We do not remember when we first had the idea of taking a Year Off and travelling around the world. There is no date or event which made us decide, but it was a slow process that probably started during our first trip together to Senegal in April 2002 and has matured through numerous travels in the last five years.

“One Year Off” sounds great, doesn’t it? Especially when you think about it while you are going to work every day! Our main goal for this trip is to be able to travel differently. Like for most people, time has always been a major constraint during our travels, often forcing us to spend a lot of time in busses or planes, leaving very little time to spend at the very place. So we expect to discover the regions we will visit more closely, thoroughly at a leisurely pace.
This 12 month period will also allow us to visit places that are very far from Europe or impossible to travel for us during the right season. Like southern Argentina & Chile are a very long haul and European summers are not the best time to travel there. Not talking about the Pacific Region, which always involves a 24 hour flight.

Well, last but not least: one year is the time we have. Heidi is taking a sabbatical, which means she has received only 75% of her salary over the last three years and will receive 75% while away. Gilles has been granted a year of unpaid leave from Xerox and has been putting money into his piggy bank.