Epilogue

I heard the first shrieks from just inside our front door while I was carrying the bags up the driveway from the taxi (79 days and 23 hours after leaving...). The kids had raced ahead and had found the dog. Accounts vary, but the gist appears to be that Orbit was confused and perhaps alarmed at first, but Lorraine was right behind them and once he sniffed her hand he instantly switched to overjoy mode. Now there was barking mixed with the shrieking. A small melee of hugs and fur and limbs ensued.

We missed Orbit and we missed our cats and our family and our friends (this list is given in no particular order, really). And sure, we missed the house and Winnipeg and Canada and all that a bit too, but honestly... only a bit. And our stuff? I didn't miss it at all. I had cleared out my closet and dresser for the house-sitter, so last night I began taking my clothes back out of the storage bins and experienced something close to revulsion at the amount. Probably around 40 t-shirts, of which only a fraction get worn regularly. And that's only the t-shirts. I just finished traveling around the world for almost three months with four shirts and two pairs of pants. And not one time did I wish I had packed more. Not one single time. The same principle applies to every other type of possession. One small bag is really all you need. But that's not a very original thought. Nobody's out there saying, "pack heavy you fool!" The metaphorical implications for one's overall life are obvious. Mentioning that is not very original either, but long journeys do help transform "declutter your life" from a slogan to a deeply felt imperative.

Normally I unpack pretty much immediately upon arrival home, but for some reason as I type this a day later, I still haven't.

Appendix - By The Numbers

45000 km by air

8000 km by land 

5500 km by sea

14 airports

11 countries

5699 photographs

38 nights in rented houses or apartments (mostly AirBnB)

14 nights in a tent

10 nights in an RV

8 nights at sea

6 nights in various cottages & hotels (all in Africa, before and after the camping and twice during)

3 nights in the air

63 new (to us) species of animals seen (Isabel had me keep a list)

And the cost...? Let's say all in it cost the equivalent of "a nice new car". Our two old cars can chug along a little while longer.