I am about to have a Sabbatical and I am amazed at the amount of preparation that I have had to do in order to get ready for it.
Originally I was intending to go to Mount Athos in Greece. Athos is known as the ‘Holy Mountain,’ and there are 21 monestries scattered around a rocky and beautiful promontory of Halkadiki.
In order to get to Athos I needed to apply for permission from the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople (Istanbul). Unfortunately permission was a long time in coming, as the number of foreigners (Especially those who are not of the Orthodox Faith), are limited on the mountain. After waiting for quite a few months I decided that I needed to arrange to do something else instead.
At that time I heard about the Oz Bus, which travels from London to Sydney through 20 countries stopping at some interesting and out of the way places. For most of the way camping in the preferred method of accommodation and of-course the mode of transport a bus! I was so intrigued by this idea that I decided to explore this as an alternative option to Athos.
After asking a few questions I booked my place! (My permit for Athos arrived the following week!).
So I shall be travelling across Europe to Turkey and then south through Iran and Pakistan to India. Then to Nepal and Myanmar and south through Indonesia. The only flying will be from Bali to Cairns and then we drive through the heartland of Australia.
I don’t know what this trip will bring. Perhaps it will be like life itself. A journey with a beginning and an end and lots of different and exciting experiences in-between?!
