Reconnecting with Friends

After coming back from our trip, J and I hosted a "We're Back!!" party to reconnect with our Seattle friends. Aside from the fresh Costco strawberries we strictly served drinks and snacks that we encountered during our world travel which included Coopers Pale Ale (Sydney), Estrella (Barcelona), Tsingtao Pure Draft (Beijing), San Pellegrino Limonata/Aranciata (Rome), Malbec (Buenos Aires), Dulce de Leche (Buenos Aires), assorted salami from Salumi's and marinated mozzarella (Rome).
 
For a little bit of entertainment, J and I decided to have a friendly photo contest during the party. He and I each picked and anonymously displayed 5 of our "best" photos and asked our friends to pick their three favorites. The winner got to decide our next vacation destination! Here were the winners in descending order:
 
1. Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand
2. Bluff Cove Lagoon, Falkland Islands
3. Buenos Aires, Argentina
4. Amsterdam, Netherlands
5. Barcelona, Spain
6. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
7. Barron Falls, Australia
8. Paris, France
9. London, UK (tie for 9th)
10. Tongaririo Crossing, New Zealand (tie for 9th)
 
Right now, I'm thinking the Maldives. =)
 

End of the World: Sailing around Cape Horn

When the Captain said we were "sailing around Cape Horn" I thought we were going to simply sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean around the southern tip of South America. Not the case. He really meant that we were going to sail around Cape Horn! As in, Cape Horn is actually an island and we were going to loop around the island. So, we sailed from the Atlantic, to the Pacific and back to the Atlantic again!

1. The house and flag mark the official location of Cape Horn
2. Looking South, to the left of those rocks is the Atlantic Ocean, while to the right of the rocks is the Pacific Ocean