WELCOME TO OUR TRAVEL PHOTO BLOG
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Welcome to our travel photo blog. This is not a "how-to" website. Rather, we chose photography as the way for sharing stories of our travels. Get ready! There are lots and lots of photos! The Blog button beside the Home button above takes you into this world. In the meantime, let us introduce ourselves and tell you our story.
September 2019 - It all started 7 years agoAs you will see by our blog posts, we love to travel, and about 7 years ago we started talking about becoming travelling nomads. House Hunters International was probably partly responsible. At that time we weren't in a financial position to stop working, and Cindy wasn't ready yet to leave her counselling practice. However, whenever we travelled, we were always thinking about whether the place we were in would be somewhere we would want to live in the future, even if just for a while. Travel has been a priority for us. While we loved what we did for work - Cindy a counsellor in private practice and Doug a woodturning artist - the bottom line was that we worked to make money to travel. We also considered purchases carefully, weighing the priority of owning another "thing" over travelling or retiring sooner. We weren't very good consumers! In May 2019, a pivotal event happened. Doug got a letter in the mail from the government telling him he would start receiving his pension the following year. This made us realize we were getting on in years and prompted a renewed discussion about our future. In September, our discussions became more intense, we spent all our spare time researching a travelling nomad lifestyle, we watched videos of places we wanted to go, and used YouTube to learn from people already living this lifestyle. October 2019 - Time for a changeThe next critical step was to assess our financial situation. Were we able to retire and live the lifestyle we wanted? We consulted our financial advisor, and together we came to the exciting realization that we were ready! All those years of hard work and saving paid off. However, there was a catch. We could not keep our house as the mortgage was not paid off and the expense of maintaining it would not be in the budget. We had many discussions, and experienced a range of emotions over the next month. We came to the awareness that everything we own is just stuff, and that we weren't really that attached to most of it. When it came down to whether we would rather have the house and our material possessions or the life of travelling nomads, we chose the nomadic option. It was time for a change. November 2019 - A fundamental shiftBy November, Cindy had come to terms with making the transition from being a counsellor to being retired. After 35 years, it had become integral to who she was, and it took the last couple of months to process this decision. After 30 years of being a full time artist, Doug was also ready for change. So we continued with our research, and also started to make some serious plans about how to implement this massive life transformation. We got into specifics about when we would do this, and made list upon list of the things we would need to do. In the meantime, Doug had already been in the mode of purging for the last couple of months, of getting rid of things in drawers that were never opened, clutter, and stuff in his workshop he never used. He started to ramp this up with the plan of selling everything. Yikes! There was a fundamental shift for us as we finalized our decision and started making the mental and emotional adjustment to moving our lives forward in this new way. We realized that if for any reason we had to abort our nomadic future, our lives would never feel the same. Something had changed deeply and permanently for us in how we looked at ourselves and our future life. December 2019 - Sharing the newsNow that we knew for sure this metamorphosis was going to happen, December became the month for telling family and friends about our plans. Most were initially shocked by such drastic news, and were also very happy for us. It was so touching to hear our friends tell us how much we would be missed. We felt very loved. As far as selling our home in Qualicum Beach, our plan was to put it on the market around the end of March 2020, close down our businesses by the end of June, and start our travels in early September. Our very close friend, Lorne, had just retired from real estate and put us in contact with his business partner. We already had an idea of what our house might be worth, so when we met with her and found out it was worth significantly more, we were overjoyed. Within a few days of meeting with us, she called to let us know someone was interested in viewing our home. This was still only December and we hadn't even listed it! By the end of the month, we received a wonderful offer with an April closing date. We now needed to drastically adjust our timeline for closing our businesses and selling our possessions. January 2020 - It's a done deal!We found out on January 17th that the conditions on the house deal had been lifted and the sale was going through. We now had a moving date of April 23rd, and the reality of what we were about to do really started to sink in. There was no question about whether we wanted to do this - we did! The night our house deal went through, we started planning ahead. We booked an AirBnB just a few blocks away from April 20 to June 3. A few days later we started planning our travels and decided to start in Braga, Portugal, followed by various places in Europe. Booking our flights and accommodations was exhilarating! February 2020 - Hitting the ground runningFebruary started with 2 weeks in Belize, a trip we'd planned and booked a year ago and were looking forward