A run, erm a slow walk, for the border.

Trying to get out of bed the next morning was a chore. Every muscle in our bodies ached and bruises were starting to appear on our arms and legs. So we kept movement to a minimum by spending the day researching the next leg of our journey at another internet café (this one was air conditioned).

Our next stop was Tikal Guatemala – so first search how to get across the border and then where were we going. There were three choices. One stay at the Park. Of course this was the most expensive but it meant we wouldn’t have to travel to get to the park when it opened at 6am. The next choice was El Remate only 45 minutes from Tikal on the shores of the lake. It was the cheapest option but the con was that it wasn’t much of town. The third choice was Flores an hour and half from Tikal. It’s the popular choice because it’s a pretty little town on an island in the lake. But it meant getting up earlier to and spending even more to get to Tikal. I was torn the pros were good pros and the cons were good cons so I chickened out and let Adrian make the choice. For him it was all about money talks so we were headed to El Remate. I found a place for under $25 sent an email, looked up bus, collectivo and taxi prices and routes. Doesn’t sound like much of a day but figuring out accommodation and transit stuff takes up 25% of our time on a good day and sometimes it’s all we do. And it’s enough to be pretty exhausting. So it was early to bed after dinner and packing.

Next morning we checked out remembering to get our towel deposit and after breakfast at Eva’s it was time to make a run for the border – make that more of a walk. We were still sore from ATM afterall. As we approached the collectivo area, a taxi driver offered to take us directly to the border for $15. Since bus only goes to the nearest town we’d still have to take a taxi or collectivo to the border crossing. We weighed our sore muscles versus the convenience then bargained him down to $10. It was such a good deal that we didn’t mind when he picked up a mother and two kids along the way to share the cab.

In 30 minutes we got to the border and entered Belizean immigration where we paid the ridiculous exit fee of $18.75 US. Sure a small portion of it went to the national park ministry but not enough to make me feel good about paying it.

Then it was time to get through the the Guatemalan border where the official money changers descended upon us. Their rate from Belizean dollars to Guatemalan quetzals was spot on so we gladly changed that over. But their rate for Mexican Pesos was less than half of what it should be. We only had 120 pesos ($12), which was pretty useless in our wallet, so we changed that too.Once the transactions were complete it was time for the taxi drivers to descend. One guy offered to drive us to El Remate for $25. After spending so much money in Belize we really wanted Guatemala to be cheaper and were intent on taking the collectivo or chicken bus and tried to refuse but the taxi driver was quick to remind us that we’d have to transfer to another bus at the city of El Cruce because there was no direct collectivo form the border to El Remate.

He dropped his rate to $20 and said he’d wait for us to go through immigration which gave us time to think about his offer. It also gave us time to realize that the Guatemalan police like their guns as much as, if not more than, the Mexicans do. The guard was holding a very large shotgun. But he was smiling. Actually everyone on the Guatemalan side was smiling. It made me realize that in the past month we hadn’t seen much smiling – I'm not saying that the Mexicans or Belizeans were miserable, just that the Guatemalans seems a whole lot happier. I hoped this meant good things for Guatemala They even smiled when they asked for a 10Q entrance fee despite there being no entrance fee for Guatemala. Such official skimming is so bizarre. But since it was less than $2 didn’t care and compared to Belize’s official fees it was nothing. With that we got our our third country stamped in our passports. Bienvenidos a Guatemala. And just as promised, the taxi driver was waiting for us as soon as we turned around. Adrian and I decided that $20 for an hour+ taxi ride directly to our hotel wasn’t that bad. So we told the driver okay which made him smile even more.

Not only was there more smiling in Guatemala but there was also more English after a month of Spanish and Creole. Our driver was fluent which meant Adrian began pestering him about the temples of Tikal being in Star Wars. The first half of the ride was along a dirt road that was so dusty that the leaves and grass to the side were white. Then we hit a new paved road that took us to the town of El Remate. It was really just a road that ran along the lake lined with little tiendas and hotels. Our driver didn’t know where Hostal Hermano Pedro was but kept asking people until he got the exact directions. Now that’s service.

The hostel was good. The room was basic but had a fan, a private bathroom and wireless. The owner didn’t speak any English but she spoke slowly and didn’t laugh at my crappy Spanish making it surprisingly easy to communicate. Okay so there wasn’t going to be fluent English anywhere but I was understanding the Spanish being spoken to me which was a huge improvement from our first three weeks in Mexico.

The wireless was slow so I left the photos to upload while we went for lunch at the fancier Casa de Don David just over the road. Afterwards we walked around the town, consisting of walking down the street and back again, then took in the sights, consisting of horses mating along the lake, before deciding to just flake out at the Hermano Pedro. While Adrian lounged in the hammock and I tried to arrange the advertised shuttle to Tikal but the owner wasn’t around. And her teenage daughter and didn’t quite know what I was trying to ask for. Instead, she was trying to sell me a private guided tour and I just wanted the shuttle for the price on the poster. There had to be a cheaper way so when we went back to Don David for dinner (what can I say the food was good and the servers were super nice) I asked at their front desk. They had the shuttle we wanted for the price we wanted and even at the time we wanted (5am, gulp). He was super nice and helpful just like everyone else we’d met in the country. It was beginning to feel a bit like Pleasantville. I hoped when we woke up it would still be that way.

Decision time in Dangriga

“So where are you going?” Norma asked as she poured out the coffee.
“well, ,were going to head to Dangriga to see if we can catch the Garifuna festival,” I replied.
“Hmph” Norma’s lack of reaction didn’t bode well.
In desperation I added, “Maybe we’ll head to Tobacco Caye.”
“Oh, good. It’s nice there.”

Actually, Adrian and I hadn’t decided. Belize was depressing us only because we couldn’t do anything. We’d already walked around and seen all there was to see. And we’d done the day trip to Caye Calker. But until everything reopened on Tuesday that was all there was. Our decisions were made worse by the lack of internet cafes with their access to bus schedules and accommodations.

