Sweet Home Manitoba

So what is there to say after another great adventure? Looking back over the past six months we are struck again and again how things always worked out for the best. Lucky? Blessed? Whatever. We have found that getting out of our comfort zone is not only an adrenalin surge, but it is also life enriching. And we've said it a million times, it's all about the people. If you've followed us as we gallivanted around familiar as well as new places, thanks for sharing in our adventures. Until next time...

Thank You!

Caroline, Lerwick, Shetland Island                        Malcolm, Kirkwall, Orkney Island

David, Inverness, Scotland                                               Yang, Aberdeen, Scotland

Stewart and Jan McIntosh, Kinghorn, Scotland             David, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Seamus and Adah Cotter, Tralee, Ireland

Bradley and Martha Buckwalter-Davis, Dublin, Ireland          Rhys Roberts, Llandudno, Wales

Richard and Tricia, Gloucester, England                              Jan, Plymouth, England

Simon and Jan, Southampton, England                     Roger and Agri Ford, London, England

Once again we learned that the world is a wonderful place filled with friendly, helpful people. We found ourselves feeling at home in so many different places because the welcome we received was so warm. One of the best parts about meeting local people is that we learned so much from them about their history, their families, and their dreams for the future. There were many times that we were given information about a local site that wouldn't be found in any guide book or on line review. That led to numerous wonderful experiences that we won't ever forget. And now we have made new friends in many different corners of the world.

Marilyn Caille, Paris, France                                            Martine, Mont St Michel, France

Claire, Tours, France                                                    Frederic, Bordeaux, France

Alain and Veronique Cahour, Maubec, Provence, France

Isabelle Ribatto, Corte, Corsica

Annamaria Corti, Tavernelle, Italy

Gilardoni Fausto, Bellagio, Italy                               Norbert Von Aufschnaiter, Tyrol, Italy

Paulo, Venice, Italy

Boris and Mirandela Curkovic, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Toni, Split, Croatia                                                        Tea, Zadar, Croatia

Jelena Mlinaric, Plitvice Lakes, Croatia                      Catello Vitiello, Castellammare, Italy

Candy Collado, Quepos, Costa Rica                             Ashley, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Ian Colonel, Moyogalpa, Ometepe, Nicaragua          Gregg Powell, Granada, Nicaragua

Kelly Mcinturff, Gran Pacifica, Nicaragua

Many of our hosts were Airbnb people who not only used their homes or apartments to make an income but also wanted to connect with people from all over the world. We really enjoyed getting to know them and share stories with them. We found some Mennonite Your Way stays that were very welcoming and made us feel like we were at home. We didn't do many hotel stays but when we did, we found many helpful people who helped us plan our excursions and give us tips on everything from groceries to laundry. We also stayed with people from our previous trip or met them at their new home which meant we had lots of catching up to do. We were especially blessed when we celebrated Bernie's birthday with Audrey Garcia who hosted us the last time we were in Provence. 

Audrey and Marie Garcia, Avignon, Provence, France

Sarajevo friends, Sarajevo, Bosnia

Jason and Michelle Shepherd, Rome, Italy

John and Linda Janzen, Quepos, Costa Rica

Travel is at it's best when it is a shared experience. Not only did we enjoy traveling together once again as a family, we also go to meet our good friends Jason and Michelle Shepherd and their children Ryanne and Colby in Rome. What a fantastic week it was wandering through all the incredible sights together. Costa Rica was special for many reasons but exploring this fascinating and beautiful country with John and Linda Janzen (Bernie's brother and sister in law) made it even more memorable. And lastly, Matthew got to hang out with the surfer crowd in Gran Pacifica. Donald Green, his Aussie instructor, and his friends made sure Matthew felt comfortable taking on his new sport. People is what traveling is all about. Thanks for making our trip a journey to remember.

Donald Green and friends, Mind the Gap, Gran Pacifica, Nicaragua

Grand Gran Pacifica

When we started planning our Central America trip way back whenever, we decided to end it by relaxing by the Pacific Ocean in Nicaragua. We had heard about the Gran Pacifica Resort west of Managua from some friends who had enjoyed its laid back atmosphere and decided that it would be a great place to finish up our time in this beautiful part of the world. We weren't disappointed. Every day ended with a beautiful sunset over the ocean and we were blessed (or cursed) with endless hot, sunny weather.

Gran Pacifica is a gated resort with many humongous 'getaway homes'. We were fortunate to have a simple Airbnb to call home.

We did have to make some real adjustments to our day to day activities list since there really wasn't that much to do other than walk the beach (north and south), hang out at the pool, and read, read, read. This might be perfect for many vacationers but we really had to work on the whole 'slowing down' thing. Lucky for us we discovered a wonderful rustic beach hostel named Mind The Gap only a kilometer down the beach in a sleepy village called San Diego. Matthew and I signed up for surfing lessons with an Aussie surfer named Donald Green and we found the atmosphere to be very welcoming as we hung out with hostellers from all over the world. Being forced to spend each day relaxing was hard at first but since the heat sucked so much energy out of us every day, it was almost the only thing we could do from late morning to early evening.

And so our half year of traveling came to an end with us flying home from Managua at the end of January and resuming our normal life in southern Manitoba. It was quite an adventure and all the new friends we made along the way made it extra special. Some of these people (and places) will require a return visit one day. We're counting the days.