Summary - We´ve made it, it’s time to sum it up!
So, we come to the end of our amazing adventure. It is time to look back and reflect on our unforgettable trip covering a total of 35 countries over a 2 year and 7 months period on the road. We left Brazil on a cruise ship in May 2010 and returned in December 2012.
Our blog (thanks to you faithful readers) has had a total of 21, 414 views, has 87 stories and nearly 2,000 photos!! So here we go -
In May 2010 we left Brazil to go on a 1 to 2 year trip. We roughly outlined some places of interest but no plans were definite as we wanted to make it up as we went. Some of our friends thought we were insane others said ¨no way we could do it¨. Well, 2 years and 7 months and 4 days, 35 countries later, here we are telling you this story, the one about our long awesome trip.
Who are we? I´m Luiza, 49 years old, a degree in anthropology, worked in museum education, cultural development and a bit with music. Born in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, lived in Perth, Western Australia for 12 years and in Trancoso, in the South of Bahia, Brazil, for 5 years after that before embarking on our great odyssey. My other half is Paul, born in Adelaide and grew up in Perth, Australia, worked with IT, project management and risk management, before embarking on a chef´s course and moving to Trancoso to open a restaurant with me till our greatest adventure began. We´ve been married for almost 20 years now and amongst other things we share a great passion for travelling, wine, food, dogs and friends.
Our itinerary was roughly the following:
Cruise from Brazil via Cabo Verde, Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Vigo (Spain) and La Coruna (Spain), Lisbon to Dover (England) where we got off the ship. From England we took the ferry across to Calais (France) and then the train to see Paris and Rome. From Italy across to Greece where from Athens we took ferries to Santorini, Paros and Koufonissia followed by 2 fantastic summer months on the island of Naxos. Back to Athens to catch the train to Turkey where we begin in the most magic city of all, Istanbul, followed by Capadoccia, Pamukkale, Kushadasi, Fethiye, Side, Ephesus, Lake Van, Adana, Alanya, Antalya,… Then off to beautiful Syria to see Aleppo, the incredible Crusader Castle at Crac De Chevallier, a personal favourite of Palmyra andequally awesome 4000year old Damascus. From there it’s Beirut in Lebanon, Amman and Petra in Jordan, Jerusalem in Israel, Dahab in the Sinai, then Luxor, Aswan and Cairo in Egypt, including an unforgettable cruise on the Nile.
From Cairo we flew to India where we spent the next 6 months, in Mumbai, Goa, Cochin, Munnar, Madurai, Trichy, Pondicherry, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Pushkar, Jaipur, Agra, Delhi, Varanasi, Bodhgaya and Darjeeling. Then it was off to Nepal to visit Kathmandu and Lake Pokhara, then across the Himalayas to Tibet in an unforgettable road trip in a four wheel drive car (with guide and driver) covering Nyalam, Xigatse and Lhasa. From Lhasa it’s a 48 hour train journey to Beijing, China, followed by another 40 hour train ride down to Nanning. Heading south by bus, we get to Hanoi in Vietnam, followed by a trip to Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc Island and Saigon (Ho Chi Min City), what a fabulous country. After Vietnam we´re off to Cambodia for Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Siem Riep, of course including Angkor Wat.
Thailand is next - Koh Chang, Koh Mak, enchanting Bangkok, Koh Phangan and Chiang Mai. Then Laos - Vientiane and the cutest town of Luang Prabang then back to Thailand on a two day boat cruise on the Mekong River. We then fly to fantastic Burma (Myanmar) to see Rangoon, Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake. Back to Bangkok again and then off to Malaysia - Butterworth, Penang, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. A short flight away are the Philippines - Manila, Boracay, Bantayan, Bohol, Cebu and back to Manila, another amazing summer. Then it´s a flight to Singapore where we catch the huge Chinese New Year celebrations followed by a cruise to Indonesia - Lombok and Bali, where we stay for a while soaking up the vibe.
Another flight and we are in unique Australia, driving from Darwin to Perth via Broome by campervan (10 days). From Perth, after catching up with family and friends, we catch the “Indian-Pacific¨ train for 4 day cross country trip. In Sydney more sightseeing and catching up with more great friends and then a carhire for a fabulous drive up to Queensland – Byron Bay, Noosa, Whitsundays and surroundings.
A flight back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and then back to Sihanoukville and Siem Reap in Cambodia. Next, another flight back to Bangkok is followed by another one to Istanbul where after a week we go down south to the ancient Turkish towns of Didim and Miletos. Another flight to Athens in Greece and we travel the mainland by car – Athens, Corinthos, Mycenae, Olympia, Delphi, Meteora and Thessaloniki. We then go by bus to Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia. Time to head off now to the Greek Islands for our well-deserved summer break. Yeah, Naxos and Amorgos are our fave Greek islands but we´ve seen a lot of them by now (Naxos, Paros, Crete, Rhodes, Amorgos, Syros, Mykonos, Kos, Koufounissi & Santorini). We leave by ferry from Kos to Bodrum in Turkey and then go to the island of Cyprus. Then back to Turkey, for some beach time in Fethiye and Side. Another flight to Athens and then Barcelona for 4 days in the high season.
Then it´s a flight to Morocco to see Marrakech, Essaouira, Ouarzazarte, Fes and Tangier where we catch a ferry across to Spain, to Seville. Next is a flight to Split in Croatia and then out to the beautiful island of Hvar. Then down to Kotor in Montenegro where we lived for a month in a lovely renovated flat inside the walled medieval town near a gorgeous lake. A flight back to Barcelona, where we hire a car for a month to explore the amazing countries of Spain – Barcelona, Zaragoza, San Sebastian, Bilbao, Leon, Ponferrada and Santiago de Compostela, then Portugal – Braga, Barcelos, Guimaraes, Britania dos briteiros, Porto, Amarante, Aveiro, Coimbra, Lisbon, Evora, Montemor, Evoramonte, Estremoz, Elvas, then back to Spain – Toledo, Madrid, Segovia, Valencia, Sitges and back to Barcelona. After our Iberian exploits we jump on another cruise ship this time back to Brazil, stopping in Cadiz, Lisbon and Tenerife (Canary Island, Spain), before reaching Brazil in December 2012, glad to be home after the most amazing trip ever!
We're had an amzing journey, met lots of lovely people along the way and seen some amazing things!! But we're also very happy to be back home at last. We hope you enjoyed reading our stories and will be back on the road again soon we're sure!!!
