Today was my last day of work before the final push to get our lives squared away so we can leave the country. My office gave me an amazing sendoff with all sorts of good food and good chats. I will miss going into the office everyday and being part of that community.
But, there is lots to be done at home…including selling just about everything we own, from our silverware to our cars, and packing up the rest to be stored at my parents’ house. We will also be finalizing our trip plans, including procuring second passports and navigating several tricky visa processes for some special stops along the way. In other news, Kyle gave his notice at work last week and has 9.5 weeks to go.
We’ve got 113 days until we leave & so much to do and share with you! And a big welcome to all of our new blog readers! Now that we’re public and you’re here, we invite you to stay awhile and come on this journey with us.
Our itinerary as of this week (always subject to change):
May 23rd ~ leave for Quito, Ecuador
May 23 ~ June 24th – Study Spanish in Quito at a local immersion school. We’ll also be living in a hostel in the neighborhood and doing trekking on the weekends, in order to prepare for trekking the Inca Trail
June 24th ~ Fly to Cusco, Peru to check in with our trek outfitter and prepare for our 4 day hike to Machu Picchu. Our government permits were just issued and we’re confirmed for the best camping spots.
June 30th-July 3rd ~ Hike the Inca Trail. We’ll be arriving in Machu Picchu on the full moon.
July 4th ~ Hang out at Machu Picchu for a second day and hot springs in Aguas Calientes
July 5th-July 14th ~ No idea what we’re doing yet. Maybe go to Bolivia and see the Uyuni Salt Flats, or more trekking in Peru or Ecuador, or spend some time in Colombia
July 14th-July 30th ~ My parents are flying down to meet up with us in Quito for a few weeks. They want to practice their Spanish and we’ll already know our way around the town. Probably do a few day trips as well.
July 31st-Sept 4th ~ Totally open. We’ll most likely spend the bulk of our time in Chile & Argentina before making our way back up to Quito to fly back to the states.
Sept 5th ~ Fly back to the states. Gotta be home in time for D&T’s wedding – dress & tux fittings, baking lots of mini cupcakes
Sept 5th-Oct 1 ~ Hanging out in ABQ. We’ll be re-evaluating our gear and switching out a few things as we move from trekking to traveling mode.
Oct 2 ~ Fly to Nadi, Fiji (which turned out to be a 2.5 week free layover on our flight to New Zealand)
Oct 4-21 ~ Hanging out in Fiji. Kathy will turn 40 while we’re there. We’ll be traveling by bus and boat and hosteling for most of our time here, but have planned a week at a resort as a birthday treat. We may learn to dive as well.
Oct 21st ~ Fly to Auckland, New Zealand
Oct 21-24 ~ Hanging out in Auckland
Oct 24th ~ Pick up our Spaceship Campervan, which will be our home for the next 5 weeks as we drive around New Zealand.
Oct 24-Nov 28th ~ Driving around New Zealand in our Campervan…camping, hiking, kayaking, boating, trekking…we’ll have to see what happens.
Nov 28th ~ Drop off our Spaceship in Christchurch
Nov 28th-30th ~ Hang out in Christchurch
Dec 1st ~ Fly to Australia – but we currently have no idea where or what we’ll be doing when we get there. 🙂
That’s as far as we know for now. After Australia we’ll most likely work our way up through Indonesia and SE Asia and then keep on to China and then over to India and then keep on trekking.
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