By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com

The Wandering Enginerds Blog

In June of 2017, former Fighting Illini athletes Jenna Carosio and Doug Schumacher took the above advice to heart, beginning an 18-month travel caravan that they're still on today.

Jenna, a soccer letterwinner from 2008-11, and Doug, an Illini baseball player during that same timeframe—both University of Illinois civil engineering graduates—are in the midst of a world excursion that has taken them to the jungles of South America, the wilds of Africa, and to the tranquility of the Swiss Alps.

It was the death of Jenna's mother, Mary Anne, that originally inspired her to take time for her adventure.

"Three years ago, my mom died of breast cancer," Jenna said. "That whole process just made me rethink how I was living life. My parents were planning on doing a bunch of traveling. They were a year away from retiring, then that all happened and they didn't get to do it. So I kind of took some life lessons out of that tragedy and tried to make the most out of it."

Doug's inspiration came directly from his college buddy.

"Jenna and I hung out quite a bit after our time at Illinois and her friends would often ask about her trip," he said. "One day I thought, 'Why am I not doing something like this?' So I threw my hat in the ring and off we went."

The two friends informed their respective employers of their plans, saved their money, planned their itineraries, packed their bags, and departed for Leon, Nicaragua on June 1, 2017. For the next month, they explored Central America's volcanoes, lakes and cities, primarily through modes of hiking, biking, kayaking and scuba diving.

"Starting the trip, I was like 'I've got to do all of these things and do them right now'," Jenna said. "We were moving way too fast in the beginning. You soon realize that it wasn't a pace that was sustainable and that if you finish your bucket list, then what's next? The first couple of months, I learned that it's OK to leave some things on your list."

Often attired in Orange and Blue, they displayed their Illini pride by unfurling a UI flag in each country they visited and taking a group photo.

Under the sea in Costa Rica

Jenna, Doug and their friend Mike Roggeman, a fellow UI civil engineering alum, shouted "I-L-L" at the top of Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro.

The Wandering Enginerds - a name they called themselves because of their vocations - departed for their next continent, South America, in mid June, investigating Colombia, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. One of the first big highlights came on July 5th in Peru when they hiked a nearly 8,000-foot mountainside to see the centuries old Machu Picchu ruins, the icon of Inca civilization.

"Looking down on that area was pretty surreal," Doug said.

Machu Picchu, the Peruvian icon of Inca civilization.

Next was a tour of Bolivia, including the Pampas and the Amazon River. The wildlife included monkeys, dolphins, anaconda and boa snakes, macaw and a wide variety of other species.

Trekking deep into the Bolivian jungle.

They then flew out of Montevideo, Uruguay for an overnight flight to London, England. There they lodged several nights with Jenna's former Illini soccer teammate, Courtney Bell.

From the UK, it was off to the land of Vikings: Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The incredible natural landscapes varied from mountains and waterfalls to fjords and raging rapids. Another former Illini soccer player, Ella Masar, hosted Jenna and Doug upon their arrival in Malmö, Sweden.

A 31-hour train ride across Eastern Europe came next. There they explored the architecture and scenery of Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia, occasionally indulging in cliff diving and bridge jumping.

Italy presented the Enginerds with even more hiking, mountain lodge breaks, gondola rides through the canals, and a visit to the origin of Jenna's family in Genoa.

Their European tour concluded in the Swiss Alps, where Jenna met up in Zurich with another Illini soccer alum, Noelle Leary. They traversed a 2,000-foot high via ferrata suspension bridge in Mürren that consisted of three steel cables, one supporting the traveler's feet and the remaining two for hands and harnesses. They celebrated their nerve-racking traverse the next night by downing steins of Germany's finest brews at Oktoberfest in Munich.

Doug viewed a portion of the Swiss Alps via paraglide.

Jenna and Doug returned to the States for two weeks in October of 2017 for weddings, rest and relaxation, then re-boarded a jet bound for Reykjavik, Iceland. Scotland was next on the itinerary and among the stops were Edinburgh Castle, a Celtic vs. Barcelona Champions League game in Glasgow, and Loch Ness, where "Nessie" decided to stay hidden. They also kissed the Blarney Stone and searched for leprechauns in Ireland.

