Our (rough) itinerary

Mu and I get ever closer to our departure date (Sept 6th from DC) and things are really coming together.  I am writing this from my parent's house in little, charming Wayne, Maine and Mu is in Nashville visiting her sister and her family. 

Thought it would be a good idea to put up our rough itinerary, so you can see what we are planning.  Much of the below is tentative in the sense that we don't have hotels and transport sorted.  However, quite a bit of thought has gone into the route and we feel really good about hitting as many places that we can along the way.  Also and most importantly, we are open to moving around the details to accommodate your schedule.  Come on, burn the vacation days and hit the road for a bit with your dear friends.

First leg: Middle East and Europe

Week 1 (Sept 7 -14)

We fly from DC to Tel Aviv to arrive on 7 Sep 2012. From here we will spend a couple of days in Jerusalem and then make our way overland to Jordan to see the wonders of Petrahttp://whc.unesco.org/en/list/326.

Week 2/3 (Sept 14-28)

Fly up to Antalya, Turkey from Amman, Jordan

Antalya is on the south coast of turkey and has excellent rock climbing: http://www.climb-europe.com/RockClimbingTurkey/antalya.htm.

From here we will make our way to Kalymnos, Greece right off the coast of southwest Turkey via bus/ferry for some more climbing:

http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=39544.

Week 4 (Sept 28 – Oct 5)

Then, we hope to head to Istanbul for some conventional travel as we make our way from there overland via Greece to the Ionian Sea.

Week 5/6 (Oct 5-20^th)

Make our way across the Ionian sea via ferry and overland in Italy to Naples. From there a ferry to Sardinia to meet friends (yeah!) in Sardinia around the 9^th for a week of climbing (http://www.climb-europe.com/RockClimbingSardinia.html). Then we take a ferry to Corsica around the 17th, and make our way back to mainland Europe on 20^th.

Week 7 (Oct 20-28)

Up in the air, we need to get over to Lisbon, Portugal by the 30^th(10 days or so) and are still figuring out how and when we want to enjoy this period. Want to have a few days in Lisbon for sure but beyond that we are flexible. Have talked about a bike trip (mountain or road) in north Portugal, for example.

Week 8 (Oct 28-Nov 4)

Lisbon and London

We fly from Lisbon to London on the 30^th and hang out in and around London for the rest of the week, staying with Jeff (thanks buddy!)

Second leg: Africa

Weeks 9-17 (Nov 4 – Dec 31^st)

We leave Europe and head to Africa, flying from London to Nairobi on 4 Nov 2012

Mu and I are doing an overland trip from Nairobi to Cape Town (http://www.oasisoverland.co.uk/trips/Africa/details/30/). These overland trips are pretty rustic and a great way to see the enormous continent up close and personal. If interested, you can probably join the trek for a week or two along the way, but it might be complicated.

Locations: Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa

An overland journey encompassing many of the incredible landscapes & cultures you imagine with Africa. From the tropical waters of Zanzibar to the austere Atlantic Ocean of Southern Africa - the contrasts abound. Masses of wildlife in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Etosha National Parks, to the playgrounds ofVictoria Falls and Swakopmund will leave memories that last forever.

Week 18 (Jan 1-7)

The tour is scheduled to arrive in Cape Town on New Year’s Eve, and we would love to travel for a week+ in South Africa if anyone is interested and able. Could go a bunch of directions, from climbing to wine country to trekking.

Week 19-23 (Jan 7-Feb 3^rd)

Madagascar. Mu did the peace corps here and it is the place I am most excited to visit in the world as a result.

Lots of cool stuff to see and experience, including: lemurs throughout the island, tsingy in the north, spiny forest in the south, beach everywhere and also on small adjoining islands, rain forest in the center and the east, baobabs in the west, and rich malagasy culture.

Week 24 (Feb 3-13)

Our last 10 days of the trip will likely come fly into Jo-burg for another week+ in SA. Have talked about a brief safari but beyond that have not spent much time thinking about this period – wink, wink.

Right now, we return to the US on a flight from Jo-burg to Vegas to arrive on 13 Feb 2013 but my parents are going to join us and hopefully head to Kenya as well so this will change a bit.

Third leg: ski season

Upon our return to the US: we have Epic ski passes (http://www.snow.com/epic-pass.aspx) that cover Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood, and A Basin.

Assuming decent ski conditions we are hoping to post up in Breck or some other CO mountain town in Summit County for the rest of the month and all of March. Might end the ski season in Tahoe.

Visitors are highly encouraged and expected.

From there - ???