We barely came home and are going again??? Yes, because last winter, we thought we stay home from Sept – Dec as we leave in January and we discovered we really do not like to stay for 4 months in the cold and rain… so the plan was in the future we will be away for nearly the whole winter.

What’s to consider: 1) we like to be gone for 3 months at a time, then we look forward to come back home again, 2) it is good to be home for important appointments like dentist, doctors and to make important decisions… also as per Gine over Christmas everybody goes away and it is full everywhere and super pricy – a good time to be at home.

And that brings up the question where to in the next winter: 1) it needs to be warm, 2) after Brazil (and Mexico) we would like an easy to go to country (not thinking about what can go wrong) and (we speak the language fluently).  3) we discovered it is fun to travel around a lot and see a lot and then have a nice relaxing cruise (no packing and unpacking and also getting spoiled). 4) a country we haven’t explored before

And our choice became: New Zealand, which is also perfect located to finally visit the Cook Islands (where Paul once lived) and go on a cruise to the super amazing South Pacific.

And then the planning started several months earlier – first we thought we like RV’ing and New Zealand sounded perfect for it, BUT then we discovered on how expensive it is to rent an RV (and you still have to once in a while pay for a campground, we don’t have wifi for the computers (only the phones), we can’t shower everyday, we have to look for where to dump and fill up. And renting a car and Air bnb is less than half the price: ok that’s what we do.

Where to? After checking into it for a bit, Gine said we saw enough mountains, glaciers and cooler weather and rain and we will not go to the South Island but spend our time on the more sub tropical north Island.

More plans and then nearly all is booked.

A few surprises like when we fly there we leave on Jan 17 and arrive on Jan 19 (we are missing a whole day!!!), when we fly from Auckland to the Cook Islands we leave on Feb 17 and arrive on Feb 16 (yes, we are time travellers and go back in time).

We already got a new Passport for Paul (so he has his extra 6 months), then Gine’s new permanent residence card (which was still not here when we left for the Baja) – but was waiting for us when we came back home

As we came back from the Baja – with our laptops gone. We discovered the backup didn’t work correctly before we left and all our plans for the trip are in our head. We have six weeks before we leave that means: we need a new camera, a new laptop, new binoculars… we need to get all our info organized again (flights, car rentals, booked accommodations) and also all our plans.

And so, for the next 4 weeks Gine was busy to re-plan the trip, this time it goes faster, as we already know where we stay and where we want to go. Still, it was a lot of work.

Also, we came back the first week in Dezember that means making Christmas cookies, decorating and going back to work (so we have enough pocket money for the next trip). As well doing some more planning that our finances are under control and making a rough plan on the next year.

Finally, it is the last week before we leave, we start packing, making lists… make sure that the fridge is nearly empty… And yes, Mandy has a cat-sitter and backup cat-sitter. Last day at work is done. And we are ready to go