Scary.....scary...

The official countdown is at 131 days, 13 hours, 43 minutes - YIKES!

Its crazy how quickly time is flying by...scary in fact, condsidering just how much I have to get done before we're gone.

Anyhow...a bit of an update for you all.

Owen getting Hep B shot #2

Erin getting Japanese Encephalitis Shot #2

Owen and I have almost completed getting our shots done, he is going on to his 3rd hepatitis B shot and has decided to NOT get the Japanese Encephaliltis ( a foolish decision in my opinion) so will be done his vaccines as of the end of this month. I have recieved 2 of 3 of the Japaneses Encephalitis shots and have one more to go. Of all the vaccines, this was the one that actually did give me side effects, although not too bad. The main thing was that it just made me extrememly tired and gave some stomach pains, but the first shot was worse than the second, so Im hoping by the time the third shot comes around that the side effects will be non-existant. I also learned that the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine is in short supply and will soon not be available in some places...also the price has gone up since I started my series of shots, so anyone contemplating getting this vaccine should be aware that if they choose to wait and think about it some more, that it may not be available to them. On the plus side though....no more needles for me after the last one!

My backpack is getting fuller by the day. 40 Litres is not a lot of space, and im a little worried that I may not have enough room in my bag....but, I have to make it work, there is no way on earth that I am carrying a bag as big as myself around this huge world of ours....not a chance. So far in my bag I have a few new purchases! After a lot of research I found the underwear that I will be bringing with me (and at a fraction of the cost as expected!). In all of the travel stores and online you see all this info about quick dry / wicking underwear that everyone recommends for travelling, but what they dont tell you is that it costs $30 a pair. So, I went and checked it out and yes, it does look very comfy...but a little outside of my budget for undies...seriously. So I checked out the fabric content on all of the labels and started browsing the internet. Every time we go to the USA we always stop at the outlet stores, and they have an underwear store there, so I decided to check out what they had in stock. Well, I ended up buying my undies!!! 4 pair for under $20 ! Exciting, I know. They have the exact same fabric content and feel as the expensive ones at MEC and also are seamless...which seems a bit better to me, so I'm happy about that. Owen has also FINALLY bought a backpack...pretty basic and rugged...just what we need. The nice thing about his bag is the fact that it is bigger than mine, meaning he gets to carry the tent...ahaha..

Jebus & Cola - My lovely cats

The scariest (saddest) thing about our upcoming trip is the fact that I still have to find someone to take my lovely cats....this is stressing me out sooooo much. They are my babies...I love them. If anyone knows of somebody who may be down for some snuggles, here's the deal: I supply 2 years worth of food + kitties to snuggle. In exchange the kitties must be kept together, indoors, and snuggled on a regular basis. Then, when I return, I get my cats back.

Cola & I

Well, thats it for now... until next time...

Yay for mexico!

The official countdown is at 157 days, 23 hours, 46 minutes

After recently talking with my mom, we now officially have 3 destinations confirmed...hopefully, it stays at 3 and we dont end up over planning where we want to be. After all...this is supposed to be a "go where you decide at the last minute" kind of trip right?

STOPS
1) LA / Palm Springs, USA - September 14
2) Melaque, Mexico - September 22 - To rebuild a miniramp & visit with frineds.
3) Progreso, Mexico - December 24!!! For Christmas with some of my family!!!!!! YAY! I haven't had christmas with family in about 10 years now....

So we will make our way from Melaque (West coast) down to Progreso (Yucatan Peninsula) between September & December. Anyone who wants to meet us in Mexico during those times, just let me know!
After Christmas, we will more than likely be moving down into Guatemala as soon as possible.

Well, here we go! A little bit of catch up..

The official countdown is at 164 days, 2 hours, 24 minutes.

Welcome to my blog! I have been inspired to start a bit early, urged on by some of my guests at Aveda, so that they can peer into the process and preparations necessary in anticipation of us (Erin & Owen) travelling the globe for two years.

