Getting set to jet across the ocean blue

To all my lovely friends and family (and any other randomers who wish to read),

Finals came and went, graduation has been and gone, and now, with memories of Girton already dwindling into the vaguery of nostalgia, I am just about to set off on yet another gap year. Having sent and received endless travel emails in the past (endless in frequency and length!), largely filled with inane anecdotes few care to read, I decided this time to write a blog. It may also be filled with endless inanity, but you can at least choose to log in when you wish, if you wish (or not, as the case may be), to keep a track on me and my travels and keep in touch...

...I am officially ready to go. The tickets are booked, the travel guides bought, I have hassled the post office for travellers' cheques and dollars three times, and I have endured multiple jabs for various diseases and have attained superwoman status (well, maybe not superwoman, but as I can no longer get typhoid, hepatitis A or B and maybe C, and will not become rabid or yellow with fever, I figure I am as near to invincibility as I'll ever get). I have more or less everything I need. Probably more, in fact. I say this as I am still currently surrounded by an assortment of odd-looking contraptions (such as my beautiful red 'spork' [a spoon, knife and fork in one multi-purpose piece of plastic - snazzy!]) which I have not yet managed to fit into my annoyingly unexpandable 70 litre rucksack. Once I have resumed and won the fight against the bag, however (while continuing the ongoing fight against anti-malerial-tablet-induced-nausea), I will be properly ready to get set to jet and sail the seven seas.

Tomorrow I fly to Ecuador, where I will spend two weeks salsa-ing around with Ruth before heading into Peru. After meeting Matt and Pete on 26th in Lima (Peru's capital), Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uraguay and Chile are on the itinerary. After this, Pete and I will carry on to New Zealand, Australia, Bali, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Fun, fun! I'm a little bit scared, quite sad to leave family and friends for so long, but very excited! If it all goes to plan, in a year's time I will come back suntanned, proficient in Spanish and ready to kickstart my career in consulting with Deloitte. If I do not return, however, it is probably because I will have become pirate somewhere off the coast off Australia and will be pursuing my mission for world domination through various piratical endeavours. I will let you know if this is the case and send you pictures of me in a hammock with rum.

I think I'd better go and battle the bag again...but watch this space for more news soon - and do email/post in response. Emails make me happy :-)

Lots of love to all...