Post 56: Single Digit Daze

Fellow adventurers,

Just a quick update on my lunch hour. The past week at work has gone by a lot faster than I expected, this is both a blessing and curse as we have a lot to finish up on before departing next Sunday for Florida.


Over the last few nights we have done much more planning and booked 3 different flights:

•  December 11th - Piura, Peru (a few hours south of Cuenca, Ecuador by bus) to Lima on December 11th. We had originally planned to bus it, but for $80 bucks, we save 30+ hours worth of sitting on a bus. 
• December 26th - La Paz to Sucre the day after Christmas, which will get us to that city in plenty of time to find a tour of Uyuni/Atacama. We opted to skip Cochabamba as this part of the schedule is our most cramped for time and we were much more interested in Sucre. 
• January 7th - The last flight booked is our departing flight out of northern Chile to the capital of Santiago to meet John and Gabby. We arrive in the city a full 12 hours after them, which is reverse to experience we had with Gabby in Germany.

As far as planning goes, we are pretty much set on everything. I have made my final correspondence with the El Calafate touring company out of Bariloche, and will be finalizing payment with them in the next few days. I think we will just have one or two more flights to book, before leaving for Miami. I have a feeling we will end up purchasing some of our tickets while on the road, not a problem.

My roomies are working hard to find a place before I leave, but I think I will end up having to store all of my belongings elsewhere in the next week to avoid hassle. June will be working all weekend, so I will try to use that time to finalize things at home. Hopefully I am not to distracted by some footy, the sand is pouring out of the hour glass.

9 days!

Gavin

Update (10/28/11):

• March 6th - Rio de Janeiro to Belem. Only $250 a piece. Been planning to book this for a good while.

Post 55: 2 weeks to go - checklist.

Fellow adventurers,

My roommates and I's dreams of a South Philly palace were crushed yesterday when we met the owners. They were not fond of the idea of animals in their newly refurbished home, and the realtor failed to relay that message while we wasted a week trying to get this place. So we are back at square one, and I only have 3 weeks to figure out the living situation before we are deep in the jungles of Canaima and I am sans capable of communicating for a few days time. I am hoping for the best, the timing of this whole situation has really been a downer for everyone involved.

After the cut, a new checklist of all that must be done before we arrive in Miami....

G.

Post 54: Retirement

Fellow adventurers,

Nerves aside, all went well today. It looks as though I will be able to fulfill my time there, and they even left open the option of contacting them when I return, to possibly return to my soon to be old position. Oddly enough, my coworker George announced to my boss a mere few hours earlier his intent to possibly leave in the near future, for health reasons. My boss seemed surprised, but was very understanding, which put me at ease. I spoke to our site boss also, the man who originally hired me on, and thanked him for the opportunity he had given me. Though I grew tired of my time there, I will genuinely miss some of the people I met in my time there.

We booked Christmas Eve and Christmas nights at one of the nicest spots in La Paz, The Radisson, to have a little luxury for the holidays. This extends our time in the city a little, but we should still make it to Santiago in plenty of time for Gabby and Johns arrival. I am also in the process of booking our bus out of Bariloche to El Calafate, and our transport to and from Torres Del Paine from there, all in a package which includes an ice trek on Perito Moreno Glacier, and a night in El Chalten on the journey. Less all together than a direct flight from Bariloche to El Calafate.

June and I received our new trekking sandals in the mail, and though I was not very enthused with them at first, I think I am in love now. They are light, rugged, waterproof, very breathable and are very comfortable with socks. Screw boots, I am going the whole way with these things.

Gavin

Post 53: Two Weeks Notice

Fellow adventurers,

Today I settled my sublease and am nearing signing another lease for my housemates before I leave. We had to move last second, which led me to a bit of a panic since June and I are leaving so soon, but I am feeling confident all will work out, and even be beneficial for all involved. The move in date is not until December 1st, but I have requested I be able to move my things over before hand. Luckily, my sub-renter is alright with having to move a month into our contract. (10/23/11 Update): We met then owners of the place with my roomies dog, and that's when the plan for our dream home fell through...we will work something out, hopefully!