to. Despite knowing we needed this time at home to prepare for the big move, we managed to relax and enjoy the trip. Our adventures, including our wonderful time with our dear friends Lorne and Cindy, are in the Belize blog. We hit the ground running when we got back, selling our possessions, planning how to wind up our businesses, and answering questions about living this new lifestyle. There was an endless list of questions - how to manage not having a Canadian address, how long our driver licences are valid outside the country, managing cell phone plans vs new SIM cards in each country, finding international medical insurance that fit our situation, which bank accounts to keep, how to minimize credit card and ATM fees, etc. We continued to plan the next few legs of our journey by booking accommodations and flights throughout Europe all the way into October. And we planned our retirement date to be March 31st. Wow. We're retiring! March 2020 - An emotional monthWe continued to talk often about all the many changes we were experiencing, both tangible and intangible, and the massive letting go we were doing in all areas of our lives. Overall, there were moments of sadness, which passed, and excited anticipation, which lasted. Change was not only happening in our work and home lives, but also in our connections with our friends and family. We had many conversations with them, talking about what our future as friends would look like. We wanted this transition to be a healthy process with the important people in our lives. And it was. Then came the reality of the coronavirus, being classified as a pandemic on March 16th. Over the next few days and weeks, we started to understand how a new reality was forming, impacting the whole world. We started to cancel our travel plans as soon as we realized that this was going to be a longterm, worldwide problem. We felt very grateful that we had sold our house earlier in the year as things would have been very different for us if we had put our house on the market this month as we had originally planned. April 2020 - We retired!April 1st was our first official day of retirement! It was a busy month as we had to completely empty the house of everything. Most people who bought things, such as our bed, furniture, and television, agreed to wait until April for pick up so that we could still function until then. We moved into our AirBnB on April 20th, and went back and forth to clean the house, getting it ready for the new owner. Once we handed the keys over, we talked about how we no longer have a home base. We don't think we'll fully grasp this until we've been out in the world for a while and don't get to "go home". May 2020 - Tying up loose endsMay ended up being extremely busy with many loose ends to tie up with our businesses, finances, and just everyday life things. Despite that, we began to relax at some levels, both of us finding it easier than expected to let go of our work lives. Cindy thought after 35 years as a counsellor she would feel more at a loss, but it turned out to be a pretty smooth transition. It must have been good timing! June to August 2020 - Hunkering down in Qualicum BeachWe rented an apartment in Qualicum Beach for June, July, and August as we knew we wouldn't be going anywhere until at least September. How COVID was going to evolve was still an unknown. We spent time with our friends in our COVID bubble, and socially distanced visits with others. We spent most of our time just with the two of us. Good thing we enjoy each other's company so much! September 2020 - Moving to VictoriaWith our international travel plans still on hold, and with no more home base, we decided to make a move in September and rented a house in the James Bay neighbourhood of Victoria. After all, we had to live somewhere, so why not there! We picked the random end date of October 17th. Not sure where that came from, but that's what we did because we had to pick something. We had a very enjoyable 6 weeks in Victoria, and Doug got to reconnect with his long time friend, Bruce. October 2020 to January 2021 - The start of our international adventure!With our ongoing research into international travel, we learned that islands were good destinations because of their contained population. Doug always wanted to go to Madeira Island, so we looked into the possibility of going there. Their COVID numbers were very low, they had excellent protocols in place including a free COVID test at the airport on arrival, and they were open to tourists. Again, we had to live somewhere, so why not there? The biggest COVID risk was going to be the travel to get there, so we spent time setting ourselves up to be as safe as possible. We booked our flights and lodgings, and set off on October 19th. From here, you can pick up the story in our Madeira blog. January 2021 - Forced to move onOur 90 day stay in Portugal was nearing its end around January 11th. We would loved to have stayed somewhere in Europe; however, as Canadians we are only allowed to stay 90 out of every 180 days in the Schengen area. Nowhere outside the Schengen area in Europe would have been warm enough, so having been to Mexico many times, we decided to go there. January to June 2021 - Off to MexicoFrom January 12 to March 18, we stayed in the Huatulco region in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Our initial plan was to spend time on the coast and then move inland to the much cooler Oaxaca City. After spending two months in the Huatulco area, the COVID numbers in Oaxaca City had increased beyond our comfort level, so we changed our plans and went to San Jose del Cabo on the Baja Peninsula which is also cooler than Huatulco, and more importantly, far less humid. As we wanted to get vaccinated in Canada, we booked a flight to Vancouver for