Our first day in Luxor we went to the West Bank of the Nile River to see some of the many temples and sights. First, we stopped at the Valley of the Kings, which is a valley where tombs of Pharaohs were cut into the rock. This mainly took place from the 16th to the 11th century BC, which is part of what makes it such an amazing and famous site.
Read MoreThese three temples are situated along the Nile to the north of Aswan. We still had Mena with us, and we made stops at each on our way to Luxor. The our first stop was at Kom Ombo temple.
Read MoreThe three main sights we visited were the Aswan High Dam, the Philae temple, and the Unfinished obelisk. They weren't as impressive as the incredible temples we saw in Abu Simbel, but they were definitely worth seeing, though the High Dam was a little underwhelming.
Read MoreWe hired an Egyptologist guide and a driver to drive us the three hours south to Abu Simbel through the barren desert. It's about 40 kilometers from the Sudan border, and the town of Abu Simbel is quite small.
Read MoreI’ve been to Egypt once before, in 2013 with my friend Chris Simpson, and absolutely loved it. Seeing the pyramids at Giza and the Valley of the Kings near Luxor is an unforgettable experience. Unfortunately, on that trip we didn’t get to visit Abu Simbel, so Chuck and I decided to visit Egypt on our travels so I could check that off my list, and so he could see Egypt for the first time.
Read MoreSamantha and I took the train from Marrakesh north to Casablanca. It was exactly what you expect a train in Morocco to be like, hot and crowded. It was only a three hour ride, but in the 100+ degree heat it felt like an eternity.
Read MoreA trip through the Atlas Mountains to spend the night in the Sahara desert is a “must do” for time spent in Marrakesh. Since we were lazing around, we got around to booking our trip just the day prior to leaving. We woke up at 6:00 for our 7:30 departure time, and were completely unsure of what to expect.
Read MoreMarrakesh is a city filled with color. Bright blues, yellows, teals and pinks coupled with dizzying mosaics and symmetrical design make for lots of gorgeous photo opportunities. The city is modern, but at the same time packed with tradition, history and culture.
Read MoreSamantha and Charles Parsons went a little overboard when planning their honeymoon. Instead of a few short weeks of travel, they opted for a year-long adventure around the world! Follow along as they leave their home in Denver, Colorado in the United States to travel the globe.
After two really increadible days of diving in French Polynesia our cruise continued east. We visited two more islands, Nuku Hiva and Pitcairn Island, however we didn't go ashore. In total we spent eight days sailing from Fakarava to Easter Island. It was pretty crazy looking at where we were on a map, with no land in any direction for about a thousand miles.
After a quick day in Rangiroa, we headed north to another atoll called Fakarava. There isn't much to see on land here, as its just a narrow ring of sand and palm trees surrounding a huge lagoon, but the diving was incredible. We booked two dives and everything we read said that the diving here would be very similar to the diving in Rangiroa. Other than the unbelievably clear, 80 degree water, we found it to be a completely different experience.
After visiting our friends in Hawaii, we flew south to Tahiti to board a cruise that would end our final three weeks of our year of travel. The cruise crossed the South Pacific Ocean, starting in Tahiti and ending in Valparaiso, Chile.
After a very full 30 days in Vietnam, Samantha and I were very much looking forward to our next stop. Our friends Greg and Kathy live in Honolulu and we felt like a visit with some friends was in order. We planned to spend two weeks in total in Hawaii, and split that time evenly between one week on Kauai followed by a week with them on Oahu.
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Charles & Samantha Parsons
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It’s been over a year since Charlie and I returned from our trip around the world. In May, we did a quick extended weekend in Moab, Utah to spend time in Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park. For the first time since we returned, I had an urge to take some photos of our adventures and post them to the blog!