However, the tourist brochure in the hotel promised the rich Garifuna culture of Dangriga so we thought we’d head there. The Garifuna are a descendants of African slaves and the Caribe people; they have there own language and music that links then more with the Caribbean than with Latin America. Dangriga was home to the Garifuna museum and a festival. Plus it’s also the place where you can catch a boat to Tobacco Caye or a bus to the beach town of Placencia if we found ourselves still searching for life in Belize.

Loaded up with our big backpacks on our backs, day packs on our front and bags over our shoulders we walked to the bus station which didn’t look any better than the day we arrived. An employee near the entrance, let us know that unfortunately we’d just missed the bus to Dangriga. Our hearts sank.
“When’s the next one?” I crossed my fingers and hoped it was less than four hours.
“18 minutes,” he replied. Yay!
And in exactly 18 minutes a school bus pulled up and we got on. It was full until the police pulled off 3 guys sitting at the back. Don’t know why but they were taken to the police truck and thoroughly searched while the bus pulled out of the station.

The bus drove directly to the capital city of Belmopan. And I’m glad we didn’t go there. There was nothing there. And I mean nothing. So thank you Andrew for warning us. Then it was another hour to Dangriga.

If we thought Corozal had been in a coma, well it looked like they’d pulled the plug on Dangriga. Once again every window and door was shuttered in the rundown little town. We headed towards the shore where there was a group of cabanas, hotels and b&bs and started inquiring. No vacancy. No vacancy. Too expensive. No vacancy. Finally we found a place. At first they offered us a room for $50US but then mentioned that they had basic rooms for $14US including free wifi. Woohoo! We’ll take it. How basic could it be? Very basic. It was a bed and fan and a shared cold water shower that looked like it belonged in a camp ground. So for the first time I pulled out my silk sleep sheet just to make sure that I wasn’t sharing my bed with any 6-legged friends.

I took advantage of the internet access to upload photos and send out some email inquiries (it didn’t look like we’d be staying in Dangriga) while Adrian went out in search of food. He came back with the best in gas station cuisine – chips, ice cream, bread and cheese. Oh well. At least it wasn’t mystery meat again.

As we ate our sandwiches, a French couple arrived and took the room next to ours. They had just returned from Tobacco Caye where they had to spend $75US for one night (the only room available) and then rent a tent for their last night. Not a good sign. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that we were not enjoying Belize and perhaps it was time to just pay the high price. Maybe then we’d start having a good time.

Ronan and Celine assured us we’d have more accommodation choices on Tobacco Caye now that Easter was coming to an end. My friend Andrew had recommended a place where he knew the manager so at the very least we’d be assured of a friendly face. Plus the accommodations there included food which meant we might finally eat real food again. Anything was better than our dingy cabin and gas station menu. I hoped.

Time for plan b, c or d

this picture has nothing to do with the post other than it's the only one I took on this day

6 months before taking off, I mapped out a rough route of where to go and what to see but a combination of things was about to change all that. First it was almost Easter or Santa Semana as they call it in Central America. That meant everything was about to shut down and accommodations were about to fill up with people taking advantage of two week holiday. The second was an email I had received from a friend back in Toronto (hi Andrew). Andrew’s family is Belizean and he’d been all over the country; he’d also been all over my Belizean itinerary. His verdict was blunt and too the point: Corozal – quiet; Orange Walk – nothing to see there; Belize City – a hole; Belmopan – really nothing to see there; Placencia – really touristy. In a handful of words we’d decimated my plans. Since he was bang on about Corozal, I took his advice to heart especially after talking to Gwynn and another expat staying at the Hotel who’d lived in Belize City for the last 20 years and ran a site on the transportation links. Both of their verdicts were similar. So what to do?

We sat on the balcony of the hotel, whipped out the computer and began our quest. Orange Walk supposedly had tours into some nature reserves and awesome ruins. So despite everyone’s words of wisdom we thought we’d give it a try. I emailed our hotel of choice (in terms of price and comfort) but they were full. Our second choice only had a room for $50US. Well, that settled it. No Orange Walk. What next? So there was a boat from Corozal to San Pedro in the Cayes. Once again I sent emails and once again the only thing available was a cold water hut on a beach for $50US. Been there didn’t enjoy it. Oh and there was no boat tomorrow because it was Good Friday. Scratch that. Maybe we’d stay in Corozal. No go. Gwynn was booked solid. That left the dreaded Belize City.

We asked Bill for some recos. All he could do was hesitantly say “it’s interesting”. Great and he lived there. Gwynn however was more blunt.
“My advice? Don’t go. Latest news is that they’re now throwing grenades instead of shooting bullets” he said.
“Well that’s less accurate than guns,” I tried to joke.
But Gwynn wasn’t joking.

Adrian however was determined. Armed with a 5-year old Lonely Planet which said “it’s not as bad as soon doomsayers will tell you”, he decided that where we were going. At least we knew we’d be able to get a bus there on Good Friday and there’d be more room options (particularly if everyone was getting the same advice as us). Plus, Adrian was convinced that there would be plenty to see.

That settled (or in my case unsettled) we spent the remaining part of the day hanging out (the photo above) and taking to Gwynn and the other guests that now filled up the place. There was an Irish couple just starting off on their own RTW adventure passing through on their way to Tikal in Guatemala, and an couple from Texas who were just finishing up 6 months in Mexico before heading to Alaska to work for the summer and of course Gwynn, who was full of interesting stories from his years of living in Central America, some funny and some sad. But before we all got too tipsy chatting away over beers, we dispersed preparing for our early morning departures.

Repeat after me: Bah nedity, Diple bah nedity.

Two weeks of unemployment and I’m burnt out. (Yes, I can hear your tiny violins playing from here.) Thanks to a week of non-stop goodbye dinners, lunches, drinks and brunches, we’re exhausted. Good thing we have the next year to recover.

But first a special shout out. Thank you Sarah, for not only putting a roof over our head for the last week but offering to get up a 5am to drive us to the airport. Someone buy this girl a drink for us. She is awesome.

Yes, it’s true we moved even further east for the last week. We had no choice; Sarah insisted and when Sarah insists you can’t say no. On the day we check out of our hotel, we were woken by the sound of jackhammers, so we were thankful that she insisted. In the words of Adrian, “we love you Sarah!”

