Here we go again..

December 3, 2012

Last year we spent 4 months circumnavigating the globe, on a grand world voyage aboard Holland America's Ms Amsterdam ship, on what we thought would be "a trip of a lifetime".  It was all that and more.  We saw sights we had only dreamed about, like Antarctica, and Easter Island, Komodo dragons, and Luxor Egypt; we visited some of the most fabulous cities in the world, like Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Barcelona, and Seville; we swam in the most divine waters of the ocean, like the Great Barrier Reef; we discovered places in Europe we hadn't been before, like Sorrento, Messina, Katakolon, Corsica and Madeira.  I had a milestone birthday in Mumbai, and we celebrated our anniversary eating dinner with new friends, at a restaurant  in Athens, overlooking the Acropolis which lit up for the evening.  I learned to paint using watercolours, and read fabulous books like Life by Keith Richards, and A Princess Remembers, and Shantaram.  We met people who would become friends for life.  But most of all, we learned so much about this planet we inhabit and those with whom we share it.  We were reminded once again, that universally we humans desire and strive most for the simple things in life -  work which allows them to provide for themselves and their families, - and which has meaning no matter how humble; they spend their free time playing with their children, grandchildren, and pets, preferably at the seaside or by a lake  and eating, and drinking with friends; they value clean water, clean air, and a home and they all see and are deeply concerned about climate change and how it is affecting our world.  They are for the most part welcoming of visitors to their countries, and even in the most poverty stricken of those, we were greeted by their warm smiles and gracious ways.  My personal goal last year was to continue to develop my citizen of the world mentality and I feel I more than accomplished that goal.  We feel privileged to be able to travel like this and so we feel our give back is served in part by sharing with those who are interested in what we saw and learned.

Originally in the thrall of it all, we signed up to do it again, then when we returned home, we re-thought our decision and decided not to go, because we had family who we cherished and who we missed so much last year.  Then we met some of our friends for a little reunion in Florida in October and they persuaded us that life is short and that we need to seize it as hard as we can, while we are still healthy and able, and so we signed up to do it again. 

This year the itinerary is different (with some overlaps on cities that you could visit forever), and features a chance for us to see Macchu Picchu, Peru, one of the 7 Wonders of the World, and to visit Kruger, National Park, in South Africa where we will do a short safari.  

We had so many blog followers last year, and frankly we were astounded by how many people told us how much our blog meant to them.  We really hope you will come along again for the ride, and that this year, those of you who follow will figure out how to register with google (it's simple, just sign up) so that you can comment, and encourage me on days when the 2-3 hours of work seems overwhelming, (or the pool or a glass of wine beckons louder) and join this blog as a follower, so we know who you are. 

I will post our itinerary in a separate post.  This year I will also be more sparing in my description of sea days, and only comment on things that are interesting. Oh and yes we are panicked  now on how we will get through the Christmas season, and get packed etc, but they are all good problems to have!

Thanks again for your interest in our journey.