The final countdown

I figured it would be good to describe the many preparations necessary in order to leave on such an ambitious adventure such as this. There is SO much to think about in advance! The scariest thing is: being nearly 7,000 miles away from home requires that I need to think of virtually every single thing I need to bring with me or either go without once I'm down below the Equator or be forced to find it there. But fortunately, I've been blessed with relatively good organizational skills after 30 years of teaching and comforted by the fact that I'm a dedicated "list-er"; I'm wired to be prepared!

I started saving money for this trip over a year ago. Based on research I'd gleaned off the Internet and the previous excursions I've made around the globe, I estimated that this adventure would cost me somewhere in the ballpark of $5 Grand. So I started to set aside a South America fund. Fewer pieces of taxidermy, fewer trips to Value Village to pick up junk I didn't need but found irresistible, less time shopping on eBay or Amazon.com and systematically putting some Benjamins away to afford this trip. Remarkably, it worked! I met my goal.

Last April, armed with a large file of my research, hand-made maps, hotel standards, lists of cities and tourist destinations I wanted to see, I met with my first travel agent. She spent about two weeks working on a package for me and finally called to tell me that there was no way I could do this trip - which included sights and tours I hadn't even asked for and hotels that were way more expensive than I wanted- for under at least $7, 500! I knew she had to be totally incompetent or trying to milk me for profit, so I diplomatically thanked her for her time and told her that "perhaps it wasn't time for me to take this trip at this time"- meaning her version of it. I went looking for a 2nd opinion. Through a stroke of good fortune, I found a very seasoned, no-nonsense, highly experienced, bright and delightful travel agent named Kathy who had actually traveled extensively throughout South America and to many of the destinations on my wish list. She did her magic with the flights, hotels and budget in just a matter of days and called to tell me she had "good news"- her package came in SIGNIFICANTLY under my original co$t estimate with everything I wanted. What a blessing. If you need an outstanding travel agent, let me know; I wholeheartedly recommend her!

The first thing Kathy told me was that I obviously needed to update my passport which had expired years ago. She also told me that in order to gain entry into Brazil I would need a visa, and that this would take about a month or even six weeks to obtain. Kathy reassured me that there was plenty of time and not to worry. She referred me to an agency in Seattle called Visa Services Northwest who could help expedite the visa application process. As it turns out, they were also wonderful. I left my passport and application with them, and they informed me that I also needed to get a Yellow Fever vaccination in order to enter Brazil, which I got within 24 hours (a feat unto itself and a whole other story). So I sat back and waited with a modest amount of anxiousness worrying about the many things that could go wrong considering my passport and documents were in the US Mail System and all those bureaucratic hands and hoops it would have to pass through in order to get back to me in time. Fortunately, after 2.5 weeks, my visa and passport arrived back to me from the Brazilian consulate in San Francisco and finally, the last pieces of the puzzle were thankfully coming together. Whew- what a relief that was!

And now, I am at that last critical phase where I pour over the final details and lists I have created- thinking of all the possibilities, visualizing every experience and what I'll need for it, trying desperately to cover all my bases before I leave next week out the door with my luggage on the way to the airport to enjoy that tremendous, unique thrill of departure that my global wanderlust craves. One week is all I have.....have I remembered everything??!