Zydeco, Borgo Magic, & Lemmy the Tortoise: A 2022 Recap
2022 was a once in a lifetime bucket list type of year. We continued our nomadic life but took things to the next level by traveling/ living internationally. Katie got married!! I went on my first African Safari! Pretty wild stuff!
Overview of our whereabouts the last year:
US
West Palm - Jan
Coconut Grove, Miami - Feb
New Orleans (Lower Garden District) - March
Arizona (Tempe, Tucson, Tombstone, Bisbee, Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedona) - April
New York - May
Denver (with impromptu Omaha stop) - May
Austin - July
International - The home stretch
Botswana - May
Banff (Edmonton> Jasper> Lived in Calgary> Banff> Yoho) - July
Costa Rica (Esterillos, La Fortuna, Monteverde)
Portugal (Lived in Lisbon, Sintra, Obidos)
Madeira
Puglia Italy/ Borgo for Katie’s wedding
Iceland
By the numbers (according to Google):
8 countries, 109 Cities, 506 places, 1.8 times around the world (44k miles)
And with that our nomadic years have come to an end..…for now. We really went for it and went out with a bang.
We returned from Iceland and began looking for a place in Miami. I’m happy to report we found an awesome spot in Coconut Grove that we’re in the process of settling into.
Highlights & Photos
*Note that you can click on the small photos to view them larger.
New Orleans:
We love New Orleans and it was actually the city we spent the most time in during Covid (outside of FL & Potomac). In our second stint we stayed in the Garden District. This is probably where you should stay when you visit (as opposed to the French Quarter).
Highlights included:
Beautiful airbnb in the Garden District: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/44334448
Marching through the French Quarter with Arcade Fire & Preservation Hall Jazz Band: Little did we know that we were in New Orleans during March Madness and that they were having free concerts. This led us to a free Arcade Fire Show with a finale that culminated in singing the chorus of “Wake Up” through the French Quarter.
Tornado that just missed us and hit a neighborhood a few miles away.
Zydeco Music Festival - I had never heard of this type of music (though I was somewhat familiar with it as cajun washboard music). It was wild to go to a festival of a completely new genre of music that had it’s own subculture, dance moves, etc.
Exploring Marigny
Eating: New Orleans has some of the best food in the country. Favorite restaurants: Saba, N7, Maypop, Turkey and the Wolf, Bar Marilou, & Beachbum Berry’s.
Arizona
Arizona has been one of my favorite states since I was young (I did my 5th grade state report on it after visiting around that time). My childhood analysis holds up. It’s probably one of the most beautiful states (let’s say top 7).
We found a very unique and affordable airbnb in Tempe and made that our homebase. This airbnb had a very unique feature…it came with a Tortoise named Lemmy. Lemmy came out and greeted us everyday and we fed him carrots, trying to not get our finger bit off by his beak. If you want to hang with Lemmy: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/17241011
Highlights:
Saguaro National Park: Saguaro is known for it’s cactuses (it’s namesake) and it did not disappoint. Very beautiful and surreal place that is quintessential Arizona desert. We had some very memorable drives at sunset.
Tombstone: Home of the O.K. Corral, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, etc. Very much in the middle of nowhere but cool to visit. It’s hard to wrap your mind around how they survived in such a remote place back in the day.
Bisbee - An artsy haunted town near the Mexican border. We went to a seance/ magic show and explored.
Grand Canyon: We hiked the Grand Canyon for Shilpa’s birthday. We had previously hiked the canyon our first trip out West together. This time we went much further in (Skeleton point). Let me tell you, going down is much easier than coming up and the name of the point is a warning. We made it back in one piece and then ate at a fancy restaurant (El Tovar Room) right on the rim. The Grand Canyon is a wonder of the world and one of the most spectacular places in America.
Sedona: We swam in Slide Rock park & hiked Bell Rock at sunset.
New York - Katie’s Bridal Shower
2022 was the year Katie got married. It was great seeing friends and family at the shower (many who we had not seen since the start of the pandemic)
Botswana
Shilpa and her family have traveled extensively in Africa and Botswana is their favorite country to visit. I was very fortunate to join them for the first time and it was an incredible experience. I won’t be able to do it justice in this post but I’m hoping to do a longer writeup.