early June. Except for grocery shopping and errands, we continued to socially isolate. June to December 2021 - Returning to CanadaWe arrived back in British Columbia, Canada on June 2, and spent the compulsory 2 week quarantine period, first in the Sandman Hotel for 3 nights and then an AirBnB in Richmond. From there we moved to Victoria where we stayed until the end of August, followed by 18 days in Errington to be near our dear friends in the area before moving back to Victoria. In August, as we were planning the next leg of our travel adventure, we were frustrated as we have been many times in the past by the limited time we can stay in Europe due to the Schengen 90/180 rule. So we decided to apply for a European residency visa, and for us, Portugal came out on top. Gathering all the necessary information was quite the undertaking! On October 13 we had our appointment with the Portuguese Consulate in Vancouver from where our application was submitted to the Immigration Office (SEF) in Portugal. They then had 60 days to respond to our application, so we booked our flights to leave for Portugal December 13. Unfortunately, we did not hear back in time and have heard that others have been waiting as long as 3 months recently. With Christmas just a couple of weeks away, we now did not expect to hear back until January. We did not want to delay our adventure any longer so we decided to leave for Portugal as planned! December 2021 to May 2022 - Another pivotal experienceAs we waited to hear back regarding our applications for residency in Portugal, we enjoyed spending time in the Algarve region, setting temporary roots in Lagos. On January 25th, after 104 days in limbo, we received the exciting news that our applications for residency were accepted! We booked return flights to Vancouver for a brief 6 day stay to attend our March 2nd appointment at the Vancouver Consulate General of Portugal where we had our passports stamped with temporary residency visas. The next step would be to attend our June 3rd appointments in Portugal with Portuguese Immigration (SEF) to make the residency official. June to September 2022 - Moving to Madeira as new Portuguese residentsAt the end of May, between leaving Lagos and flying to Madeira, we had our SEF appointments to finalize our residency status. As we applied for our visas separately, we were given two different appointments, in two different locations, on the same day at the same time - Cindy's in Vila Real and Doug's in Viseu. So, we decided to combine this with a 10 day road trip in northern Portugal spending time in Porto, Amarante, Vila Real, Viseu, Aveiro, and ending up back in Porto, from where we flew to Madeira. Happily, we were both successful and received our temporary (2 year) residency visas! Gaining residency in Portugal is a pivotal point in our travels. Now we can stay in Portugal as long as we want, as well as travel more easily to other countries on the European continent and beyond. This was our second time to the island of Madeira. As we spent our first time there in the winter, we decided we wanted to experience it in the summer. We were very fortunate to have our dear friends Cindy and Lorne visit us for 10 days while we were there. October 2022 to May 2023 - Living our lives in PortugalAt the end of September, we flew back to the mainland. Our first stop was Názare, where the world's largest surfable waves have been recorded. From there, we went to Coimbra, a lively university town, and then to Lisbon for the Christmas and New Year season. During February, March and April, we divided our time between Setúbal and Póvoa de Varzim before setting off on our Central European travels. May to June 2023 - Visiting Central EuropeIn the summer of 2022, we had some conversations with Cindy's sisters and their husbands about us all getting together for the 65th birthday for three of them. It was decided the first week of June in Prague worked best. We decided to see a few other places beforehand, so we left Portugal in May to see Budapest, Vienna, and Bratislava before the reunion in Prague. June to December 2023 - Back to PortugalAfter a hectic six weeks in Central Europe, we knew we wanted to recharge our batteries once back in Portugal. So we decided to stay in Amarante, a town we'd spent a couple of nights in a year earlier, and knew it would fit the bill. From there, we continued our exploration of Portugal, first in Braga and then Caldas da Rainha, before flying to Terceira Island in the Azores. From the Azores, we spent some time in Tavira in the Algarve before moving on to our Christmas plans! 2023 - Review and HighlightsWe are both healthy and continue to enjoy living in various locations doing our style of slow travel. We generally spend a month or two in one town and then move to the next place to see if that will be our forever land. Nothing has “hit home” for us yet. Our last year in a nutshell went like this. We spent Christmas and New Year's 2022-2023 in Lisbon up near Marques de Pombal which was a lovely area and close to the metro. There was a wonderful Christmas market across the street in Parque Eduardo VII. They even had an outdoor skating rink with plastic ice. Next, we were in a very colourful town south of Lisbon called Setúbal. A place that fits a lot of our criteria for a long term place with the one exception - that they could do a lot more with their waterfront. Some parts are nice but others not so much. Moving on to Póvoa de Varzim up north of Porto. It is the last stop on the Porto metro line, which makes it very handy. Some parts are very nice with great old architecture, but unfortunately most of the town has been taken over by ugly apartment blocks with tile work that is not the best, so wear a hardhat as you walk around. We stayed right in the very