The Final Countdown!!

"We're leaving together,
But still it's farewell
And maybe we'll come back
To earth, who can tell?
I guess there is no one to blame
We're leaving ground
Will things ever be the same again?

It's the final countdown!!!"

Thank you Europe for that delightful opening number, and Good Evening World!

Today marks 10 days left until I move out of my house and move into my backpack. So much still to do and final decisions need to be made. Unfortunately, I have been sick as a dog since my last post and have not had the mental state-of-mind needed to type thoughts coherently. That is now over thankfully and I'm back at it.

The end of last week was a busy one, making sure all of my trips and flights were booked for May. In the end I was successful, while dying from the flu no less.

So my Nomad life kicks off on April 27th when I head off on a road trip to Calgary, with my friend and former coworker Mat. He's moving out to Calgary for work, fun, and frankly anything is better than Hamilton. (Haha why do you think I'm getting out of the Hammer? I'm tired of being a nail.) The trip looks like it will be a blast with nice weather, an AWESOME car to drive in, and one hell of a travel buddy! We'll see what happens...

I will fly back to Hamilton late on Thursday, May 3rd and have about 24-30 hours to spend with my best friend James, before I head to Toronto to catch a flight South.

Saturday, May 5th at 4:00pm I will be in my seat, and about to fly to beautiful Cayo Coco, Cuba. I'm spending 14 days, Han style, at the resort Club Cojimar on Cayo Guillermo, Cayo Coco with 24hr all-inclusive food and drink for $845... TOTAL. That includes all flights, taxes, and fees, which works out to $60.35/day. However, if I imagine the flights are $100 each way (which is ridiculously cheap) then the trip breaks down to $45/day to be fed, watered, and do anything I want at a resort on one of the most gorgeous beaches in the Caribbean. Its gonna be hard... especially considering its a topless beach. No Pun intended...

How far does your $45 get you?
Mine sends me "heading for Venus", since Cuba's where the women can be found after all!

The same package that I booked is already up to $915, and it was $930 two weeks before I booked. In most cases there is an ideal time to book vacation packages, and I have found that time to be between 3-4.5 weeks before the date of your trip. Any sooner and prices haven't dropped, any later and prices start going back up. This strategy obviously doesn't work for a lot of people who need to book time off work, or that have obligations, like pets and kids. For those people, I have no advice, because their lives 'boggle' me...

So two weeks of rest and relaxation in Cuba, with the occassional crazy adventure, and then my return to Canada very late May 19th/early 20th. This is followed by a bus trip to Huntsville and my 1st day of work May 21st. Many people will see this kind of constant travel as awful, I see it as FUN!

Let the fun begin...
"Its the Final Countdown!! YEAAA!!"

C.Stemp.Run... in 10 days.