donderdag 18 februari 2010

The beginning

5 months… that’s the time that passed since we decided to make the trip of our life. After working 1,5 years in the beautiful city of Granada (Spain – Andalucia), it was time to move again to Belgium, but… with a small intermezzo in South-America. Well, define small… We decided to take 10 weeks off at work and to travel 8 weeks through that mysterious, yet very beautiful continent: South-America. For some – unknown – reason, I have been attracted to that region since a couple of years and finally now it’s the time to stop dreaming and start acting.

With the Lonely Planet guide of South-America always close to me, we started planning some weeks ago. Initially we had very wild plans as we wanted to see half of the continent in 8 weeks. However, after doing some research and reading, it soon became clear that, unless I put some fireworks in my ass and survive on Red Bull and dry coffee beans during our trip, this would be a mission impossible. So what’s left of our wild plans: Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Still a lot to cover, but at least it’s realistic this time. Some places that are definitely on our itinerary: Lima (because we arrive there), Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Lago Titicaca, Unyuni salt lake, Salta, Ushuaia, Perrito Moreno, Iguacu falls and finally Buenos Aires, where we will take the plane back to Europe.

So… We took care of all the administrative things at work, we renewed our passports, we had 5 needles in our arms for the necessary vaccinations, we bought Malaria pills, we bought flights to Lima and, best of all, I have prepared a nice Excel with all our plans and expenses (can’t help it… I’m working in IT :-) ). So we’re pretty safe I guess… :-S

For a long time I doubted whether or not I should keep a blog about our trip. But since several friends, family members and colleagues claim that they will miss me so much, I decided to do it anyway. I know myself, so I don’t expect to write on a daily basis, but at least I’ll try to write down the unforgettable moments that we – hopefully – will have.

See you then!