We flew from New York to Johannesburg (Jo-Burg as Shilpa likes to call it). We stayed the night at the airport hotel and then took a flight to Maun (safari launch point). From Maun we took a Bush Plane to a lodge in the Okavongo Delta.
Me and Shilpa were the only people on the plane with the pilot (Shilpa’s family arrived a few days before us). The pilot flew lower than normal and we could see herds of elephants from above.
We landed and hopped on a jeep immediately where we met Shilpa's family in the Bush. It’s always fun meeting up with family in a remote location but this took that to a new level.
Notes:
We stayed at 5 camps in different parts of Botswana (Lagoon, Lebala, Kwara, Splash, Nxai Pan).
Misconception 1: Africa is hot. I think most people think of Africa as being hot but that was definitely not the case. It was freezing in the morning and they gave you “Bush Baby’s” (heated water bottles) and blankets.
Very early wake up: I want to say it was 5am. They wake you up early because dawn is one of the best times to see animals. They don’t let you walk around unattended (they take you to and from your room)
The safari itself is called a “game drive” which derives from it’s hunting roots
The military protects the animals
Misconception 2: The lions will eat us. In reality, the lions think you are part of the jeep which is perceived as a larger but non threatening animal. This was put to the test when our jeep broke down while gunning it to see Cheetahs. We broke down near a bunch of prides (maybe 20 lions) and would have just been sitting ducks if they caught on. We waited about 20 minutes for another jeep to come a mechanic proceeded to fix the jeep with the lions around.
The game drive has a driver and a tracker. The tracker sits in a chair at the front of the jeep literally looking for footprints. For some reason I had no idea that the term tracking derived from tracking footprints. At each camp we had a different combination of trackers and drivers. All were incredibly knowledgable. Mr. G was our favorite guide (pictured with an elephant skull) and James was the best tracker in all the camps (second picture).
Notable sightings: Families of lions, hippos, 2 cheetah brothers, honey badger, porcupine, hyenas, giraffes, zebras, baboons, leopards, Aardwolf, many elephant encounters
I’ll save more for a bigger post but it was a surreal and amazing trip. Here’s a photo of the milky way taken in Nxai Pan in the meantime.
Denver
This was my first time in Denver during the summer. It was my best trip to Denver.
Highlights:
Omaha - Yes, Omaha Nebraska the land of Warren Buffet and steaks. On the way to Denver our flight was diverted and to make a long story short we spent the night in the Omaha airport. We got brunch in Omaha and went to a farmers market before catching a new plane that flew in for us.
Rocky Mountain National Park - Rocky Mountain is one of the most accessible parks from a major city and it had some of the best food options nearby of any park we’ve been to. The little town of Estes Park is adorable and we gorged ourselves on taffy.
Red Rocks - It was my first time to Red Rocks and we saw a Pink Floyd Cover Band called Brit Floyd. Checked off the top of my bucket list concert venue.
Meow Wolf - It’s hard to describe but it’s sort of like if Rick and Morty, Alice and Wonderland, and Chuck-e-Cheese soul bonded and tripped on acid. Very imaginative and immersive experience.
Meeting Baby Gad - Got to meet Max and Lauren’s baby and catch up over Safta
Canadian Rockies
Banff has been on my list for a long time and we had wanted to travel to Canada earlier in the pandemic but the border was closed. We flew into Edmonton which you wouldn’t normally do but all the cars were booked in Calgary. We later learned this was because of something called the Calgary Stampede. From Edmonton we drove to Jasper > Banff> Calgary. We lived in Calgary and visited the parks on the weekend.
Peyto Lake
Highlights:
Jasper - Jasper is north of Banff and lesser known. Less people visit because it’s further but it’s arguably prettier than Banff if you’re counting the Icefield Parkway. It also features the Columbia Icefield Glacier (largest Icefield in North America).
Icefield Parkway - This is probably one of the most epic drives in the world. You’re surrounded by glaciers.
Calgary - We lived in Calgary which is definitely not something I ever thought I would do. It exceeded our expectations and we had a great time. We were there for Canada Day and The Stampede.
Banff - Banff is the nicest national park town we’ve been to and the area features Lake Louise and Lake Moraine. These are the lakes that you’ve probably seen on instagram and have beautiful turquoise waters.
Living the dream on Lake Moraine
Calgary Stampede - This is one of the biggest Rodeos in the world. Cowboys from everywhere congregate and chuckwagon race. Native Americans bareback horse ride with war paint on the horses. There is a review show that features country singing, large musical numbers with kids performing, drone show, & fireworks. There is also a giant carnival component with poutine trucks as far as the eye can see.
Yoho & Rafting on the Kicking Horse - We were supposed to drive from Canada down to Glacier but we had to improvise when Going to the Sun Road was still closed from snowpack despite it being the middle of the summer.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica was a beautiful adventure. We lived in 3 different places: Esterillos Oeste, La Fortuna, & Monteverde. The scenery and landscapes are as lush and tropical as it gets. Our airbnbs were all uniquely situated (more below).
It was more rugged/ rural than we imagined as so many American tourists go there. I’m guessing most don’t drive around the country and mostly stay in resorts. I say this because the roads are very windy, narrow, often unpaved, and at times required four wheel drive. We also visited during the rainy season. It didn’t rain all the time but when it did it was torrential. We were very happy that we took the full insurance on the car.
Esterillos Oeste: This is a small beach town on the West Coast. We basically stayed here for it’s proximity to Manuel Antonio National Park and the amazing AirBnb.
Our AirBnB: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/600661861760419424?source_impression_id=p3_1677789487_eJMGtefVMFbA6uJ5
This was probably the coolest airbnb we’ve stayed in. It had a pool that overlooked the beach with Macaws regularly flying over us. Our host brought fresh coconuts that we drank in the mornings. It was lovely.
Manuel Antonio - Manuel Antonio is a national park that features hidden beaches and sloths! It’s one of the places you think about when you picture Costa Rica. We went swimming in a secluded beach and monkey’s came for our backpacks. We had to run from the water to rescue our stuff.
Rainmaker - This was a hike near our airbnb that had multiple swimming holes with waterfalls. We had the place to ourselves. It was a magical day.
La Fortuna - We lived in the hills overlooking Arenal Volcano (the one you see in postcards). This in itself was surreal. Our Airbnb pumped in hot spring water into a giant spa so you could sit in it and overlook the volcano. We also saw many toucans in the forests around us which was one of wildlife sightings I really wanted to see going into the trip.
Frog Sanctuary Night Tour - This was a sleeper activity and one of my favorites. Notable sightings: Red Eyed Tree Frog & eggs, Eyelash pit viper, pigmy rain frog, Glass frog. Walking around and avoiding vipers was definitely interesting but the guides did a good job and you didn’t feel like you were in danger.
Tabacon - Heaven on Earth. Its a series of cascading hot springs.
Monteverde - Monteverde is famous for it’s cloud forrest and rolling green hillside (it’’s name translates to Green Mountain). We had another cool Airbnb here.
Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve - The Cloud Forrest has a mystical quality. You climb into mist and have stunning views of the continental divide. We were fortunate to see a very rare bird there, “the resplendent quetzal.”
Selvatura Adventure Park - Epic ziplining and hanging bridges. Had a great time and cool seeing monkeys at the top of trees.
Portugal
We lived in Lisbon for 3 weeks and explored other areas on the weekends. We stayed in a beautiful apartment (airbnb) with views of little streets and sloped orange rooftops. We stayed in an area that was less touristy (Santos) next to Green Street. It was very charming. One interesting note is that we had to pack for Portugal (summer clothing), Katie’s wedding (tux, etc), & Iceland (winter clothing).
Overlooking Lisbon from Alfama (oldest neighborhood in Lisbon)
Lisbon - Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world (oldest in Western Europe) predating London, Paris, & Rome. It feels and looks old. One of the defining features of the city is the tile on the buildings (blue and white being the classic). The city is on the water and on a hill. Many of the streets are curved and slope upward. This leads to the second defining feature which are the cable cars which take people up the hills.
