We had an incredible year full of travel and now half way across the globe we’re promptly at the start of 2017— still on the road. We had a good time scrolling through over 3,000 photos Tom took and reading all the hastily written notes from traveling 18,000 miles. We had a lot of laughs, a great deal of triumphs, and moments of shear exhaustion. Travel can be hard work, but it’s a life we’re truly grateful to live. Just as a recap we wanted to put together a fun page of highlights over the past year.

16 Photos As We Explore Cultures Outside Of Our Own

“No matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away.”

— Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

24 New Places We Explored

Mancora, Peru

Huaraz, Peru

Cusco, Peru

Aguas Calientes, Peru

Huacachina, Peru

Paracas, Peru

Arequipa, Peru

San Pedro De Atacoma, Chile

Santiago, Chile

Valparaíso, Chile

Auckland, New Zealand

Nelson, New Zealand

San Diego, California

Tempe, Arizona

Moab, Utah

Santa Marta, Colombia

Palomino, Colombia

San Gil, Colombia

Barichara, Colombia

Guadalupe, Colombia

Salento, Colombia

San Augustine, Colombia

Ipiales, Colombia

Banos, Ecuador

Things We’ve Learned

Human sacrifices still happen in remote villages in the Andes

Beer in Peru is terrible

Dentists in Peru don’t always wear gloves

We can’t control what happens, but we do have control over how we deal with it

There are good people and bad people everywhere in the world

Most prices in Peru aren’t fixed (AKA gringo tax)

Sand boarding is much harder than snowboarding

Ecuador is expensive if traveling on a budget

Traveling from A to B in South America can be expensive, but once you arrive it’s very affordable

A VPN is necessary when traveling for identity security

Patience is important

Personal space is a luxury worth appreciating when you are afforded

A good hot shower is a blessing

Travel is hard work and not everyone wants to put in that work, but the benefits are well deserved in the end

7 Things We Never Thought We’d Get To Do

Bungee jump from 230ft

Climb 15,583ft over a pass in the Andes Mountains

Swim in a waterfall

Have temporary residency in a country half-way around the world

Swim in the Pacific Ocean on Christmas

Rent a car in a foreign country and drive on the left side of the road

Travel to more countries than we are years old

Hike Machu Picchu

Stargaze in the Atacama Desert in Chile

Take a bus for 30 consecutive hours

Eat ants by choice

Gain employment in another country

Learn a new language in another country

Moments Of Unforgetable Bad Luck

Getting robbed at gunpoint in Colombia

Having our credit card information swiped

Missing our overnight bus in Mancora

Getting a parasite in Peru

Throwing up out of a bus window on a six hour journey through the Andes

Getting into a bus accident in San Gil Colombia

Goals We’ve Met

Climbing Machu Picchu

Inspiring a friend from back home to travel for the first time

Inspiring our parents and families to get passports for the first time

Reaching out to new audiences through Scratch My Pack Travel

Finding jobs and a house in New Zealand in order to continue traveling

Planing a DIY wedding while traveling the globe

Types Of Travelers We Met Over The Year

*This is based on our own personal data and accounts for travelers we engaged with and got to know, not everyone we came in contact with.

Nationalities Of Travelers We Met

There are so many different backpackers that we met, but of the 118 backpackers we accounted for these are the top results. If there is a slash it's because the two countries were an even amount.