As 2022 ends, I find myself reflecting on a big year of travel. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m not sure I would have thought I’d return to full-time travel this soon. But I did, and I brought Dan along with me. When I first began my blog, I penned two blogs predicting countries I’d travel to after the pandemic:
In the past couple of years, I’ve visited 15 countries (14 of which are new) since March 2020. In this blog, I’ll review my original predictions list and see how well I did.
1. Belize (Predicted)
Belize was #1 on the “Visit” list. When I wrote and published the blog, I knew Belize was the top contender for Year 6. As I predicted, it was the first trip I made out of the country because it was welcoming visitors and was reasonably easy to get to. Belize is a stellar family destination, and I’d love to return with my own kids one day. I actually made a second stop in Belize more recently when I visited Guatemala in November 2022.
2. Italy (Predicted)
Italy topped the “Return” list. This was the country that I imagined when I thought about traveling again. Sure enough, Dan and I ended up traveling there in March 2022 to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. We were originally supposed to visit with his family in December 2021 but alas….COVID-19.
3. Malta
Malta was a destination that we tacked on to the Italy trip as soon as we realized that we would be going over our anniversary. Because we like to celebrate our anniversary on an island, we knew that mainland Italy wouldn’t quite work. Instead, we added on trips to Sicily and Malta. While Malta isn’t necessarily at the top of my country list, Dan found it rather delightful and relaxing.
4. Peru
In May 2022, Jake and I took our Year 7 trip after only 5 or so months after Year 6. We saw one of the 7 Wonders of the World for Year 7. Read more about our trip in Year 7: Peru.
5. El Salvador
I never would’ve put El Salvador on the list of the top countries I’d return to after COVID-19. That said, we found incredibly cheap flights out of New York in June to El Salvador, and it seemed like the perfect way to jump-start our travels in Central and South America. We had a nice trip to Santa Ana, but overall, El Salvador isn’t incredibly touristy. I think, if we went back, we’d head to the coast and check out Tunco. Read more in Country #73: El Salvador.
6. Honduras
We waivered between where we should go in Honduras but eventually landed on the Bay Islands. Roatán was a popping destination right over the Fourth of July with tons of Americans. We had a great little Airbnb, and we were right by tons of cheap dive shops. I was a bit under the weather in Honduras, so I opted not to dive with congestion, but the $35 dives gave Dan a stellar opportunity to get back into it after a decade hiatus.
7. Panama
I visited Panama while Dan went on a boy’s trip to the Azores with a couple of friends from college. Yet again, I was feeling sick in Panama, so I mostly stayed in and got better. However, I was able to see the big sights like the Panama Canal, and I’d love to return with Dan someday and get out toward some of the well-known islands.
8. Colombia
Colombia was a real stand-out for us! We reunited in Bogota, and we stayed at the Four Seasons on points before heading to both Medellin and Cartagena. When it comes to my South American travels, this is one country that I think very fondly of and would recommend to most travelers. Many people are still a bit wary of Colombia because of its history, but there is such a rich culture and neat cities.
9. Ecuador
A month before Dan’s birthday, I asked him how he wanted to celebrate. When you’re traveling full-time, you have a lot of flexibility. If there’s anything you’ve ever wanted to see around the world, now is the time to do it! He didn’t have any immediate ideas, but he thought Ecuador might be a cool stop. He had an acquaintance there, and he thought it might be a cool stop since we were heading down to South America anyway. One day when I was searching for the coolest places to go in Ecuador, I stumbled upon the perfect spot: The Galapagos.
Dan has forever talked about the Galapagos being a dream destination of his. He had just forgotten that it was in Ecuador. Once I pitched it, he was immediately on board. It was one of our most expensive destinations but so worthwhile. We both loo forward to going back during retirement and enjoying a Galapagos cruise.
10. Brazil (Predicted)
We spent a couple of weeks in Brazil in August, visiting Rio de Janiero, Salvador, São Paulo, and Iguazu Falls. Brazil is such a massive country; I’m not sure you could see everything you want to see if you traveled there for a year. But I was excited that we were able to get a little taste of the culture. It was quite the switch from Spanish to Portuguese, and I thought it was funny the way that Brazilians reacted to us asking whether they spoke Portuguese. In all honesty, it was very much like the way Americans react to anyone asking if they speak anything other than English. They would say, “What? You don’t speak Portugese?” Just like we were surprised they didn’t speak English or Spanish. In a country that large, you rarely need to adjust!
11. Paraguay
Paraguay was a delightful surprise. We planned to visit Parguay after we were up at the Triple Frontier at Iguazu Falls. At this point, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay converge. We visited Ciudad del Este before heading down to Asunción. We also visited the Jesuit Ruins which were pretty difficult to get to. While it’s one of the least visited countries in South America, I think we both left with very positive impressions. Dan, especially, loved how inexpensive Paraguay was compared to Brazil and Uruguay.
12. Argentina (Predicted)
I originally predicted Argentina in the context of an Antarctica cruise with my brother, Jake. While this cruise is still at the top of my bucket list, it’ll likely be a few years before it’s possible. I visited a small part of Argentina by Iguazu Falls. I plan to return not only for our Antarctica cruise (Year 10!) but also for Patagonia.
13. Uruguay
Uruguay was also a fun surprise but not in the same way as that Paraguay was. Dan and I both thought that Montevideo felt a bit like a European city compared to the rest of South America. It was highly developed and felt very comfortable for that reason. That said, Uruguay came with a more expensive price tag because of that development. Nonetheless, if anyone told me that I was going to be dropped in Uruguay, I wouldn’t fret!
14. Bolivia
Bolivia may top the list as my favorite country. It was completely the opposite of Uruguay in terms of development. In fact, along with Peru, Bolivia is one of the poorest countries on the continent. However, there is a charm and culture that remains when countries haven’t yet been globalized. While I don’t necessarily wish that upon countries because it impacts the standard of living for their people, it is really neat to see a culture intact.
Bolivia was the country that I picked to visit for my birthday because I wanted to see the Salar de Uyuni. And boy am I glad that I made that choice. You can see my favorite photos from that trip here: My 20 Favorite Photos from Bolivia.
15. Guatemala
Some countries have been on my list for years, and Guatemala is one of those countries. We didn’t hit it in June because I wanted to have a full 2 weeks, and the timing just didn’t work out like I wanted. I finally found two weeks that I could visited Guatemala before Thanksgiving. However, while we were able to spend our first week in Antigua (and I’d recommend it to anyone!), Dan’s work plans changed our second week. We ended up having to leave early, so he could fly to NYC. We still managed to visit Tikal, but we unfortunately didn’t get to see Flores like we wanted. Hopefully, we’ll be able to return sometime soon!
Final Thoughts
I’m now actively planning my next 6 months of travel where I’ll hopefully hit 100 countries. While the world is still feeling the effects of COVID-19, I am grateful that the world of travel has opened back up, and I’ve been able to see so much of it. I’ll never stop counting that among my blessings!