As the curtain falls on another remarkable year, we find ourselves reflecting on the whirlwind of experiences that defined 2023 in our full-time travel journey.
8.5 years into this nomadic lifestyle, we pinch ourselves, still in awe that our reality is a perpetual adventure.
This year we had the opportunity to explore the wonders of seven new countries. We purposely travelled even slower than our usual pace to give Joe a chance to recuperate from his second hip replacement and the removal of a salivary gland benign tumor. And letβs face it, at 60 and 71, we are not getting any younger.
2023 was also the year we splurged on a few luxury experiences, think Maldives and Fiji, we also added more long house and pet sitting stays to offset the cost. Housesitting is something we have grown to really enjoy and hope to continue doing in the coming years.
If youβre interested or curious, hereβs more info about the site we use called Trusted Housesitters with a 25% discount on the annual membership. If you use it we get two months free on our membership. Win win.
Just like 2022, the first half of 2023 was all about Asia including the most populated country in the world, any guess? The second half of the year was about discovering a new continent, Oceania.
We have now visited all 7 continents but still feel like weβve just scratch the surface of this great big world.
In this post you will read about the seven countries we visited in 2023 with lots and lots of photos and what we have planned for 2024.
Hope you enjoy β¦
USA
January, 2023
The beginning of 2023 was quite challenging with health issues and tense family relations. It was maybe a bit premature, because of Joeβs health condition, but as soon as the doctor gave us the ok, we left Florida, on January 17 after a 2 month stay.
World here we come!
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
January 18-23, 2023
Dubai is certainly not everyoneβs cup of tea but it is definitely a city worth seeing at least once, it is also the perfect stop when flying from the US to Asia.
Weβre all about a five day layover!
Once a mere fishing village on the Persian Gulf, Dubai has, in a very short time, become a global metropolitan area and a major business hub in the Middle East.
The sky is literally the limit when there is unlimited funds available.
Dubai you will find the world biggest shopping mall where you can scuba dive with sharks while your partner is shopping for Prada, the worldβs tallest building, indoor ski slopes, a man made island shaped like a palm tree boasting private villas and glitzy resorts and the list goes on and on β¦
India, Kerala
January 23 to February 20, 2023
The original plan was to spend several months in India. I wanted to spend my 60th birthday in an ashram doing yoga but it didnβt quite turn out that way.
India is not the easiest country to navigate as independent travelers and for a first visit it can be quite daunting. We took the advice of other travelers and started in the southern state of Kerala also referred to as βIndia liteβ, because it is a more laid back area with smaller cities, less congested and with better air quality.
During our month in Kerala we visited: Fort Kochi, a charming historic town with Dutch and Portuguese buildings, Munnar, where we discovered lush mountains with tea plantations, Alleppey (Alappuzha), where we toured the backwaters on a houseboat and Varkala, a bohemian beach town with long sandy beaches and Ayurvedic retreats where we stayed in a little beach bungalow for a few weeks.
Fort Kochi
Munnar
Alleppey
Varkala
Less than a week into our Indian travels, Joe expressed how unhappy he was about being in India, he couldnβt stand the filth and the poverty and on top of that, he doesnβt like curry, which is pretty much every meal in India.
I knew it was time to change course so I went into full planning mode looking at different options. Sri Lanka was on our radar, I started researching it and quickly noticed that The Maldives were just a short distance from both southern India and Sri Lanka. Bingo!
I reached out to friends who work in The Maldives to get some guidance and to our utter surprise they invited us to stay with them for a few days and helped us with our booking on a neighboring island.
Having friends all over the world is one of the many perks of full-time travel!
The thought of not spending my 60th birthday in an ashram didnβt sound so bad anymore, The Maldives were quite frankly above our budget but after a few days of thinking about it we just said. WHY THE HELL NOT?
Maldives
February 20 to March 1, 2023
We met Rochelle (Australian) and Yianni (Greek) in 2017 in a very remote part of Colombia during our overlanding days. We met again for our birthdays in 2018, in a parking lot in Quito Ecuador where we had one hell of a party with a group of Overlanders.
This time they are located in the Maldives, an area they know well, to open a new Resort. Though the place was not open when we were there, they had an amazing beach front villa waiting for us and we had the most beautiful pool weβve ever seen, all to our selves!!! They wined and dined us and even helped us with our booking on a neighboring island where they accompanied us via speedboat for a memorable dinner.
When this dynamic duo is not traveling the world in their Toyota Land Cruiser, Rochelle is a General Manager in five star resorts in the most magnificent locations around the world and Yianni is her Food & Beverage Director.
Go see them at Ifuru Island Maldivesβif you want the experience of a lifetime, the resort even offers sky diving!
Words canβt express how tankful we are to have such amazing friends.
After 3 wonderful days with our friends, we spent one unforgettable week at Cora Cora Maldives. Definitely the best possible location to celebrate my 60th birthday and Joeβs 71st!
