Ten Things of Thankful: Three Continents in Three Days Edition

A collage of three photos: On the left, John and I in front of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. In the middle, John and I in front of Rick's Cafe in Casablanca, Morocco. On the right, John and I in a kayak in Biscayne National Park in Florida (and our ranger guide in a kayak behind us). 

One of John's goals since retiring is to front load travel. We have learned that life has a way of surprising us, so we are taking advantage of this time while we are healthy (and aren't needed as caregivers) to see the world. I'm a planner by nature, but I'm trying to embrace spontaneity more, which is how John and I ended up taking a transatlantic cruise in February, flying back from Spain to Florida via Morocco, and arriving in Africa without any hotel reservations. Was this a bit out of my comfort zone? Yep. Did our adventures all work out? Absolutely! It still boggles my mind that last Saturday I spent the morning in Europe, last Sunday I was in Africa, and Monday I was in North America. Three continents in three days! Obviously only time for an overview of a few places, but a whirlwind vacation still counts in my book. 

We booked the cruise on a whim, when we found a good deal and thought, much like Corduroy the Bear, "I've always wanted" to go on a transatlantic cruise. Our original intent was to use the cruise as an alternative to a flight and to spend some time in Spain after disembarking. Then Spain came up with new anti-terrorism rules that (if I understand correctly) require hotels to store guests financial information for 3 years. That seemed a little excessive, so we decided to just fly out of Spain the day we disembarked the ship. The best deal we found involved an 18-hour layover in Morocco. I read that Royal Air Maroc would provide hotel vouchers for travelers with long layovers, so we decided to test that out. They did, so we didn't have to sleep in the airport after all. Once we arrived back in the USA, we took some time to visit Biscayne National Park, glamp in Everglades National Park, drive down the Florida Keys, and take in a spring training baseball game. 

We arrived home late last night, happy and tired. 

1. I'm thankful for this stage of life. 

2. I'm thankful for a beautiful world.

3. I'm thankful that our travels have given me an idea for the A to Z Challenge this year. (Now to see if I can get the posts/photos ready!)

4. I'm thankful for the activities that were available on the cruise. I ice skated, rock climbed, and even zip lined!

I'm ziplining across the cruise ship while John takes a video in the background.

5. I'm thankful for time to read.

6. I'm thankful for the people that we met traveling. 

7. I'm thankful for warm Florida waters. We kayaked and snorkeled and saw so many different animals, including dolphins who were mud ring feeding!

8. I'm thankful for tour guides who taught us about the places we were seeing: the English-speaking guide at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Sanaa who gave us a Casablanca half-day tour, Daniel the kayak guide at Biscayne National Park, and Bob at Truman's Little White House in Key West, Florida. 

9. I'm thankful for safe travels.

10. I'm thankful for John, the best travel companion. 

What are you thankful for this week? Be sure to check out the other bloggers who join in the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop!

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