356 days down, only 7644 to go

Well actually it is slightly more than 356 now, but that was how many days we were away for in our first stint of travel.  And what an amazing 356 days it was.  We said that we wanted our first year away to be special and we certainly achieved that.

We visited two continents, nine countries and one overseas territory.  In case you weren't taking proper notes, the continents were South America - or just America depending on whether you are a five or seven continent believer - and Antarctica.  The countries were Argentina, Chile (including Easter Island), Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil.  And the overseas territory was of course the UK's own Falkland Islands.

While we were travelling, and since we have been back, we frequently have been asked which was our favourite country or place.  For me, it is an impossible question.  We do obviously have some favourite places and experiences, but it would feel wrong to try to reduce a year down to just one 'best'thing.

So I don't have an answer to that, but over the next few months I will include a few posts that reflect back on our first year.  One of those will be a highlights posting, thinking about what our short list would be and why.  I may mention a few things that we were less impressed by too.

For anyone thinking about doing a trip of their own, or is just interested in how we make this new life work, there will be a few blogs on things like budget tips, what to pack and what to leave at home, and arranging transport and accommodation.  Mind you, Nic is planning to write the last one, so it may be another year before that appears!

I also will try to delve a little deeper into how our new life is different from our old one.  Aside from the obvious of not working and travelling quite a bit, our life is really quite different and that means that already, we have started to notice some changes in ourselves, so I will be writing about what those changes are and whether or not we like them.

And of course I'll be letting you know what we are getting up to while we are back in the UK, and what our next year away has in store.

But that is enough of what I will be putting in future posts.  In the meantime, we are back in the UK, enjoying catching up with family and friends.  Obviously some of what we are doing while back 'home' isn't really something to blog about, and it would be very boring for you if I did.  But we are doing some interesting things too, and I will be keeping the blog going throughout our time in the UK.

So although the posts may not always be quite so frequent, do keep looking as I will still be blogging regularly, and I hope you will still enjoy keeping up with our experiences.