In this first of a short series exploring a couple’s adventures travelling the world on their honeymoon, Fiona Vella introduces us to Jennifer Cusba and Alan Borg, who talk about starting married life with a definite case of wanderlust.

First photo together on a boat trip at Guatapé.First photo together on a boat trip at Guatapé.

“They say that you always travel three times: the first time when you are planning your holiday, then when you actually travel and finally when you watch the photos that you have taken while travelling,” Jennifer Cusba tells me as she proudly shows me the pictures that she and her husband Alan Borg took during their three month honeymoon trip around the globe.

Since Alan and Jennifer got to know each other, their life turned into an adventure. They met incidentally on a boat trip while they were visiting the enchanting lakeside town of Guatapé in Colombia.

“I was on holiday in Colombia with my friends when we decided to go on this particular boat trip. At one point, I saw Jennifer walking by with her mother and I liked her immediately. So I followed her, waiting for an excuse to talk to her. The right moment came when I noticed that she needed someone to take their photo and I offered to help. Then, I made sure to take a photo with her too,” Alan adds.

For the following three months, the two kept in contact through Facebook. During one of their communications, Jennifer who is Colombian, told Alan that she was planning to go to the US to study English.

“I lived in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia, where I worked as an internal auditor of a governmental company. I had studied hard to obtain this job and, in the first years, I was very satisfied that I had succeeded in this career. However, as time went by, I felt that life had become stale. I woke up early each day to travel for two hours to reach work, always meeting the same people on the bus and at work. Things were the same on my two hour ride back home. At 29 I felt as if I was stuck in a rut and I was afraid that if I continued to live this mundane life, I would lose all the essence of life. I definitely had to do something to make a change,” Jennifer says.

Eventually, they decided to go on a three month trip around the world, to the total tune of €15,000

Once again, Alan did not fail to grab the opportunity and as soon as he learnt that Jessica wanted to study English he informed her about the selection of English schools located in Malta.

Attracted by Alan’s gentle and friendly attitude and also by the fact that it was cheaper to study in Malta than in the US, Jennifer chose the small archipelago of the Maltese Islands. And once she arrived in Malta her friendship with Alan grew stronger until she decided to give up her job in Colombia. A year later, the two got married.

Balloon flight.Balloon flight.

“When we told our friends and relatives that we were going to get married, they all wanted to know when and where the wedding is going to take place and how many guests would be invited. However, we had no intention of spending thousands of euros for just a few hours of enjoyment. Our plans were much bigger,” Alan says with a smile.

“On our wedding day we were joined by our family and closest friends. After the celebration, we shared a cake, drank some champagne, took photos, had a lot of fun and that was that. The big moment came seven months later when we prepared our backpacks and left for the adventure of a lifetime,” says Jessica.

Wedding photo.Wedding photo.

Alan decided to make the best of the various offers and discounts that his job with an airline company afforded him. The couple started out with an initial idea of a simple honeymoon to Santorini, fully aware that they’d need to get a connecting flight from another location. Soon, this stopover was joined by other countries until the list grew and grew. Eventually, they decided to go on a three month trip around the world, to the total tune of €15,000.

“We both love to travel. Yet I was the one who was more experienced in travelling to faraway countries without concerning myself too much on a fixed itinerary. In fact, at first, Jennifer was somehow incredulous whether this voyage would take place for real,” Alan says.

“He’s totally right. I was worried whether we would have enough money to do it all. And I couldn’t help worrying about what would happen were we to spend everything while still abroad. I was also afraid that someone could steal our credit cards or that, unknowingly, we would end up in some dangerous country or get caught up in a terrorist attack.”

At Rio de Janeiro.At Rio de Janeiro.

In New York.In New York.

In reality, during this amazing voyage the couple did have their fare share of risk. In New York they experienced a huge storm and ended up grounded in their hotel room. In Colombia, while seeing a horse show, an earthquake shook the building which they were in. In Australia, just a week after they left, the Central Coast suffered a complete disaster, with houses being carried away due to heavy floods and strong winds.

“Before we left on our adventure, I left a simple message on Facebook saying that we were going on our honeymoon. I never mentioned that we were going for a trip around the world, because I couldn’t believe it myself.

Although the couple had planned an overall general itinerary of the places and sites which they wished to visit, they prebooked nothing except their first destination to Amsterdam

Off we went to Amsterdam and then we started to move further afield, until I realised that this dream was coming true. It became very real while we were on the flight from Australia to Japan and I started to note the various countries showing on the screen in front of me. By then, we had been to many of them, changing continents. It was there that it dawned on me that we were truly going around the world,” Jennifer says.

Dressing up at Parque del café in Colombia.Dressing up at Parque del café in Colombia.

In Tokyo.In Tokyo.

Although the couple had planned an overall general itinerary of the places and sites which they wished to visit, they prebooked nothing except their first destination to Amsterdam. And yet, they managed to see and do many things.

Their travels took them to Amsterdam, New York, Las Vegas, Arizona, San Francisco, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Sydney, New South Wales, Melbourne, Queensland, Japan and Istanbul.

“Ultimately, this was not just a holiday but an experience. Certainly, quite a great way to start a new and exciting chapter as husband and wife,” Alan beams, sneaking a wink at Jennifer.

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