Other great things about Lisbon are the value and the weather. Similar to New Orleans in the states, Lisbon is cheaper than its counterparts. We could regularly Uber places for $5, and we took an uber an hour away to Sintra for $20. This combined with great weather and vibrant nightlife make it very appealing. It’s very liveable and chill.
Notable activities: Belem Tower (sea fort) paired with pasteis de nata (custard tart), Lx Factory (art studios/ shops), Alfama (one of the oldest neighborhoods with great views), Fado dinner (haunting ballads specific to Lisbon), lunch with Mike and Allison!
Sintra - Sintra is about an hour outside Lisbon and is really the top site to see within the Lisbon area. It’s an area with fairytale palaces and mansions that all try to outdo each other in grandeur. We visited Pena Palace, Quinta da Regaleira, & Palacio de Monserrate. I could write a lot about each but I’ll let the pictures do the talking in the meantime.
Obidos - A medieval city from the 12th century that is still fully walled. When you approach you can see a giant aqueduct and vendors selling puppets of knights and princesses. The town has blue and yellow accents with Bougainvillea that scale the walls. From the city walls there is pastoral countryside. It reminded me of a mixture of St. Paul de Vance in France and some of the Greek Island villages.
Madeira
Madeira was the darkhorse of our travels. It’s a spectacular island I had never heard of before we started doing research. While Madeira is part of Portugal it is closer to Africa than Europe. It’s kind of like Hawaii for Europeans.
We spent a long weekend there. We flew Tap Air Portugal which I’m specifically mentioning because they’re the worst (besides Ryan Air). Sidenote, the Portuguese airports were more like bus or train terminals in that you don’t know your gate and you sit around waiting for it to be announced. We also generally took buses to the plane and boarded from the tarmac.
We landed on what is one of the more treacherous landing strips in the world in that it is built on a cliff. We rented a car and drove around the whole island. The island has amazing driving infrastructure and very modern highways built through the mountains. This was completely unexpected for such a small place. This being said, while the highways were modern the city roads and parking lots were super narrow and tested our driving abilities. At times I felt like we were Austin Powers trying to turn around in an impossibly tight space. Overall the drive around the island was stunning and you almost always had a view of the water.
Ponta do Rosto - One of the most dramatic places in Madeira with 360 views. The first picture above was also taken here.
Pico de Ariero - one of the highest peaks in Madeira where you are above the clouds. Has wild views and a beautiful sunset.
Porto Moniz - swimming grottos with the sea on one side and terraced cliffs on the other.
Funchal - This is the largest city and where we stayed. Our hotel was a little outside of the main part of town but had beautiful views. Funchal is very developed and has lots of restaurants and nightlife. We had the best Indian meal of our travels there.
Cabo Girao - the highest cape in Madeira (and all of Europe).
Puglia/ Katie’s Wedding
After Portugal we hopped on over to Puglia for Katie & Alex’s wedding. Puglia is the region that makes up the boot of Italy. It’s remote and pastoral with gnarled olive trees many hundred of years old. It kind of reminded me of Greece (and was at one time part of Greece). We flew from Lisbon> Rome> Brindisi> then took a car about an hour to the dreamy Borgo Egnazia.
We arrived at the beginning of week, giving us time to enjoy the Borgo and spend time with the family before everyone arrived. We celebrated Mom’s 75th birthday on a sailboat and visited the beautiful towns of Polignano a Mare & Alberobello. We had decadent breakfasts in the garden featuring platefuls of handmade burrata & fresh “green juice.”
Polignano a Mare
Alberobello
Mom’s 75th Birthday
Gradually close friends and family started to arrive. It was very nice to be able to hang out and catch up with everyone as opposed to the one’s getting married.
Thursday we went to welcome drinks in Ostuni (the white city).
Friday we partied in the courtyard featuring a feast, fire breathers, & traditional Puglian dancing.
Saturday was showtime. The brothers had been asked to officiate and the day of the anticipation had us both making last minute changes and practicing. There was a lot of neurosis across the board.
Finally it was time for the ceremony. Katie looked stunning in her dress. The huppah shimmered with glass, flowers, & my Dad’s Talis. As the ceremony progressed the wind from the sea blew wild. It was a memorable bit of chaos and perhaps my Dad making his presence felt.
