OUR WILD STORY

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• 2018: We studied for our Master's program in Canada, the Netherlands, and Peru. We each traveled to various countries during the program, but individually (Ine mainly around South America and Zac around Europe). 

• 2019: We lived in Canada for a year. We were based in Victoria and traveled around Vancouver Island, the mainland of B.C., and the Canadian Rockies.

• 2020: We started our year in Belgium, Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we ended up back in Canada for the rest of the year. We based ourselves in the Canadian Rockies during the summer.

• 2021: We spent our first months with family in Washington (US). We also went on a road trip to the Southwest (Arizona, Nevada, and Utah). Afterwards, we traveled to Mexico for 2.5 months. We explored the Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas. In June, we came back to Washington (US) and went on a road trip around the West Coast (California, Oregon, and Washington). In August, we finally were able to get to Europe. We mainly stayed in Belgium but also went on a trip to Greece and Sweden. Mid-October we headed to Turkey for 2.5 months. 

• 2022: To kick off the new year, we traveled Egypt for about 6 weeks. We had a great time visiting the ancient temples and learning all about one of the most fascinating histories in the world. After about 2 months exploring the US (and officially getting married in Las Vegas), we headed to Portugal. In Portugal, we visited the Algarve Coast and some of the most famous cities of the country for about one month. Then, we visited Belgium for about 3 weeks to attend weddings, festivals, and do short trips (to Luxembourg!). In mid-July, we finally made it to Norway (we were talking about this for years!). We first stayed two weeks with our friends in Bergen, before going on a two-week road trip to the Lofoten in the north. At the end of August, we flew to Albania and spent 5 weeks traveling around. Afterwards, we crossed the border into the tiny country of Montenegro, where we road tripped for another 2 weeks. We continued our Balkans road trip to the neighboring country of Croatia where we explored many historical old towns such as Dubrovnik and beautiful nature. Next, we visited Scotland. Although it was one of the worst months to visit weather-wise (November), we had a great time hitting the pub scene in Edinburgh and hiking on the Isle of Skye. Coming towards the end of the year, we spent one month in Morocco, exploring some off-the-beaten path zones as well as the historical city of Marrakech.

• 2023: This year started off with a bang! Zac had never traveled to Asia before, so we thought Thailand would be a good first entry into this part of the world. It turned out to be a great decision since the Thai people were so friendly and the country offered a lot of diverse experiences. After Thailand, we were planning to hop to Vietnam. However, Ine got denied at the airport due to a small tear in her passport. It was a blessing in disguise since we were "forced" to pick Malaysia as our backup country. Here, we found some of our new favorite animals including Orangutans, Dusky Leaf Monkeys, and Proboscis Monkeys. Next, it was off to the USA to celebrate our wedding with friends and family in Lake Tahoe. It was one of the most beautiful moments of our lives and was great to see smiles on everyone's faces the whole weekend :) After that, it was time for a US Road Trip with our friends where we visited National and State parks all across Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming. At the end of June, we jetted off to Belgium for a bunch of weddings and events. We tried to sneak out once in a while, like to Valencia, Barcelona, and Dublin. In mid-August, we returned to the US for a family event, followed by a road trip to Glacier National Park, the Canadian Rockies, and over to Vancouver and Seattle again. At the beginning of October, we set off to Southeast Asia once again. This time we visited Cambodia, Laos, and northern Vietnam. We spent a month in each country and had some crazy but unique adventures, such as driving the Thakhek Loop, sleeping in treehouses at the Gibbon Experience, and hiking amidst the rice terraces in Sapa. It was a great ending to an unforgettable year! We headed home for to Seattle for Christmas, followed by our home in Belgium for New Year's.

• 2024: After some recovery time, we flew to South Africa at the end of January for one of our friend's weddings. Well, we decided to explore the country in-depth and stay two months. We revisited tons of places that we had traveled to in 2020, but also added lots of new ones! Our highlights were undoubtedly spotting wildlife in Kruger National Park and hiking the Drakensberg Mountains. We also did a little detour to Eswatini and Lesotho, two small underrated countries. At the end of March, we traveled to southern Spain. We stayed for about a month, mainly traveling around the beautiful Andalusia region. After exploring Madrid, we continued our journey to Italy. We started off in Venice, followed by Milan, Cinque Terre, and Lake Como. It was a quick 3 week whirlwind trip and before we knew it, we landed in Larnaca, Cyprus mid-May. We mostly caught up with work, but also did a road trip around the island for a week. At the end of June, we flew to London for a week and explored the city. Afterwards, it was time for some weddings and family events in the US. We snuck in a short trip to San Francisco before flying to Belgium for more family time. Zac's family visited Belgium for the first time at the end of July! In August, we left to Bosnia & Herzegovina for a 3 week road trip (Zac had to leave the Schengen Zone for a bit) before coming back to Belgium for another wedding. The week after, we went on another road trip with friends from the Netherlands. We first attended a wedding in Germany from one of our classmates during our Master Studies abroad! We then drove to Switzerland and France for some hiking. We hiked the incredible Tour du Mont Blanc for 6 days and had the best weather we could have hoped for. We then hopped to the US once again for a wedding in South Lake Tahoe. This was followed by a backpacking trip to South America. We started in Colombia for 5 weeks, during which some friends from Belgium joined us for two weeks! We then headed to Santiago de Chile for week, followed by a trip to Patagonia. We hiked the W-Trek for 4 days (this was Ine's second time!) and crossed into the Argentinian side for more hiking in El Chaltén. Our favorite stop must have been Bariloche & Nahuel Huapi National Park, which we explored for over a week. We ended our trip in Buenos Aires before flying to Belgium to celebrate Christmas & New Year.