A Year of Travel: 2013

The end of another year is here, so that means that it’s time for my annual “Year of Travel” post. Below you can find out where I was fortunate enough to travel to in 2013. You can also see where I traveled in 2010, 2011, and 2012.

I spent much of the year in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa:

Beautiful Hout Bay in Cape Town, South Africa, viewed from Chapman's Peak Drive. Picture taken September 2013. — Beautiful Hout Bay in Cape Town, South Africa, viewed from Chapman’s Peak Drive. Picture taken September 2013.

Sailboats in Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa. Picture taken September 2013.

A view from the Constantia Nek Contour Path, Cape Town, South Africa. Picture taken December 2013. — A view of some of Cape Town’s winelands from the Constantia Nek Contour Path, Cape Town, South Africa. Picture taken December 2013.

I feel very fortunate to live in such a beautiful city. This year my husband and I made more of an effort to explore Cape Town and its surrounds when our busy schedules permitted.

In April I went for a few days to Grahamstown, South Africa to visit my husband, who was studying for six weeks at Rhodes University. Unfortunately, it rained the whole time that I was in Grahamstown, but that didn’t keep us from exploring the area, including the Big Pineapple in nearby Bathurst:

A very big pineapple in Bathurst, South Africa (near Grahamstown). Picture taken April 2013.

In June my husband and I finally went on a honeymoon (only a year and a half late). We visited the beautiful island of Zanzibar (off the coast of Tanzania) for a little over a week:

Stone Town waterfront, Zanzibar. Picture taken June 2013.

Beautiful Chumbe Island, Zanzibar. Picture taken June 2013.

A woman gathering seaweed on the beach, Zanzibar. Picture taken June 2013.

A few weeks after our trip to Zanzibar, my husband and I went to the United States for two months– from mid July to early September. Most of the time, we were carrying out field work in Nome, Alaska:

Jackie and I exploring a road outside of Nome, Alaska. Picture taken July 2013.

Before and after our work in Alaska, we also visited my family in New Hampshire:

The view from the Mervine Family lakeside cabin, New Hampshire. Picture taken July 2013.

A family of loons on a lake, New Hampshire. Picture taken July 2013.

In September my husband and I spent several days hiking with friends along the beautiful Tsitsikamma Trail in the Eastern Cape, South Africa:

A double waterfall along the Tsitsikamma Trail, South Africa. Picture taken September 2013.

In October my husband and went with friends to Sutherland, South Africa for a long weekend. We primarily went to visit the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO):

Jackie and I posing in front of SALT. Picture taken October 2013.

We may or may not have worn Star Trek uniforms during our visit.

Last but not least, earlier this month we flew up to Johannesburg, South Africa to visit friends and my husband’s family. We also spent a few days in nearby Secunda and Dullstroom in Mpumalanga: