This year, we visited 21 countries.

There were a few “firsts” for us this year:

We got our first tattoos, in the lands where tattooing was born, Polynesia.
We walked our first long-distance trail (The Speyside Way), in Scotland.
We ate at our first Michelin-starred restaurant together at the Torre del Saracino, near Sorrento.
We chewed betel (not pan, the raw nut) for the first time, in the Solomon Islands.
We visited a movie set and went zorbing for the first time, in New Zealand.

Highlights of the Year 2013:

1. Antarctica

Nothing can prepare you for Antarctica. The first glimpses of the uninhabited continent took me to a place of indescribable peace. Land untouched by human colonization. It felt like another planet, and the purity of it made for a great start to the new year.

2. A week in Easter Island (turned into 8 days because of the debacle that is LAN Chile) was a dream come true.

3. Two months in French Polynesia. 8 islands including Tahiti and Bora Bora included a month in a bungalow on Moorea, where we saw some incredible sunsets and rainbows.

We also got our first tattoos in Tahiti!

In February, we stayed at our first “barefoot luxury” private island resort at Ninamu, an exclusive getaway for surfers wanting access to sick, crowd-free waves in the Tuamotu atolls of French Polynesia. Neither of us surf, but it sounded like a cool place to stay as it was completely different from other resorts. While there, we met two surfers, one from Los Angeles and another from Brazil. Both flew in at the last minute because the Internet told them a giant wave was swelling and they had a few days to catch it. So they did what any dedicated surfer would do: they flew in just to surf a wave they saw on Google Earth. Amazing.

4. New Zealand: North Island including a famous hike called the Tongariro Crossing. We were told it would take 6-8 hours. It only took us 4, and we felt very smug.

Visiting the movie set for the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

And zorbing, of course.

5. Living for 6 weeks in a converted shipping container in Fiji, where Anna (pictured with her husband) took good care of us.

6. Standing at the rim of an exploding volcano in Tanna, Vanuatu

But it was even more frightening for me to use the swing rope to jump into a blue grotto!

7. Rocking one of the most interesting countries in the South Pacific: Solomon Islands. While there, we the only guests at a barefoot luxury private island resort Tavenipupu. Because we were the only guests, we were upgraded to the same beachfront bungalow that William and Kate stayed in, and got the royal treatment.

8. Australia! Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Uluru. Koala cuddling.

Saw lots of roos, too.

And Uluru.

9. Cruise to Iceland, Faroe Islands, and Norway with my family.

10. England and Scotland including the Orkneys and Isle of Skye, and walking the Speyside Way, a long-distance trail in the Scottish highlands that takes about a week and passes through a score of famous Scotch distilleries.

We visited about 14 different distilleries, and sampled the deliciousness at each. While we both prefer Islay malts, our tour of the Scottish highland distilleries was palate-expanding and fun.

11. Malta, then Italy including Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Florence, Venice, Rome, and Pompeii

Needless to say, we ate and drank a lot.

We ate at our first Michelin-starred restaurant together at the Torre del Saracino, near Sorrento.
We also met my mom, my aunt, and my cousin in Rome.

12. Drank with the Sticke Warriors on Alt Sticke Day in Dusseldorf, Germany, preceded by a visit to the venerable Orval monastery in Belgium.