2022 - Derek Healed. We Picked Up the Pace. The Doors Kept Opening.

Americans keep telling us that Covid is over and it is—kinda—in some places. But not everywhere. We've continued to need masks, vaccine passes, and special permission to enter many countries. The conditions and restrictions are evolving but many challenges remain. The big one, of course, is getting covid.

We got it (we blame the Russian tourists). They were packed into our hotel in Phuket, Thailand in January. Like Eve with the apple, Lisa got it first and gave it to me. Having been vaccinated repeatedly, we had mild cases and bounced right back.

But Covid continued to complicate our lives. Our younger kid, Lane, visited us in Naples, Italy, and so did Covid. Lane spent an extra five nights alone in an Airbnb waiting to test negative for re-entry to the US.

This past year in a nutshell

Between concerns about Covid and the need for medical treatment, our last year has been a pretty even mix of moving fast and staying put. We spent a fair amount of time in Iceland and then in Thailand, sitting still, so we were ready to get back to moving and that's exactly what we've done. Once we got the green light to go, we picked up the pace a lot.

Last time we talked was near the end of our time in Iceland. While we loved it there, we had been vaccinated by the kind Icelanders, and after 3.5 months, we were ready to get going again. The Covid numbers and the tourist numbers were down in Europe and the cheap prices and short museum lines beckoned.

But...

The foot hanging over our heads

Throughout our time in Iceland, we had Lisa's foot hanging over our heads. She'd been experiencing foot pain since we left Thailand in April of 2021. An MRI, and a second MRI, showed that surgery was a strong possibility.

The foot impacted our time in Iceland, making hiking difficult, but we were hoping to get through the summer before the surgery became necessary. Lisa was still hoping the foot would heal, so she wouldn’t need to have the surgeon fix it.

The Icelandic doctor said there was no rush, so off we went from Reykjavik to Venice. The adventure was underway after chilling out, literally, in cold Iceland. We picked up the pace knowing that the foot might soon slow us down again—it clearly wasn’t done with us. The recovery time for surgery would be many months, but in the meantime, we had places to see, things to do, gelato to eat. Off we went.

The itinerary—July to September 2021

Italy: We flew to Venice and checked into a very dark hotel room. Normally, we’re not big fans of a dark room but after nearly endless daylight in Iceland, we welcomed the darkness.

Venice was quiet. We were able to visit the tourist attractions without crowds. That was terrific. We were also able to spend time in Florence and Bologna. Visiting Florence without crowds was a gift. It wasn't crowded but it was, however, hot.

Austria: We caught a short flight to Vienna and spent a week doing tourist things. Again there weren’t many tourists and that made the visit to the city a pleasure.

Then it was time to cool off. A quick train ride took us high up into the Alps. We spent a few weeks in Mayrhofen riding the gondolas up a different mountain each day for a long hike followed by lunch with a view. Lisa was able, powered by the amazing scenery, to wobble along in her hiking boots.

France: We wrapped up the summer with a month in Paris. My mom joined us for part of that visit. I visited Berthillon for ice cream twenty-eight days in a row. The queue was short of tourists so I kept going back. I also visited quite a few pastry shops. Thankfully lots of walking helped work off the snacks. But after four weeks it was time to go. We grabbed a flight back to the US for visits with our families and the orthopedic doctor.

Derek joins the family

In October the surgeon worked his magic and replaced Lisa's tendon with a donor tendon, which she named Derek. He's good and does exactly what tendons are supposed to do. But he didn't make it easy.

Lisa had the surgery in early October and could not put weight on the foot. That meant using a combination of crutches and a knee scooter for six weeks. One of the benefits of living in hotels is how easy it is to book an "accessible" room. I'm not sure how we'd have survived without the special handrails in the bathroom.

Lisa continued to recover but would need months of physical therapy in order to get back on her feet. We headed off to Thailand where we knew she'd get the care she needed allowing us to take a pass on the North Carolina winter which was drawing near.

On the road again

Flying to Thailand was a joy. We took advantage of the first-class treatment offered by the airlines when someone is encountering mobility issues. Japan Airlines did more than we could have imagined making our journey easy.

Thailand: We picked Thailand for the recovery for a couple of reasons. We knew physical therapy would be different than in the US. There is something magical about the Thai people. They are very hands-on, compassionate, and gentle. The idea of getting the therapy in a Thai hospital was very appealing.

