve seen quite some hospitals abroad by now, at least it adds to the ‘getting to know the country’. Especially the one in the USA last year..), I was able to start my time in Buenos Aires, where I stayed for a couple of weeks. I had such a lovely host and as autumn was around the corner these days were absolutely superb. 

June 

Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Easter Island

In the beginning of the month I took the boat from Buenos Aires to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Jori was already waiting over there and shivering from the cold :). Yes, winter was coming to this southern part of the Americas. 

From the adorable old town of Colonia del Sacramento we took a ferry from Uruguay back to Buenos Aires, where we explored the city for another week, including a trip to the gaucho town of San Antonio de Areco and the lush suburb Tigre.

Afterwards we visited friends in the wine region of Mendoza – which was covered in the colours of autumn – where we also had a great road trip to the mountain around Uspallata. I just really, really loved this part from the Andes. Perhaps it was because we encountered snow on the way there (so strange in ‘summer’!). Or because you can see the highest peak in the western hemisphere. Or because of the condors flying around. Though choice.

In the second half of June another dream came true when we set foot on Easter Island! Also named ‘Rapa Nui’ by the Polynesian, this tiny island is nothing but a drop in the Pacific Ocean, but such a magnificent one and famous for its enormous moai. We dwelled on the island for five days which is quite a lot of time if you consider Easter Island’s size is only 164 sq km (63 square miles). We discovered that the weather does change super fast in here, sometimes it even felt more like we were driving around Ireland rather than a Polynesian island. But on the plus side, from time to time we could capture both rainbows and moai! 

After Easter Island we walked along the many murals of Valparaíso on Chile mainland, skied the slopes at Tres Valles de los Andes and recovered of all of the Chilean adventures in capital Santiago de Chile. 

July

Costa Rica, The USA: Colorado 

In the beginning of June I went back to Costa Rica and stayed there for two weeks. Rather cool to be surrounded by jungle vibes again for a while! I remember when a friend called and asked me where I was and I replied ‘home’. “So what place is that exactly?” she asked, and this is where the disrupted expat feel just bang in; she was absolutely right. I wasn’t too sure anymore. 

Half July I flew to Colorado for a couple of housesits in Fort Collins and Colorado Springs. Fort Collins especially was a nice town to settle down for a while, with a lot of hiking and biking opportunities and two very fluffy dogs near me. Everything suddenly was all so neat again and so organised that I had this very European summer feel. 

After the sits I figured it was time to do some exploration. I drove to Rocky Mountain National Park and stayed there for a small week. Even though we’ve been camping in national parks before, I thought it was super exciting going on my own into the ‘wild’. From alpine tundra viewpoints, epic mountain peaks, mirror like lakes, aspen covered valleys to thundering waterfalls – I immensely enjoyed the hikes in the rockies, the scenic drives and the wildlife (I saw both my first black bear and moose in here!) and this trip prepped me for the later bigger one in the Canadian rockies. 

August

The USA: Colorado, South-Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon

In the beginning of August I picked up Jori from the airport of Denver. This was the start of a very cool and extensive roadtrip. From the hippie town of Boulder we drove for miles and miles of the ‘Interstellar-like grain fields of South Dakota before reaching Badlands. After seeing the ‘presidents’ of Mt. Rushmore and the insanely big memorial of Crazy Horse, we drove to Devils Tower in Wyoming. From there we hiked for days in famous Yellowstone and its lesser known southern national park neighbour of Grand Teton. We saw loads of bears and coyotes in Grand Teton and so many bison, deers and wolves in Yellowstone. All in all it was absolutely worth a couple days back to the basics on the NP campgrounds.   

Leaving Wyoming behind we set foot on the moonlike landscapes of Craters of the Moon, drove to the plains of Idagho to Boise (the craft beer capital of Idaho) and drove on to the intense blues of Crater Lake in Oregon. 

