El bus del mundo (und DU bist dabei!)

So, my dear friends and readers,

the time has come to reveal my scheme. Thanks once again for voting, you actually all played your part as influential sign posts on the road to the final decision...

...which looks like this. I would like to set up the base for my year in Buenos Aires. Why there? It is approximately the lattitude of Cape Town, which for some reason seems a good omen, and as far as I can make out from stories and research, it is an exciting, cosmopoliotan city and the ideal place to immerse yourself in Spanish - and learn some good Tango.

Tango, I hear you ask? Yes - I've always been fascinated by the Argentino style, never got around to actually doing it, and now, having been brought in touch with it again by the mysterious throes of life, I actually caught fire.

Living in a city for one year, however, is not what I intend to do, so as soon as I feel comfortable enough in the new language, manage not to twist my ankle on those sexy moves anymore, and the surf is up (as of November...:-) I shall try to organize for some sort of bus or van to throw my boards and guitar in.

For the plan is to go on a spectacular surfari that will take me from Brazil to Patagonia and then up the West Coast to Chile, Peru, and Ecuador - who knows, there might be time for a small trip to Galapagos (seems so enticing) and if I am very courageous, I might even try to end up in Costa Rica one way or the other. Looking for the remotest beaches, the perfect wave, and of course all those mysterious places and landscapes South America has in store - not to mention all the oddballs, vagabonds and picaros I shall be meeting along the way.

This picture by Iris shows pretty much what I imagine myself to be doing most of the time.

Of course I shall be writing profusely about my adventures, which will be posted here or in some future blog - but even better, you can join in the fun for real. Anyone of you who has time to spare (and manages to get hold of me) is of course very welcome to join me on my trip. So start saving for those plane tickets!

Speaking of writing, yes, that of course I will continue to do... the book about this trip shall be titled 'El bus del Mundo - Primera Parte: América del Sur'. And I guess the next sabbatical will see me in Africa for the sequel...