The Day Has Arrived

I am out of here...D-day...time to go because there is MUCHO WORLD to see. Thanks to everybody for their support and best wishes. You know who you are.

Ok, so this is my first blog and probably my last. Seriously, I've never been one to keep a journal. I'm not really a fan of bombarding people with random blanket emails either so the Blog option makes more sense. We'll see how it goes.

I am leaving for Buenos Aires today. I will be travelling for six months in South America, Asia and Europe. About two months on each continent, give or take a couple of weeks.

I chose South America because I was born in Venezuela. I'm not really interested in visiting that part of the continent however, as I am sure you can appreciate. My mother was born in Chile, my grandfather was born in Bolivia, I hear Peru is amazing (plus I know people) and Argentina is the cheapest country to travel in South America believe it or not. In other words, you get the most bang for the peso there.

I chose Asia because Cousin Pete is in Hong Kong and I have been promising to go for some time now. My intention is to hit China and Australia/ New Zealand if I have time. I may visit Guy in Singapore where he will be doing his second last term at INSEAD. Dunno. Check out his blog http://guydawg.blogspot.com/

In terms of Europe, I have friends in London, France, Germany, Italy and Norway. It's up in the air. All I know is that I arrive in London and leave from London. I'll suss it out when I get there. Here's the itinerary:

DEPART: HALIFAX FEB 19/06 1521 AA#4760 AMERICAN EAGLE
ARRIVE: NEW YORK (JFK) FEB 19/06 1628
DEPART: NEW YORK (JFK) FEB 19/06 2210 AA#955 AMERICAN AIRLINES
ARRIVE: BUENOS AIRES FEB 20/06 1051
DEPART: BUENOS AIRES APR 18/06 2020 AA#956 AMERICAN AIRLINES
ARRIVE: NEW YORK (JFK) APR 19/06 0607
DEPART: NEW YORK (JFK) APR 19/06 0915 BA#178 BRITISH AIRWAYS
ARRIVE: LONDON APR 19/06 1015
DEPART: LONDON APR 19/06 2215 BA#27 BRITISH AIRWAYS
ARRIVE: HONG KONG APR 20/06 1705
DEPART: HONG KONG MAY 31/06 2315 BA#26 BRITISH AIRWAYS
ARRIVE: LONDON JUN 01/06 0505
DEPART: LONDON AUG 9 /06 1025 BA#175 BRITISH AIRWAYS
ARRIVE: NEW YORK (JFK) AUG 9 /06 1255
DEPART: NEW YORK (JFK) AUG 9 /06 1845 AA#4773 AMERICAN EAGLE
ARRIVE: HALIFAX AUG 9 /06 2141

Not a big fan of flying American Airlines but anything is better than Air Canada. I am taking a 50L pack with me. Not a lot of space. It's light enough that I can run with it while I am being pursured by anti-Canadian police. Here is what I am taking for the most part:

- 2 t-shirts
- 1 long sleeved shirt
- 1 club shirt (aka my lucky shirt or aka feathers or aka fall - some of the names that have been blurted out in drunken stupors)
- 3 pairs of socks (SmartWool is the way to go - we'll see how they hold up to my dogs)
- 1 pair of pants (with the oh so clever zip off pant legs)
- 1 digital camera
- 1 pair of swim trunks (I am going to be different here and go sans TOMMY HILFIGER)
- 1 ball cap (Molson Canadian)
- 1 micro fleece
- 1 pair of trail shoes (Nikes - I'm loving dem)
- 1 pair of runners
- 1 winter hat (for Bolivia and Peru and of course to fit in with all the other South Americans wearing winter hats)
- 1 pair of gloves (just in case I have to go OJ on somebody)
- 4 pairs of underwear (most expensive clothing item I have believe it or not)
- 1 pair of sandals
- 1 bandana
- 1 sleeping bag (fairly compact but it may get tossed)
- 1 bed sheet
- 1 travel radio
- 1 plug adapter (used to conform to the plug of my camera's battery charger battery - twice as large as my camera - ironic isn't it)
- 1 pocket knife


Ok, so the stuff above takes up about 1/2 of my pack. The rest is toiletries believe it or not. Too many to name. Don't worry if something happens on the way, I'm prepared for the next epidemic. I debated taking a water filter that Brad (http://fotogenick.blogspot.com/) and Mark bought for me but, unfortunately, it just took too much space. Rene, tells me that all the places, even the remote, have ample supplies of bottled water. I can always use it for camping when I get back to Canada!

Books that I am taking with me: Lonely Planet's South America on a Shoestring Budget (this book is the size of a small pig - I ripped out the pages that I needed - Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru); First Time Around the World; The Joy of Not Working; and Live What You Love). Thanks for all for your gifts. They will definitely come in handy.

Ok, that's it. I gotta bounce. Grabbing some breakfast, then heading to the airport. See you guys on the flip side.