Dear friends, dear readers, last year we decided to quit our jobs and sell our house. Almost three months have now passed. Time for a summary. We spent a lot of this time in Valchiavenna, which we love so much. We had set ourselves the goal of spending a large part of the time freeriding. Unfortunately, this winter was over quickly and we had hardly any snow since January with a sunny weather. That's why we headed to the nearby Graubünden for snowboarding, or to Livigno. So, we had the chance to get to know the Julier and Davos regions extensively and were also extremely enthusiastic about the opportunities there. We were able to enjoy beautiful untouched slopes and left our tracks in the powder. On particularly warm days, we also went mountaineering or climbing to bring in some variety.
Here is a little review in pictures:
The many ascents should also provide us with basic fitness for our next big project in March - a two-week tour with dog sleds across the Ural Mountains in Russia. Unfortunately, as is well known, our world in Europe recently has changed drastically, so that there were no more flights to Russia and we had to change our plans. Let's walk the talk - we had heard of a Sahara crossing with a camel caravan. That means 200km, 10 days of walking from oasis to oasis, max. 15-20 kilo backpacks allowed (probably more like 20 kilos because of camera equipment, and no, the camels only carry our food and the tents). So we swap the sign of the temperature scale from -35 to +35 and the huskies to camels. Adventure is adventure :-)
On March 26th we're flying to Marrakech. We'll be back in mid-April and will of course write a blog about it here.
In April we'll be visiting Germany, and after that we'll go surfing in Portugal. From September we want to set off from Uruguay on the Panamericana. At the end of July we will send our expedition mobile Hugo on its way to Montevideo and ship it. The preparations for this are ongoing. We are eagerly learning Spanish, Marion is struggling not to confuse the vocabulary with Italian - at least I have advantages there :-)
So what remains is a summary of the last 3 months, perhaps to be answered on the basis of the most frequently asked questions.
Don't you miss your job?
Hmmm, hard to tell. In fact we didn't think about during the last months, too much action. Seriously, we're more wondering how we've been able to endure it for so long.
Are you missing family and friends?
Yes, of course. However, nowerdays we see each other regularly. This will be more of a challenge overseas, when the distance is longer.
Aren't you bored sometimes?
Not at all! On the contrary, we still tend too more than too little action. Of course it's all beautiful things that we enjoy, like freeriding and hiking. We enjoy a lot of time outdoor and are super fit. Of course there are also a few things that we have to take care of, like organizing a few administrative leftovers from "our old life", shipping, insurance, and so on.
So all in all it feels good and right. But it's only been 3 months - in which we've already experienced so much. So let's continue.
Yours Marion and Micha