As the day of our departure draws near (8 October), we are thinking more and more about our big trip. I (Michael speaking) will use this blog entry to capture our thoughts about getting ready, another lesson learned, and talking to people about the trip. No pictures for this entry, unless we can get those cool MRIs that show brain activity.
Getting Ready
The first element of getting ready, beyond deciding to go of course, was deciding where to go. I read in a book I bought, The Big Trip from the Lonely Planet, about identifying the trip's pillars, the must-stops. The idea is to then plan the rest of the trip around them. Either during the planning or the trip itself, any changes that need to be made should be done to the other stops but not the pillars. After some thought, I decided my pillars would be Peru, Argentina, Antarctica, New Zealand, and Nepal. I added in other locations that enabled me to travel completely around the world and visit all 7 continents. Once Holly joined the adventure, we re-looked at the pillars and other stops. Eventually, we decided to drop Nepal as a pillar and not plan anything beyond New Zealand (more on that in a bit). We kept the other pillars and the desire to circumnavigate the world. We'll figure out the other stops as we go.
The next step was to work out the timing and make the travel arrangements. I initially read about two options for buying the airplane tickets, choose all the stops and buy the RTW ticket or buy the tickets just prior to leaving for the next destination. With my initial pillars and other stops decided, I started shopping for RTW tickets. That went out the window when we changed the pillars. Although buying last-minute tickets gave us flexibility, it was definitely going to cost more. It was about that time I read about a third option, buying multiple trips at once. Seems pretty obvious, I know. The challenge is figuring out the timing and finding the best price. Thank goodness for the Internet. Between using the multi-stop tool Indie and other sites such as Kayak, we were able to buy our tickets for South America and New Zealand at what was hopefully relatively reasonable prices. Since we will be in New Zealand for 6 weeks (or longer!), we can decide then where else we want to go and still be able to buy our tickets ahead of time.
We haven't gotten very far with finding places to stay, just a hostel room in Buenos Aires and a hotel room in Ushuaia. We discovered hostels aren't as cheap as they once were, especially if you want a private room. On the flip side, they aren't the grungy, bare bones refuges where you may share space with the resident cockroach anymore either. I expect we will stay in a mix of hostels and hotels throughout the trip. We may even throw a house or apartment in there when we get to New Zealand.
The last main part was all about stuff, taking care of the stuff we have and getting the stuff we need. The timing of the trip is especially good for me because one benefit when retiring from the military is the government will store your stuff for up to a year. So I just had to have the movers pack up most of my stuff and then leave a few things with my mom that I needed afterward. Not nearly so easy for Holly. She had her stuff picked up by movers over a month before we were leaving Germany. So she needed more things in the interim plus those things she didn't want to be shipped with her household goods. After shipping 10 boxes and $370 in postage, we were down to the things we could take in our suitcases. Unfortunately for Holly the government won't store her stuff, so her brother is storing the five cratefuls of her stuff.
The second half of dealing with stuff was getting the things we need for the trip. We decided early on to travel using only carry-on sized bags. That put a pretty firm limit on the number of things we could take with us plus limiting the size and weight of those items. REI.com, sierratradingpost.com, and backcountry.com became our friends. Finding the right stuff has been challenging though, so we will probably be shopping right up to the day before we leave (Update: we bought over $400 of stuff at REI but still need a few more things. Thank goodness for the gift card from Betty and Joshua.)
The Need for Down Time
It became obvious as we traveled across the US that we need down time in our travel schedule. We flew into Charleston when we left Germany because that is where Holly had her car shipped. We played tourists there for a few days, taking in the sights and tastes of that area. We then drove up to Alexandria, VA for 3 days of sightseeing and visiting my friends. Then we drove to Ocean City, MD to spend time with Holly's brother Casey and his family. We're glad we made all three of those stops. However, we were grateful for the down time we had when we got to my mom and stepdad's condo in Michigan after 10 hectic days back in the States. It was nice to be somewhere we didn't feel like we were tourists. Recreating those conditions while we are on the road will be a challenge. We will attempt to do that by spending 6 weeks or more in New Zealand and spending some of that time (2-4 weeks) living in a rented house or apartment so that we have a place we can call home. If that works, I'm sure we will repeat it at a later time during our trip.
Talking about the Trip
A running joke with Holly and me is how do we respond when people ask us where we live. We still haven't figured out the right answer to that question. Typically we'll chuckle and offer up that we are nomads. Not surprisingly, people ask us about the trip when they hear we are going. I love how excited they get for us. It helps me appreciate the wonderful opportunity I have to take this trip and gets me excited again about it. At times I have gotten caught up in all the minutiae and forgotten that this trip is a pretty big deal. Also, I am very lucky that I can do this and I have such an amazing travel partner to share it with.
Travel Resources
lonelyplanet.com - Source for travel advice and guide books. Also hosts forums where you can talk to other travelers. Mixed feelings about their material among RTW travellers.
bootsnall.com - Fantastic independent travel site! Hosts the Indie flight planning tool. Very responsive to questions.
REI.com - I prefer shopping in their stores, but you can find great deals online and returns are easy.
sierratradingpost.com - Holly bought many of her clothes on this site. Never been to one of their stores.
backcountry.com - Great deals and they are quick with shipping. Plus, who doesn't love their goat stickers?
hostels.com - My first stop for finding hostels, reading reviews, and reserving a room.
hostelworld.com - Another great site for information on hostels.
