2 days to go!!!! (GB)

Well, 2 days to go!  We are SO EXCITED!!

Just a quick blog post with a brief update and to test the Facebook link I have attempted to add to this Blog site.  If it works I will be seriously impressed with myself (with thanks to Andrew Smith for pointing me in the right direction).

The only Facebook posts you will see from me will be automatically uploaded by our Blog so don't bother commenting on FB, comment on the blog then I might see your comments!



Today was a weird day.  Not only was it my last working day for 14 weeks but I also moved out of my office in Bletchley Park as I'm taking office space at World Vision when I get back.  A very weird feeling effectively not having an office at the moment and effectively not having a home from Sunday (we're renting our house out while we're away)!

Right, told you it was a quick one.  Gotta go and pick Lauren up from work.

Keep in touch!


Gareth & Lauren

Rucksacks & bad backs (Lauren's first blog post)

Ok, I've given in and decided to contribute to this blog too (this is Lauren btw).

Why is it so hard to get out of bed during the week but come Saturday you're wide awake at silly o'clock in the morning? Well we decided to put this to good use and decided to test drive our almost fully packed rucksacks and travel clothes. We walked all the way to Springfield shops and back. I know what you're thinking.... "EPIC! They are so ready!/ where the heck is Springfield? (it's 1 mile up the road)" Hmmmm.....

.....This is when the thought popped into my head, "might have been a good idea to get fit before our trip". Oh well, I've convinced myself that starting our trip walking around cities (New York, Rio, São Paulo and Buenos Aires) that have multiple coffee shops and bar options will help ease us into the trip and steadily build our fitness levels, which will be much needed for our Patagonia trekking stretch. 

Many of you know that Gareth has had a history of lower back pain, well I've only gone and got a problem with the same joint! What a pair! Let's hope and pray it doesn't impact us too much. If all else fails, we will b doing a coffee shop tour of South America.

Many people are asking us how we are feeling. I'm finding it almost impossible to get my head around what this trip will be like but we are both really excited. We know it's not going to all be easy but what an opportunity to have an adventure, something I've dreamed of. I'm feeling so grateful but will definitely miss my lovely friends. Please find us on Skype if you can as you might catch us when we've got some internet.

Must go, got a very special friend's birthday to go and celebrate. 

Test post

This one's just to check who is getting the emails (I'd you've subscribed) and if you can now comment.

Emails should now be delivered once a day between 7am and 9am GMT.

Comment away & thanks for bearing with us as we work out all the gremlins!

G and L

Confessions of a Technophobe by GB

Anyone that knows me (Gareth) will know I'm far from a techie.  I have so many techie friends that I don't need to be (thank goodness!).  Everyone needs a Geek in their lives and I will soon be starting a "hug a geek day" to show our appreciation to the IT boffins but mainly because, just about every geek I know HATES being hugged ;-)    Probably a "virtual" hug would be best.

Anyway, in the last week I've been searching for my inner geek as I attempted to get my head around blogging.  

Wordpress was just too much for me and after an hour or so with Sir Geekness of McGurk, it was decided that Blogger may be better for someone as thick as me.

Now, for all you techie-geeks, Blogger is probably about as complex as "have you switched it off and on again?" but for me, well, I now consider myself a web designing, code writing genius.

All I'm trying to say really is that it wasn't easy.  No one could subscribe to the blog so I found a subscribing gadget and worked out how to install it on our page (and duly jumped around the room with glee when it appeared!).  Then there were issues with comments not appearing.  I seem to have resolved that to some degree too!  I didn't realise how annoying but how satisfying this kind of stuff was.

Just to confirm though, I'm in now way looking to defect to "the dark side" nor would the geeks have me anyway.  I was merely noting the sense of satisfaction I felt when working out something way outside of my normal scope of work.

On another note, plans are still going well and all being well, I will have my rucksack packed by this evening pointing out exactly what I've forgotten to but and inducing a mad panic rush to buy the vital missing ingredients that without, our 3 month adventure just would not happen.  However, in reality, things that I could probably buy for a quarter of the price in Tesco Bolivia (Amazon branch)!!

Please do try to comment below.  If you don't have a Google account, please post as "Anonymous" but leave your name at the end of your comment so we know who you are!  Also, feel free to share our blog and ask anyone who might be interested to subscribe (top right hand corner) if they want to.

11 days to go!

Adios!


Gareth and Lauren

As if there wasn't enough to do....

13 days to go and only 9 of them are official working days so relatively little time to tie everything up for both our businesses!

We've bought all our travel clothes, rucksacks (Lauren has actually packed hers too!), various insurances, found house sitters, car sitters and are gradually getting to say goodbye to friends and family but somehow we keep finding things to fill our every spare minute!

It's a weird feeling knowing we'll not be at home to open post, see our friends or sleep in our own bed for 14 weeks but it's even more weird embarking on a journey where we have very little idea what's going to happen!

As an Event Manager I like to have every detail planned in advance. However, the whole point of this trip is about exploring together and having an adventure. So, I'm having to learn to chill out (we've not even started yet!).

One job I wasn't planning on doing before I left was packing up and moving my office from Bletchley Park. However, after being offered some office space within the World Vision UK office building which is a ten minute walk from my house so it was a no brainer, especially as I'll be making a decent saving too. So, all guns blazing to get all my business affairs in order, pack up the office, move the office and eventually pack my rucksack too!

Another job on my to do list is to get to grips with blogging, something I'm trying to do. So, please can you help me? I'd love you guys to try and follow this blog and let me know if it lets you follow (ie, register so it emails you every time we publish a new post) and please see if you can comment too! We can't promise to reply to every comment but, as I'm coming off Facebook for the duration of our travels (yes you heard correctly!), we'd love to hear the occasional comment from you! Let us know asap if you experience issues with the blog so we can get the gremlins ironed out BEFORE we go away!

Take care!!

Gareth and Lauren

Lots to do & a random picture of Lauren

15 days to go & this trip is becoming more and more real by the day!

We're half way through our jabs and couldn't believe they cost us £588! We'd only budgeted £60 so have had to find over £500 more! Better to be safe than sorry though.

Still trying to get to grips with this blogging malarkey so bear with us while we do that.

Better get going, lots to do today including changing our house insurance, buying travel plugs and packing our rucksacks to make sure we can get everything in!

Bye for now.

Gareth & Lauren