Thailand was also appealing because the hotels offer terrific service, plus it's so easy to have meals delivered or to grab a taxi for quick trips. It's an easy place to navigate and Lisa took full advantage of the help.

We underwent a brief quarantine to enter the country, then stayed in Bangkok for six weeks. The doctor treating Lisa had trained at Duke under Lisa's surgeon. The physical therapy worked quickly and we could see progress with each visit. We knew we had made the right call by flying to Thailand.

As the holidays approached we flew down to Phuket where our eldest child, Toby, is living. The physical therapy continued and there was even some beach walking because sand challenges the foot muscles.

Getting Covid slowed us down a bit and therapy was skipped for a week. But, that was just a short detour on the path to recovery.

A spring in her step—recovered!

By February Lisa was ready to go, and we'd been rewarded with a negative Covid PCR test. She donated her boot and her crutches and we headed for the airport.

While Lisa didn't entirely trust Derek she was ready to put him to the test. She'd written a thank you note to the donor family and it was time to put some mileage on the foot.

The itinerary—February to Present

In the past, we’ve generally traveled slowly, staying for a while in each spot. It's fairly common for us to find housing and plop down for a month, visiting the same restaurants a few times each, making a friend or two at the parking ticket office, and figuring out the locations of the public toilets. But Covid-plus-Derek had slowed us down and we were raring to go. We started moving much faster than usual.

The list of places we have visited this past year is long—much longer than in prior years. We’ve been moving quickly, and we've had some great experiences, but it won't surprise me if we slow down a bit going forward.

Here's where we've been lately:

UAE: We flew from Bangkok to Dubai for a whirlwind visit. We've got friends we wanted to see there plus the 2020 (delayed until 2022) World Expo was on. On top of that, we had a bunch of free night certificates for Hilton and IHG Hotels to use up before they expired. Dubai is a great spot for luxury hotel stays since every brand has a presence there.

Our visit involved lots of packing and unpacking. We slept in four different hotels over twelve days. The Expo was fantastic and we enjoyed seeing our friends. The most unusual hour of the visit was spent in the Dubai Abaya Mall where Lisa bought the clothing required for our next stop.

Saudi Arabia: We landed in Medina and jumped into a taxi headed for the Hilton. The taxi promptly rear-ended the car in front and we evacuated on a four-lane road jammed with rush hour traffic. It was quite something to watch Lisa roll her suitcase through traffic while covered in her new Abaya dragging along on the road surface.

We arrived at the Hilton in an Uber and approached the front desk. Within moments we were in a different Uber headed away after the hotel informed us that we non-Muslims would have to stay elsewhere. It was a little awkward but handled professionally and we understood that we needed to comply with the law. A Marriott was just a couple of miles away.

Over the next couple of days we toured Medina and got a glimpse into the mosque being expanded to accommodate 1.8 million simultaneous worshippers. We then rented a car and headed up to Al Ula to see the ruins, the mountains, and the desert. It's fascinating to see Saudi Arabia opening up to tourists and Al Ula is being expanded with new hotels and restaurants. Things are, hopefully, evolving in many ways.

Bahrain: We only spent a few days in Bahrain and it was a bit of respite. Arriving at the brand new airport was impressive. The hotel was nice. The malls are beautiful. Bahrain reminds of us of Dubai but in the early stages. We had some great meals and got mentally prepared for Iraq.

Iraq: We got off the plane in Bagdad expecting to be greeted by a hotel representative we'd paid to walk us through the cumbersome visa process. That person was a no-show so we waded into the chaos. An hour later we emerged with a visa and headed through immigration. Then we had to find a taxi because the hotel had failed us on the arrival service. It wasn't a good start.

It got more interesting when the taxi pulled into a concrete bunker outside the hotel. The taxi hood, trunk, and all doors were opened as the armed guards searched and the dogs sniffed. All was good, we got checked in and went to bed.

The next day started off right with the hotel providing a great buffet breakfast. We let them off the no-show airport hook.

Off we went touring the cradle of civilization seeing ruins along with one of Sadam's palaces. We peered out the car windows at more weapons, bunkers, and watchtowers than we'd ever seen. We toured around the region for a couple of days and were stopped at checkpoints about twice per hour. It was fascinating.

