Fellow Adventure Lifer and friend, Haley and I had the opportunity to travel to the magical land of Svalbard, with a quick stop-over in Norway's lovely capital of Oslo. Svalbard is a place of mystery that draws people in with the lure of Polar Bears, and then blows them away with dramatic and sublime landscapes. We were spoiled-rotten on an 11-day …

We spent two full weeks flying, biking, swimming, hiking, driving and kayaking our way through Ecuador and the Galapagos. Our trip was one of extremes. We went from the huge capital city, Quito, to the barely inhabited Galapagos Islands. From sea level to nearly 19,000 feet above it. From snorkeling with sharks to relaxing in the natural hot …