Itinerary?

I land in Sophia, Bulgaria Tuesday morning, August 25th. The "plan" is to spend a few days in Sophia before making my way east to the Black Sea coast, stopping here and there along the way. Then I'll head south to Istanbul for a few days before heading east again to Turkey's capital city of Ankara, then into the surreal landscapes of Cappadocia and south to the Agean coast, where I'll make my way back north and west along the coast visiting ancient ruins. From there a ferry ride to one of Greece's many isles, then visit a few more isles before touring the peloponnesian penninsula and heading to Athens to meet up with my friend Ira for the final week. Home again on October 17...my birthday. So I'll have plenty of time (8 weeks) to cover my suggested route but I have a feeling the time will fly by. We'll see how it goes.

Eight weeks is a long time to be gone and I know I'll miss my friends and family back home, especially Kelly-Jo. I think that will be the most difficult aspect of my trip. But staying in hostels along the way I hope to make some traveling friends to combat the loneliness. Again, we'll see how it goes.

My backpack weighs in at just under 22 lbs... plenty light. Andrew and I did 55 miles on the Appalachian Trail in 5 days earlier this year and I carried the same pack. It weighed 30 lbs for that trek and it was no problem despite all the rocks and elevation changes. Traveling light is the way to go. There are two schools of thought... bring lots of clothes to a place and change every day, or wear the same clothes and just change towns!! I'm opting for the latter.

That's all for now... have to study up on my Bulgarian and repack my pack a few more times... :-)