We Took A Trip Around The World During Quarantine
By: Kristen Furleigh
Tags: Photography, Quarantine, Creative Writing, Travel Tips, Traveling

Almost everyone has been in their homes during quarantine, including Richard & I, but we decided enough of doing nothing! With our upcoming anniversary, we had to make it special. But, what? We knew we had to be creative because quarantine wasn’t going to make it easy. So, we racked our brains and came up with an EPIC solution. We celebrated our 6th anniversary, April 13, by doing what we do best, traveling!

Our photo journal follows our adventures around the globe-

First up we traveled to

Spain:

-We walked down the streets of Mijas taking in the beauty of the buildings.

-Spent time in Barcelona, sipping sangria on the beach.

-Enjoyed a siesta in one of the many gorgeous plazas.

-Spent a day taking the slow, winding streets of the ancient city of Toledo.

-Hiked the Caminito del Rey.

Africa:

-While on a safari we got to meet a giraffe up close.

-Kilimanjaro practically killed us.

-Hung out at the edge of Devil’s Pool at Victoria Falls.

-Explored the Serengeti.

-Stayed at Giraffe Manor.

-Conquered the Chain Ladder portion of the Amphitheatre hike in Drakensberg.

Egypt (At the top of Kristen’s list):

-Rode a camel through Ancient Pyramids.

-We got up close and personal with the Nile River.

-The Pyramids of Giza…duh!

-Met King Tut at the Valley of the Kings.

Machu Picchu, Peru:

-Hiked the Devil’s Staircase.

-Explored the Temple of the Moon.

-Hiked the full Inca Trail.

-Stopped at Winay Wayna along the Inca Trail.

-Took in the beauty of Humantay Lake near Cuzco.

The Great Wall — China:

-Camped on and hiked the Great Wall.

-Visited the Forbidden City.

-Stared in awe at Tianmen Mountain National Park.

-Hiked Huashan Mountain.

-Visited the Hanging Temple.

Japan:

-Got lost in Tokyo, twice.

-Skied!!!

-Walked amongst the cherry blossoms at Mt Fuji.

-Soaked in the onsens & made monkey friends.

-Wandered through the gates of Fushimi Inari Taisha.

New Zealand (our happy place):

-Tried to do all the things we didn’t do the first time we went, still failed.

-Took a multiday camping trip & stayed in backcountry huts.

-Finally went bungee jumping!!!

-Swam with dolphins off the coast of the southern island.

-Hung out with glowworms!

-Went chasing waterfalls!

-Checked up on our 32 lil blue penguins, still cute!

-Found the Southern lights.

Iceland:

-Captured the northern lights with our own eyes.

-Saw striking landscapes that took our breath away.

-Ice caves that illustrated the majesty & fragility of nature.

-The many waterfalls showed the power of nature.

-Took a dip in the Blue Lagoon.

Abu Dhabi:

-Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque proved a rich cultural experience & provided the best backdrop to recreate our first dance.

-Experienced the world’s fastest rollercoaster.

-Studied historical artifacts at Heritage village.

-Lived in the lap of luxury on Zaya Nurai Island.

-Shared in drinking our first ever camelccino.

–Explored the sci-fi buildings of Masdar City.

Mexico:

-Winded but made it to the top of Chichén Itzá.

-Splashed into many of the Cenotes (underwater caves).

-Marveled at Las Coloradas.

-Stepped back in time at Palenque.

-Zipped the longest zipline in the world.

-Soaked in natural hot springs.

Antarctica:

-Had a laugh hanging with our new penguin friends!!!

-Escaped the seasickness monster of the Drake Passage by taking a flight to board a ship for calmer waters.

-We camped under the stars.

-Got one step closer to skiing all 7 continents.

-Kayaked next to whales.

Phew! What a whirlwind anniversary that one was!!

If you hadn’t caught on, we didn’t actually go to all of these places but now we do have a solid head start on a road map for many future adventures. This was a true exercise in hope; It brought so much joy just researching and has given us something to look forward to after all this quarantine stuff is over. Yes, many of our plans got canceled this year, & it really is a bummer, but just look at this list! We have SO MUCH to look forward to in the future. I would encourage you that if you’ve been feeling down or disheartened about this whole mess, try to think about what you are excited for once it’s over! You just might find it helps. I know it did for us.

Thank you for following along on our adventures around the world. We hope it brought you a bit of joy. Is there anything on our list we are missing? Share with us in the comments about what we should do on our future travel adventures, real or imaginary!!

On Social: Instagram- @findingfurleigh & @furleighfotography

Facebook: Furleigh Fotography

Photo Credit for background images, Unsplash.com –

Spain: Daniel Norris, @danielnorris — Africa: Sofia Zubiria, @szubiria — Egypt: Martin Widenka, @widenka — Machu Picchu: Austin Henckel, @ahenckel — The Great Wall of China: Victoriano Izquierdo, @victoriano — Japan: Lin Mei, @mytinyatlas — New Zealand: Vincent Etter, @wookai — Iceland: Jonatan Pie, @r3dmax — Abu Dhabi: Katerina Kerdi, @katekerdi — Mexico: Max Böhme, @m_a_x_b — Antarctica: Marvin Heilemann, @muuvmuuv