Friday, October 30, 2009

Welcome to our blog!

We leave for our adventure on November 9th! We are so excited to begin this journey. As an introduction to our blog, we wanted to answer a few common questions. After this we are going to try to post independently in order to offer two different points of view. We promise that in the future we will post photos of cool stuff!

Where are you going?

Our official stance: Central and South America. We will start in Guatemala and work our way south. We hope to see Mayan ruins, the Panama canal, beaches, organic coffee farms (a big thank you to Mike and Eva for making that idea a true possibility!), volcanoes, Machu Picchu, rural markets and giant cities. We may even volunteer in a health clinic or stop at a cool hostel and work for a while.

The truth: We have no idea. Really. We are trying to keep our minds open to anything and everything that may come our way. We are open to suggestions!

What the heck is a Wiscaminante?

It’s a word we made up that we think best describes us. It is a combination of the name of the great state we are from (Wisconsin!) and the Spanish word caminante. For you non-Spanish speakers, caminante literally translates as “walker” but can be more poetically translated as “adventurer” or “traveler”. We feel that all three terms describe us well. We will certainly be walking a lot since we won’t be bringing our car along with us. Which brings us to the next question…

What do you pack for a year of traveling?

Good question. It’s difficult to fit your life into a backpack. We are certain that we are bringing things that will eventually be tossed along the wayside and will need to buy items that we wish we had packed in the first place. We'll keep you updated about this since this is a very common question that we have yet to answer ourselves!

Why are you doing this?

Because we can.

However, are only able to do this because of the support (both logistical and emotional) and love of our amazingly awesome family and friends.You guys rock. We love you mucho! Thank you. Gracias.

Inspirational quotes:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." ~Mark Twain

(That Mark Twain guy is pretty smart!)

We will see you on the road soon!