Kindness of Strangers

Our original idea was to take 12 months to circumnavigate the globe. However, given constraints in time and money (and, really, when aren’t these the two biggest constraints of life?), we winnowed down the scope of our trip to eight months. Everything we’ve read in ‘round-the-world literature has encouraged spending more time in less places. Therefore, we began with a gigantic list of the places we’ve always wanted to visit, and reluctantly cut that list in half (sorry, Nepal). From there we cut the list even further (sayonara, Japan), focusing on countries that met most, or all, of the following criteria:

a) Countries that are “up and coming” (costs still relatively low for travelers, or where the dollar hasn’t become completely devalued)

b) Locations that are physically demanding and/or difficult to visit with children (should we decide to have children in the near future, hiking Machu Picchu could be tough)

c) Places in which we know someone, or know someone who knows someone (what better way to explore a place than through the eyes of its countrymen?)

We ruled out countries that we thought we were likely to visit at some point in the future (e.g., most of Western Europe), or that we had visited together before (although we really wanted to go to Oaxaca for Dia de los Muertos, we have been to Mexico three times).

Given our criteria, we ended up with a list of 16 countries (which, admittedly, is still probably too many). Our RTW ticket allows us to change dates at no cost (a change of location costs $125 per ticket), providing a certain degree of flexibility. We are trying to keep things open, as we imagine that, once we get there, there will be places we stay longer or shorter than planned. But that is all part of the adventure!

Spain
Dates: 7/14 – 7/16
Locations: Madrid

Portugal
Dates: 7/16 – 8/4
Locations: One week in Lisbon; one week traveling north up the coast to Porto; one week based in Porto, exploring northern part of country

Turkey
Dates: 8/4 – 9/2
Locations: Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Cirali, Cappadocia

Jordan
Dates: 9/2 – 9/10
Locations: Amman, Petra

Bhutan
Dates: 9/12 – 9/18
Locations: Western Bhutan

India
Dates: 9/19 – 9/26
Locations: Agra, Jaipur

Indonesia
Dates: 9/27 – 10/15
Locations: Bali, Lombok

Australia
Dates: 10/15 – 11/7
Locations: Perth (1 week), Melbourne to Adelaide (2.5 weeks)

New Zealand
Dates: 11/7 – 11/28
Locations: South Island (Christchurch, Milford Track), North Island (Auckland)

French Polynesia
Dates: 11/27 – 12/1
Locations: Tahiti

Easter Island (Chile)
Dates: 12/1 – 12/12

Chile
Dates: 12/12 – 12/16
Locations: Santiago, Valparaiso

Argentina
Dates: 12/16 – 1/11/09
Locations: Mendoza, Buenos Aires

Uruguay
Dates: 1/11 – 1/18
Locations: Montevideo, Punta del Diablo

Patagonia (Chile & Argentina)
Dates: 1/18 – 2/15
Locations: Ushuaia, Perito Moreno Glacier, Torres del Paine National Park, Barlioche, Chiloe

Peru
Dates: 2/15 – 3/4
Locations: Lake Titicaca, Cusco, Machu Picchu, possible trip to Oruro, Bolivia and Colca Canyon

Ecuador
Dates: 3/4 – 3/15
Locations: Quito and whatever fate leads us to…