More teammate weddings in November brought Jenna and Doug back to the U.S., but they quickly repacked their bags for a 40-hour journey to New Zealand. Based at an Auckland hostel on the North Island, there were several hiking excursions to observe the country's natural beauty and a pleasurable stop on Thanksgiving Day in wine country. They ferried over to New Zealand's South Island for more spectacular scenery plus skydiving and bungee jumping.

Doug on where he'd choose to live among the places he visited: "My favorite country was New Zealand. Jenna and I spent five-and-a-half weeks there, driving around both the north and south islands. It's really accessible for camping. We'd see snow on the top of a mountain, then go to a beach where it was 75-to-80 degrees by the afternoon. Everywhere you'd drive, there were mountains in the distance. The day hikes are fantastic and the views are incredible."

"If it wasn't so far away from family and friends, I would totally live in New Zealand," Jenna said. "The Kiwis have this relaxed culture. They're not trying to get to the top in their careers."

The Enginerds returned home to spend Christmas with their respective families in Detroit and Chicago, then retreated westward to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho for several days of skiing.

After a month of winter in America, they regrouped for their "summer" trip to the "Land Down Under": Australia. They experienced Australia Day (January 26) by dining on kangaroo meat, then went scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef and visited Sydney's famed Opera House and Botanical Gardens.

From there, the Illini friends made their way to Southeast Asia, but were dismayed by the intensely polluted air they encountered.

"I never thought that there would be a place on Earth where people wouldn't be guaranteed clean air, but that's it," Jenna said. "Now I understand why Asian people wear those masks when they came to the U.S. The air was so bad that I couldn't even go for a run for fear of injuring my lungs."

They separated this past February for solo trips. Doug continued traveling through Southeast Asia, visiting Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and other destinations. Soon after, he visited Jordan and Egypt.

"Personal highlights for me during that portion of the trip was the diving I was able to do and viewing the pyramids and the Sphinx in Egypt," Doug said.

Jenna headed for Nepal and a hike of the Three Passes for breathtaking views of Mount Everest. A trip to the Middle East and Jordan followed, occasionally finding her atop a camel. Following a memorable visit to the holy land in Israel, she reunited with friend Courtney in Istanbul, Turkey to begin a weeklong adventure in Kyrgyzstan.

Jenna on the picturesque scenery: "Nepal, the Everest region, without a doubt is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. While I was hiking, everywhere I looked was like a panoramic picture. I was fortunate to have really good weather during that trip. The Swiss Alps are so different than the Rockies, more green and jagged. New Zealand was gorgeous. We had some awesome sunsets on this tiny island in Indonesia.""

Both Enginerds headed for the African continent for separate photographic safaris, Jenna in Kenya and Doug in Tanzania. There they captured images of giraffes, zebras, hippos and a variety of big cats, then hiked together to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

In South Africa, they visited the Cape of Good Hope, the southwestern-most point on the continent, and went shark cage diving.

On June 6, 2018, they returned to the U.S. for a short break. Jenna resumed exploring the western-based National Parks last month, a journey that has included the Washington section of the Pacific Crest Trail. She will return home to Michigan in September for a hundred mile race, then will travel to the Northeast and down the Atlantic coast.

Doug is hiking and sight-seeing in the U.S. and Canada for the next few months, then will strategically plan his travels so that he'll end up in the southeast or southwest states by November.

"The world is such a smaller place than we all think it is," Doug said. "As long as you're accepting and willing to try new experiences, people are really friendly and welcoming."

Jenna expects to return to work this winter to restock her bank account, but indicated that she may explore careers in sports nutrition, training or coaching.

Doug will return to work in January or February of 2019 as a project engineer for White Construction, a renewable energy company.

"The news focuses on the negative aspects, but there's so much good and love in the world," Jenna said. "However, you need to experience other cultures to see it."

What you've just read is but a fraction of Jenna and Doug's adventures. For a detailed description and a plethora of photos, visit their "Wandering Enginerds" travel blog at http://thewanderingenginerds.blogspot.com/