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Our year in travel 2017

Our year in travel 2017

Which countries we have visited and what we have been up to in 2017
Alexander & VictoriaHi! We're Alex & Victoria - a digital nomad couple from Copenhagen escaping 9-5 to chase adventures in our beautiful world. Learn more about us here.
Africa, Europe and Asia

In 2017 we travelled both near and far.

We visited East Africa for the first time, spent most of the summer in Europe and in the winter, we went to Asia for three and a half months.

Here’s where we went in 2017.

Ethiopian coffee farms and mountain trekking

On our first trip of 2017, we went somewhere quite unusual: Ethiopia.

We are filming and producing a documentary film about sustainable coffee (Shade Grown Coffee – The Movie) which has given us the opportunity to visit some really exciting places.

In 2015, we travelled through a lot of coffee producing countries in Central America. However, Ethiopia is considered to be the birthplace of coffee, and in 2017 we finally had the chance to go there ourselves for a month.

We stayed at extraordinary coffee farms and met some amazing people.

Besides filming, we also trekked through the Bale Mountains for 6 days and spent time in small villages in Southern Ethiopia.

At the end of our journey, we went to the eastern part of the country to explore the religious city of Harar, where we fed the famous wild hyenas outside the city gates.

Ethiopia will always have a very special place in our hearts!

Fruit in Ethiopia
Wonderful fresh fruit… And a little extra attention from the local guys.
Alaka coffee farm
The coffee farm Alaka is a forest and a farm at the same time.
Bale Mountains
Alex overlooking one of the many grand scenes of the Bale Mountains.

Island hopping in Greece

With our good friends, Clara and Rasmus, we spent about two weeks in the Greek sun during the summer.

We started our trip with a day in the vibrant capital, Athens. Here, we explored ancient buildings, churches and Acropolis in all its glory.

At the Cycladic Island of Kea, we rented a house in the idyllic town of Ioulida, which is located on a hillside overlooking the Aegean Sea. We enjoyed the stunning beaches, greek food and relaxed local vibe.

Afterwards, we visited Tinos. The island has more than 50 adorable traditional villages as well as lots of decorative unique dovecotes. It’s also a holy island known for the greek-orthodox church Our Lady of Tinos. We fell in love with this lesser-known but truly delightful island.

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You might be interested in:Video: From Acropolis to the Islands A travel video from our summer in Greece Read more
Acropolis in Athens Greece

Shooting a feature film in Southern France

In July, we were a part of a film crew shooting a movie in Saillans in the southern part of France.

The eight days went by quickly as we worked most of the time. But fortunately, we still had time to enjoy delicious croissants and walking around the charming village with stunning mountains in the background.

On set with Alex filming
On set with Alex filming.

Romantic Italy

Oh, Italy. A country we love and always will come back to.

In September, we spent a few days in Rome eating pizzas and gelatos. The enchanting city has so much to offer!

We visited Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Fontana di Trevi and much more before heading south.

Procida is a small island with pastel coloured houses and a peaceful atmosphere. We spent some quality time under the sun and explored the whole island on foot. And had more pizza, of course.

Back in Naples we strolled the narrow streets and went on a day trip to the ruins of Pompeii and the still very much active volcano, Mount Vesuvius.

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You might be interested in:Video: We ♥ Italy! A travel video from Rome, Naples & Procida Read more
Sunset from Gianicolo Hill in Rome
Gianicolo Hill: One of the best places to enjoy the sunset in Rome.
The colourful Corricella of Procida. Such a gem!

Mancation to Ireland

Alex visited Ireland for a few days with three friends in November.

After some culture-tourism (pints included) in the capital of Dublin, they visited the old monastic site and splendid autumn-coloured natural surroundings of Glendalough.

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You might be interested in:Video: Glorious Glendalough in Fall A travel video from Glendalough, Ireland Read more
Glendalough drone
Glendalough was awe-inspiring.

Discovering Singapore

In mid-November, we started out our three and a half months Asian adventures in Singapore.

We saw the impressive Supertrees in Gardens by the Bay, we visited temples in Chinatown and Little India, and we ate cheap, delicious food from the hawker centres.

Of course, we also enjoyed quite a few cups of coffee from some of the trendy third wave coffee shops.

There is so much to discover in this modern and culturally diverse city.

You might be interested in:10 Awesome Things to Do in Singapore - Our best recommendations for your trip to Singapore
Gardens by the Bay in Singapore
Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.

Our first month in the Philippines

After Singapore, we travelled to Palawan in the Philippines, where we stayed for almost a month.

The exotic island is mostly known for the town of El Nido and the secluded islands of the Bacuit Archipelago – considered one of the most beautiful places in the world.

And it truly was breathtaking. See for yourself here.

But there’s so much more to Palawan than El Nido.

We loved the laid-back vibe in the fishing village of Port Barton, the endless stretches of sand in Long Beach and the palm trees and amazing sunsets at Nacpan Beach.

Electricity and wifi connection is limited, but the waterfalls, deep jungle and tropical islands more than make up for it.

Perhaps most importantly, the Filipinos are extremely happy and friendly. Everywhere we went we felt really welcome.

You can check out our Palawan itinerary if you wanna know more about this wonderful island.

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You might be interested in:Palawan Itinerary: Plan Your Perfect Philippines Getaway Our 1-month route + best tips on planning your own visit on this tropical island Read more
Palawan
We had a lot of fun exploring Palawan in the Philippines.

Taiwanese temples

To renew our free Philippine Visa, we decided to visit Taipei in Taiwan for a couple of days in December.

We had no real idea what to expect but were pleasantly surprised by the city’s sleek high-tech feel coupled with its knack for tranquil temples. It was also surprising how cold it was (especially compared to the Philippines)!

We wandered the streets, found cool secret spots, and ate our way through some of the amazing night markets.

Next time around, we’ll be sure to check out more of this intriguing country.

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You might be interested in:Video: Temples & Technology in Taipei A travel video from the capital of Taiwan Read more
The iconic Taipei 101
The iconic Taipei 101.

Back to the Philippines

Our first month in the Philippines had been awesome and we wanted to explore more.

After Taiwan, we flew to Siargao in the southeastern part of the country.

It’s called the surf capital of the Philippines but there’s so much more to do than surf.

We enjoyed swimming in rock pools, sunbathing on beaches and driving our scooter on palm tree-lined roads. The smaller tropical islands surrounding Siargao are some of the most beautiful we’ve ever seen.

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You might be interested in:The Ultimate Travel Guide to Siargao: Best Beaches & Things To Do Everything you need to know about the amazing beach and surf paradise

In total, we spent two weeks on Siargao and celebrated both Christmas and New Years on the island. Such a great start to 2018!

And even more adventures awaited us in the new year.

You can read all about our year in travel 2018 here.

Magpupungko beach in Philippines
We really enjoyed being on Siargao!

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