6 weeks and counting

January, where have you gone? I feel I have only just gotten over Christmas and it’s February already. wow time is flying by a little too quickly.

Our trip is coming up rather quickly, our destinations have been chosen, our visa’s completed and most vaccinations taken. Our itinerary looks something like this at the moment – the end is a bit sketchy as we will see how we are feeling and where we want to go –

• 3 weeks in India (Delhi, Agra (Taj Mahal, Mumbai, Goa and places in between each city)
• 11 days in Nepal (Kathmandu and 9 day trek, Panoramic Everest Trek – this is going to be tough, as im not fit at all :))
• 4 days in London (to rest and relax and try to feel a little normal after our trek)
• 7 days in Morocco (not to sure where or what is happening here yet, fly into Marrakesh and out of Madrid, so will need to make our way there as well. Not sure Definitely want to do a desert tour for a couple of days if we can)
• 3 months (approx.) in South and Central America – this is where we are going to see what happens. We have the Inca Trail booked for 4 days and would like to visit the following countries but happy to see how everything plans out – Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Galapagos Island, Columbia, Costa Rica and maybe Cuba.
• 10 days in New York (visiting a friend of mine, and I just LOVE New York)

This week marks 6 weeks until we leave on our amazing trip and to tell you the true I’m starting to freak out a little. A holiday is always a fun and wonderful time and I know it is going to be amazing but to travel and live out of backpack for 5 months is going to be something to get use to. I haven’t even started to think about what im going to pack for 5 months. I can’t wait to visit all the countries but this isn’t going to be an easy ride.

Whenever I go on holiday it is more about the destination and the things we must see and do, where backpacking is more the journey to each destination, the experience of travelling without a strict time frame and getting to understand more about the country. I know am going to have to get use to dirt and weird smells (especially in India), travelling by bus and not having a safe place called home. This does excite me but I also know myself and I really want to try to let go of the anxiety and stress I feel when I cant control a situation, learn to relax more, not get angry or mad for absurd reasons and just enjoy the journey and the place I am in. I like the idea of not having to think about the next step and just see what happens, however I have never lived this way and am always a planner so this should be interesting. Even now in the planning stages, every time I speak to Troy about the cities I want to go to and places I want to see, he is telling me not to plan too much, to stop stressing about it and lets just see what happens when we arrive at our destinations.

My last backpacking experience was Europe and while I was away for 18 months I did have a base (family and friends) in London, so could always return and feel like I was home – in some sort of sense. However this time will be different and we wont have a safe haven to return to when we are feeling homesick. We are also travelling to developing countries and will need to accept that the luxuries I have gotten use to at home, might not be available or within our budget.

“Travel has a way of stretching the mind. The stretch comes not from travel’s immediate rewards, the inevitable myriad new sights, smells and sounds, but with experiencing firsthand how others do differently what we believed to be the right and only way.”

Ralph Crawshaw

This doesn’t mean im not excited and don’t want to go, I cant wait to start this journey I just know that this isn’t going to be all roses and have to be aware that some things are going to be different and not what im use to. In saying all this, I really feel at peace when I travel, although I do have moments where the issues above happen, but I do kind of like being out of my comfort zone and experiencing new things.

6 weeks and counting….