The idea for our journey began with a long held desire to see a total solar eclipse. I once heard a story describing the shadow of the moon rushing across the plains towards those sitting on top of a mountain awaiting totality of an eclipse. From that point I knew I needed to see this in person. I had already wanted to see a total solar eclipse in my lifetime but this changed my dream to not just any place, but on the top of the tallest thing I could find to witness not only the eclipse but the all-encompassing shadow running towards you from miles away.
A couple of years ago I decided to start fleshing out details for my list of natural phenomenon that I would like to see in my lifetime. On the list were things like the Aurora Borealis, Catatumbo Lightening, mass migration of animals and insects, and of course - a solar eclipse. The next upcoming total eclipse was only visible from remote places in the South Pacific and South America. We looked at the possibility of getting to Easter Island to view the eclipse in its totality but flights were both ridiculously expensive and extremely limited for weeks surrounding the event.
With that trip seeming quite cost and location prohibitive, we set our sights on the next opportunity - 13 Nov 2012. This one would be visible from Australia and we figured, with so many airport choices, getting to the continent would be much easier and hopefully more affordable. So, two and a half years ago, we tossed the idea around to some friends, marked the date our calendar, and made plans to discuss it further a year before the event.
One of our friends and coworkers decided to join the plan right from the beginning. In the summer of 2011 we decided we would need to make hotel reservations as soon as possible and choose more exact dates that we would head to and from Australia. With the possibility to work at a local office, we decided maybe 3 weeks to a month would make the day-long flight worth while. We set our now proposed month-long visit to Australia on the back burner for another 6 months.
Earlier this year, we started to look at the details a bit closer. Busy schedules kept us from getting far at first but one thing I did know is I was not looking forward to the flight. We would be flying half way around the world in a single shot and it would make for one very long and miserable travel day for an aviophobic. It was when we thought of it that way - half way around the world - that the trip started to evolve.
Our friend had purchased an 'around the world' ticket for a journey last year. It was more like a business trip with a couple of fun stops added in before heading home but the ticket itself was an inspiring idea. You can purchase a single ticket good for hopping across the planet in the direction of your choice. You have one year and a set number of milage and flight connections to make the journey. Instead of heading to Australia and back, we decided we would head west from Zürich until we arrive back home.
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Learn more -
Dates and locations of past and future solar eclipses:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html
Different types of eclipses:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse
Aviophobia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_flying
Catatumbo Lightening:
Images and History
Aurora Borealis:
Images
Animal migration:
Crabs, Butterflies, Turtles
