With 24 hours of our 12 months left, its time to write the last entry on this journal. And with 24 hours left of course its all now looking back on the trip rather than forward to the next stage.
So, in retrospect how was the trip?
Fantastic. It really was excellent. We did everything that we wanted to do, the weather was largely on our side and we had no major incidents, accidents or nightmares. Sure we had a few irritations along the way; damaging two hire cars in Australia was about the worst of it. Pretty much everything was on our side. All our transport went well, we caught trains planes and buses on 5 continents with only one major delay and here in Europe our car, the Red Pico, did 10,000km without a hitch. Travelling and seeing the sights and scenes is great but the real spice in the mix is the people that you meet on the way. We met and stayed with such interesting and welcoming people all over the place, without them Sydney, Bombay, Blenheim,etc would have been that much less fun.
Would you do it again?
Are you kidding? Of course. In fact we are already talking about 'next time'. That said, I am quite looking forward to getting back to our house and to see our friends again. It will be nice to slob in front of the telly and watch CSI:NY, I can't wait to listen to my music too loud and I have loads to get done in the garden. A year is long enough for me, I admire the people that we met on who were on the go for two years. I'm ready for a bit of routine, ready to have more than three T shirts to choose from and more than ready to sleep in the same place for more than a couple of nights.
What was the highlight of the trip?
We saw and did so much that its hard to pick a single thing that stands out above all the rest. The trek in Nepal was definitely one of the best things on the trip. For adrenaline, action and adventure the two weeks climbing in the Alps is hard to top. But above all, if I have to pick out one place to call my favourite, then its Bolivia. In particular south-west Bolivia with the eye-popping Salar de Uyuni, the gorgeous desert and those mines at Potosi where the men work themselves to death for a fiver a day.
And the lowlights?
The endess pouring rain on Easter Island was a real disappointment. We had really poor weather in Hong Kong but at least we can easily revisit Hong Kong when we go to Asia next. Easter Island is not on the way to or near anywhere and I can't imagine that we will go there again. Kathmandu, despite the mystery and magic of its name, is a dump. I wasn't expecting the relentless commercialism of Carcassonne so that was a bit of a disappointment as well.
How many pictures did we take?
I took 34,000 and Helene took about 4,000. If we invite you to a picture show of our trip, remember to say 'no'. Actually when I say 34000, that means 34,000 pictures not 34,000 separate photos. For most pictures I take three photos, sometimes five, at different settings. In a scene with high contrast (ie detail in the shadow areas and bright clouds) this means I am sure to get the details that I want in both highlight and shadow areas. Probably I have ten thousand separate pictures, the processing of which will keep me off the streets for a while.
And finally, how was it to be with each other for twenty four hours a day for a year?
There were a few people that we met who prophesied doom, divorce and separation for us. There was that Quebecois that we met in Chile who sternly advised us to watch out for the seventh month as it was the time when couples foundered. He advised us to do bits of our trip separately to avoid fights. In fact, apart from three days in Bolivia when Helene climbed Huayna Potosi, we have been together completely since the tenth of August 2009 and we are still together right now. Sure there were occasions when I could have strangled her whilst whistling cheerfully and equally there were times when the Leader of the Opposition's idea of good reading would have been my name on a tombstone. Those days were few and far between and in general we have travelled as a happy and united couple. There are lots of girls in the world but only one little pudd'n of delight and I count myself lucky that I have her by my side.
guylène xx