On the road soon – my brother will come with me to the airport and help me pass the time until I have to board. Excited, of course, and trying not to let it get to me.

Last night, riding my bike home from meeting Sibylle and the M&Ms (aka Martin and Matthias) in town, I had to think of all the people I’ve met while traveling. I have so many cherished memories of places and times spent alone – but there are always people, too. So many of them, and still vivid in my mind, no matter if we haven’t heard from each other in ages or never even exchanged email addies…

I could make a list, of with all those people I met in 99 in Canada and the US, 2000 on the Isle of Man, 2001 in Namibia and last year on the East Coast, because I still remember them all, their names and faces, the stories we exchanged and things we saw, be it for a couple of hours on a bus or for several days in a youth hostel or on an excursion.

Thinking of the fact that I’ll be staying in NZ with a couple I’ve met almost four years ago in California and that I’ll be meeting up in Brisbane with Willa, who I met last year in Washington, DC, makes me very, very happy – and I can’t wait to see who I will get to know this time…

So this journal will be quiet the next two months – but the travel log will hopefully be filled with tales of beautiful places and interesting people.