After much prevaricating, some of it caused by "external pressures" and the vagaries of the legal system, we have finally booked our flights.
We've toyed with:
- UK-Singapore-Oz-NZ-Tahiti-Hawaii-LA-South America-UK (Too expensive)
- UK-New York-LA-Hawaii-Oz-UK (misses out South America)
- UK-New York and make it up from there (too flakey)
but we have now eventually settled on:
- UK - New York --overland to Tierra Del Fuego-- Santiago - Sydney - Melbourne - UK
This allows us to see all the places and people that we need to, plus, crucially, enables me to undertake the trip that I envisaged all those years ago whilst sitting in my basement flat in Teignmouth wondering how I was going to pick myself up after my divorce.
Writing to a friend at the time, I told her that I'd hit upon a great idea. I was going to travel and do it some justice.
"Where do you want to go?" said she
"To Tierra Del Fuego" I replied, "Overland, from North America".
Easy to say, hard to do.
There's mortgages, finances, employment, relationships and children to consider.
But if it burns brightly enough in you then you'll make it happen.
Circumstances can help. Ours have. It would still be much easier not to go though.
That was never an option though and now, with flights booked, plus of course our sabbaticals long since agreed (cheers Boss - you will forever be fondly remembered!) we're on.