So east we went but east we didn’t stay there all the time – after all as I said before, it’s hard to break a lifetime of living on the west side. Well, that and we still had lots of shopping and general housekeeping to do west of Yonge Street. We went to Bank A, Bank B, storage locker, Bank C, back to Bank A, MEC, storage locker, computer store, and finally, back to our storage locker one last time to drop off our winter coats.

And in between all the errands we managed to squeeze in a couple, actually five more going away events Now, before I continue, a warning. You may want to undo the top button before reading the rest of us this.

First was dinner and drinks with Loryl. And more attempts to convince her to join us somewhere before Russia (Phase 2). If you’re anywhere near her give her a little nudge for us.

There was Victoria and Jamie’s for mac ‘n’ cheese and board games. Thanks for dinner and letting us each win a game. And your gift will be much appreciated on many a airplane/bus/train/camel/boat/donkey ride.

Then Sonali and David’s for curry and drinks on the town for the boys and drinks in the house for the girls. Thanks to Sonali for the full tummy and leftovers. Thanks to Justine and Jack for the gift. And thanks to the lads for returning Adrian in one piece.

Oh and of course my family wanted an opportunity to stuff us as well – multiple times – and even more opportunities to express their apprehension over our trip. Please stop worrying; if you need to pay ransom, bail or hospital bills, Andrea has access to our banking. I’M JUST KIDDING, MOM. Honest, we’ll be fine and if we’re not we won’t tell you.

And finally there was a stop to see Liz and Graeme and little Leon. Not only did we get fed yet again but we received a very inspiration speech courtesy of Leon. His memorable words were: “gat bough irries... Da bah nedity… Diple bah nedity”. And let me tell you, wiser words have never been spoken. For those of you not fluent in the language of 2 year olds , Leon was quoting his current hero, Balu, of the Jungle Book who said “Forget about your worries. The bear necessities, the simple bear necessities.” And we’ve now adopted it as our mantra.

Especially as we began packing our bags. Soon they were as stuffed as we were after all those dinners and we weren’t even half done. Leon’s words were coming back to haunt us and not because it was the only thing he said to us all evening. So we slowly removed things from our pack, stripping everything down to just the bear, I mean, bare necessities. Finally, at 9pm the night before we left, the zippers on our bags closed. With that out of the way, we are finally able to forget about our worries and it’s all thanks to the diple bah nedity.

Moving on up to the east side to a deluxe apartment in the sky

That's right folks for the first time in our lives, we are moving east of Yonge Street. For you non-locals, let me explain. Ask any Torontonian; this is a big deal. If you grow up on one side of Yonge Street chances are, baring any extenuating circumstances, you stay on that side of Yonge Street. No idea why but it's the truth. But after 35 years, west of Yonge I'm making the move east. Sure it's only for 17 days but it's still a pretty big deal.

In order to get here, we had to purge our apartment of 1024 cds, 843 books, 165 dvds, 42 playstation games, and all our furniture. We did it. But through a combination of craigslist, donations to goodwill and the furniturebank.org we did it. And all our remaining worldy possessions now reside in a 5x10 storage unit. We made almost $3000 from our sales. And there were a few tears shed as we packed up.

But that means that tomorrow when we check into our temporary far east deluxe apartment in the sky, we'll truly be starting over with just the packs on our back.

So where are we now?

location: Toronto
departure: March 17, 2009
savings: $49,540
return fund: £7,455

Thanks for the ride.

Today is my last day at work. I've been at TAXI for just under four years and in advertising that's like 20 regular job years. I wanted to send out a goodbye email and as a writer was consumed about how to make that message count and still be entertaining.

So here's what I sent out today.


Before taking off on my big trip, one book suggested making a will. Cheery. Well here’s one regarding everything in my office so there’s no fighting over my stuff once I’m gone, you vultures.

THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF LMB


I, LMB, a departing employee of TAXI being of sound mind and body hereby make this Will and revoke all prior Wills and Codicils.


BENEFICIARIES: I give my office property to the following persons, in no particular order:

To Rose, the speakers on my desk. Actually, they’re yours and I “borrowed” them three years ago. Hope you don’t mind.

To Natalie, the neon pink WHAM gloves. You’ll always be Pepsi to my Shirley.

To Cheryl M, my totes awes multiple Tom Feiler mugs that I won and you didn’t. :p

To Daniella, my Shrek figure. It’s no Sponge Bob bag but I’m sure you’ll love it.

To HR, all incriminating photos from various company parties, located on my hard drive.

To Kasey, a post it note with “o” written on it, so you never forget to put the “o” in account again.

To Lindsay, my collection of pens, most of them are from the reception desk anyways.

To Janis, the bottles of Advil and Tylenol in my desk. I have a feeling you’ll need them

To all you studio peeps, to be shared equally, the xyron, rulers, and knives I’m accumulated over the years – they’re right next to the label maker in my bottom drawer. Just kidding. Take the small hand mirror, because no one made me look as good as you did.

To Steve, my Untitled postcard from the British Design Museum. I know you’re the only other person who’ll find it amusing.

To Marta, the collection of salt packets in the top left drawer. Use them to de-ice the sidewalks. Pretty please. Oh and I guess you should share them with Matt, Steve and Janis.

To Bhavik and Jess, to be divided equally, any matches, lighters or cigarettes.

To Lily, my mardi gras beads and button that says “drunk” cuz a tipsy Lily always makes me laugh.

To [redacted], [redacted] and [redacted], my unused souvenir Spy in July rolling papers so you’ll never go without again.

To the account group, to be shared equally, my chair, because it didn’t give me a fraction of the support you all did.

To Peter, the poster of Mao giving a high five, cuz I know you love high fives.

To Val, my British invasion christmas party box. How did the two people not on the social committee end up doing that job?

To Gary W., the little slip of paper that says “Nyeo” instead of either “yes” or “no”.

To Ali, my collection of swipe dogtags/discounts, it’s my payment for all the boring trip talk you had to hear. Plus, I know one day they’ll be selling your photo books there.

To IT, my delete key. It’s in my jar of pens where I put it two years ago after it fell off.

