Post written by Laura
10 years ago on this very day, Chris and I published our somewhat brief but first ever From Blue To Green ‘introduction‘ blog post. As such, we thought this would be a great time to celebrate by looking back on the highlights of a decade of travel and adventures. We began this blog by documenting our career break, our year of extensive global travels with the main purpose being to keep a record of our epic trip and to keep family and friends updated. We also shared what we hoped would be informative details on things such as transport links, activities and hints and tips for the wider travel community.
Having had a fantastic time visiting many big ticket as well as some smaller and more remote worldwide destinations throughout 2016 we returned to the UK just before Christmas and went back work in January 2017.
We had such pleasure in 2016 creating and publishing blog posts that we decided to continue documenting our escapades even though we had to condense our travels down somewhat and fit our trips into our annual leave allowances!
Of course, right in the middle of the last 10 years we all experienced Covid which put the sudden and unexpected brakes on travel for all of us. To keep my travel blogging fix, I spent time during 2020 and 2021 resurrecting past photos and trip notes and compiling historical posts of pre-2016 adventures. The earliest trip covered in our blog probably dates back to around 2005.
For me, travel blogging has turned into my main hobby. Compared with our early posts, the later ones have become more and more detailed… And there is another good reason for this!
Money comes and goes… experiences stay with you for the rest of your life!
And even more so if you record them! I first stood next to Sagrada Familia in Barcelona nearly 20 years ago and had completely forgotten this! Yep – During my return visit in August this year, I was so sure I had never been that close to the most iconic of basilicas until I returned home and dug out my old Barcelona photographs which, a bit worryingly, proved me to be completely wrong!
I reflect back at such wonderful far flung once-in-a-lifetime locations as French Polynesia and the Philippines and while it is fantastic to have these memories, aided by our blog posts, it would have been even better to have recorded much more detail back then. Although at the time, on a relatively fast paced trip, balance had to be found between spending time blogging vs spending time doing!
500th blog post!
By sheer and unplanned coincidence, this also happens to be our 500th blog post!
Some facts and figures
Number of different countries visited between Nov 2015 to Nov 2025 = 89
Listed in order of visit:
England, Seychelles, USA, French Polynesia, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, China, Sri Lanka, Greece, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic (now Czechia), Luxembourg, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Falkland Islands, Uruguay, Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Antigua, Portugal, Maldives, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Wales, Norway, Montenegro, Canada, Cuba, Ireland, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Grenada, Lithuania, Jordan, Cyprus, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Nepal, Israel, Palestine, Spain, Vatican City, Poland, Ecuador, Serbia, Armenia, Georgia, St Kitts & Nevis, Egypt, Tunisia, India, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia, Norway, San Marino, Albania, Andorra
I realise that officially England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are one recognised country and that Kosovo and Palestine don’t always exist in the UN list of 195 official countries but it doesn’t matter… exploring such technicalities is for another time.
I’ve visited some of these countries including Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Norway, Portugal, Poland, USA, Colombia and Argentina more than once during the last 10 years. And a couple were very brief visits for example I only spent about an hour in Zambia. But I do have a Zambia passport stamp 🙂
Favourite places
It is always impossible to select ‘my top 10 or top 20 travel destinations or experiences’ as they are so wide and varied and I even look back of the difficult ones with fond memories. These are a few highlights which represent some of the best travel experiences of my life, and are in no particular order:
- Machu Picchu: entering through the Sun Gate after the final section of the Inca Trail was a breathtaking and unforgettable moment.
- Overlanding through all 7 Central American countries: travelling through these interesting and varied countries was incredibly exciting
- New Zealand: for its stunning scenery (although Norway is high up on my list for similar majestic mountains and fjords).
- Borneo: Malaysia is one of my favourite South East Asian countries and Chris and I had a wonderful time in Borneo last year.
- Ecuador and Galapagos: this was my favourite ‘group travel’ trip, taken with Explore. There is so much culture and variety in Ecuador and visiting the Galapagos with its unique wildlife was amazing.
- Japan: having had just one week in this fascinating country, I’m keen to go back and explore more of Japan at some point! (And maybe combine nearby South Korea too).
- Argentina road trip: road trips are one of our joint favourite activities and the one we did in the north of Argentina in 2016 was particularly memorable.
- Colombia: is one country I would love to return to
- Moorea: the small French Polynesian island that Chris and I circumnavigated on a moped – and one’s of Chris’s all-time highlights.
This blog post could actually fit the criteria of a ‘reverse bucket list’ a psychology concept which has gained popularity this year… this promotes wellbeing with the idea that a person looks back at their life and produces a list of positive memories and experiences. This activity is said to stimulate a sense of gratitude and appreciation of things achieved and reinforce confidence in a one’s ability to overcome new challenges.
Trekking
Trekking enables you to see and experience things at a slower and steadier pace and can also result in magnificent views that are not possible by any other means. Many of our trips have involved a hike or two…
In 2019, we discovered (thanks to our lovely friend Roza) and booked a section of the Italian Via Francigena. However, as a result of Covid interruptions and the need to re-book several times, we did our first 100 mile Via Francigena hike from Bolsena to Rome in 2022. We did two further sections (in 2023 and 2024) and hopefully will do more in the future.
One of the most difficult yet spectacular treks was the ‘Laguna de los Tres‘ in Patagonia. Not so much that it was technically ‘difficult’ it’s just that I was a bit unfit at the time. The reward of seeing the snow capped vistas and icy lake with my best friend Bridget was a moment to treasure.
2 weeks of solid trekking the Himalayas in Nepal was a tough but unforgettable experience.
And I’ve been fortunate to have completed many more including: a section of the Camino Frances, trekking in Jordan, trekking the Amalfi Coast and trekking in Norway.
People
A wide range of many people have been part of our decade of travel including the precious family and friends travelled with and also the kind and lovely folks we have met as a result. For example, fellow travellers on trips and tours, various different guides and the wonderful people we’ve stayed with when being hosted in local home stays.
Food
Throughout the last 10 years, food has started to feature more and more in our later posts. This is an important part of the culture of a country and as it is something I enjoy and appreciate I like to capture the memories of a delicious meal. 10 years ago, I took very few ‘food’ photos but now I probably go over the top in an attempt to remind myself of every tasty detail!
I want to remember the momo’s I was introduced to in Nepal, the empanadas in Argentina and the masala dosa’s in India. Maybe I would rather forget the cuy (guinea pig) in Peru 😦
Summary
I hope this post doesn’t come across as bragging or self indulgent… it isn’t meant to. Neither Chris or I have huge salaries and all of this has been achieved as a result of years of hard work and sacrifices. We made a lifestyle choice in 2013 to move to a low cost apartment to free up the means to travel. And, travel doesn’t have to be expensive, which has been the focus of our 2025 posts. I understand that to be able to travel is a privilege and I am constantly grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to make such choices. Finally, I’ve enjoyed looking back at many magical memories, which has given my well-being a boost!
During the next 10 years, I’m hoping to get to Central Asia and the Silk Road countries and perhaps a few more African countries. I’m also intending to continue prioritising the more ‘difficult’ trips, the tougher treks, the hard core camping etc, sooner rather than later, leaving cruises and luxury for the (hopefully) distant future.
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