Apr 03, 2015

Well, we knew it would happen eventually and, like any sort of break-up, you pretend like it isn’t happening and go about your life hoping it won’t. Due to circumstances beyond our control, our little horde of roaming travelers is parting ways. Jen and I are remaining in Bariloche for a few more weeks while Matt and Elissa make their way into Chile and head North for their flight to New Zealand at the end of the month.

When we set out on this adventure, we had some pretty grand ideas of what it would be like to travel together. For the most part, they have been pretty accurate. We didn’t all make it to India together as we had planned but that’s the nature of traveling the way we are. Plans change and usually, that’s a good thing because change is what we crave most. That, and delicious cheeses.

It has been a great journey so far filled with ups and downs. At our low points we were annoyed with each-other at best and occasionally, we were ready to rip each others heads off and buy the next ticket as far away from each other as possible. I can’t say how many times we’ve had a little spat about something stupid or spent hours (literally hours people) debating the next thing to do. We’ve been pissed off, irate, disappointed, condescending, and above all downright sick of each other at times but, that’s part of the journey. At our best times, we’ve had a hell of time together; the time of our lives you might say. We’ve laughed, we’ve joked, we’ve kidded around, had more than a few crazy nights and some epic adventures. Without a doubt, the good times outweigh the bad by at least ten to one.

The four of us have traveled together for a whole year and for all intents and purposes we’ve been living in closer proximity than most people live with their families. We see each other when we wakeup and when we go to bed, we go to many of the same places together, we eat together often, and we spend much of our “downtime” hanging out together. We’ve lived like siblings in a small house for the past year and we chose to do it. Looking back at my childhood and the sibling wars that often broke out, it’s a damn miracle we haven’t literally tried to kill each other.  Instead, we’ve learned to cope with each other’s quirks and imperfections. We’ve just about mastered the art of cohabitating with each other and I can honestly say it is no small feat.  Whether we like what we learned or not, we know each other very well and certainly better than we ever did before.

For me anyway, our time together has been nothing short of awesome. Sure Elissa and I still have little “differences of opinion” on small things like oh, I don’t know, humanity in general (it must be hilarious to see us watch “The Walking Dead” together). And of course Matt and I continue to have different interests and passions (soccer, movies, how much alcohol is too much) but all of these differences are necessary. If we all viewed everything the same, I’d be bored stiff. Many of you don’t know this, but we keep a little history of some of our favorite quotes from the trip. Many of them come as a result of these little differences and they are all REALLY funny.

So what comes next? Well, Matt and Elissa will continue on to New Zealand, Australia, Southeast Asia and beyond while Jen and I continue North through Chile and to cover some ground we missed when Jen’s father passed away. After which time, we’ll head home for a few weeks for weddings and then to New Zealand, Australia and beyond. I’d like to think we’ll reconvene on the road somewhere but given our timelines it’s not that likely. If traveling has taught us anything though it’s that this is a very small world we live in and you should never say “never.” We run into random people all the time that we have seen in other places and it certainly isn’t impossible to think it could happen with us. I really hope that it does.

Overall, I am sad that our little group is splitting up but I am also excited. We’ve been without each other before and got along fine but we always boomeranged back to continue on together, but this time we won’t. To me, that’s kind of a cool. We’ll be able to share stories of the places we’ve gone and compare notes on the places ahead. We’ll get to experience this awesome adventure a little differently; without the familiar people we have been around for the past year. I say that’s a good thing because keeping things the same isn’t what we set out to do. If we wanted things to remain the same we would never have left home in the first place.

To wrap this up, I will simply say thank you. Matt and Elissa, you have been a pleasure to travel with. You’ve been our partners in crime (sometimes literally) and our closest friends for the past year. We’ve shared some crazy adventures, a lot of laughs, and fourteen countries. William Shakespeare said, “A friend is someone that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” I know I speak for both Jen and I when I say, you have both been excellent friends and we wish you all the best on the road ahead. Thank you both and we’ll see you later. 

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