As I set off on another stint of travel, my mind goes back to my very first trip.  Five days out of university, green and naive as you come, I sold the few possessions I had, and I set off with a one-way ticket to Australia with very little in the way of money or plans.

It was a simpler time, no Facebook or Instagram, no hashtags to be found, no product placements or blogs to fund my travel.  Still, I made it work.  Working it all out as I went along and since then I have gone a long way … a really, really, really long way.  I have lived in worked on four continents and travelled to all seven, totalling 70+ countries.

I kept diaries on my travels for the first few years before graduating to a fairly basic online blog which I updated when I was lucky enough to find a decent internet café.  As much as I remember most of what I have done, the places I have been and the things I have seen, it’s the little things you forget and it is always fun to read them back.  Online blogging has given us the opportunity to share our travels with friends and families and beyond – maybe it will inspire others the way others have inspired me.

Sadly (or it is probably more apt to say gladly), this travel bug is a potent disease, once caught it can lie dormant for a while but will always return, as strong as ever.  It is fuelled not only by my own desire, but by all the readily available photos and stories of other peoples’ travels.  Some from similarly afflicted people I have met along the way, others from complete strangers who inspire me on a daily basis.

Bear with me as I get this up and running, which hopefully I will have more time to do when I am on the road.  The big trip starts on May 9th and right now I am in full on prep mode and trying to wrap up everything at work.

Over the following 18 weeks I will be travelling through Colombia, Ecuador (including heading back to the Galapagos Islands), Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.

Thanks for joining me!