Blogging REBOOT: Cara the globetrotter...back with avengance!

So, I know it's been a while. Quick update: After a glorious year and half in Mexico, I moved back to the US at the end of December, and I've definitely been missing my adventurous and discounted lifestyle. But do not fear, we all knew I couldn't sit still for long...the mission to reach 30 countries by the time I'm 30 is still looming, but it's getting a healthy boost this summer!

I managed to line of 5 weeks of summer travels...flying to Lima tomorrow to spend 10 days in Peru (my company's Peru: Incan Adventure tour) and then 2 days later I'm off to finally "back-pack" Europe (not hiking, just meaning traveling with minimal stuff on my back). I figured there's no easier way to wrack up new countries than traveling Europe, so when I saw that I could manage 3 weeks of leave, I booked flights into London and home from Rome and set about filling in the rest. I found a few people through the website www.travbuddy.com who had posted that they'd be traveling around the same time as I would be, had a few chats, and we plotted out a route that would hit some of the Central & Eastern countries that I've yet to explore: Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. England, France, and Italy won't be new countries in my list, but they're definitely countries that deserve multiple visits, so I plan to make the most of those stops as well. We'll be taking trains through Germany, Austria, and Slovakia along the way, but we don't really have plans to make any serious stops there. I'm told I get to add Slovakia to my list even if we don't stop there since traveling by train means I will physically be IN the country, and I'll by into that logic if it helps my cause!

So where will does this put me on the 30 by 30 mission?
US (1)
Canada (2)
Mexico (3)
Bermuda (4)
Bahamas (5)
England (6)
Ireland (7)
Wales (8)
France (9)
Spain (10)
Germany (11)
Austria (12)
Switzerland (13)
Italy (14)
Greece (15)
Turkey (16)
New Zealand (17)
Cook Islands (18)
India (19)
China (20)
Belize (21)
Peru (22)
Netherlands (23)
Czech Republic (24)
Poland (25)
Hungary (26)
Slovakia (27)

So that means I'll have 3 countries and 2 years to reach my goal, I can taste it!!

Stay tuned for posts from Peru & Europe, Cara the globetrotter is back...