We had dinner on a raft near the confluence of the Tigris and the Euphrates and then hit the Starbucks on the way out of town. We flew off for Egypt where things were crazy in a different way.

Egypt: I've now spent a cumulative total of a several months in Egypt over the years, so I'm used to the chaos. It has a frenetic pace I find energizing. It's a fun city to wander if you're good with stepping into the insanity. It's not for everyone.

We spent some time in Cairo and then took the train to Alexandria, a city neither of us had ever visited. The train was dirtier and took much longer than expected and we bailed on the return trip four days later and took a taxi back to Cairo where we loaded up on our favorite Egyptian food—koshari—and bought some plane tickets.

Buying the plane tickets proved to be a challenge. We needed a flight on Air Algerie to Algeria. They won't accept online payments which took me a while to understand because who doesn't accept online payments? Apparently, they only take Algerian credit cards.

After four trips to the Air Algerie office in downtown Cairo, two of which required bringing big piles of filthy and tattered Egyptian pounds, I secured the tickets. It was a step backward in time and made us wonder how things might go when we landed in Algiers.

Tunisia: We flew from Cairo to Tunis which I'd visited ten years earlier. This was Lisa's first visit. Not much has changed in the intervening years except that the most important museum in the country, a big item on Lisa's agenda, was closed due to political shenanigans.

We spent nearly two weeks exploring Tunis and road-tripping to ruins outside of the city until my mother came to visit. Her arrival coincided with a move over to the coast and an apartment in Sidi Bou Said. Ramadan commenced and the restaurants closed. That'll probably be our last trip to a Muslim country during that holiday. It gets complicated.

Italy: From Tunisia we flew to Italy for a planned meetup with Lane, our younger child who flew from the US to visit. Lane visited Paris before joining us in Naples for pizza. We suspect the hostel in Paris was the spot where Lane picked up Covid. The fact that we didn't catch it from the kid was a miracle.

Before Lane tested positive we ate lots of pizza, visited Pompeii, toured the Amalfi coast, and wandered the city. It was a great visit despite the virus, but eventually we waved "buh-bye" and headed off (after repeatedly testing negative).

We left Lane behind waiting for a negative Covid test, and took the train to Milan where we started a two-week road trip through the Cinque Terra, Modena, Ravenna, and Perugia. Perugia was the high point for me as a lawyer-tourist, because I walked by the house where Amanda Knox didn't kill her roommate.

Bouncing from Egypt and Tunisia in North Africa over to Italy is a bit of a culture shock but we quickly adjusted. Now it was time to do the transition in reverse and head back to Africa. That adjustment is harder.

Algeria: Why go to Algeria? I'm not always sure how we end up in the places we visit. We had an interesting time, so I'm glad we went. Will we go back? Well, maybe we'll go visit Sefar in the south next year. We're not sure. But Algeria doesn't hold broad appeal as a tourist destination.

We flew to Constantine and took two days of long drives out to the ruins of Djemila and Timgad. They were impressive and worth the trip.

But, Algeria is a hassle. I've mentioned the flights. Getting cash in the country is equally challenging. The required visa is a similar obstacle course of expense and bureaucracy. We applied for a single entry visa for our trip. We ended up with a two-year multiple entry visa. Maybe we'll head back in order to maximize the value of our investment. But, maybe not.

Spain: We flew to Madrid from Algeria mostly because it was easy to get a ticket. After the giant hassle of buying the tickets to Algeria on Air Algerie I just wanted to go online and book something. I saw a points deal for Madrid and we were booked in a click. Lisa had been wanting to go back to see a particular museum. We'd done our time in Muslim countries and scurried toward pork and wine and beer. The restaurants were crowded with American and European tourists making up for lost Covid time.

Greece: We decided to escape the crowds in Madrid by heading out of the European Union to slightly less touristy destinations. We figured, correctly, that crowds would be thinner and prices would be lower if we went East. We made a quick stop on the island of Corfu on our way to the Balkans. The cruise ships are back but things were a little calmer than in Madrid. We booked a car and an apartment and wandered the island for a week before catching the ferry to Albania.

Albania: We didn't expect to love Sarande, Albania. I don't think we really had expectations except that we knew it was on the water. We arrived at the ferry terminal and were embraced by the people of the area. We spent an hour picking up our rental car at the ferry terminal and the guy was great. That vibe continued at the hotel and the first restaurant. We'd only been in town for two hours and were loving it.

