Last year, Rod and I applied for (and were granted) long service leave through our respective employers. Since then we have been planning and organising 4 months of leave, where with Hamish, we’ll be travelling through Europe and a spending three weeks in Asia: we leave at 0515 tomorrow. We’re currently sitting in our airport motel, having just said goodbye to Jess and Ben; Jess will be looking after my car whilst we’re away.

As you know, this is not our first lengthy trip. The name of this blog, was based on the length of our first trip. Hamish was 4 then and turned 5 in Italy – this time he will turn 14 in Greece. He is, absolutely, a very well travelled teenager. He appreciates it’s a big deal and that we are very privileged to be able to travel.

Often we are asked: “How can you afford to go away for such a long time?” Honestly, we don’t have a bunch of money sitting idly in the bank. We do this with careful planning and paying for something (a flight, accommodation) each fortnightly pay. The ultimate “Girl Math” – the trip is practically free by now, as 80% of the bookings are paid in full! We’ve been booking and paying for things since last summer. That’s how we do it.

This is not a bucket list trip. Having cancer diagnoses is not the reason we are travelling, but it ‘may’ be the reason we’ve booked a couple of premium economy airfares – oh, and a lounge in Dubai for our 5 hour layover…We have earned those luxuries! The rest of the trip is our usual: pick a place, stay in said place, potter about, go off the beaten track, live where the locals live.

The last few weeks has seen us saying our goodbyes with good friends and family. We will miss them for sure.

Here a couple of things worthy of a mention that we’ve packed for this trip:

Life Straw flexible water bottles. We purchased two of these so we won’t need to buy bottled water. The filters last for 2000 litres and we can decant into other things as well. Not cheap, but definitely worthwhile.

Rolla Bottle – Hamish has a flexible water bottle that is light and packs down. We will be able to fill his bottle with water from our filtered bottles.

Packable wide brim hat – my good friend Scott was recently in Crete and said “You’re going to need to bring a hat – there’s no shade” He and his olive skinned family caught a bit of sun, so there would be no hope for me. I bought a hat that folds in quarters. Also worthy of a mention, Hamish’s Bunnings bucket hat. It’s a vibe.

Rod’s Immunotherapy – he’ll need three injections whilst we’re away. This expensive medication is currently sitting in the motel fridge with the ice packs in the freezer section. He has a Coleman’s insulated bag (that would normally be used to fit 6 cans), documentation from his GP and Oncologist, and a script, proving the medication is for him. This cold bag will sit in the base of his carry on backpack. I think he’s a bit nervous about being pulled up through airport screening, but we’ve discussed how people travel with injectable medications all the time.

E-Sim. We’ve had difficulties with overseas SIM cards in the past, but this time I’ve got e-sims through HolaFly. It’s been recommended by Jess and few other people whom I trust. This will provide me with unlimited data for the trip. Rod and Hamish will utilise free wifi.

Our first destination is Istanbul. Our friendly host will pick us up from the airport (for a small fee) which is a very kind offer. Istanbul is the 2nd largest city in Europe with 15 million inhabitants. We are excited and we are ready! As always, you can have this blog delivered to your inbox, to save missing it on socials. If not, for those on FB, this will come up as a post. If you’re on Insta, you’ll need to find the blog link in my bio. We’ll update from Türkiye!

Love Rod, Hamish and Bel xxx