Last known location: London, England

Posts Tagged ‘Plans’


27
May
1

Market Days and Travel Haze

by Dan | EcuadorEcuador | Otavalo

Our last stop in Ecuador was the market town of Otavalo, halfway between Quito and the Columbian border. The town is famous for it’s huge craft market, which has been running every Saturday since pre-Inca times and is reputedly the largest in South America, with sellers coming from indigenous communities across the region.

Arriving at lunchtime on Friday we had a spare afternoon, and after a brief wander around the town we spent it visiting the Condor Park, 3 miles up into the hills outside of town. The park is a sanctuary for rescued and abandoned birds of prey from around the world. There were owls, falcons, hawks and huge condors – a sacred symbol of Andean culture and one of the largest birds in the world with a wingspan of up to three metres. After having a look around we were treated to a spectacular demonstration against the stunning backdrop of the hills and valleys beyond. Click here to read more…

2
Oct
0

3 days left!

by Gem | EnglandEngland | London

So, the countdown is really on now.  Just 3 days to sort out all the last minute bits and pieces we’ve been putting off doing.

We both finished work on the 24th – fairly eventful last weeks which made it even easier to deal with all thoughts of unemployment!

The leaving party took place last weekend.  Loads of friends made it to say goodbye so thanks to all of those who came.  It obviously ended up with some drunken dancing in a cheesy club.  And a lost pair of shoes and coat for me, but at least it’s one less thing to worry about fitting into my parents loft!  Not mentioning any names, but I hope the girls who fell over a few times over the course of the evening have recovered and don’t have too badly bruised knees!  It was lots of fun and good  to get in a last night of dancing before we set off!

We moved out of our flat on Thursday, which was pretty painful!  It’s amazing how much stuff you accumulate over 4 years!  Our parents have very kindly taken on most of our belongings so we don’t have to worry about storage, thank God.

Packing has commenced in earnest although I, in particular, am having issues with fitting my life into a relatively small rucksack.  Most of you will be surprised to know it isn’t really the clothes that’s the problem – it’s all of the “essential” extras that I apparently cannot do without.  And I don’t mean hair straighteners and make-up; all of that is being left behind.  (Poor Dan!)  Between the two of us we’ve got it all; Click here to read more…

29
Aug
1

Just over a month to go!

by Gem | EnglandEngland | London

Our departure date has finally been set, so after months (years, really!) of planning, it’s all becoming very real.  We leave London from Luton airport (the glamour!) on 5th October and make our way to Riga, Latvia, for the start of our journey.  We stay one night in Riga; the Tiger Hostel, no less, complete with tiger print bedspreads, curtains etc.!  From there we make our way to St Petersburg, Russia, via the overnight train.  We’ll be in the “Venice of the North” for 2 nights, staying in another glamorous hostel and trying to squeeze in as many sights as we can.  Apparently St Petersburg is Europe’s 4th largest city so there’s lots to see.

From St Petersburg we take another overnight train, this time to Moscow.  Hopefully by this point we’ll be a bit more used to sleeping on the move and Dan will have managed to find out a way to fit his body onto the vertically challenged beds!  Another 2 nights in Moscow and then we board the Trans-Siberian train to take us all the way to China.  At least we hope that’s what happening, because we can’t read a word on the train tickets we received, apart from our names!

If you want to see a bit more about where we hope to end up and when then have a look at our “Future Plans” page which we’ll update as we work our way around the world! Click here to read more…