We didn't stay in Sarande long enough. We'll be back to explore more nearby beaches. After a short extension to our original plan, we headed off to the capital, Tirana. Again, we didn't stay long enough. What a great country.

North Macedonia: We fondly refer to our rental car as "The Shitbox" because we nearly always rent the tiniest, most scraped-up, cheapest car they've got on offer. Cars today, even shitboxes, aren't cheap. Rental prices have gone through the roof. We booked this one in advance and Enterprise honored the price that doubled in the interim. It's a Romanian Dacia Logan and it struggles a little in the mountains. But the pre-dinged up front and back ends are a pleasure to park in the tight spaces we're finding in these little towns. I don't even worry when the road narrows to the point where we scrape the buildings or the oncoming traffic. Nice cars are for people who like filing insurance claims.

This country is a hidden gem. We spent a too-short four nights on Lake Ohrid which is beautiful and has plenty of great restaurants. Then we drove to Skopje, the capital city. Skopje is weirdly terrific. Visitors often use the term "quirky" to describe it and that pretty much nails it. It's a unique European city.

Kosovo: We spent so little time in Kosovo that it barely warrants a mention. But we stumbled upon Bill Clinton Boulevard in Pristina and then found a huge sculpture of the former president standing nearby. Clinton is a hero to many in the country. It's always interesting to see the impact of America in the countries we visit.

Serbia: We didn't know what to expect in Serbia and were pleasantly surprised. In fact, the word surprise was our dominant reaction to much of our Balkan road trip. Belgrade is an awesome European capital. The architecture, the rivers, the parks, the food, and the people all impressed us. The prices were also a pleasant surprise.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sarajevo served as our final stop on our road trip and was the drop-off spot for the shit box. We left it behind and the rental agent confirmed that it was no more damaged than when we picked it up. I always breathe a sigh of relief when I'm no longer responsible for a car. We took a quick drive down to Mostar and the drive was spectacular rivaling the scenery we'd seen in Norway and down in Patagonia. Sarajevo survived four years under siege suffering 350 mortars per day and endless sniper fire. The city has bounced back but trouble may be on the horizon. Sarajevo is an endless source of lessons.

Romania: We blew through Bucharest a couple of days ago on the way to where we're sitting right now. We'll need to go back because we only got a glimpse of the city as we spent two nights and headed to the train station. Romania makes a good first impression.

As you read this we're tucked away in Brasov. It's a small mountain town that does much of its tourist business during the winter in the ski season. But, because it's in a mountainous region it's a good cool spot to visit during the hot summer months. We'll stick around for a month and recuperate from our fast travel pace. This is our chance to get caught up on some work, some calls with friends, and some laundry. You'll hear me mention this place again next year in my update. By then I'll know what to make of this place

Lessons learned

I try to find some lessons in our experience of the prior year. Our bumbling around the planet sometimes results in insights but too often it just devolves into figuring out the best ways to score a free breakfast as part of a hotel points deal. It is what it is.

In my last nomad post, a year ago, I wrote about our newfound spontaneity. We'd learned to let go of the plan. We've held on to that this year but it's tricky because there are shortages of rooms and cars in some popular destinations. But the lesson was powerful so we're making sure not to forget.

Planning is great, in part because it allows you to enjoy the experience in your mind before you head out the door. It's like you're getting twice the experience for the cost of doing it once. But planning sometimes means you're forced to walk by the most interesting open doors because you've got somewhere you need to be.

We started this journey on June 23 of 2015 on our 25th wedding anniversary. Berlin was our first stop. We stayed for two months. We didn't have a plan.

In Berlin, there are many, many hidden courtyards. You only glimpse them if someone leaves the doorway open. Otherwise, they are a secret.

When the door is left open it's probably an accident. You have only a moment to slip in before it gets closed. You need to step in, act as if you belong, and go have a look. An entire world exists behind some of those doors.

But, there's no time when the plan means you've got to keep going. You can't dawdle, slip in, sneak a peek. The plan doesn’t always leave room for spontaneous curiosity.

Besides, sometimes you just need to take a month or three and focus on something important—like healing an injury.

This year we learned more about striking that balance between planning and spontaniety. We'll keep taking the time watch ourselves and see how we evolve.