We had an early start and got to our jet for the final leg to the UK - Luton Airport. Given all the places we had visited, Luton was hardly the most romantic place to complete the trip, especially since it was freezing cold. Quite a re-entry into reality! We shot off to Heathrow for our flight back to SFO. I'm writing this on the plane with a couple of hours to go before we get home.
It's hard to sum up a journey like the one we have just taken. We visited some incredible places, saw some incredible sights. We nearly expired hiking up trails at high altitudes. We were sleep-deprived, got bitten by several unidentified insects and were woken up in the night to the sounds of hippos grunting and elephants tramping through our camp site. The variety of cultures and places we saw was amazing, the travellers we were with were (generally) a pleasure to be with. And, of course, the experts - the National Geographic explorers in residence who accompanied us, gave us a unique view into their pioneering work, right on location. The logistics of managing this kind of journey were staggering and the organizers did a great job at making sure we got to where we needed to be, on time and without too much hassle.
Overall, we traveled around 26,000 miles.
Highlights? Pretty well everything but especially Bhutan, the safaris and the gorillas in Rwanda. The most bizarre? Definitely Jellyfish lake.
Stay tuned for some more photos I'll post when I get a chance.
Thanks for coming along on the journey.