To Mark Scott, the bandana from the creative offsite paintball game (circa 2005), because it’s too hard to believe you weren’t there.

To Bovey, my scissors so you can cut any beard as soon as it starts growing.

To the creative department to be divided equally, my complete annotated collection of neighbourhood dinner menus. If you’re going to work late, you’ll need some variety in your diet.

To Betty, my Party Like a Rock Star TAXI christmas party survival kit, cuz I’ve seen you on the dance floor and you are a rock star.

To Christine, mi dispensador de la cita por todas las veces cuando tomé tu grapadora. Gracias.

To Aggie, Eugene, Meghan, JC, and the rest of the fabulous producers, my TAXI hooch left over from the summer party. It’s one of the many drinks I owe you guys.

To Lance, the picture of the Sphincter Eye, cuz you actually know what it means.

To Sam, the bottle of hairspray and mousse left over from the Do They Know it’s Christmas video/music shoot three years ago.

To Caleb, four tampons and a palm tree.

To Troy, the Duran Duran poster I stole from Jeff. Keep the faith.

To finance, a collection of cab receipts and other misc. undated bills that I never got around to expensing.

To the 100s of you that I have missed, I’ve unfortunately run out of stuff. Instead please accept my thanks and lots of hugs for making these last four years so absolutely awesome.


If any beneficiary under this Will does not survive me by 30 days, then I shall be deemed to have survived such person.


PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OR EXECUTOR: I appoint Vera as Executor of my Will, and if s/he is unable or unwilling to serve, then I name Chris Ashton as alternate Executor. My Executor and alternate shall have all powers granted by applicable laws of my province to carry out all provisions of this Will, may use provisions and procedures for the simplified handling of estates, may hold in trust the share of any minor beneficiary until s/he reaches age 18, and shall not be required to post a bond.

I, LMB, hereby sign this Will at Toronto, Ontario on this 27 day of February, 2009

****

Remember you are all stars. And I look forward to watching you shine wherever I am in the world.
I will miss you all – yes, even you. So you had better keep in touch.

And I meant every word of it.

2009 - the year anything is possible

Yesterday was my first day back at work in the new year. The first thing I did? Tell my boss I was leaving and where I was going. 

So how did I feel? A little something like this...

Thanks to Adam for introducing me to this clip. 

Happy 2009 everyone. I know we're looking forward to this year. I hope you are too. 

AC 993 now boarding, well, soon anyway.

A very quick update to say the first tickets have been bought. Woohoo! Yippee! Yay! No turning back now.  

And that's it really.

I was reminded that it had been a long time since I'd written anything. It may appear that way but behind this wall there are many entries waiting for me to hit spell check and publish. But all in good time, my friends. 

So where are we now?

Location: Toronto

Departure: March 17, 2009

Savings: $46,290

"I love it when a plan comes together"

- Col. Hannibal Smith, The A Team.

View Larger Map

If people could be classified as one of the A Team, I would say I was Col. Hannibal Smith with a dash of BA Barcus. My friend Cheryl is a bit more like Murdoch, loveable but slightly, um, well how do you say it - insane. She's the delusional one who is convinced that Vancouver is a nice place. And she's also a crazy lady that demand I post more often even though I'm not convinced I have much to say at the moment.  See, told you she was crazy. 

The biggest news to report is the new map up above and to the right. It's all new complete with multi-coloured route markers - ooooo, aaaaahhhh - that show the new itinerary we've decided on. After my momentary panic of what to do and where to go I think I've figured it out (well for now at least). So here's what we've got so far.

Central America:

Southern Mexico: 3 weeks

Belize: 2 weeks

Guatemala: 3 weeks

Honduras: 3 weeks

Nicaragua: 3 weeks

Costa Rica: 2 weeks

Panama: 2 weeks

South America: 

Ecuador: 3 weeks

Peru: 3 weeks

Bolivia: 3 weeks

Chile: 3 weeks

Argentina: 5 weeks

Paraguay: 1 week

Brazil: 5 weeks

Africa: 

South Africa: 4 weeks

Lesotho: 1 week

Namibia: 3 weeks

Zambia: 2 weeks

Malawi: 3 weeks

Tanzania: 6 weeks

Rwanda: 2 weeks

Uganda: 2 weeks

and then

Ethiopia and beyond.

And that's where the dots on the map stop. Not because that will be the end of our travels. I hope not. But because that's as far as I'm allowing myself to plan at the moment. And by planning I mean, filling in an excel spreadsheet that looks a lot like a day planner. We still hope to carry on travelling on into Asia via Russia. But there's no need to get ahead of ourselves (that's a note more for me than you btw).

As it is, I've already been collecting tonnes of hostel, tour and adventure links in my del.icio.us profile. You can check them out there. Yes, I'm a bit of a freak when it comes to planning.

Another list I've started is things I'd like to do. This trip is completely selfish for me, in the sense that it's all about trying things I want to do. Here's a list of the top 10 in no particular order.

1. Learning to scuba dive in Honduras
   
2. Seeing the Galapagos
   
3. Seeing Easter Island
   
4. Getting competent in Spanish (and revive my French)
   
5. Taking the slow boat through the glaciers of Chile and Argentina
   
6. Cage diving for sharks in South Africa
   
7. Searching for gorillas in Rwanda
   
8. Climbing Kilimanjaro
   
9. Seeing the big 5 on safari (although I'm sure I'd settle for 1 out of the 5)
   
10. Experiencing the world with Adrian
    

Out of these 10, the closest to being ticked off is the language thing. I've been teaching myself Spanish off and on for about a year. And how's it going? You tell me.

Puedo hacer los phrases basicas. Y puedo leer despacio los libros sin el diccionario. Pero hablo muy malo. ¿Verdad? 

Well, I'm working on it, okay. I've finished my intro spanish tapes, I mean mp3s. I'll soon finish my beginner's book before I undertake the first year MIT spanish course. So hopefully I'll improve before I have to put it into practice.

As for the other things on the list, some of them are pretty crazy and I'm not even sure if I'll actually go through with them. But if I do, I hope Cheryl doesn't mind if I start classifying myself as crazy Murdoch. 

