Yearly Newsletter: 2023
The last year together has been pretty epic with many surprises along the way. We miss you all so much, so we wanted to share some of our experiences to stay connected. We hope you enjoy!
Baja California Sur, Mexico
Our mutual love of travel started with our trip to Baja California Sur, Mexico. During our 26 day trip, we looped our way from San Jose del Cabo through the artsy town, Todos Santos, then up north to Loreto for Christmas, and next onto the busy capital, La Paz, for New Year’s Eve, to finish off with a long journey down the untamed East Coast.
We were ‘Biologists for a day’ at a turtle sanctuary, hiked through the Mesquite Canyon, snorkeled with whale sharks, went horseback riding through the mountains, learned how to make cheese, and did countless off-road trips in our Jeep (Paul’s happy place!).
Canada
Mexico was life changing. The next 5 months were chaotic at times selling 95% of our stuff, Courtney quitting her job, shipping Paul’s motorcycle to Italy, booking flights and accommodations, etc. while we prepared to move from Canada indefinitely.
We had an unplanned extended stay in Canada before departing for Rome, so we naturally took advantage of the nearby Okanagan vineyards, found our inner child scootering around Vernon, said our goodbyes to some friends and family, and rode Paul’s motorcycle through the Canadian Rockies as a final send-off. Thankfully, we dodged a tornado just in time. It was one of many wild rides to come.
Sicily, Italy
The next stop for 3 months was Sicilia! After 5 hours of negotiations with Italian armed guards, Paul and his baby (his motorcycle) were reunited.
Our days were filled with mouth-watering pizzas and gelato, exploring the mountains in Parque delle Madonie, snorkeling off the coast of Cefalù, flying through the trees on a zipline, fresh produce all season long right from our backyard, a Tiramisu cooking lesson from our Airbnb host (YUM!), the discovery of an outdoor swimming pool during a heatwave, meeting an inspiring English-speaking Norwegian family, a zoom call from the top of a mountain to Toronto, connecting with an eclectic local cheesemaker-bagpipe player, the overwhelming hospitality of the locals, and the welcoming community we met in Castelbuono.
We are SO looking forward to returning in March 2024.
Ireland
Our ‘goodbye’ to Sicily was more of an ‘arrivederci’, so we were ready to head to Ireland for 5 weeks. We spent some time up north in Dublin and Belfast, and a month exploring the SouthWest.
We visited the iconic Titanic Museum, reunited with a long-time family friend after more than 20 years, dressed up as an old-timey Irish librarian and professor for Halloween, went horseback riding in Adare, watched an Irish film in a refurbished church, frolicked in the waves at Coumeenoole Beach (the same movie location in ‘Tarrac’), wandered through the Gap of Dunloe, lost my wallet (then found my wallet!), explored the local shops in Dingle and Killarney, and won big on ‘Skidroes’ at the greyhound races.
I can confirm that 45 ukuleles playing an Irish jig + a ‘mature’ Irish family friend + dancing + alcohol = a good time!
Chile
And finally, we had the longest journey of our lives – over 35 hours to get from Kilflynn, Ireland to Valparaíso, Chile. It helped that American Airlines gave us continuous food and drinks on our two flights, including ice cream. We’re best friends forever now!
After being hit with a sudden flu a couple days after landing, we’re finally getting our footing back and we’ve started discovering Chile.
So far, we embraced the energy of bustling markets filled with just about every imaginable food, went off-roading on quad-bikes, saw colourful murals throughout the city, rode on historical funiculars, had an evening playing old school arcade games, started our Italian lessons, and had an up close and personal encounter with a stranger and Paul’s phone.
In the upcoming weeks, we’ll be heading south to Pucón, Chile for a month to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, and for some much needed mountain exploration in the area.
This year has been pretty eye-opening, and it has taught us a lot. These are some of our discoveries along the way:
- Stick to Plan Awesome: Never give up!
- Patience…LOTS of patience
- Resilience – We’re stronger than we think
- Toilet seats are optional in Italy (you’ve gotta work those quad muscles!)
- Human connection and kindness can be shared beyond a common language
- There’s no such thing as too much gelato
- New cultures bring a fresh perspective
- Always have chocolate nearby
- Gratitude – There’s a scarcity of dill pickle chips outside of Canada
- Laughter can solve many of life’s challenges
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Lots of love from across the world. ❤️