Gabby and John officially booked their tickets to Santiago and we have booked most all of our lodging in Argentina. We have yet to hear anything back about Choroni unfortunately. I hope we book something before we depart, I would not want to be stuck at the airport in Caracas without a place to stay or anything to see or do. We have also been working on buying tickets for a bus from Bariloche to El Calafate, Torres Del Paine, with a return to El Calafate. That would be a major piece of the puzzle out of the way.

Tomorrow is a day I have long been looking forward to, and for some reason I am feeling a bit nervous about it. I suppose it is just because I've never resigned from a position before, and as I previously mentioned, I'm anxious to see my boss's response to my plans, not that it will really matter soon anyways.

Hopefully its only smooth sailing from here...

G

Post 52: Three weeks to go.

Fellow adventurers,

Good news all around, and on top that, we've made more bookings.

We booked our departure flight from Bogota to Quito for the afternoon of December 2nd two nights ago, and last night made lodging reservations for both cities. Our reservation for Bogota begins on the 28th of November, so we have from the 24th til then to make our way from Cartegena south to Pereira and then onto the capital. Our lodging in Quito is at an historic mansion in main tourist area. Both of these places were a measly $10 bucks a night for the each of us. We depart from Quito on December 7th to make our way down to Cuenca (possibly via train) before crossing the border with Peru at Tumbes, from where we will have to take a day long bus ride to Lima.

We finally got the good news that Gabby will be able to join us in Sanitago de Chile and Mendoza, Argentina in early January for two weeks. We are both very excited that she and her boyfriend John will be able to share in our experience in South America. Gabby also joined us on our trip to Germany in 2009, with my brother Preston. If our time was anything like that was, then we are in for a treat.

I have finally resolved some last minute issues regarding my house and I am sure to have it all in order by the time we leave, a mere 3 weeks from Sunday. I may end up having to have my roomies move my things while gone, but as of now, that seems to be the worse of concerns regarding my living situation. I think no matter what, its win-win for everyone, and that brings me comfort.

Next week will be interesting, no doubt.

G.

10/15/11 @11:11am - Update: We booked our accommodations for Ushuaia and Buenos Aires. Ushuaia was very expensive everywhere we looked online, so we opted for a cheaper mixed dorm hostel. In Buenos Aires, we will be staying in a private apartment in the heart of San Telmo, for about $16 a piece daily for the week of February 6th to the 13th. We also decided to change our plans slightly for Uruguay, more about that later.

10/17/11 @2:32pm from work - Update: Booked our accommodation in Santiago, Mendoza , and Montevideo as well. In Santiago, we will be staying in the heart of the city in a 2 bedroom apartment overlooking the Andes. We booked 2 places for Mendoza, the first is a ranch in wine country from where we can do some biking to wine tours. The 2nd is a hostel in the downtown area so we can enjoy the city before Gabby and John part ways with us. Montevideo sounds like it will be a great time, we will be staying with two ladies (Claudia and Gullermina) in their loft. They informed me that a major football tourney is going on during the time we are there, I hope we are able to see Penarol! Also..we will be in Montevideo for Carnivale, which is good by me because Brazil would have been mouy pricey during that time.

More soon!

Post 51: Proceeding with VE

I'd like to be asleep now, embraced by my dreamy one love.  But in a failed, restless attempt at that embrace; instead I find myself trying to type on a mini laptop purchased for our destination, while sipping tart Passion tea out of a giant 'Grinchmas' mug.  Tea aside, the only passion around here is planning for our destination, and that takes quite a bit of perseverance.  Positivety and perseverance is key, he has said.  He also said to update, update, update this blog.  Do not sleep till you do!  While he likes to update with daily activities and details in regards to the trip on the blog, I'd prefer to be consistent with a style of writing.  Considering ours are quite different, hopefully we'll find a solution soon to avoid any quarrels over the content written.  A major question to consider is this blog for our own personal reference, or is it to appeal to readers? Suggestions are welcome.