And with that it's time for an update ( I actually first posted this without it).

So where are we now?

location: Toronto, Canada

ETD: March 15, 2009

savings: $36,498

Read all about it

Thanks again to wiki for this photo

When I was about 7, my dad bought me two books that had lots of words and no pictures. Real grown up books called The Coral Island and King Soloman's Mines. And I still have the books. It took me forever to read these adventure stories. But they're probably the reason I have such a travel bug. Every description I read exposed me to exotic places, people and animals I wanted to see for myself. And I was lucky that although my parents weren't world travellers they sent me on every school trip they could so I could feed the bug.

Fast forward about 25 years when Adrian and I were planning our trip to Peru. Thanks to the wonders of google and the recommend of fellow ThornTree posters I discovered two blogs: Conor's Mildly Thrilling Tales and The Global Trip. Both followed the adventures of two guys travelling solo around the world. From the first entries, I was immediately hooked and gave up more than a few hours sleep to catch up and follow along with their entries as they made their way around the planet.

Although both of their blogs made me feel like I was there with them, I wasn't. So the next step was finding a way to visit all these places myself. Thankfully, Adrian was fully onboard. And 3 years later it's getting close to being a reality.

As we've been planning, we've read alot of other blogs and books. So I thought other's might appreciate some of the inspiring reads we've found.

Of course, I'm a huge fan of <Lonely Planet guidebooks - even when they've led me astray as they did in Vancouver. I've got the complete Shoestring guides set and have been using them to plot our adventure. They are already horribly out of date in terms of pricing and contact info but a little google magic fixes that. 

Rough Guides has a great book called First Time Around the World. A must have and read and study for anyone thinking of taking off. It's rather straight but that's what you want in a guide book. 

I suggest reading it in tandem with Vagabonding. If the Rough Guide is all about getting the your physical world in order, Vagabonding is all about the mental. It's rather philosophical but in a good way - and I don't know how many times i'd stumble across a passage and think "that's exactly what I was thinking but I never had the words to describe it. It's like he's in my head". 

Admittedly sometimes the philosophical can be too much. Thankfully there are some great websites inspired by this book where a bunch of author's contributing a wide variety of articles to help you in your quest to become a Vagabond. 

Here's an annotated list of of other resources in a loose chronological order of when I came across them.

Michael Palin's stuff: Seeing Michael Palin on TVO was always a little treasure when I was a teenager as he followed the footsteps Hemmingway and Jules Vernes.  I have a couple of his coffee table books (always picked up for pennies from the clearance section over the decades) and while I can now recognize that many of his journeys are unattainable to the average backpacker, they were one of my first inspirations. Plus, he was in Monty Python and A Fish Called Wanda - what's not to love?

Lonely Planet/Globe Trekker/Pilot Guides TV: Ian Wright is my hero. While Michael Palin was always the observer, Ian is the participant. The way he interacts with people he encounters reminds me that travelling is about getting involved and not watching stuff from the sidelines. Interaction over observation. And he certainly makes it look fun. Adrian and I saw him speak at Convocation Hall a few years back and I he was so... so... normal. Just a kinda geeky and awkward guy who happens to travel to some pretty awesome places. He knows he's lucky and doesn't forget it. No wonder I've been a fan for 20 years. 

Chasing Che: Retracing Che's motorcycle journey across South America for your dissertation - why didn't I think of something fun this when I was writing mine? Regardless, it's a great travelogue as the author shares the trials and tribulations of travelling solo through many different cultures and countries adding in a thin Che political filter (Latin American politics light). It began Adrian and I's own accidental retracing of Che's steps. Hopefully we won't end up dead in Bolivia too. 

The Beach: when I read this in the mid nineties I was blown away by the idea of an individual taking off to far away Thailand. It seemed so seedy yet so decadent - exactly what 20-something I was attracted to. I read it again this year and was struck by how immature and annoying the characters were. Interesting how time and experience can completely change one's perspective. Oh yeah and the movie sucked. 

Bill Bryson: any of his books. His humour is so spot on. My first introduction to him was in 1999 during a raucous Hogmanny (New Year's Eve) in Edinburgh crashing on the floor of a friend's flat with 8 Brits. Caught in the crossfire of competing regional accents, I ducked and picked up the copy of Notes from A Small Island that was lying around and quickly devoured it. I don't know if it was my outsider status at the time  but everyone of Bryson's North American observations about Britain was dead on and hilarious and timeless.

me-go.net: A girl. Travelling solo. Through really odd countries. I'll take Obscuri-Stan for 200,  Alex. Megan's site is a great travelogue from a unique perspective. She shows that no country is off limits (within reason) if you want to go there. It's also a great reference. She shares all her financials - something few people are willing to do for some strange reason. Oh and she responds to emails promptly and thoroughly. She's pretty awesome.

Holidays in Hell: 80s memoir of travelling to some whacky places courtesy of P.J. O'Rourke. I loved the spirit of this book. In a weird way it's the travelogue I related to the most. Although a little warning some of the terms he uses later in the book are a little irking for my PC addled brain. Amazing how appropriate the politics are 20 some years later. 

Adventures of a Continental Drifter: series of short travelogues by one guy. Interesting for the perspective of a former American flight attendant travelling after 9-11 but also because he's black. The outsider in many cultures and just another face in the crowd in others. A great read because he doesn't try to make sense of anything that happens he just experiences it and shares it with us.

Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism: This one isn't an inspiration but I feel the need to include it because I take it as a cautionary tale. The author's attitude and adventures are exactly what I want to avoid while travelling. All selfish and self important "what's in it for me" mentality. The guy has an ego the size of Greenland and like to think he's living on the edge and writing like Hunter S. Thompson. But his actual adventures and experiences are pretty tame, and lame. Perfect contrast to P.J. O'Rourke who downplays the real craziness happening all around him.

I have another hundred books and movies set in certain countries that I could add to my list of inspiration. Don't worry I won't. Every time Adrian and I come back from a trip, the one constant on our customs declaration has been books. (yes it means we have a lot of books waiting to be packed up before we go, don't remind me). Reading them is a great way to revisit the places for free. And on one occasion buying a book was an adventure itself. 

