25 January 2006 - a sprinkling of unconventionality

Lynne says...

The trip is fast approaching and I'm still more nervous than Matt. Crazy really, considering it was my idea in the first place and it's taken over two years to get to this point.

Perhaps it's something to do with giving up my job for a second time to go travelling; the sensible side of me is screaming, "what the heck are you doing, you're 31 years old and should be settling down and having babies". Bugger that. Life is surrounded by convention; convention, along with fear, stops people doing what they really want to do. I'm going to add a sprinkling of unconventionality to the mix, disregard my fears and wait and see what happens as a result. As those around me will agree, I have an infrequent tendency to throw caution to the wind and take the difficult path when the easy one is right in front of me. It must be in my genes.

15 January 2006 - dull stuff - how much will it all cost?

Lynne says...

Only read this if you are interested in the costs of the trip... it's very dull.

Costs

Budget is $30 each a day.

Gear

Luckily, we already have lots of the gear we need due to previous trips. This is the list of everything we've had to buy specifically for South America, including flights etc.

Lynne
Berghaus waterproof jacket: £100
Berghaus fleece: £65
Karrimor 65litre backpack: £65
single silk sleep sheet: £20
Bloc sunglasses: £35
Snugpak softie kestral sleeping bag:
travel towel: £20
rabies jab:£38
yellow fever jab: £40

Matt
Helly Hansen short sleeved thermal T-shirt: £23
Helly Hansen longjohns: £25
Snugpak sleeka softie jacket: £73
Berghaus waterproof jacket: £75
travel towel: £16
Petzl headtorch: £20
Snugpak softie kestral sleeping bag: £75
sleeping bag liner: £24
yellow fever jab: £40

Other

southern hemisphere balanced compass: £35
deet:
return flights to Buenes Aires: £1,174.60
insurance:£340
Larium tablets: £49.50
world band radio: £30

7 January 2006 - cold feet?

Lynne says...

Well, the tickets are booked. We leave London for Buenes Aires on the 27 February. Can't quite believe it. After all this time and all my nagging it was Matt who finally made the booking. I think my feet are colder than his at the moment. I seem to be swinging between abject fear of what we're doing to sheer excitement at what's ahead, depending on what I'm doing and who I'm talking to.

This will probably be the least planned six month trip ever. Apart from the first destination and a vague plan to travel south before the cold weather moves in, we're not really sure what will happen and where we will go. It doesn't get much better than this.

2 January 2006..finally, it's a reality

Lynne says...

Hi everyone

At least this blog means you can check our progress when you feel like it and won't be faced with those tedius emails you get from travelling friends at 10am on a dreary Monday morning, "Well, we've just had the most incredible time staying near a beautiful beach in xxxx. Hope all is well with you blah blah blah..."

Instead, you can check out our trip if you want to. At your leisure. Or not at all in fact. So don't worry if you don't her from us personally and if you do wonder where we are then simply log on. We can't guarantee it will be entirely up to date but it's better than nothing.

Happy travels to you all.

Lynne and Matt