Digital nomadic life: 2022 in retrospect (2023)

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2022 definitely felt like a very different year than 2020 and 2021. Travel started out slow and we were still pretty limited as to where we could travel, but by summer it was almost like the craziness of the past few years had never really gotten off the ground.

I got to travel A LOT this year and really enjoyed it. I felt like myself again. I visited seven countries and 12 states, I traveled throughout Colombia from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and the Amazon jungle, I stayed in a tree house in Peru, I visited the Galapagos Islands I explored extensively by land and sea, I jumped from the center from Mexico to waterfalls, beautiful cities and beautiful beaches, road trips through western Canada and the western US states, side trips to New York City and Philadelphia,and then back to my home country of New Zealand for the last seven weeks of the year.

I also continued to work with Toby on events and we really proved our worth this year running the glamping at Spectacularamphitheater of the canyonin the state of Washington. We hope that in the future we can continue working in the same direction because we both like it a lot, although it was very stressful at times.

I was lucky I didn't have many casualties during the year - I got COVID for the first time and felt like shit for a week, I was stressed and anxious about all the crap going on in the world right now (shootings, climate change, crazy conspiracy theories, politics, etc.), scary flights, more bed bugs, body issues, vehicle issues, job stress, skin cancer, family drama, and more - nothing funny, but pretty normal stuff.

This was my year 2022 month by month. But first, here are some quick stats:

Countries visited:7 – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, USA, Canada, New Zealand.

States visited:12 – Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Nevada, Oregon, Texas.

Completed House Sessions:3

Completed rides:76

Much less than last year because I didn't walk much during my 4.5 months in Latin America, although I did take a lot of steps to explore the area. I did a lot of walking when I was in the US and Canada and since I got back to New Zealand.

What I spent:$25,118 (excluding international flights)

I said last year that I plan to spend $25,000 or less during the year, and I was right. Not bad, considering our sumptuous trip to the Galapagos in March and the fact that I travel internationally seven months of the year! I also traveled a lot around the US, especially when I wasn't working.

I want to keep my goal pretty much the same for 2023 because I have a lot of travel plans and I want to apply for my citizenship.

(For a more detailed breakdown of each month, visit mymonthly summaries)

January: Colombia

On New Years in Cartagena, Colombia, I flew to Medellin after a few days in the Rosario Islands. We spent almost two weeks in Medellin, which was just what I needed to relax and unwind after a very eventful end of 2021 and thoroughly enjoyed my time in this cosmopolitan city.

I have been working a lot this month to improve my Spanish and write more. I also rescued a baby squirrel that fell out of its nest in a park, one of the best moments of my life.

From Medellín, we spend five days exploring Colombia's wild Pacific coast, a definite highlight of our time in the country, and then head south to beautiful Guatape, charming Jardín, Manizales, one of the largest cities of the coffee region, and the impressive landscape. to visit the hot springs in San Vicente.

February: Colombia, Peru, Ecuador

We spent most of the first three weeks of the month in Colombia, traveling through Filandia and Salento in the coffee region, exploring and meeting Colombian friends in Bogotá, and returning to one of my favorite places.my last trip to colombia– Villa de Leyva and flight to the Amazon to see pink dolphins and piranhas in Leticia and Puerto Nariño.

We also took a boat from Leticia to Peru for three nights to a remote jungle lodge on the Yavari River, where we took jungle treks and boat trips to see the flora and fauna of the area.

I spent the last week of the month in one of my absolute favorite places in the world: theGalapagos Islands!

We passed between Santa Cruz and Isabela Island and included highlights.beautiful beaches, snorkel with turtles and seahorses and see sea lions, giant tortoises and marine iguanas. And that was just the beginning!

March: Ecuador, Mexico

We spent the first two weeks of March exploring the amazing Galapagos Islands more and better each time. We had a few more days in Isabela, where we rode our electric bikes to Muro das Lágrimas and kayaked to see penguins.

After one night in Santa Cruz we took a boat for an eight day tour and this was the absolute highlight of our trip despite rough seas and little sleep the nights we sailed. We traveled between Genovesa Island, Bartolomé Island, Santiago Island, South Plaza Island, Santa Fe Island, San Cristóbal Island, Española Island and Floreana Island.

