When will you finally be back?
M+C: laughing On December 17 we’ll land in Frankfurt. So we will be able to attend all planned weddings in 2019.
Your subtenant has moved out end of August. What has been going on with your apartment since then?
M+C: We have placed the apartment on AirBnb. A friend of ours (for one week also Conny’s mom) manages check in, communication, laundry and cleaning. In September and October our apartment has been completely booked out, our rent covered. The December days will make up for November.
And where would you like to go next?
M+C: After Colombia? We will visit friends in Sao Paolo. From there we’ll be off for one night to Paris.
Which country will be your last before you return to Germany?
M: It’s a country in Africa. That’s all we’ll tell you for now.
C: I hope to make a little dream come true there: see whale sharks.
Well then you have set foot in a total of 13 countries, from east to east. Did you expect more at the beginning?
M: No. Our intention was, to take time for each country. Of course then you can’t do that many.
C: Yes. At the end of the day we only really traveled through ten. To me that appears very little for a trip around the world. But well, we have stayed for two months in Indonesia, for two months in Bolivia. Obviously you’re not left with that much time.
Did you buy a guide book for each country?
M: Brazenly stolen, except for Iran. grins
Apart from Conny’s broken ankle, have you been sick in Latin America?
M+C: Yes, Conny had a long lasting food poisoning in Peru, Matthias had diarrhea for a shorter time in Colombia.
What did you do with the orthosis and the crutches?
M+C: The Bolivian orthosis we left at the language school in Bolivia, so that they can refer it to one of the projects over there. The US orthosis we gave to a traumatologist in a public hospital in Peru. The crutches we gave to a public health center in Colombia.
Was there a moment in the last months when you didn’t want to go on traveling?
C: Yes, in Cusco, Peru. I definitely didn’t want to go on. At that point my foot was hurting for seven weeks plus a never-ending diarrhea. With crutches, running over stairs to the toilet, I really couldn’t take it anymore.
M: There were a few difficult moments, but I never had the feeling that I had to go home.
Which three things in your backpack you wouldn’t want to miss on your trip?
M: Sleeping bag, the laptop, and the “Sea Band” against motion sickness.
C: My down sleeping bag, my Kindle, my mountain boots.
Are you disappointed by anything, that hasn’t lasted for many months?
C: My jogging shoes. Can you believe it? They were not that cheap and at the end they are broken after only two years and get holes like socks. What a crap.
M: When my phone fell into the toilet the first time, I was disappointed. But now I got used to my half broken phone. And repairing it was quite fun. laughs
Did you have goals that you have set before the trip, and if so, did you reach them?
M: Traveling and gaining experiences, that worked out well. The other goals were learning Spanish and reading science books. Well I only partially succeeded with those.
C: I didn’t have fixed goals. I thought it would be nonsense. Who knows whether it’d work out what I envisaged at home? I didn’t plan that my Spanish would get significantly better. I’m very happy about that now.
And how does it feel that you’re going to go home soon?
M: It’s like before our departure. Back then I asked myself, how the journey will be like. Now I wonder how life will be like afterwards. A new chapter of life will begin. It feels a bit like a normal vacation out of a regular job. We have a deadline, we can no longer stay as long as we want. But it’s still beautiful.
C: I’m torn a bit. Sometimes I’m looking forward to it, sometimes I feel no wish to come home at all. The free traveling, where you can stay as long as you want in one place is over. That’s too bad, it was an incredible feeling. On the other hand I’m no longer able to take in that much. We have seen so many beautiful things, but the brain is overloaded a bit.
What are you looking forward to at home?
M: The dentist. Haha. German bread with butter and cheese. Christmas time, Christmas spirit. And of course to reunite with friends and family, obviously.
C: The lady at the employment office. Of course friends and family. And climbing.
Do you happen to have a wise saying for your readers?
M: “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.” A quote by Buddha
C: “Never try, never know.” That’s what they said in Indonesia all the time. 🙂
