12.29.21
Three years ago, when we left the US and decided to travel the world and stay for six weeks at different locations, our plan was to eventually “slow down” and have access to two, three, or more locations that we loved and could return to. Somewhere we had a relationship for lodging and maybe even had friends.
That is now happening.
As the beginning of 2021 unfolded, like many, we were still “COVID stuck,” unable to travel freely, so until June we remained in Puerto Morelos, Mexico, just south of Cancun. We recognized it was a good place to “hunker down,” since we had great winter weather, inexpensive cost of living, and were just minutes to the water. Kathleen and I were both anxious to get back on the road, but we had a detour—the birth of her first grandchild—in January. So she spent the summer in Ohio with her son and family, and I traveled solo throughout Mexico, Oaxaca, and Mexico City, then Ecuador, spending most of my time in Quito and Cuenca.
I was never driven to visit Latin America, but Ecuador captured my heart due to unbelievable beauty, great weather, lots of amazing mountains and canyons, and a good friend I met as my AirBNB host. The idea of returning to Ecuador is still possible, though I remain drawn to Europe, specifically Eastern/ Southern Europe, and the Balkan countries.
Kathleen met me in Peru in September, and we travelled throughout much of the country via bus, went to Machu Picchu, saw some amazing places, and stayed at a hotel literally on the side of a mountain, called the Vertical Lodge. Our 21 days in Peru were magical, then we both returned to the US where Kat went back to Ohio and I had a business trip in Dubai, another first for me. My 10 days in Dubai were better than I expected, and I was overwhelmed with the architecture and over the top attitude of the city. Would I return? Probably only by necessity.
After Dubai I was back to the US (Nashville) for a business event, then Kat and I met in Newark, NJ for our first adventure back to Croatia, formerly our favorite country. I’ll get to that in a moment. She had some dental work to finish and since we knew the area it was a place for us to hang out, enjoy good food and weather, and just BE for two months. We were in Split from the beginning of October until the first week of December and then flew to a brand-new adventure—Turkey—which is where we are now. Neither one of us had Turkey on our radar, even though we almost came here twice before. No, what drove us here was weather, and the approaching winter, and the charts that showed the winters here in Antalya are mild.
In Croatia we developed relations with two different landlords and arranged to return in the off-season, when prices were better. That was the plan until Turkey…We thought we’d spend six months or more in Croatia (but only 90 days at a time) and the rest of the time traveling.
Turkey kind of took us in a new direction.
One of our biggest concerns during our travels was the normal 90-day visa limitation which was always in our minds since we knew we’d have to exit where we were. With some research we found Turkey’s residency laws to be quite lenient and we are in the process of getting a visa for one to two years. It does not FORCE us to remain here, but gives us a great home base. It’s a big country with lots to explore, and that is our plan. We are strategically located on the border of Europe and Asia, which is great for going east or west. We can also go north to the former Soviet countries and Scandinavia, too. And just south is Africa, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, etc…so we are literally perched at the center of the compass for this part of the world.
For now our plans are uncertain, but we know we will be in Antalya until May 1 or so, then it gets more crowded, hot and expensive—the unholy three! But between now and then we will explore other parts of Turkey to determine where to enjoy the summer months. The plan is to get a (motor) bike and check out the west coast of the country, which offers many options to suit us for several months. And not having to worry about “leaving” is a blessing.
Our travels are far from over and my list of “must visit” countries has about 20 more left. But unless things change, we will probably call Turkey our “home” for the foreseeable future. We can maintain temporary residency for five to eight years and then be eligible to become official and legal full-time residents.
We are not close to settling, but we are close to settling down. As 2022 unfolds we have many things in mind, and monitoring the traveling COVID-related complexities and the challenges of international travel are at the top of our list. Keep your eyes on us as we continue to Travel Younger.