There were so many highlights, but my absolute favorite memories of the tour were the crazy flamingo dance we saw on Floreana, snorkeling up close with a Galapagos penguin and beautiful sea lions, seeing a turtle building a nest, all the endemic birds of Genovesa . , the absolutely stunning beaches of Cerro Brujo and Gardner Bay, and diving with hammerhead sharks.

In the last few days we spent in the Galapagos Islands, we spent in San Cristóbal Island, where we visited some local beaches and mainly relaxed and recovered from our amazing boat ride.

After moving away from the Galapagos, we spent three days exploring Quito and then flew to Mexico City, which I immediately fell in love with, especially since the jacaranda trees were in full bloom.

Then we traveled to the beautiful city of Querétaro for a few nights and from there we rented a car to embark on a five-day trip between the incredible and unknown waterfalls of the Huasteca Potosina. Wow, they are amazing!

We spent the last days of the month in the beautiful city of San Miguel de Allende.

April: Mexico

I spent the entire month of April in Mexico, traveling from San Miguel de Allende to the mountain town of Guanajuato, to exciting Guadalajara, and then to the Pacific coast for two wonderful weeks in Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita, both of which I loved.

I have loved Mexico since my first visit over a decade ago, and I love it more each time I come here.

We returned to Mexico City for the last few days of the month to explore more and prepare for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's wedding in Cholula. Family and friends, including my father, flew in and we had several gatherings during our time in town.

Mayo: México, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington

I spent the first ten days of the month completing my time in Mexico and it was a whirlwind of drinking, eating and socializing in Mexico City and Cholula leading up to and during the wedding. I still had a few days to recuperate in lovely Puebla after Dad and I flew there.denver.

I had planned to stay a week, but Dad and I came down with COVID on the fifth day, so we booked a self-contained cabin at Evergreen for five nights to isolate and recuperate. Luckily I was able to meet up with some friends and enjoy my favorite place in the Denver area,Doradobefore he gets sick.

By the sixth day, I still wasn't feeling well, but there was an end-of-season storm coming up and I didn't want to get stuck because I had to go to work in Washington, so we hit the road in the trailer. , until we tested negative a few days later.

Dad and I drove through Wyoming and into Montana and the Idaho Panhandle for a few days, stopping to visit Little Bighorn National Monument, Livingston, Bozeman, Butte, Missoula, Wallace, and Coeur D'Alene before visiting Connected Toby in Washington. .

Toby and I were assigned to host glamping at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington for the entire summer and he left early to work on a pre-season show.

I was working my first event there, Illenium, over Memorial Day weekend, and on the last day of the month, Dad and I drove up to the beautiful German mountain town of Leavenworth to explore and hike.

June: Washington, Canada

After a few more days exploring Leavenworth, I returned to the Canyon to work three more events in a row and escaped to explore Whidbey and Hidalgo Islands, andSeattleduring my days off.

After the final event of the four week race, there were three weeks without a show, so Dad and I went to Canada for a road trip.

The last week of the month was spent hiking and exploring the Canadian Rockies, highlighting the beautiful town of Rossland, beautiful Nelson in the Kootenay Rockies, the hot springs cave at Ainsworth Hot Springs, returning to Lake Moraine and Lake Louise. and walking up Sulfur Mountain. and Johnston Canyon in Banff and overnight at Castle Mountain Wilderness Hostel.

July: Canada, Washington

In July, I spent two more weeks in Canada before returning to work at the Gorge. On the first day of the month, we celebrate Canada Day.campoat the annual Canada Day water fight, which was so much fun!

From there we spent a week visiting Glacier National Park (the Canadian one),Revelstoke,Shuswap-Ver(where I volunteered in 2013), Pemberton and Whistler before dropping my dad off at the airport for his departure and spending a wonderful week in my favorite city in the world,vancouver.

So I went back to work the last three weekends of the month, although I was able to spend a few nights in Seattle with my friend Rachel between shows.

August: Washington, Canada

For the first eleven days of the month, I traveled through Washington and really began to love the state the more I saw it. I spent a few days with Toby hiking and camping in Mount Rainier National Park and then five days on San Juan Island and Orcas Island with a good visiting friend.

He then went back to work for the last three weekends of the month, with another raunchy trip to Seattle in between events. I spent the last few days of the month in beautiful Vancouver with a quick visit to Bellingham on the way back to the pass.

