HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY
Crazy to think that this is our 5th annual End of Year Review. We feel very blessed to lead the life that we have for the last half a decade.
So before we get knee-deep in 2020, we would like to take a moment or six to reflect on the past 12 months. Where have we been? What have we been up to? Our favourite memories? And at the same time have some fun, as usual, with some numbers.
AND THAT WAS 2019
Last year was always going to be a little bit slow on the travel front. We wanted to stay close to the UK for doctors and specialists appointments for my sister, Tracey, and Steve’s Mum.
Still, we managed to visit three new countries. We got to stay for weeks at a time in some of England’s finest seaside towns, lived like a local in Ireland for eight weeks, learnt how to make sourdough bread for the first time (which was delicious, even if I say so myself), watched our first ever hurling game (still trying to figure out the rules), gatecrashed the local village fete with success, ate far too much gelato in the cafes of Umbria and Tuscany, complained endlessly about the cold in the UK and the heat in Thailand (there’s no pleasing some people!), and visited the oldest horse fair in Ireland at Spancihill. Not bad for a few months kicking around the UK.
HERE ARE 2019’S RANDOM NUMBERS
37 – large bags of rubbish collected in under 2 hours as part of the ‘Trash Heroes clean up a beach Sunday’ on Koh Lanta
58 – different beds we have slept in
1,767 – days since we started this journey
12,573 – number of air miles flown (20,234 kms)
1,450 – the number of photos Steve has uploaded to stock photography sites
42 – pints of Guinness Steve managed to consume in our time in Ireland
23 – minutes Steve was left in charge of a working windmill
239 – days of housesitting across three countries, (saving over NZ$11,950 in accommodation costs)
7 – countries visited (England, Wales, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Thailand)
1 – camera lost to the deep blue ocean off Ireland
32.6 – the most kilometres we walked in one day on the Camino Portuguese
1 – the number of speed awareness courses Steve had to attend due to a speeding ticket, oops
410 – the number of grapes in a standard bottle of port
396,079 – the number of steps taken to walk from Porto to Santiago de Compostela
144 – animals cared for while housesitting (27 dogs, 24 cats, 6 ducks & 87 chickens)
3 – rabbits (1 dead and 2 alive) that Bobby the cat deposited under our bed
18 – the number of weeks it’s been since Tracey needed a blood transfusion, yeahy!
57 – The number of wedding photographers in a room in Bath for the X- Wedding Photographers Conference (Steve won a place)
3 – the number of times our crappy old car need to visit a garage for major surgery
FAVOURITE MEMORIES OF 2019
Rather than come up with three different highlights as we have done in previous years. This year even without conferring, we both came up with the same highlights.
Walking another Camino was always going to be a highlight for both of us. Our initial thoughts were that we would walk the whole 610 km’s (380 miles) from Lisbon to Santiago. But time restraints took hold, and we had to shorten our walk and start from Porto, still 310 km’s (193 miles). It felt like a very different kind of Camino than our first experience. But we still had a blast wandering through the beautiful Portuguese and Spanish countryside, making friends young and old.
One day we would be walking with Iain & Joëlle, a young couple, fresh out of university in Holland. The next day it would be Don & John, a couple of gentleman in their seventies from Tauranga, New Zealand. Just goes to show that the Camino throws people together of all ages and all walks of life.
Having been on Steve’s bucket list since he was old enough to start drinking (and that was a long, long time ago). Standing knee-deep in grapes extracting the liquid heaven that makes Port was a massive highlight for the year for us both. For me being able to make it happen for Steve, and for Steve, well, because he likes the ‘finer things in life’. And if you don’t know what I mean by this, you’ll have to read Port Heaven.
Tracey’s Road to Recovery. Hearing the news a couple of months ago that Tracey’s blood results had hit healthy normal levels was a like having all your Christmas’s and Birthday’s come at once. It’s been a long slow road to recovery since the transplant back in November 2018. We did manage to get Tracey out to the local beer festival in Exeter and squeezed in fish and chips on the beach. There’s still a way to go before Tracey will be fully fit and able to work, but that day is closing in rapidly.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
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Steve’s Mum on her disability scooter appearing on a website in Tehran advertising scooters, courtesy of one of Steve’s stock photo sales
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Being able to join Bethany, our niece, to celebrate her 18th Birthday
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Steve catching up with good friend and former work colleague Callum, the afternoon before Callum completed the fantastic feat of swimming the English Channel
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Learning how to cook paella in Barcelona with our amazing friends Rick & Paul
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Getting Camino match fit with hikes in the Brecon Beacons, Wales
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Steve drowning in rosettes and winning best in class photograph, at the Rousdon Village Fete
NOT SO GOOD
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For the third year running, Steve lost an Uncle
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Steve’s daughter, Katherine, injuring herself 2 days into her week’s volunteering at Elephant Nature Park
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Spending more on car repairs than we spent buying the car in the first place
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Steve badly twisting his ankle in Barcelona. Initial thoughts were that we would have to can the Camino. St, But like a brave little soldier, he battled on. Update, turns out this tumble resulted in a broken bone in the foot, but still walked the Camino with no grumbling (ish).
PLANS FOR 2020
So what does 2020 look like for the two of us? Well, we still have a couple of weeks left here on Koh Lanta. I’ve developed a close bond with a dog called Tomato at Lanta Animal Welfare. We have twice-daily walks, there’s some muzzle training with the aid of cooked chicken as well as some sloppy kisses when I try to apply some ointment to her fur.
Then we are off to Vietnam to explore some of the beauty that this country has to offer. We will be heading north to the foothills, where there may be a waterfall or two. Then south to Ha Long Bay and it’s famous limestone rock formations for a two-night cruise. The Vietnamese New Year (Têt) will be in full force during our visit, and we are hoping to participate in lots of local celebrations.
Then it’s back to New Zealand, landing mid-February, just a couple of weeks short of when we left 5 years ago. Our plans are still brewing, but we hope to establish a couple of businesses, maybe even in the tourism industry. We are going to pick up a van of some description and do a full-on camper conversion. Then we will be able to explore more of the stunning country that we call home. And one thing is for sure, our travels will continue.
