The Honeymoon is NOT Over!

Twelve months ago today we set out on the journey of a lifetime. After countless tuktuks, 75 trains, 41 buses, 26 pick-up trucks, 25 airplanes, 21 boatrides, 3 motorcycles, 3 horses, 2 camels and 1 helicopter (but no partridge in a pear tree) we find ourselves sitting in Frankfurt killing time reflecting on our experiences before boarding our final flight home. A day that we thought that would never come. At any point in our trip, the return flight seemed so far away; yet in retrospect the year has passed so quickly. We have lived amongst poverty and wealth; kindness and con-men; and seen natural and manmade wonders. We feel lucky to have had the opportunity to experience and see more than many do in a lifetime.
Travel does not come without challenge, fortunately the most difficult experiences have evolved into great stories while the good times and kind people we met live on as great memories. The number one question already posed to us has been “where was your favourite place?” A question that is impossible to provide a single answer for. Let’s demonstrate this challenge with the following list:

Favorite People: Myanmar
Favorite Museum: The Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa
Favorite Meal: Le Calandre Restaurant, Padua, Italy
Favorite Sailing Destination: Cyclades Islands, Greece
Favorite Beach: Ko Rok Nok, Thailand
Favorite Natural Wonder:(tie): Goreme, Turkey; Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Emerald Cave, Thailand
Favorite Architecture: Spain (Gaudi & Frank Gehry)
Favorite Wines: Tuscany, Italy
Favorite Party: Running of the Bulls Pamplona, Spain
Favorite Man-made Wonder: Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Most Beautiful City: Capetown, South Africa
Most sobering place: Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, Berlin Germany
Most photogenic city: Venice, Italy
Heftiest dose of culture shock: Rajasthan, India

And the list goes on… if you dare ask the question!!
Although you all may think we just ate and drank our way around the world we actually learned a few things. Adam wanted to write something corny about the “interconnectedness of mankind” but let’s just say this: world events seem more personal than they were prior to this trip. Having visited cities like Istanbul and Jaipur prior to this year’s bombings, countries like Myanmar prior to the hurricaine, and Zimbabwe days before the sham election, gives a whole new perspective to events that often seem so removed from our daily lives. We often ignore the fact that they are impacting real human beings just like us. Okay we promise, no more soapboxing!
Now time for the sap… we often joked that we would probably come back from our honeymoon divorced after spending so much time together. We have derived a mathematical formula that based on the fact that we’ve spent 24 hours a day together for an entire year is probably equivalent to the average couple being married for 10 years. Guess what…. no divorce in sight and surprisingly few arguments! We did fall into different roles in order to successfully negotiate our journey. Adam’s department: major transportation, technology (of course), and communications. Jen: accommodation, dining, daily itineraries, and the often dreaded journal keeping- (volume three is currently in progress). As previously mentioned, it wasn’t all fun and games and there were occasionally moments where one or the other of us was ready to jump on the next flight to Vancouver. Inevitably one would pull the other up by the bootstraps and make the world right again. When undertaking a journey like this you only have each other to rely on. It tests the strengths and exposes flaws, making or breaking the relationship. In our experience it has definitely been a positive influence.
We look forward to the next chapter of our lives together, spending it with our friends and family that we have missed so much this past year.
Beware the eight hour slide show of 9,800 photos that we plan on inflicting upon you soon!