Travel highlights from 2013.
2013, you may be asking? It was merely a year and a bit ago. Why would someone write a highlights section on travel when the years have passed? You may (or may not) have previously read that whilst overseas on a 6 month holiday my external hard drive that I always pack to save copies of my travel photos, failed. A little ironic?
As a result, I lost access to almost 3 months worth of travel photos. And it hurt. While knowing the data was sitting on my little broken hard drive, possibly easily retrievable, I was scared to take it to a technician. I had convinced myself that the data was gone. I had dealt with the loss and I had moved on. The thought of taking it into a IT shop to pay for my data to be retrieved, them confirming the data completely unretrievable, scared me. It would mean they were all lost. By not taking the hard drive in, it gave me hope even though it sat at home.
I reached out for Google, searching for ways to retrieve the data or companies to help me. One site explaining that depending on the HDD damage, it could cost anywhere between $250 to $2,500. $2,500?! That’s more than my round the world airfare cost me, and I’d much rather purchase another round the world ticket than repair my hard drive, especially when reading the asterisks outlining the possibility of data NOT being recovered.
Over a year later, I discovered a computer shop in Capital Square a block from my work. They specialised in data recovery and quoted me $150 IF data was retrieved. I took the plunge and it paid off – now feeling silly that I did wait so long. Going through my beloved photos and reminiscing, I decided to post some of the highlights from our round the world trip. A trip that took 6 months travelling North America, Canada, Central America, Europe and Africa.
On our campervan road trip through California & Las Vegas we stopped at Yosemite National Park, half expecting to see bears but knowing our luck to be unlikely. What we didn’t expect was scenery so unreal it appeared as an oil painting.
Nothing less than beautifully dramatic scenery greeted us in Vancouver & the Canadian Rockies.
No words are enough to explain how Alaska stole my heart. Visiting Anchorage & Fairbanks, we went dog mushing in the snow, watched the northern lights dance across the night sky and even crossed the arctic circle!
A change in both scenery and weather landed us in The Caribbean where one of the highlights was the Stingray City Sandbar.
Not many towns as beautifully rich with history can beat the capital of Scotland – Edinburgh.
A tour around Spain, Portugal & Morocco introduced us to this amazing gem that is Lagos, Portugal. Both kayaking & walking the coast will provide you with endless photogenic views.
A highlight of Eastern Europe to me was Prague. I’d love to explore this beauty in the winter time when a blanket of snow covers the city.
Finding out Slovenia & the alps is a less-touristy version of Switzerland made me all the more happier!
And finally, the island of Ischia where my family come from. I visited the island when I was 14 and ever since, images of a unique place filled my mind. Unsure whether these images were dreams or reality, it wasn’t until I visited for the second time that those memories came flooding back.
ONLY HAPPY WHEN I TRAVEL 