Mailbox in front of a house down the road from us in Trinity Beach, Queensland, Australia.

Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site shortly, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you. 

A long-time reader recently wrote inquiring as to the monthly/annual costs of full-time world travel. As our regular readers know, we post “final expenses” at the end of each stay in a particular country and specific location, usually within 24 hours of our departure.

A sign in front of the house which is currently for sale.

We include the rental costs and fees for the holiday home, rental car, tips, groceries, dining out, entertainment, and miscellaneous shopping listed in a post. If you’ve never seen one of these charts, please click here (scroll down the page).

We also include the total expenses after the end of any cruise listing, including flights, cruise fare and taxes, WiFi, tips, and miscellaneous charges which may incur during the cruise, usually within 24 hours of disembarkation. To see our most recent final expenses for a cruise, please click here.

Statue of a horse, cart, and man in front of the house.

Although these expenses include a breakdown, including the “average daily cost” and “average monthly cost,” we have not posted an average annual cost mainly due to the variances from year to year.

The single most significant factor in determining our annual cost is based on the number of cruises we’ve sailed, with considerable variances in price. For example, in 2018, we embarked on the ultra-expensive cruise to Antarctica, which far exceeded our monthly budget and annual budget (we’ll get to that soon), as shown below in the chart from this post:

Interesting vegetation is growing in the garden. Notice Fred Flintstone on the left of the photo. Wait, more is coming.

The likelihood of us booking such an expensive cruise in the future is slim. This cruise took a massive bite out of our preferred annual budget of INR 5621721, US $75,000, which has increased based on inflation since we began traveling.

As in the above case of the Antarctic sailing, following that cruise, we spent the next 15 months in Marloth Park, South Africa. At that time, still recovering from open-heart surgery, I didn’t take the time to post the final expenses for this extended period, although I did post them on our spreadsheet. 

Relatively large statues of Barney Rubble and Fred Flintstone. It brings back memories from when my kids were young!

What skewed those figures was the outrageous out-of-pocket medical expenses we paid, which our travel insurance company refused to pay. But, I can quote an average monthly expense for those many months, excluding the medical costs at approximately INR 299825, US $4,000. 

Aside from the unexpected medical expenses, these lower monthly expenses helped offset the costs from the Antarctica cruise, an expense we’ll never regret after the fantastic experiences.

Even Dino from the Flintstones was there. This statue is most likely as tall as an adult human.

Our annual budget continues to vary based on the number of cruises of any type that we book along the way. Some years, we’ve sailed on six cruises, and others none at all, as was the case while we lived in South Africa.

As for the future, our expenses could change based on COVID-19, which may result in increased airfares, holiday home rentals, car rentals, and other products and services. As for cruising, at this point, we have no idea if we’ll continue to cruise. 

A different house on the same side of the street with pretty landscaping.

Most likely, if we continue to cruise, we’ll book fewer sailings, all on smaller ships, which will result in higher fares. Obviously, the smaller the ship, the higher the fare, a situation we’ve found to be universal across the board. 

Cruise lines seem to be working on ways in which to protect their guests from COVID-19 while sailing. However, many of these “adjustments” may remove the cruising features that most appealed to us, primarily centered around socializing nearby. Those days may have long passed.

Horses and a peacock in the front garden.

Not much new on the horizon here today. After I finish posting each day and Tom checks for errors, I’ve been watching sci-fi movies on my laptop, using my earbuds to avoid bothering Tom. 

There certainly are a lot of dystopian, end-of-the-world movies on Netflix and Amazon. Each afternoon, I watch one movie. Eventually, I’ll run out of options. In the interim, if they aren’t interesting enough, I’ll play Scrabble on my phone with other online players while the movie streams. 

The mailman coming down the road. It appears most letter mail is delivered on a motorcycle.

Also, once an hour, I stop to walk the corridors. I am now walking longer distances in shorter periods and getting done by 3:00 pm when Tom and I start watching shows together. In a few days, we’ll have completed the 230 (20-minute) episodes of the overly dramatic Irish TV cop drama Red Rock, a tremendous binge-watching series we’ve thoroughly enjoyed.

