It was two years ago when I was fortunate enough to make two trips overseas in one summer — first to Puerto Rico with a group of my students and colleagues and then to Spain to backpack for a month. I returned from Puerto Rico and left for Spain two days later.
This summer is turning out to be similar.
I returned from Costa Rica early Thursday morning after spending eight days with 25 of my students and two of my colleagues. We hiked through rain forests and around volcanoes; we went ziplining through a cloud forest; and we swam in waterfalls and at beaches.
Tomorrow — two days after having returned from Costa Rica — I'm off on a new adventure. Friend Chris Ray and I are heading to Europe for four weeks to backpack. We'll visit more than 10 countries and a plethora of cities as we go from place to place on trains with our EuRail pass.
It's been a crazy two days, but my REI backpack — the same one I used to trek across Puerto Rico, Spain and Costa Rica — is finally packed and ready to go, for the most part. I've got a few hours in the morning to finish everything before leaving for the airport around 1:45 p.m.
I caught the travel bug when I was a sophomore in high school when Señora Angie Bailey took my classmates and I on a trip to Barcelona, Spain. That trip opened my eyes to the world. It was then that I fell head over heels in love with Spanish. Nearly 16 years later, I realize that it was the defining moment in my life that set the stage for where I am today — a Spanish teacher and reporter by trade but someone who still longs to see and understand more of the world.
Tomorrow, that quest will begin again.
We are flying to Detroit first and then on to Amsterdam. We will spend the month making our way from Amsterdam to Lisbon, Portugal. We'll stay in hostels as we backpack from place to place, but we decided early on that we would not make a day-by-day agenda. We have a list of places we want to see but didn't want to be tied to a daily schedule. Instead, we'll be able to spend as much or as little time as we like in the places we visit in the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary Croatia, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and perhaps more countries.
One highlight will be trekking along the Cinque Terre — a hike through five small villages along the coast of the Italian Rivera. Another memorable part will be spending a couple of days around Interlaken, Switzerland, surrounded by the Swiss Alps and lake region. We're hoping to do a tandem hand gliding trip through the mountains to see everything from a bird's-eye view.
Chris and I are both planning to blog while we're traveling. My hope is to update this blog every couple of days to keep you up informed about our travels and to post pictures of the places we are visiting. Feel free to follow our journey ... and feel free to send any recommendations you might have.
Two Hoosiers, two EuRail passes and two backpacks — let the adventure begin!
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| Finally packed and ready to go! |
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