For those of you who do not yet know, Myself and my beloved partner Owen will be embarking on the "Ultimate World Trip of a Lifetime". We are starting in Mexico on September 22 and from there, we will travel to where the world takes us. No timelines, no specific destinations, just an epic adventure. We plan to do as much travel as possible overland, meaning that we wont fly if we dont absolutely have to. So far, the rough outline of countries goes like this: Mexico, all of Central America, all of South America, hop over to South Africa and work our way up Africa thru to the Middle East and into Europe. From Europe we will have to fly to India. After we explore India we will move on to SE Asia, the Phillipines and Indonesia. Lastly, we will journey over to Australia and New Zealand before making our way back to Canada. Should be interesting.

Those of you who know me well, know that I am a COMPLETE geek, so the preparations are right on track. I have constructed a detailed graph outlining the ideal months to be in each country over the span of approximately 2 years, I have compiled a list of every holiday and celebration and their dates for each country along the way, I have predicted our expenses pre and post departure, and researched the visa and immigration requirements for every country. I have also been spending ALOT of time on travel forums...afterall, the most important info has nothing to do with where we're going, but what we're taking with us.

Even though we still have some time until we leave, I have made the all important decision of purchasing my bag. I have read many posts of travellers complaining that they brought too big of a bag, so Im going with a wee little 40 Litre backpack. It will do tho, the less stuff I bring with me, the less stuff can be stolen..haha..
So, into this bag so far: 1 travel hammock with built in mosquito net, 1 silk travel sheet, 1 tiny sleeping bag ( we plan to do a lot of camping along the way), 1 waterbottle, 1 lightweight compressable, windproof/ waterproof jacket, 1 toiletries bag and a knife. So far the bag is only half full, which is good news considering I still have to pack my clothing. That list will be confirmed later, but for now I m thinking: 2 tee shirts, 1 pair pants, 1 pair surf shorts, 1 pair walking shorts, 1 pair flippy floppy's, 3 pair of undies, 2 bras, 3 pair of socks, 1 bathingsuit, 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 hoody, and a dress. If anyone has any feedback on this list, PLEASE let me know, I can use all the help I can get at this point :).

As many of you may know, I am, as well as a geek, a total hyper-condriac, therefore after many many hours of researching the possible side effects of each and every vaccine, we made an appointment for the travel clinic. Surprisingly, we dont need as many shots as I initially thought (yay!) so we got started.

Owen needs a few more than me, so he got his first 3 shots: MMR, Yellow Feaver & Polio. Turns out he never got the Hep B vaccine in elementary school either, so he has to get those 3 as well, and possibly may also be vaccinated for Japanese Encephalitis, which consists of a series of 3 more shots. I've yet to convince him that it would be a wise move to get that one!
I got my first 2 vaccinations: MMR & Yellow Fever. I am definately going to get the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, I mean, why wouldn't I?
I also asked about rabies, and the doc told me that typically she would recommend that we be vaccinated against rabies based on the fact that we plan to spend a lot of time in rural areas, but at the moment there is a world shortage, so we cant have it....so...if we get bitten, make sure to get to a hospital within 24 hours or we will more than likely die.... nice.
Lastly, we talked about Malaria (yikes!)
Obviously nobody would choose to want to take anti-malarials for such a long term...especially with the side effects, and not to mention the cost. I was a bit concerned about what to do; do we take them and feel like crap the whole time or do we not take them and cross our fingers and hope we dont come down with malaria? I was talking with one of my clients a while back about this dilemma, and it just so happened that she was from Europe and did a lot of travel. What she told me was that in Europe, they do not prescribe anti-malarials on a preventative basis, that instead they prescribe a "treatment" or emergency dose of anti-malarials should you become sick. Sounded like a good idea to me, so I asked about that, and the doctor wrote me a prescription for the emergency dose which I will keep in my first aid kit. I also recieved a prescription for an anti-malarial for when Im in Africa and India (they have the highest risk) but may or may not take it...i haven't decided yet.

The all important Yellow Fever Vaccine!

Well, that should help to get everyone up to speed on our progress. I dont want to bore you with too many details, so if you have any questions, just send me off an email!

xoxo
erin