In the Cusco, Peru airport as we were waiting for our flight to the Amazon, Adrian was at a newspaper stand looking for NFL news (I know, don't get me started). Out of luck he was flipping through the rack of books on Macchu Picchu when another customer started talking to him about Macchu Picchu. This gentleman happened to be an author and the book Adrian happened to be leafing through was his. Adrian had a great conversation with the quirky man in the panama hat and when Adrian bought his book, he signed it for him. 

Reading can't replace the real thing but sometimes it can be an adventure in itself.

Let's start at the very beginning - wherever that is.

Excuse me, do you know the way to... to... wait where are we going? Good question and one we thought we'd answered.

However, circumstances intervened - Adrian found himself without work for a few months, our anniversary trip required an expensive detour, pre-trip expenses are adding up - and our savings haven't accumulated as fast as we hoped. But we're not too far away. In fact we're only a couple of months behind. But all these hiccups made us realize that we should probably over save - justincase (justincase of natural disaster, justincase of a tough returning job market, justincase we need to pay ransom to our kidnappers, etc) .

Unfortunately, this means redoing our itinerary. Now understand, I'm a closeted control freak (okay, maybe not so closeted), so I need the security blanket of a planned route. But I know that these itineraries are never set in stone. And thankfully, when we've had to deviate from past travel plans, Adrian has stepped in to take care of stuff while I sit rocking in a corner clutching my itinerary.

So here I sit, once again looking at a map of the world and wondering where to go. And there are so many options it's a little dizzying. In fact I just starting typing out a list of options and when I got to number 11, I deleted the list for fear of losing the few readers I have. So this post is far less informative than I hoped it would be.

I posted to Lonely Planet's Thorntree looking for advice, and only got one response, from Donna, my virtual travel friend. (thanks Donna! lots of great tips and I halfheartedly blame you for introducing options 6-11 ). But I'm realizing that Adrian and I are the ones that have to make the decision.

Our requirements are complicated.
The only must do things on our trip are South America (Adrian) and Africa (Liz). So these our priorities.
I've been learning Spanish and would hate to lose it before we can use it.
We want to fly on as many StarAlliance carriers as possible to capitalize on Aeroplan points.
We don't want to spend more than $1000 on any airfare leg.
Our savings will probably cover 500 days (at $100/per day)

And this is where we've ended up (mentally): either Central American to South America to Africa to ?, OR South America to Africa to ?, OR Africa to South America to Asia to ?. Each have their pros and cons and each time we think one is in the lead, something makes us change our mind.

Feel free to add your two cents. Literally (if you visit any of the google links on the righthand side). And figuratively (by adding a comment).

Oh and slightly good news. Adrian's contract has been extended for another 4 weeks so we have a bit more cash to look forward to. And I finally got a retroactive raise (only 6 months late).

So where are we now?

location: confused in Toronto
ETD: March 15, 2009
savings: $30,998 (but hoping for a big jump in the next month)

I know this priceless antique says 25¢ but how about a nickel

(not our car boot sale but close enough, thank you wiki)

People are cheap. That's all you need to know about garage/yard/lawn/church/car boot sales.

Oh and that they're a helluvalotta work. We spent two weeks of scouring the apartment for things to sell then polishing, scrubbing and cleaning the crap to make it look good, pricing it way below the 30% what we paid for it, and packing it all up to survive the trip to the sale in one piece. Then loaded up the van the night before for the trip out to a park in the almost burbs.

And this was just for stuff we couldn't be bothered to list on ebay or craigslist: vases, vhs, books, junk jewelry, children's toys, kitchen crap, assorted small appliances, as well as a couple of things we just wanted to get rid of, like mismatched speakers, an air conditioner, our 100lb tv with reception issues, and a box or two of magazines and comics.

Oh and did I mention we're on the third floor of the walkup. My body aches just thinking about it.

But sell we did. Not a lot and not the things we expected. VHS tapes and ugly jewelry were a hot commodity. While books and and any nice looking or valuable knickknacks weren't. I sold a dirty table cloth but not Royal Daulton crystal wine glasses (2 for $15). So I give up.

And after 4 hours of the sale we had made $245.

More than the $150 I wanted just to make it worth while but less than the $350 I was hoping for. And after the van rental, gas and parking ticket, our net was more like $175.

We dropped off the worthless stuff at goodwill as well as the heavy tv that we almost killed us to carry. We kept about 4 boxes of stuff to try again at a later date or keep.

So where are we now?

location: Toronto
savings: $30,175
ETD: March 15, 2009 (or earlier)

(and it's time to start thinking happy thoughts for Adrian - his current contract finishes Oct 3 and he'll need a new one)

so much to do so little time and money

Before I post about our Storm Watch Tour 2008. I have a big change. 

I'm going to do this post backwards, starting with so where are we now?

location: Toronto

savings: $28,600

ETD: March 15, 2009 (although we may go earlier)

Yes, you'll notice a new date there. 

No, we're not getting cold feet.

Our trip to New Orleans and the resulting flight changes not only ate into the savings but also made me realize that emergencies can cost a lot more than you realize. And for The Big Trip™ that meant saving up for a bigger resettlement cushion and boosting the ever important just in case buffer.  

A later departure date also means a rejigging of our itinerary - either starting in South Africa and pushing South America to the end of the trip or adding Central America to the itinerary. But that's another post once we have a better idea of when we'll actually be leaving.

Answering the question: So where are you going?

Recently, we've started telling people about the trip. Not just casually mentioning "ya, I'd like to travel the world someday" but "we're leaving in November and we're not coming back, are you going to miss us". After the slack-jawed shock wears off, invariably, the first question is where are you going?

If money weren't an issue, the answer would be where aren't we going. But this is real life. And time and money are an issue. 

Although we've always wanted to see the world, the Big Trip™ became a real goal just over a year ago. We were chatting about where to go for our next little trip, and I said it was time for us to hit Africa again. However, air fares for Tanzania were about $2500 each or $1700 if we flew to London and then hooked up with a charter of some sort. But with only two weeks vacation time available that was too much money or too little time to make the trip worthwhile. 

