It’s finally there. After months of preparation and making arrangements, we’ll spend our last days with my mom, with nothing else with us than our backpacks. If we forgot some things, than this is the time to find out and add it to our, still very bulky, backpacks.
“This time, we won’t bring too much, because it’ll only bother us”. The times we’ve said this to each other over the last few weeks are uncountable. But still, we cannot get away from packing lots of things. Especially with an eye on hitchhiking through ‘Syberic’ Europe. So, just pack some extra warm clothes, to be sure. We can always give them away in Brazil. Also we’ve gotten a lot of good luck charms at our party and for previous travels. Of course they all have to come with us. With all that, the weight of our backpacks is a little higher than hoped and expected. But we are happy to carry the good-luck charms along!
My bag weighs 13.6 kg and Milou her bag weighs 11.3kg. That’s divided pretty well, right? The only thing that we have to add to this is our tent, which weighs about 3kg, and both backpacks contain a 2 liter camelbag. The maximum weigh should not exceed 15kg per person. This is all we’ll have for the next year! I’m very curious to know what they’ll weigh when we come back. I think the longer we are on the road, the more stuff we’ll give away, send back home or throw away. I guess that we’ll only have 7kg a person left when we come back, but who knows.
Although it’s very nice to spend the last few days with my mum, it’s also a busy time with lots of thing that we still need to take care of. In the end we didn’t get to spend much time with my mum and her boyfriend at all.
Fortunately, we did get tickets for the theatre show my mum directs. This will be the last thing on our agenda before we end this chapter of our lives and begin the next, our sick dream. I’m pleased with the way we get to close this chapter, because I’ve been seeing the theatre shows since I was little. I know how much this means to my mum and I am honoured to be a part of it every time.
After the show, saying goodbye to my mother comes very close. I’ve been spending much thought on this moment in the last few weeks. Only thinking about it made me a little bit sad. I would almost cancel the whole trip, just because of my mum, but I know I would regret it. I’ll just have to get through this moment. Luckily, at home after the show we had a good conversation and let some tears, laughed together and sealed it with a big hug. The last night is here.
Sunday! It’s time! The big day. The day of saying goodbye, although it is for me. Milou already said goodbye to her friends and family in the last couple of days.
René, my brother, offered to give us a ride to the Belgium border, which we are happy to accept. The disadvantage of this is, that I’ll have to say goodbye to him in Belgium. I’m not looking forward to this. Knowing that I’ll miss him really bad and that he will also have to go a whole year without his little brother. We’ve been there for each other every moment in the last 35 years.
At 8 in the morning René is here. We have a last cup of coffee together, we pack the last things and get ready to leave. At exactly 8.30am our backpacks disappear into the car and the moment is here. I wish Hans all the best and go to my mum to cry on her shoulder. Then quickly into the car, because we don’t want to mop the floor… After all, we are on a HOLIDAY!
Our dream is on. Off to Belgium, with the last goodbye in the back of my head. There’s laughter and lots of talking, but in my mind I keep thinking about it. How will it go, what will I say, and what will René say?
Finally, the time had come. We stop at the gas station, collect our things and here they come, the tears. Luckily, they are present at both sides. René can be such a tough guy, but he has a heart of gold and I’m happy to see that he as well has sad feelings about this. I give Mart, my nephew, a very big hug. Oh how I will miss this little fellow, and seeing him growing up. He doesn’t understand why we are left at the gas station and is screaming and crying from his little car seat that he wants to get out of the car too. Very sad but also very cute to watch. Then René gets into the car and they drive away. We wave one last time at each other and then we realise, we are on our own now. We comfort each other for a little while and they we’re off to find our first real hitch.
One sick dream in the making!
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