walkable old pedestrian area a block over from the ocean, so we had a really nice month and a half here. Next was what we like to call our vacation. In early May, we spent two weeks in Budapest which was amazing. Such an easy city to get around, filled with so many pedestrian areas, and of course beautiful architecture. We have never eaten in so many gorgeous restaurants before. If it were not for the winters, we could see staying there for a long time. We took in several concerts in various venues such as the Liszt Academy, and one night we saw the French oboist/conductor Francois Leleux at the much newer Mupa. What a show he put on. We then took the train to Vienna for another two week stay. We have never been in a cleaner city in our lives. There was an international 3 on 3 basketball tournament outside city hall, so we went and cheered the Canadian women's team to victory over the US. We took a day and went to Bratislava on the high speed catamaran. It's a lovely little place and has a very walkable old centre. Our reason for going to Central Europe was to celebrate the 65th birthdays of three family members on Cindy's side. We met them in Prague, and the six of us shared a large apartment with a great view over the city. We spent a week together exploring, eating and drinking. It was great to visit with people we actually know after years of being on our own. We stayed on in Prague for a further week of exploring and attending concerts before flying back to Northern Portugal. We knew we would want to relax a bit after our vacation, so we picked the small town of Amarante to stay in. We had spent a couple of nights there the year before and thought it would fit the bill. We were right. We had a place with a very nice balcony that we spent countless hours on just enjoying the view of the river. And of course a glass of wine while doing so. There was a festival while we were there celebrating the male organ and there were penises all over town. There is even a famous penis-shaped pastry that you can buy year round there. Braga was our next stop for six weeks. Some days it was over 100 degrees! Not our kind of weather, but a beautiful place to pass the time. Braga is known for its many churches and convents. We will be going back there in December 2024 to experience it over Christmas. While in Braga, we took a few day trips to the nearby towns of Guimarães and Barcelos. We liked Guimarães so much that we booked a month there later in 2024. We then took the train down to the town of Caldas de Rainha which has a great outdoor Farmer's Market 364 days of the year. It's a lovely small place with a very nice park. As we do in most places we are in, we took several day trips from here. Once to Foz do Arelho on the coast, and once to the beautiful small village of Óbidos. Over 30 years ago Doug told Cindy that one day he would take her to the Azores, his first experience of Portugal in 1989, and a place he wanted to share. The day finally arrived in September when we flew to the Island of Terceira. We had a most beautiful balcony overlooking the gorgeous town of Angra do Heroísmo, and our host was absolutely amazing. He took us to several places, one being where there were street bullfights going on. Something we had never heard of before but is a long standing tradition there. He also brought us to his home where he and his wife made us a wonderful traditional Azorean meal. Many times while interacting with service people, Doug would ask where they are from, and he would get a variety of answers. Here in Portugal you get a lot of people saying they are from Brazil. Easy to understand because they speak Portuguese and Portugal is a much safer country than Brazil to live. However, every time he asked someone where they were from on Terceira, they all said they were from Terceira. And also all said they had no intention of living anywhere else. Not only is the island beautiful, the people are as well, so welcoming, gracious and proud to be from the island. From here we fly back to the mainland to spend a month or so in the very picturesque town of Tavira in the southeast of Portugal. We chose Tavira because we heard it was very lovely, and it would be a very easy and short two hour bus ride to Seville, Spain where we spent two months over Christmas and New Year’s. Seville has been a place that has been on our list for a very long time, and it did not disappoint. We stayed across the river in the Triana neighbourhood which was a great place to stay. Seville is very walkable with so many places close to one another. The Christmas lights, markets and shows were all so well done. While here, we went for a night to Córdoba to see the Mesquita among other things. It's another very walkable, beautiful place and only one hour by train from Seville. That wraps up 2023! December 2023 to January 2024 - Christmas in Seville, SpainWe spent 6 weeks in Seville, Spain over Christmas and New Year's including most of January. This was our first visit to Spain, and it was a wonderful place to spend the holidays. From there, we headed back to the Algarve region in Portugal. February to March 2024 - Enjoying the Algarve in "winter"We spent February and March in the Algarve region of Portugal, first in Olhão and then Vilamoura/Quarteira. When not out exploring the area, we enjoyed sitting on our balconies doing our hobbies. April and May 2024 - CascaisWe spent April and May in Cascais, including spending 6 days with Cindy's sister and brother-in-law from Canada. How special it was to have family visit us! June to August 2024 - Summer up NorthFrom April 1 to mid August, we split our time between Viana do Castelo and Porto. Viana do Castelo, known often as just Viana, is near the northern border with Spain, and is the furthest north we've been in Portugal. |