Oh wait, I think that’s title of Bilbo Baggin’s book (you know, from The Lord of the Rings?). Well, I couldn’t think of anything witty to start off the first post, and for some odd reason that’s what popped into my head. I figured with the countdown to South America well and truly on, it was about time I start populating this blog. So fair warning, this first post may be a tad sappy.

This trip has been a very long time in the making. I’m pretty certain the gang and I dreamt up this trip when we were 17. That’s 13 years ago. 13. It still spins me out that we’re actually going through with it and we’ve managed to stay friends. Given, the Kiwi moved to the UK and can’t afford to come, and Candy got married and had kids, but despite that, I think that’s the thing that makes this trip even more meaningful. I’ve had a rough few years, my depression and anxiety have ruled my life for as long as I can remember and horrible breakups have made it really hard to make new friends and trust people, so the fact I’m sharing this adventure with the same bunch of bitches I first went clubbing with at 18, and I first came out to, makes me pretty happy.

The OG itinerary – we’re pretty badass planners

The funny thing is, we’ve been travelling together before. Just small trips, and after every damn trip, we swear black and blue we’d never travel together again. But here we are, about to embark on massive adventure. 2 years ago, we sat down with 2 whiteboards, a massive map, armed with a bunch of laptops and planned out a once in a lifetime trip. We bickered, the trip was bigger than Ben-Hur, we tried to fit everything everyone wanted, the cost spiralled out of control, it was insane. Since then, the itinerary has gone under a few changes, not everyone can do 2 months away from work, thing have been cut, and some of us are doing parts on our own now.

Originally we were meant to end the trip in Aruba, we figured after trekking Machu Picchu, we well and truly deserved to relax on a beach with cocktails. But… unfortunately we decided to head to Mexico City instead. The others are heading to Dubai/London/Paris for the beginning of their trip (and departing about 2 weeks later than me), while I’m off to the Galapagos Islands and Easter Island before we all meet up in Rio for the freaking Olympics! In the end, my itinerary is essentially:

Perth – Quito – Galapagos – Easter Island – Santiago – Rio de Janeiro – Manaus – Lima – Cuzco – Mexico City – Toronto – Detroit – Perth

The parts in red are where all of us are together. The rest, I’m all by my lonesome. I’m a little anxious about it. But I’m not going to let my fear stop me. I’ve let it rule my life for too long. I turn 30 this year, 2016 is all about ticking things off my bucket list, and doing things that scare me. So far, I think I’ve done a pretty good job. But that’s a story for another time.

3 weeks and counting.