We’re good. We hope you are, too!

Photo from one year ago today, July 9, 2019:

Seagulls are prolific in Connemara, Ireland, close to the sea. For more photos, please click here.

Cows in the side yard as we drove down the driveway to the main road in Connemara, Ireland, one year ago today.

Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site shortly, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you. 

Starting today, in our heading, we will be listing the number of days we’ve been in lockdown in this hotel in Mumbai, India. As noted above, today is day #104, although we’d spent another 12 days in lockdown in other hotels in India before we found this Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport.

Luckily, we are close to the airport. It’s less than a 10-minute drive to the international terminal. By the time we’re able to leave here after the airport opens to international flights and travel to a country that will accept us, the roads will again be busy with traffic.

Cattle are so busy grazing. They hesitate to look up a photo op.

We don’t see that happening anytime soon. Instead, we continue to make every effort to ease the current situation for however long it may last. Cases of COVID-19 in India are continuing to escalate at astounding rates. India is in the #4 spot globally for the number of cases and deaths, only surpassed by the USA #1, Brazil #2, Russia #3.
In the next 24 to 48 hours, India will easily surpass Russia to move into the #3 position. India already has over twice as many deaths as Russia. For more details on the statistics on world cases, please click here.

And still, when I peer out the window at the end of one of the corridors when I walk once an hour, I typically see a dozen or more men at a nearby location where motorbikes are parked without wearing masks or social distancing.

The careless attitude of some individuals throughout the world will prevent the lessening of cases in months, perhaps years to come. Some may consider that extended family gatherings are safe since, after all, they are family. But, if they haven’t been living in the same household, they too can spread the virus.

A Connemara Pony in the pasture down the road.

There is nothing we can do to change these facts unless one or two of our worldwide readers see today’s post and decide to protect themselves and their loved ones further. Please excuse our “nagging” on this topic. 

As time passes, we all hear of more and more people we know have contracted the virus, some who have passed away, others who have struggled to survive, and others who are relatively symptom-free, able to pass it on while out and about and in group settings.

The majority of our family members and friends have remained safe, continuing to observe lockdown restrictions while taking this pandemic seriously. In reality, it’s all about personal responsibility. 

This is no time for defiance or expressing any political or social view by refusing to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. Regardless of what our leaders may say or do, we must take it upon ourselves as kind and caring individuals to take maximum precautions.

Since we arrived almost two months ago, this brown colt seems to be growing up quickly.

Speaking of walking the corridors, a few days ago, I upped my walking to two full treks per hour, exponentially doubling my number of steps and walking times.

It hasn’t been easy since I have leg pain due to bad arteries in my legs classified as a peripheral arterial disease (PAD), all a part of my poor heredity condition of cardiovascular disease. The best treatment for this condition is walking at regular intervals.

I am pushing on hour after hour. This lofty goal gives me hope for future travel expeditions where I have often struggled to walk fast or long distances. One of my dreams for the future is to travel to Rwanda to see the gorillas. Doing so may require a long and arduous incline walk into the mountains. The only way this is remotely possible for me is if I continue with this mission.

At low tide, many inner waterways appear boggy and muddy.

A dear old friend wrote and asked why we were in Australia when she glanced at our most recent post, where we’d included several repeated photos from our time in Australia from 2015  to 2017. I explained in a reply that we’ve been posting old photos from our past travels since we have no new photos to post.

If you aren’t a “regular” reader, please keep this in mind so that our posts with past photos make sense if you happen to “drop by” for a moment or two to see where we are at the moment. This prompted us to start listing the number of days we’ve spent in lockdown in Mumbai, India, in our heading each day to clarify where we are at any given time.

Tom is now doing 380 steps on the stairs and walking several routes in the corridors. This is a first for him to exercise independently, although he and I have regularly walked together in most locations we’ve visited over the years. 

Hopefully, when we get to South Africa, it will be safe to walk the roads when recently, many lions have been spotted both day and night. If not, we’ll need a big enough house to walk indoors. 

Have a pleasant and safe day, dear readers. We’ll all get through this!

Photo from one year ago today, July 5, 2018:

This morning’s view in Connemara, Ireland, across the bay to the Twelve Bens mountains. For more photos, please click here.

