It’s That Time Again…

We love this bit. Printed maps spread across the table, guide books poised and travel blogs open on the right page. The calendar sheets printed off from the iPad take centre stage, constantly being altered, updated, erased and re-pencilled, as we discover new destinations, unearth different transport opportunities and change the planned route one more time. Travel is such a joy that even the planning stage is always a significant source of excitement. Sparks fly every time Michaela moves.

There’s only a few days to go now. Next week we head off to Heathrow, flying first to the Qatari capital of Doha for that stopover where we will discover whether four free-of-charge nights courtesy of Qatar Airways is really as good as it sounds. From Doha we head to our longer term destination, the Philippines, where we will be touring those exotic sounding islands for a couple of months.

Our first Philippines stop will be, inevitably, Manila, where we’ve given ourselves almost a week to explore one of the world’s most sprawling and populous cities before heading up country and beginning what promises to be an enthralling and varied adventure. We’ve committed to our first two destinations but from thereon the spirit of adventure will take over as we start to follow those plans which are pencilled on to the calendar sheets. Pencilled for a reason: things can always change.

When we take to the skies next Wednesday, we will have been home in England for 53 days, during which time we’ve been down to Cornwall, seen friends and family, enjoyed Christmas with grandchildren, celebrated a certain landmark birthday for Michaela’s Mum, seen rain, hail, snow, ice, fog and sunshine and, of course, imbibed a quantity of the English ale which sooner or later always calls me home. Unusually, perhaps regrettably, I didn’t grab a football fix this time.

Fifty three days is enough for the wanderlust to be more than awakened and we’re now overly eager to get out there and see new places. Those calendar sheets and their ever changing plans will soon be being stuffed into the backpacks along with the other usual paraphernalia, including of course that sizeable chunk of excitement and enthusiasm which always finds its way into our luggage. It doesn’t weigh much but it’s an essential item. We take it everywhere.

Just a few days to go. The Philippines are calling, but first it’s Doha….