In Redwoods, California we were finally hitting that highway 1 again along the Pacific, just like we did in 2017. This time we drove it all the way along the coast to the Pippi Longstocking houses of Portland (with a mini break in the state of Washington), were the majestic peak of Mt. Hood was waiting for us on the other side of the city. 

September

The USA: Canada

From Portland I went on my own by train to Vancouver, where I stayed for a couple of weeks. As Canada is so expensive I was lucky enough to do some pet sits, both in North Vancouver and Coquitlam, with two very relaxed kitties. 

Afterwards I rented a little jeep (which I named Jeepee) and cruised for two weeks through the Canadian Rockies (from Whistler, Jasper, Icefields Parkway, Banff, Revelstoke, Kelowna, Hope and back to Vancouver) and this journey was an absolute highlight this year. I thought it was so beautiful that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue the trip. I met some awesome locals over there and was so stunned by the wildlife, trails and vistas. How lucky you must be to live over there. 

After I returned the car I hopped on a ferry to Vancouver Island, had the weirdest hitchhike ever with a British guy from Victoria to Tofino and snapped the golden hours of the western shores and the Wild Pacific Trail of Ucluelet. 

October

Canada, Mexico (Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende)

I kinda compressed all the Canadian pictures into previous month, even though I was still enjoying Canada for the biggest part of October, but ah well. Now I can focus on Mexico, as that turned out to be the next destination!

We decided rather last moment to start in Mexico City and that was a great choice! Even though I had to get adjusted a bit again to enormous amount of people, after my trip to the Canadian wilderness, I was happy to join Jori again over there. With the upcoming Día de los Muertos, celebrations were all around and I had the feeling I was inside Disney’s Coco. Tacos were all around, so was Frida Kahlo’s image, little altars (ofrendas), museums and bars in La Condesa (the neighbourhood where we stayed with a lovely Airbnb host).

After a week in La Ciudad we travelled to San Miguel de Allende to explore ‘what the best city in the word’ (according the magazine Travel + Leisure) was like. 

November

Mexico (Yucatan), Belize, Guatemala

From the heart of Mexico we hopped towards the east of Mexico: the Yucatan Peninsula. As we had to arrange a honeymoon in this area earlier in the year, this sort of felt like common ground to us, even though we hadn’t been there before. Heading to Mérida for Dia de los Muertos, we slowly made our way south via various mayan ruins to Bacalar and Tulum, all the way back to the north at Isla Holbox. 

Jori went back to Costa Rica and I continued the trip southwards, to Belize. I was kind of weary for travelling in that area but it was one of the bigger surprises this year, I absolutely loved Belize! It felt like (Costa Rica) home, super laid back and with a lot of rastavibes.

From the ‘go slow’ island of Caye Caulker I joined a sailing trip with along the Belizean reefs. Ending in Dangriga, me and my fellow sailing folks were just in time for Belize’s biggest party day: Garifuna Settlement Day. Afterwards I stayed in the town of Hopkins (way too long) to do a bit of writing and for some jungle exploration.

From Punta Gorda I took a boat into Livingston, Guatemala. Over here I encountered a completely different Guatemala vibe than I was used to from my trip in 2016. Flipflops, dreadlocks, drumming; clearly the Garifuna vibe continued!

December:

Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica

The last month of the year was pretty relaxed. Jori flew from Costa Rica to Honduras and I took the bus from Río Dulce in Guatemala and the boat from La Ceiba to the Honduran island of Roatan, where we were able to enjoy plenty of dives and plenty of baleadas (the Honduran equivalent of a burrito).

After a week between the Caribbean reefs, we continued the trip on the mainland of Honduras for a rafting adventure in La Ceiba and a hike between the ruins of Copán. From this maya town near the border of Guatemala we hopped towards Antigua (Guatemala). 

After a very intense climb to the top of the Acatenango volcano I needed a couple of days to recover in Antigua. I did a bit of writing over there before flying back to Costa Rica, where I spend the Christmas days and New Year’s Eve with Jori again!

That’s all folks! A little recap. And these are the countries I hit in 2018!