And of course we did all of that travel during the Covid pandemic, but it really wasn't that difficult. We did a total of 5 or 6 PCR tests (all negative) until we were able to access a vaccination shot in July and that reduced the need for the PCR tests.
So as I said, we started the year in Turkey, but in mid January we flew to Tanzania. The main reason for going to Tanzania was to successfully climb Mt. Kilimanjaro... the highest free standing mountain in the world!
As a warm-up hike, we climbed Mt. Meru the week before...
On top of Mt. Meru, with a view of Kilimanjaro in the distance.
Then on February 1st, we began a six day hike to the top of Kilimanjaro.
On February 6, the day before my 59th birthday, we reached the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro!
5,895 meters (19,340 ft).
That day was also our most read blog post of 2021.
We also spent a bunch of time hiking in Tanzania's Usambara Mountains.
Kevin and Ruth at the base of Kisasa Waterfall near Lushoto, Tanzania.
In mid March, we arrived in Albania. This would turn out to be a really enjoyable three months in such a tiny country... we really liked Albania.
We did a lot of hiking and exploring in Albania!
Out hiking near Tomorr Mountain.
Another highlight of the year was going white water rafting in Albania's Osum Canyon.
May brought some nice weather in Albania!
We hiked to this beautiful waterfall.
Towards the end of May we made our way to northern Albania and the Albanian Alps. It's such a beautiful area, and we did a lot of hiking up there.
One of the roads we took!
The Albanian Alps.
At the end of May, there was still a lot of snow up there!
In June, we flew from Albania to Warsaw, Poland. This enabled us to access Germany where we picked up our new motorhome Max on June 18th. We spent the balance of June in western Germany and then full month of July exploring the Netherlands.
On June 18th, we met Max.
We spent the month of July in the Netherlands.
In mid August we put Max into storage in Germany, and we flew back to Ottawa, Canada. We had some work to do to help settle Ruth's father's estate, and of course we wanted to visit family who we hadn't seen since the beginning of October the year before.
We don't get together with everybody at the same time very often!
We spent a lot of time with family and friends during the month of September in and around the Ottawa area. And on October 1st we flew back to Germany to begin what is probably going to be at least seven or eight months of full time motorhome travel around Europe and Turkey.
In early October we zipped through Germany fairly quickly in order to catch up with friends Steve and Glen. This is the couple who originally got us started on the motorhome lifestyle when we met them in 2007.
Steve, Glen, and Kevin.
Always nice to get together, but it was just a short visit as we were on different schedules. Hoping to see them again in January!
From there, we zipped fairly quickly through Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia always chasing the warmer weather as winter was moving in. We really enjoyed the city of Salzburg, Austria, and then the mountain villages of northern Slovenia.
Salzburg, Austria.
Northern Slovenia.
By November 1st we were in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. Continuing south, we did a quick trip through Montenegro. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the best during our time there. We will have to return on a future date.
And then we found ourselves back in Albania. Who could have forecast that we would spend a full four months of 2021 in the tiny, mostly unknown country of Albania!
December 9th, we crossed into Greece. Greece is the 13th country we have been to in 2021, and the 50th country we have been to in our lives.
The clifftop monasteries of Meteora, Greece.
Max, enjoying a deserted beach area in Greece.
And so we end 2021, and begin 2022 in Greece. Who knows where we will end up the next 12 months, but there will be a lot of adventure along the way!
Happy New Year to you all!
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I have thoroughly enjoyed following your adventures this year. Happy new year! ❤️
ReplyDeleteWe are so happy that you have enjoyed following along on our adventures this past year, we had a lot of fun bringing them to life. We look forward to many new adventures for 2022.
DeleteHappy New Year to you both!
You two have had an amazing year full of adventures. Can't wait to see what is in store in 2022. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteWe sure did and it is definitely a year that is going to be hard to beat but we will put forth every effort to make 2022 just as memorable.
DeleteHappy New Year to you both! :-)
Happy New year, Kevin and Ruth, I'm enjoying your great adventures with superb photos. Hope to catch up with you in Turkey in 2022. Cheers Vera and Bob
ReplyDeleteThank you and Happy New Year to you and Bob as well.
DeleteWe are glad to hear that you have been enjoying our crazy adventures this past year. We look forward to what 2022 holds in store for us.
It would be great to get the chance to met up in Turkey in the New Year. Where and when will you be there so we have an idea on our timing and route should we be close enough together?
Awesome to go back and see your travels...I was virtually with you the entire time. Happy New Year!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was a fantastic year and definitely one that won't be forgotten. We are happy that you have enjoyed following along with us, every step of the way.
DeleteHappy New Year to you too!
What an amazing year you have had. Visiting such wonderful places and seeing family too, perfect in every way. Thank you for allowing us to follow your journey. Wishing you all the best wishes for 2022, Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteIt was an amazing year and we enjoyed just about every minute of it. It was good to see our family but it would have been even better to have had them come and visit us while we were traveling too but this past year made that too difficult, hopefully they can make a trip later this year to see us.
DeleteThank you for the warm wishes for 2022 and for following along on our crazy adventures, I am sure we will have more to come this year.
Happy New Year to you as well and wishing you the best for 2022.
We have enjoyed being part of your travels. We are planning to ship our 30 year old motorhome to Europe next year. We understood that as Canadians we would not be able to buy a motorhome in Europe. Is that true? How were you able to buy Max. Thanks for the adventures. Stuart
ReplyDeleteThank you for following along on our journey, we are glad that you have enjoyed our blog and pictures.
DeleteWow, that is going to be quite the adventure traveling over here in Europe in your motorhome. I hope that it isn't too big You will definitely have to get used to the European ways of doing things when it comes to camping and campgrounds. The black tank will be the hardest issue to deal with unless you have a compost toilet or a cassette toilet because very few places are equipped to dump the North American way.
We are Canadian and we bought our motorhome here in Europe. There are always ways to work with that and the main one is having an address you can use. We are lucky as our papers show that we own the motorhome but the dealership has the registration and insurance through their rental company until we decide whether we will do temporary residency in Europe
Please keep us up to date with your adventure and who knows maybe we can meet down the road somewhere. :-)
Thank you for sharing your exploits, from the small details that show the necessary planning to the ups and downs of the actual travel. This is definitely my most anticipated email. All the best in 2022!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, it is our pleasure to share our travels. We started off doing this blog specifically for ourselves and our family, we never dreamed that so many others would enjoy following along on our adventures virtually. We are also happy to share helpful hints and advice to those that may choose to live this unconventional life. We always try to show what life is like for us, both the good and the bad and some of the hardships that are part of this lifestyle but despite all that we wouldn't change a thing, we love this life. :-)
DeleteHappy New Year to you as well and wishing you the best for 2022.
Thank you for sharing so much in a way I feel a part of the journey. Excellent photos. Well done. My favorite e mail everyday.
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome and thank you so much for following along with us. Knowing that we make you feel like you are part of the journey, lets us know that we have done our job well.
DeleteWe can't wait to see what new adventures we will deal with in 2022 but we sure we are going to have another fun filled year. :-)
Happy New Year!