Cora Cora Maldives
The Maldives have been a dream for as long as I can remember. Who can resist small islands with white sand and turquoise water with luxurious accommodations in the middle of the Indian Ocean?
Thanks to our friend Rochelle, we got upgraded to an over the water bungalow with our very own private pool, where we spent most of our time. On my birthday I was treated to a humongous floating breakfast delivered to our villa and a massage. On Joeβs birthday, just a few days later, he also received a complimentary massage and a champagne sunset cruise.
The resort offers gourmet food at four different restaurants, unlimited wine, champagne, cocktails β¦ even a CafΓ© where we stopped in the afternoon for an affogato. The friendly staff provided impeccable and personalized service during our stay making it hard to say goodbye at the end of the week.
Water sports are the main activities including kayaking, paddle boarding and my favorite snorkeling around the house reef, I also did a couple fun dives!
An expensive splurge but a memory we will cherish for ever!
Sri Lanka
March 1 to July 10, 2023
A short hour and a half flight from the Maldives and we arrived at our next destination, Sri Lanka.
We werenβt sure what to expect because of all the recent problems we heard about but it turned out to be one of our favorite countries and we ended up staying four months. Three months in a dream villa surrounded by paddy fields and one month touring around the small island nation.
We fell in love with this beautiful villa near Unawatuna and even thought about buying it but in the end we realized that it is just too far from our families and we are not quite ready to settle down. We are always on the lookout for the ideal location.
Sri Lanka has so much to offer and it hasnβt been affected by mass tourism yet.
You can read here about the month we toured around the country visiting the capital City of Colombo, beautiful beaches, lush mountains with tea plantations, scenic train rides, ancient temples and fortresses, we even went on an elephant safari.
India, Ladakh and Golden triangle
June 24 to July 10, 2023
While in Sri Lanka, my new friend and Joeβs old friend, Jaimie invited me to tag along on a Photography Workshop in the Indian part of the Himalayas in a region called Ladakh. After reading about it, I couldnβt pass up such an opportunity. Since Joe is not a fan of India, he was happy to stay home in Sri Lanka.
The Photography Workshop consisted of a small group of mostly Indian photography enthusiasts led by a renowned Indian Photographer Tania Chatterjee. For 8 days she guided us through β The Land of High Passesβ where we photographed unbelievable landscape, ancient traditional festivals, Tibetan monasteries and tribal people. We spend time in remote villages where we could observe the lifestyle of the local Ladakhis.
We went as high as 17,982 feet (5,480 m) above sea level while driving through the mighty Khardungla pass, one of the highest motorable passes in the world. When you think that Mount Everest Base Camp is at 17,598 feet (5,364 m), altitude sickness is real when you get this high, it took us a while and some meds to be able to acclimate.
Overall an experience I will never forget, I canβt wait for the opportunity to join Tania on another photography tour.
My travel buddy, Jamie used to live in India and has traveled there many times so it was the perfect occasion to add a few more days after our photography workshop to visit the Golden Triangle that includes Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. There was no way I would pass up the chance to see the Taj Mahal even though it was during the hottest and most humid time of the year, on the plus side there was hardly any foreign tourists.
Thank you Jaimie for being such a great guide and for your friendship, I had the very best time.
Ladakh
Golden Triangle: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
Australia, QLD and NSW
July 12 to October 6, 2023
Joe and I met up in Kuala Lumpur for our next adventure and a new continent.
Australia really makes it easy to travel to, with a very simple on line tourist visa (subclass 601) that is valid for one year with maximum stays of 3 months at a time. I wish all countries would have such an efficient, inexpensive and easy process.
We took full advantage of our visa and stayed a total of 4 months and visited six of the eight provinces and territories, we will have to come back for Western Australia and Tasmania.
We did two long house and pet sits. The first one for 4 weeks in Wynnum a waterfront suburb of Brisbane with two cuddly and energetic vizslas. The second one, for 5 weeks on a sheep and crop farm in the Hilltops Region, a four hour train ride from Sydney, where we looked after a big loving Maremma Italian sheep dog, 5 chooks (how they call chickens in Australia) and 5 Guineafowls. Both experiences were fantastic and we hope to do more in the future.
In between housesits we rented a campervan to drive the legendary PCW Pacific Coast Way, from Brisbane to Cairns and back with stops to iconic places like Noosa, Kβgari (Fraser Island), Agnes Water, Cape Hillsborough, Whitsunday Islands, Daintree Rainforest and of course the Great Barrier Reef. Eventhough we had a few mechanical issues with our campervan, our 3 week road trip was a blast but felt a bit rushed.
Sydney
Housesit in Brisbane β Wynnum, Queensland
PCW Pacific Coast Way from Brisbane to Cairns and back
Housesit in Harden, Hilltops Region, New South Wales
Fiji
October 6 -20, 2023
BULA BULA, a Fijian greeting that stands for βgood life, health and happinessβ
Since our three months in Australia was up, we had to leave the country, the perfect excuse to visit Fiji, our other big splurge of the year.