We then proceeded to a magical garden party and epic beach party featuring fireworks during the hora. Very epic.
Iceland
Instead of traveling around Italy like sane people we set off for one last bucket list location. Iceland had been on my list for quite some time and was “on the way back.” Getting to Iceland from Puglia was not as easy in practice as it was in theory. Things got complicated when our flight to Milan was delayed and we missed the connection. We spent a bonus night in Milan. We flew out the next day but our flight to Iceland was also delayed. This was a problem because our Iceland itinerary was very tightly choreographed and involved driving distances each day.
We arrived in Reykjavik around midnight after a whole day of travel. At the airport we mentally prepared ourselves, bought many energy drinks, and changed into winter clothes. We then drove 3 or so hours on the ring road so that we could make a 9am ice cave tour the next morning. We made it in one piece, seeing vapor rise from the volcanic landscape and looking for the Northern lights along the way.
Day 1: Katla Ice Cave from Vik
Highlights: exploring an ice cave, black sand beaches of Vik, lava field from the eruption responsible from the french revolution, excellent dinner by our hotel (Klausturhof guesthouse).
Day 2: Black sand diamond beach and zodiac glacier tour
Highlights: Massive Glaciers, Black sand beaches with glacier chunks that looked like diamonds, zodiac (little boat) tour through icebergs
Day 3: Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon & Skógafoss
Day 4: Golden Circle
Highlights: Thingvellir National Park Geysir Geothermal Area, Gullfoss Waterfall, Kerid Crater, Northern lights sighting
Hotel Laxarbakki & the Northern Lights
The Northern Lights were a big inspiration for going to Iceland and we monitored the conditions the entire time we were there. Basically there are sites that tell you how likely they are to appear in your area based on a number of factors. We were not in Iceland during the winter but September was supposed to be a good time (so you’re saying there’s a chance).
On one of our last nights we stayed at a hotel that was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It featured a salmon crest and very nice staff which told us we had a shot at seeing them. We set our alarm for 3 in the morning and went outside in ferocious wind and cold. We could see a milky haze and when you used your phone or camera you saw the green of the Northern lights. It wasn’t the dazzling light show best case scenario but it was the first time I’ve experienced them and hopefully not the last!
Day 5: Blue Lagoon
Highlights: Swimming in the lagoon, eating a fancy lunch in our robes, driving, Gunnuhver geothermal pools, and Brimketill waves
I’m hoping to do a longer writeup that builds off this but in short Iceland should really be called lava land and is incredible.
Best of:
Best Meals:
Hello Sunshine - Banff
O Corrido - Lisbon
Borgo, every meal - Puglia
Lava Restaurant - Blue Lagoon, Iceland
Turkey & the Wolf - New Orleans
La Mar - Miami
Lengua Madre - New Orleans
Safta - Denver
El Five - Denver
Dahlia - Lisbon
The Soup Company- Vik, Iceland
Thanksgiving (obviously) - Potomac
Favorite reads
101 essays that will change the way you think
How will you measure your life?
Steal Like an Artist
Surely you’re joking Mr. Feynman
Ikigai
The obstacle is the way
I also wrote this book recs and wisdom post if you're looking for either:
https://www.maxklausner.com/blog/books
Best Shows
Station 11
The Crown (season 3 & 4)
Rick & Morty (season 5)
House of the Dragon
Only Murders in the Building (season 2)
Stranger Things (season 4)
Andor
Upload season 2
The Andy Warhol Diaries
The Boys season 3
Yellow Jackets
Favorite songs
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1F0sijgNaJdgit?si=8ec5a64e6dfe4ad0
Other notes from the year:
This was the year that Covid times came to and end. Being back with larger groups was good for the soul and society in general.
I grew long hair - My hair is now the longest it’s ever been.
I made art with AI (dall-e)
We dressed Ellie as a pirate for Halloween. Shilpa and I went as Lydia and Beetlejuice.
It was a year we lived many lives. Each place had it’s own unique culture and we got to experience many ways of living.
If you made it to the end, I’m very impressed. Wishing you love, health, & fulfillment this year and beyond.