Doing a little more digging at Airtreks, I discovered that you could get a RTW ticket from $1600 (albeit with a generic route London, Bangkok, Sydney, New York). Wow around the world for $1000 less. And then I noticed their trip planner tool. 5 hours of playing out dream scenario after dream scenario and seeing a total that was only $5000 I was in love. I knew that we had to go RTW and we had to do it now. 

Of course, nothing is that simple. After figuring out the financial plan, we had to adjust the time frame. But once we were well on our way to getting the money together, we started the "where do we go" discussion. Actually negotiation is a better phrase. We both like to travel, but our lists don't always match. Previously, we alternated picking trips. Adrian's choices were Tunisia, Cuba, Peru, and most of the US destinations. I picked Gambia, Buenos Aires, Cambodia, and India. But now we'd have to combine dream destinations. 

We each made lists of must sees. 

Mine: Africa, Russia, and China

Adrian: Brazil, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Italy and Egypt. 

Combine these lists and you'll see that this is 6 continents (including Canada) and a lot of miles. This makes it the most expensive RTW itinerary and not really feasible. So the first to go were Australia and New Zealand. Too far and too expensive and easy to do when you're older. The next to go Italy. Too expensive and easy to do when we're living in the UK. This left us with South America, Africa, Russia, Asia, which is slightly more manageable. 

The next step is how to go. I looked at Air Treks and then to stretch the airmiles I looked at Oneworld and Staralliance. Using Staralliance, was the best bet. They fly from South America to Africa and we already have 50,000 airmiles with them. Using their trip planner helped us establish a rough itinerary.

• Toronto to Santiago 
  
• Overland to Sao Paolo. (via Chile, Bolivia, Argentina Paraguay and Brazil) 
  
• Sao Paolo to Johannesburg.
  
• Overland Johannesburg to Egypt. (via South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt, Jordan) 
  
• Egypt to the UK for a visit with Adrian's family. 
  
• UK to St. Petersberg overland to Beijing via the Transmongolian. (stopping along the way in Russia and Mongolia) 
  
• Overland to India. (taking in China, Tibet, Nepal and Northern India).
  
• Calcutta to Bangkok
  
• Overland South East Asia (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia - still not sure where)
• Singapore to Tokyo
• Tokyo to Toronto

Phew, that was a mouthful. Hope you're still with us. Of course this is all subject to change - so don't get married to anything (that was more a note to me than to you). Already we're looking at the finances and we may have to drop off everything after India. Or simplify Africa. But at this exact moment the map on the right there shows are desired route from Santiago to Calcutta. 

In order to catch good weather in all the locations (nothing that requires a winter coat) we have to leave by mid-November. Or change it completely. (the qualifiers come out once again)

This is the plan. But no tickets are booked yet. At the moment, we're planning to buy along the way. But that could change too. 

Now when you ask "So where are you going?" I think I have an answer. Although it comes with a huge asterisk. Because you can plan all you want but life can always throw you a real curve ball. 

And the score is taxes 0, liz 1000.

I know, I know. I haven't posted the London or Vancouver trip reports. I'll do it this weekend, I promise but not if it's really beautiful out or I have to work again. Okay I promise nothing. Works been rather nutso lately and I haven't slept much. So how about a financial update instead. 

So where are we now?

location: Toronto

savings: $19,400

ETD: November 15, 2008

Adrian may have found a contract - nothing is signed yet so please cross your fingers. You're probably wondering, if Adrian hasn't been working and we haven't won the lottery how have we been able to save money? Actually, you most likely weren't wondering but I was. So I went and looked at the bank statement to figure out what we did. And then I remembered. 

Co-workers told me that I was able to write off some things as employment expenses. Curious, I did a little digging and found out they were right. My job requires me to have a mobile and internet access, so I can write them off. I went back and adjusted the last three years worth of tax returns and found $1000. Not bad. And that money went into the Big Trip™ fund. Moral of the story? Read every line of the tax return booklet; you might just find some money in it. 

Picture perfect

It's the long weekend so I've been using the time to scan old pictures from the prehistoric days of film cameras and upload them to our flickr page. Feel free to have a poke around there. 

Thankfully (or not) there aren't as many photos from these earlier trips. I used to take photos as punctuation now I use them like narrative. Don't know if this new way is better. 

Just this week, I was having a conversation with a co-worker about people's facebook photos. Craig hates vacation photos. He says he prefers memories to pictures. I totally agree, especially when travelling. It's important to put the camera down and pick the brain up and remember to experience not just document. 

Unfortunately, I take pictures because I like taking pictures. A lot. So I'm constantly trying to keep the snap happy part of my brain contented while remembering to experience stuff. It's probably why I'm so torn about what camera to bring with me. I have a 4 year old point and shoot digital that has done me very well. It's been to Moscow, India, South East Asia, the UK, France, the US and Canada. However I know it's getting old. So before we go I will probably want to get a new one. So I get a fancy schmancy DSLR and try to take much better photos (snap happy says yes)? Or do I get a new and improved point and shoot digital? (traveller says please)?

When we get closer to leaving, I'm sure how much stuff we have will help make the decision. Adrian already wants to take his PSP. I just got a new 160GB iPod (free using my airmiles). And I'm also contemplating buying a laptop. So more gear seems kinda dumb at this point. 

Plus there's the money issue. All this stuff costs money and will we have it? 

So where are we now?

location: Toronto

savings: $12,200

ETD: November 15, 2008

Getting into the 5 figures feels good - we're officially more than 20% there. 

Money makes the world go round (or us go round the world)

Money. If you're going to travel around the world you need it. And at the moment it's our biggest obstacle. Unlike other trips which we charged and then paid off on our return, the Big Trip requires cash in the bank before we go. 

In June of 2007, we had planned to leave in January but some quick calculations revealed we had a huge deficit. Too much of our savings would be needed to pay our student loans. So we refocused our money on paying them off. We did and I can't tell you how awesome it felt to be free of them. I think I was literally skipping and jumping around the day I saw a big juicy zero on the student loan website. Then in January we started saving to get the hell out of Dodge. 

