2012 begins....

Well, Happy New Year everyone (said in anticipation that someone will eventually read our blog...)! It's happy indeed, in large part because.... this year is going to be a very different sort of year for Chris and I. We are going to spend it abroad, traveling in South America! In actuality, we are starting in Central America with a one-month visit to Costa Rica, but the majority of our upcoming adventures will take place throughout S. America, beginning in Ecuador.

Our decision to travel for a year evolved from a mutual interest in seeing more of the world and dedicating a real chunk of time to doing something other than working jobs in our respective fields. Of course, we both have specific and personal reasons for making the choice to quit our jobs, leave/sell our homes/belongings, and say goodbye to our friends and family for a year. Undoubtedly some of those motivations will be shared as we document our travels in this blog. For now, readers are free to assume we are either crazy or courageous. Maybe we are both. ;)  Regardless, we know we are extremely fortunate to have the means to actually do something like this.

Chris and I have chosen S. America for a few reasons: both of us have traveled independently through various parts of the world but neither of us have been to S. America; the majority of the continent's countries are Spanish-speaking, which means we will only have to struggle to learn one new language (we are just going to fake our way through the Portuguese-speaking nations...); we really like wine and the wine culture of S. America is phenomenal; when we arrive, it will be summer there instead of winter! yay!; the geography of S. America is diverse and will afford us the opportunity to partake in many of the outdoor activities we already love as well as the chance to try some new ones; did I mention wine country??

We hope to use this blog as a means to record our experiences for reflection after we return and to share with anyone who's interested in following what we're up to. We fly to Costa Rica on Jan. 4. ONLY THREE MORE SLEEPS!! We are so excited for this adventure together. It is going to be amazing!