Just like the Maldives, Fiji was a big bucket list destination, it makes sense to visit these destinations when we are in nearby countries.
After a lot of research, I found an affordable and fun way to visit Fiji.
Located northwest of the main island Viti Levu, lies the Yasawa Islands, a quintessential paradise blessed with dramatic peaks and sun drenched white sand beaches. Thereβs a big catamaran that offers boat transfers departing the main land everyday with 14 stops along the way at various islands of the Yasawa archipelago. There is a range of accommodation from homestays with local families to small resorts offering an array of room types from a single bed in a dorm to beachfront bures (bungalows).
We did four islands for three nights each and a pre and post overnight stay on the main Island, for a total of 2 weeks. It turned out to be the perfect itinerary, I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see the real natural beauty of Fiji and experience Fijian hospitality.
The Figians are known to be extremely friendly and welcoming, we were able to experience it first hand on each island that we stayed at. Besides the crystal clear water, a paradise for diving and snorkeling, the Yasawas offer visits to local villages with cava ceremonies, school visits, handicraft markets and of course song and dance. Iβve never seen a culture that embraces singing like the Fijians.
Australia, VIC, NT and SA
October 20 β November 29, 2023
From Fiji we flew back to Australia for the second leg of our Aussie travels.
We explored Melbourne, often named βone of the most livable cities in the worldβ. We stayed at the Doubletree by Hilton located in the center of it all. We really enjoyed the art scene and cultural events, the coffee culture, great restaurants, the walkability and the very efficient public transport but we were definitely not crazy about the weather.
For a taste of Melbourne humor you have to watch the hilarious Netflix series called FISK.
From Melbourne we flew to the Northern Territory for a 3 day extravaganza in Uluru formely known as Ayers Rock. We splurged on the total experience including a drone show with wine and cheese at dusk, a sunrise breakfast followed by a walk and a Segway tour around the 9.5 km perimeter of the Rock and a dinner under the desert sky followed by a light show with Uluru as a backdrop!
From Uluru we flew to Adelaide in Southern Australia where we both contracted Covid. After a few days of isolation we picked up our rental car and started our road trip with the Clare and Barossa wine region touring the cellar doors on e-bikes. It was very scenic but after our bout with Covid we lacked the energy and our taste buds hadnβt fully recovered.
From the wine region we continued on our road trip along the Great Ocean Road with stopsβalong the way in small towns and breathtaking landscape like the ionic Twelve Apostles limestone stacks.
After returning our rental car in Melbourne, we made our way to the beautiful Mornington Peninsula about an hour from Melbourne for a 9 day housesit. We didnβt get much luck with the weather but we did manage to drive down the coast on a nice sunny day in the electric car that came with the housesit.
Melbourne
Uluru β Ayers Rock
Adelaide and Wine region
Great Ocean Road
New Zealand
November 29 β January 26, 2024
Whit time on our hands before a long housesit in Wellington New Zealand, I came across an awesome deal on a 2 week cruise around New Zealand so we went for it.
With 6 Ports of call and a scenic cruise through Fiordland National Park it was a great introduction to a new country. The highlights were the visit to Hobbiton movie set and the Milford Sound scenic cruise.
As I write these words we are settled in a beautiful home in a little hill town called Ngaio just outside of Wellington, New Zealandβs capital. We are house and pet sitting two gorgeous Ragdoll cats for six weeks.
We will be exploring the surroundings and just chilling. When the home owners return we will pick up a campervan and explore the South Island for the remainder of our stay in New Zealand.
Life is good!
Cruise around New Zealand
Housesit in Wellington
What about 2024?
Contrary to previous years we have somewhat of an itinerary planned for the 2024. Of course nothing is set in stone but this is the first time that we plan this far ahead. Letβs see what happens.
- January: New Zealand
- February: Laos and Vietnam
- March and April: Koh Samui, Thailand
- May: South Korea and Japan
- June and July: Europe
- August: Kenya and Uganda
- September and October: Canada
- November: Dominican Republic
- December: Florida, USA
Let us know what you think and if you have plans to be in any of these locations we could arrange a meet up.
As we bid farewell to 2023, we extend heartfelt wishes to our families, friends and all fellow travelers and dreamers. May the coming year be a canvas painted with adventures, health and happinness.
Hereβs to a wonderful new year, filled with the magic of discovery, the warmth of shared moments, and boundless love and peace around the world so people can live without fear.
For regular and current updates on our travels follow our social media stories
In 2014 we decided to sell everything we owned to embark on a Journey to discover the world. After five years of overland travel through the Americas driving from Alaska to the tip of Argentina, we traded our expedition vehicle in 2020 for two backpacks β¦
Letβs see where the wind takes us this time!
The more you travel the more you realize how little you have seen π π πΊ