I have updated our itinerary, which is near completion, for Venezuela. You may find it under the VE tab at the top of the page.  We have booked a well reviewed 3 day tour with Bernal/Sapito Tours of Angel Falls in Canaima National Park.

Fact:

• Salto Angel is the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall. It is 3,230 feet tall - think of it as 2.5 times as tall as the Empire State Building and full 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.  It is of such great height that the water turns to mist before it hits the ground.
• The table - top mountain known as a tupuy consists of fractured gorges and crevices that the unnamed creek runs through before it falls an astounding 2,421 feet.
• Atop the tepui's contain species and vegetation found only there.
• Named after Jimmy Angel, an experienced pilot and gold prospector who accidently discovered it in 1933.
• The scenery for the Pixar movie 'UP' was inspired and hand drawn from atop the Tepui's.
• Angel Falls on wikitravel

Gavin and I would love to take a helicopter or better yet, hike; to the top of a tepuy.  However, the helicopter ride is just too costly(not to say it wouldn't be worth it), and the hike is for 7 days.  It's easy to mix excitement for anxiety at the thought of all of this.

Additionally, we're in the process of booking a 3 day, 2 night stay in the Caribbean coastal town of Choroni, located in the majestic Henri Pittier National Park.  With the adventures to come, I also look forward to thinking clearly on the road about the future to come, maybe with some Paul Theroux in hand.

J

Post 50: Fiftieth entry at the one month mark.

Fellow adventurers,

Just a quick update to mention a few milestones we have reached today. It is hard to believe that this is the fiftieth post on the blog, and that we are only a mere month away from our departure to sunny Central Florida for the beginning of the adventure. Autumn has arrived with a bit of a wintry chill this week, so getting closer to the equator is sounding nicer than ever.

Our first week living together has had its ups and down, but I think overall we have adjusted to the situation pretty well. I am certainly glad to be eating better meals, and have enjoyed being able to pour our collective thoughts into planning on a daily basis. The room is just frankly too small for the two of us, and has been the only major drawback.

I took my very last unclaimed half sick day yesterday to get a few more things done around the house. My boss made mention that it was the only time I had left to which my reply was a simply "that's fine". I did manage to finish loading all of my personal items into the basement and did a bit more research regarding Patagonia, but mostly tried to catch up on some much needed rest.

We have finally settled on our plans for Venezuela, and June will be updating very soon to outline the details of all of that.

Happy 50th! Two weeks until the blog goes public to everyone.

G

Post 49: All moved in.

All moved in.  

Post 48: Octubre! - 35 days until we depart.

Fellow adventurers,

It is a hour into October, on a rainy night here in Philadelphia. I am sitting in Junes room, as she packs up the last of her things. She is moving a few things into my tiny room in the morning, for what will be an eventual 6 months of quasi living together, here and away. She is sacrificing the month in her cozy confines to be cramped into my tiny abode. Money is most important at this point, so we are willing to make any and all sacrifices we can. Grocery cost and bills will be reduced also with our combined effort. Thankfully I have awesome roommates who are comfortable with the thought of an extra person in the house, so that will be no problem.

Only three weeks away from putting in the big 2 week notice at work. As it gets closer, my anxiety grows. I do not enjoy the feeling of having to keep my plans to myself, and though I do not enjoy my work environment and look forward to leaving it, I feel a genuine kinship for my coworkers. It certainly doesn't bring me any joy to have to lie to them on a daily basis, especially my boss. I have been putting in a little bit more of an effort to catch up on some projects as not to leave a pile of undone work for them when I leave. I am curious to know what their reactions will be. Will they think that I have been lying to them all year?

I spent last night in Chester enjoying some soccer, and a good win for the home team. It may have been the last game of the season I will be attending, but it bring me joy to think I will be hopefully be seeing the sport in another place.

June and I have been discussing Venezuela extensively in the past week, and have come to many different conclusions on how to cost-efficiently spend our 6 days there. I think by next weekend we will be settled and have something booked. We need to start booking more flight soon as well...

This post is a great example of my mind as of late, all of the place.

we leave NEXT MONTH!

G