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TRAVEL BLOG AND ITINERARY
a travel blog
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Our trip will start in South America, where our focus will be on mountaineering and trekking in the Patagonian Andes. Matt will also get to show me some of his old stomping grounds in Ecuador and Peru. Interesting note - Matt spent his 23rd birthday in Quito, and we'll celebrate his 33rd there too. A real full circle moment. I can't wait to finally see everything that I heard so much about all those years ago and that I know shaped Matt heavily.
After seeing the sites in Ecuador and Peru, including the renowned trek to Machu Picchu, we'll head into the Chilean Andes where we'll see if I can keep up with my backcountry-loving, mountain-climbing husband. If only working behind a computer all these years had somehow built up my hamstrings...
After six weeks in the Patagonian region and some time in the beautiful city of Buenos Aires, we will fly to Manhattan for a long weekend to meet Kathleen and Will's new baby, see Jake and Ace, and refuel for the next five months of our trip. We will leave the culture, wildlife, and beauty of Manhattan for the culture, wildlife, and beauty of Tanzania.
In Tanzania, we plan to do a camping safari, take in the islands of Zanzibar, and explore Mt. Kilaminjaro. Those of you who know me, know that I've always been fascinated with wildlife in Africa. Here's what Lonely Planet has to say. I don't think I'll be disappointed:
"Step out into the vast open plains of Tanzania and you suddenly feel very, very small. And so you should. You've just joined one of the largest, wildest animal populations in the world. Wildebeest, monkey, antelope, lion, cheetah, crocodile, gazelle, flamingo - they're all out there."
After three weeks in Tanzania, we'll get several days in one of our favorite cities in the world - Bangkok. Many people who have vacationed on Thai beaches hate Bangkok. But they've only flown in, fought the traffic, been scammed by the taxi drivers, taken to a suit shop against their wills, and flown out. It's definitely a city that you have to scratch beneath the surface. At first glance, it's huge, loud, and polluted. But give it some time, spend hours walking, and you see a whole different side. We spent about a month there and really fell in love with the city - the people, the temples, the food, Thai kickboxing....I remember sitting on a curb watching the insane traffic going by and eating a $0.30 plate of Thai noodles from a street vendor on our last night there in about September of 1999. We were so sad to be leaving the next day but promised each other that we would be back. So going back means a lot more to us than even just being there....though I can't wait to see it all again.
From Thailand we will go to India for eight weeks of culture, beauty, and an assault on the senses that you apparently have to see to believe. In all of Matt's travels, India was one of the most intense countries he's seen and one of his favorites, so I can't wait to experience it with him this time.
From India, we head to Katmandu, which we hope will be our jumping off point for some time in Tibet. We won't know until we arrive, because getting into Tibet is a bit of a logistical challenge. We will have to play this one by ear. We hope to get the appropriate paperwork in order to explore Lhasa, the Tibetan Himalayas, and some of rural Southern China before heading to Cairo.
Lonely Planet describes Cairo this way.....I have a feeling that we will love it:
"Cairo isn't a gentle city. Home to more than 16 million Egyptians, Arabs, Africans and sundry others, the 'Mother of the World' is an all-out assault on the senses. Chaotic, noisy, polluted, totally unpredictable and seething with people, the sheer intensity of the city will either seduce or appal."
In Egypt, we'll see the Pyramids, Mt. Sinai, and dive in the beautiful Red Sea.
Following three weeks in Egypt, we'll make our way to Turkey, where we plan to sail through the Turkish isles into Greece. It's at this point that we no longer have any flights planned. We plan to head up through Eastern Europe for more hiking, history, and wine, but we'll see where we actually end up.
Amber
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Here's a rough estimate of the countries we'll visit in our 8 months on the road. You can click on the country names to read their Wikipedia descriptions.
Ecuador
Peru
Chile
Argentina
Uruguay
long weekend in New York
Tanzania
one week in Bangkok, Thailand
India
Nepal
Tibet
Egypt
Turkey
Greece
Romania
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