September: Washington, New York, Pennsylvania

I worked the first five days of the month at the annual Dave Matthews Gorge Show, then had 2.5 weeks off which I spent hiking and river floating in Leavenworth, camping and hiking in Olympic National Park, my friend Dani in the city of New York and I spent three days in a new city (and state) to me: Philadelphia.

After returning to the Canyon to work on Jack Johnson, my favorite show of the year, I spent four days exploring the beautiful Old West town of Winthrop and hiking in and around North Cascades National Park, which was sadly destroyed by the Washington fires. . it was pretty smoky.

I returned to the Canyon on the last day of the month to work on the last show of the year, Rufus Du Sol.

October: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Colorado

After working and packing for the first few days of the month, I set out on a solo trip from Washington to Colorado, with stops in Baker City, Boise, Great Basin National Park (just in time for fall colors!), and Mystic Hot. Springs in Utah.

So I spent three days intelluridWhile the colors first and it was absolutely spectacular. I think the fall colors in Colorado are better than in New England because even though most of it is gold, it's much more vibrant and the scenery is much more dramatic.

I did some amazing hiking in the fall, visiting the nearby ghost towns of Ouray and Ironton, and taking a 4x4 ride to the top of Imogene Pass. I also stayed at the best hostel I've ever stayed at, The Bivvi, just outside of Telluride.

After a night in Crested Butte to see a friend, I met up with Toby in Denver and we moved into a nine-day home with two of our favorite dogs that we've cared for for the past year. Most of the time, we just relax, work, meet up with friends, and watch a lot of movies and TV shows. I was also able to do some hiking in Boulder and Golden.

After that we had another week in Denver, a big Halloween party, and on the last day of the month we went to Estes Park for a couple of nights.

November: Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Neuseeland

We spent a day in Rocky Mountain National Park and did some easy hiking on the lake, then headed back to Denver for a few nights to hang out with family.

From there we went to visit my father-in-law for a few days in New Mexico, where we visited the hot springs of Los Alamos, Santa Fe and Ojo Caliente.

We then rented a house in Leadville for my birthday weekend for the annual Outlaw Family Party and as always it was great fun with a fashion show, karaoke, group dinners and hot tubs. I then returned to Denver, where I continued to celebrate my 40th birthday with dinner and drinks with family and friends.

And then I flew to New Zealand for the first time in almost two years. My flight was delayed 14 hours so I spent a night in Dallas on the way, but eventually got there and spent most of the month between Auckland and Papamoa visiting family and friends, as well as brief visits to Rotorua and Hamilton.

December: New Zealand

I spent the last month of 2022 in New Zealand. It rained until just before Christmas, when the sun finally came out for the rest of the month.

I spend three weeks a month inAucklandgoing for walks and swimming on the city beaches when the sun peeked through the clouds. Highlights were visiting the gannet colony at Muriwai, walking and swimming in Devonport, strolling between the beaches of Tamaki Drive, island hopping in Mahurangi Regional Park at low tide and revisiting Warkworth andman.

From there I went back to my mom's house in Papamoa for a few days before Christmas and then we took my stepdad's family to Waihi Beach for Christmas which is always so much fun. I spent five nights there, swimming, walking most days, and taking a day trip to Whangamata and Opoutere.

After a quick stopover with a good friend and her family in Hamilton and a hike to the top of the highest waterfall on the North Island, I spent the last few nights in Auckland ringing in the New Year at my 40th birthday party. best friend. the Eagle Bar. It was one of my best New Years Eves.

And that was my year! It was the busiest year I've had since 2018 because I was stuck in the US waiting for my green card and then the pandemic. I really enjoyed working in the canyon again this year.

I've always wanted to run a lodging business and maybe open my own in the future, so running Oasis Glamping in the Gorge was a big step for Toby and I to make it happen.

I love writing these recap posts because they make me look back and think about all the amazing things I've accomplished, things I often take for granted. As I look back on 2022, I realize how lucky I am to be able to continue living this life and find a job that I love and a perfect fit.

I'm also excited to see what 2023 will bring!

How was your year 2022?

If you liked this post, take a look at mine.2021 in hindsight,2020 in hindsight,2019 in retrospect,2018 in hindsightmi2017 in hindsight.