The Cattana Wetlands in Cairns, Australia, offered exceptional, expansive views.

Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site shortly, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you. 

Vegetation growing in the lake at the Cattana Wetlands created this view.

Happy Independence Day (4th of July) to all of our family and friends in the US! Unfortunately, based on the continued rise in COVID-19 cases in the country, few of the usual festivities will be transpiring.

Numerous signs were warning of the possibility of crocodiles as we entered the Cattana Wetlands, none of which we’d seen as yet.

For our readers outside the US, this holiday is typically centered around cooking outdoors, bonfires, firework displays, flag-waving, and gatherings of family and friends.

Who knew what creatures might lurk beyond the vegetation?

Sadly, this year’s activity will be tempered for most, based on fears of spreading the virus outdoors in large groups. We only hope everyone will proceed with caution by wearing masks, social distancing, and frequently washing their hands during any festivities they may be attending or hosting.

The sun reflected in the wetlands creating this orange glow in the water.

As for us, it’s just another mention to one another upon awakening, a less-than-usual-exuberant, “Happy 4th of July.” Since we left the US in January 2013, we’ve rarely celebrated any US holidays other than Thanksgiving on a few occasions with family in the US while visiting, friends in South Africa, and friends in Australia.

The Cattana Wetlands are well arranged with paved walking paths and marked areas.

Speaking of Australia, today’s photos are from a sightseeing visit to the Cattana Wetlands in Queensland, Australia, five years ago today. As we’ve mentioned in many past posts, we spent two years in Oceania /South Pacific/Southeast Asia visiting such locations as Sydney, Tasmania, Trinity Beach, Cairns, Australia, including a cruise circumventing the entire Australian continent; New Zealand; Indonesia; Thailand; Vietnam; Cambodia; Malaysia; and many more.

The various ponds and lakes were marked.

A significant part of our perspective of Australia developed during the long periods we spent in and around Cairns, Sydney, and Tasmania, each unique in its way. If you’d like to peruse some of our experiences, check out our archives for 2015/2016/2017, where every post is listed.

She was peeking through the trees to the main lake in the Cattana Wetlands.

The visit we’re sharing in photos today of the Cattana Wetland is a good representation of the types of scenery we find most appealing, consisting of gorgeous and unique vegetation, nature, and bodies of water against the backdrop of a blue sky on a sunny day, the perfect combination of pure paradise.

Areas were marked with maps and descriptions.

The tour through the wetlands consisted of a long and leisurely walk on the well-planned and easy paths that wove through the property, allowing the utmost of photo-taking and scenic views. We enjoyed every moment.

We expected a beaver to pop up at any moment.

And now, what a treat such a walk would be, to be in the sunshine, in the warmth, and surrounded by nature. How easily we could have taken that simple mobility and scenery for granted in times past. 

This small island was located in the middle of the lake.

However, as we review past posts, as in the case of today’s photos (click here), we come to realize how much we appreciated it then, as we would appreciate it now. Nothing in our vast world, under any circumstances, has left us taking anything for granted.

A close-up of a lily pad on which some creature enjoyed lunch.

We will always remain humble and in awe of the world around us, never assuming what we’ve seen in the past and that which we experience now or in the future as being expected or taken for granted.

The lakes were covered in parts in lily pads.

When, in the unknown future, we are gifted with the opportunity to “be out there” once again to relish in the sight of exquisite nature, wildlife, and people, we will embrace it with the same passion we’ve carried with us along the way.

One of the many more paths to explore.

For now, we have so much to appreciate; having air-con and WiFi; a clean and safe environment; healthy meals prepared for us; and above all, the companionship of one another as we work our way through this most unusual time in our lives.

From a distance, we thought these were flowers when in fact, they were colorful leaves.

May all of us, regardless of these challenging circumstances, find comfort in taking a few minutes each day to appreciate what we do have, as opposed to what we don’t. With that in mind, we’ll all make it through this trying time with grace and dignity. Stay safe.

Photo from one year ago today, July 4, 2019:

Bay view on a sunny morning in Connemara. For more details. Please click here.