How are we saving? Very simply we have a budget. Budget. Budget. Budget. I can't stress how important this is. Budget. Budget. Budget. And I can't repeat it enough. We wrote down what we needed to pay our bills, feed ourselves and have a bit of fun. Everything beyond that goes into a high interest savings account with President's Choice Financial that we can't touch. Almost daily I'm at the spreadsheet tracking our expenses - not because I need to but because it helps me stay motivated. I may post a simplified one here later so you can check follow along.

We also re-evaluated our day-to-day expenses to see where we could trim them and we stuck to them. We shop at No Frills not Loblaws (savings of $100/month). Rather than do take out we've learned how to make our favourite Thai, Mexican and Indian foods as well as homemade pizza (this costs less than $10 to make as opposed to $30 take out). I take a lunch to work - everyday (savings of $160/ month). No more cabs ($20/month).  We keep a minimum balance in our chequing account so we don't have to pay bank service fees and we only use our own bank's ATM machines ($40/month). These small changes add up to at least $350 a month or $4200 a year. Not bad for doing nothing. 

We also gave ourselves an allowance. $100 each every week. That's fun money for whatever we choose to spend it on. On paper that sounds generous and that was deliberate. We didn't want to be miserable; if we started hating saving then there's a possibility we'll loose sight of our ultimate goal. However, $100 doesn't go all that far - one night out with friends can easily eat up more than that. But recently, I've actually been underspending my allowance and socking the money away to take with me to the UK and Amsterdam later this month. 

Of course it helps that Adrian and I don't have kids. And that we're at a point in our career where we actually make money when we go to work. But I've met lots of 20-somethings travelling around the world and they find the money. I think it really adds up to if you want you'll find a way to make it happen. 

We've also started gathering up belongings to sell. Adrian got rid of 30 playstation games. And I've got 200 books to get rid of. The money is incremental but every little bit helps. Plus, selling things now is helping us get ready for the great purge before we go. 

I've also looked at other ways to bring in some money. You'll notice the google ads on the right hand side. Clicking on them ads pennies to our savings so feel free to click to help us out. We'd really appreciate it and we'll click yours. Currently we've made exactly  -42¢ and, yes, that is a negative sign. 

So where are we now?

location: Toronto

savings: $11,200

ETD: November 15, 2008

We've determined that $50,000 is what we'll need to get away so we still have a way to go. Since Adrian is still looking for a job, the savings have slowed down. The good thing is that they haven't stopped. I'm confident he'll find something soon and we'll be back on track.

Oh and here are some great resources on saving and budgeting:

• Allround great budget advice

• Dave's detailed budget from gobackpacking.com
  
• Megan's budget from past trips
  
• How much will you need

• How to make money on the road courtesy of nerdynomad.com
  
• How to make money blogging links

• How about couchsurfing on the road
  
• Or volunteering at an organic farm
  

This is just a quick list. There are also countless other travellers out there who have offered invaluable advice to us via the Lonely Planet Thorntree and their blogs. I just wanted to thank all of them. You guys rock.

Getting closer

Adrian still doesn't have a new contract started so I've been freaking out about our plans and budget - particularly since I'm headed to London at the end of March. 

A month ago that seemed like a good way to use up my vacation time. A month ago I also thought the flight would be free thanks to air miles. D'oh. I didn't read the small print which limited my gift certificates to holidays not travel. So I'm stuck with AirTransat. Hating them as much as I do, I've paid for the upgrade to their club class ($600 cha-ching or six days of rtw travel, ouch). Hopefully, comfy seats and free booze will offset my hatred.  

While I'm in London, I may try to visit another friend in Amsterdam if money allows. But he's already warned me that he may be moving to Barcelona which is a longer and more expensive flight so it's looking increasingly iffy.

Anyhow here's the budget update promised. 

And where are we now?

location: Toronto

savings: $10,700

ETD: November 15, 2008

1-800-how's-my-blogging

adjusting my mirror, checking my blind spot, signal and pull out...

I've never blogged before. I've never kept a diary. But I do write. A lot. Because I'm a writer. But hopefully by November 2008, I'll be unemployed. That's right I hope to be unemployed. 

Adrian and I are saving fast and furiously to take off and travel the world.

Of course certain things keep getting in the way. Like Adrian needing a job. Going to Cuba for a much needed vacation. Using up vacation time to visit friends in London and Amsterdam. But I've still got the eyes on the prize. But more on that later. 

Perhaps you're wondering why we're going. The short answer is why not. Both of us love travelling. We love the chaos of trying to figure out bus routes and meals and accommodation when you can't read the alphabet let alone speak the language. And our meagre vacation time has made it difficult to see as much of the world as we've hoped - although many would disagree. 

We've been to Ireland, Buenos Aires, Tunisia, Gambia, Moscow, India, Bangkok, Shanghai, Cambodia, Ho Chi Minh City, Paris, Cuba, many places in the US, and of course the UK and Canada. And every time we have to come back we get depressed and spend weeks talking about how great it would be to just keep travelling. Finally we actually stopped just talking about it and just started doing something about it.

So in June 2007, we did some calculations and by we I mean me (although adrian is an accountant, he hates doing our finances). And quickly discovered that leaving in January 2008 was not going to happen. The dreaded albatrosses known as student loans were just too big. in the words of Pepe le Pew, le sigh. But those same calculations also showed us that by January 2008 we could pay off our student loans - all $35,000 of them, 7 years ahead of schedule. And we still managed to sock away a bit of cash for the big trip. We're pretty chuffed too. 

Now with 9 months to go, I've started this blog to write a little a bit about our planning and preparations but also to get used to this whole blogging thing. And this is the place where we'll be writing about our adventures. That should be easy right? I'm a writer. Unfortunately, coming home to write this blog after writing all day is sometimes hard, hopefully it will be a lot easier once we're on the road. And this whole html blogging stuff is new to me. Hence the title of this post. So be patient. I'm learning. But I'm almost ready to take the "L" off the back windscreen.

And where are we now? 

location: Toronto

savings: $8500

ETD: November 15, 2008