November 24, 2005
Happy Thanksgiving
We’ve received quite a few emails wondering if we were alright given the fact that we have not posted any updates in quite some time. In fact, we are safe and sound in Miramar, Argentina where we will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday with family friends. The holiday is obviously a non-event down here but we are enjoying it just the same.
We hope to have the site updated soon with photos and stories from Venezuela, Ecuador (including the Galapagos Islands), Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Stay tuned.
If anyone is interested, this article by Caroline Baum, which shows that we should also be thankful for incentives, is always a good read today.
Posted by Peter Mork at 7:08 AM | Comments | TrackBack
July 28, 2005
Northern Mexico and Reflections on Cuba
We are updating the site once again with both pictures and stories from our travels. Traveling south through northern Mexico has been a great experience for both Em and myself. We hope that our family and friends enjoy catching up on our adventures.
The last few weeks have also given us the opportunity to reflect. With that in mind, I’ve put up my first essay on Cuba. Our experience in Cuba has provoked many thoughts within me on various topics, so in truth, it has been difficult to organize my ideas on paper. Still, it is what it is and hopefully my writing will improve as the trip progresses. I’ve titled it “Cuban Capitalists and What They Mean to the Future of their Country” and it can be found below.
Look for more to come in the essay section in the next few weeks.
Posted by Peter Mork at 5:35 PM | Comments | TrackBack
July 5, 2005
La Salida
Believe it or not, we’ve finally launched into the beginning of our wild journey. After weeks of narrowing down our belongings, we’ve slung huge backpacks, a camera bag, and computer bag over our shoulders and hopped the Mexican border. Thanks to Paige and Pat for the unique goodbye: a u-turn in front of the dark, deserted Otay Mesa border-crossing, stopping quickly so that we could jump out. With a wave goodbye, we bolted across the empty freeway and passed through the clanging gate into Tijuana…
Posted by Emily Marie Stremel Mork at 11:39 PM | Comments | TrackBack
Beginning the Journey
Our friends Pat and Paige dropped us off at the Otay-Mesa border at about 9:00pm. After a quick u-turn we were out of the car, backpacks on, and off to Mexico. Paige snapped a photo as we left but we’re not sure if the border will be seen as the flash might have been too bright.
We walked across the border and there were a few taxis waiting. Just as I had read, it was $12 to the Tijuana Airport, and was a relatively easy trip. Our first moment of panic set in when I couldn’t find our AeroMexico itinerary, but it turned up in my wallet only after we searched most of our bags. We bought our tourist cards for Mexico, went through the initial baggage scan, and then were off to get our boarding passes and to check our luggage.
This leg of the flight we had 1st class tickets, as everything else was sold out. We were exited when we learned that this would mean we would also have access to the “Premier” lounge with internet access. Unfortunately, when we arrived at 9:45pm it was closed for cleaning. Even more unfortunate, at 2:00am, when we began to board the plane, it still had never reopened. I had wanted to work on my website because the server was having some major problems and I had been unable to post our travel itinerary. I guess people would have to wait, maybe up to a week to see it.
The first class tickets, which really were not much more that what we would have paid if we had been able to purchase the standard fare, were well worth it. It was Em’s first time riding in first class, and at 2:30 in the morning, it was a perfect way to make sure we got some sleep after 5 hours sitting in the TJ airport.
Posted by Peter Mork at 10:08 PM | Comments | TrackBack
And We're Off...
Here is a very rough itinerary to give people an idea where we'll be over the next year.
United States
Our starting and ending point. Our official departure date will be July 6th, while we'll return the summer of 2006.
[July 2005 throught mid-August 2005]
After starting our trip in Cuba, we will return to Northern Mexico to travel south through the country by bus. After Spanish classes in Guanajuato we will continue to make our way towards Central America, with a quick return to the Caribbean to visit the Dominican Republic.
[Mid-August 2005 through September 2005]
Here we'll make our way through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
[September 2005 through December 2005]
Caracas, Venezuela to Quito, Ecuador will be our first South American leg. From there we will continue down the Pacific coastline, eventually making our way across the continent to both Argentina and Brazil. We'll depart from Buenos Aires destined for Auckland, New Zealand in early January 2006.
[Jaunary 2006]
After arriving January 4th in Auckland, we'll spend a few weeks in New Zealand. Next we depart for Sydney, where we'll spend another few weeks.
[February 2006 through March 2006]
We arrive in Bankok, Thailand on February 2nd and at that point will assess the rest of our trip. Ideally, China, Japan, Vietnam, and Malaysia are all on our wish list of places to see.
[April 2006]
We hope to spend a month traveling through India.
[May 2006]
Very tentative but we are hoping to visit friends in South Africa.
[June 2006 through July 2006]
We´ll fly into Barcelona and will see a bit of Europe before we head home. Tentative plans include Sweden and Germany.
[Summer 2006?]
A possible destination at the end of our trip.