From Portland we headed to Minnesota (our only detour heading westward of the entire trip), for a quick blast of true Minnesotan winter and a great New Year's visit with Lenka's parents. We stocked up on mamka's Svicova Omacka, czech cookies and every other sort of czech cooking before heading south (way south) for the winter. Ironically, it was a snow- free and sunny few days in Minnesota, so other than a small mid- western tan, we boarded our plane with only cold winds at our backs. 

Minneapolis was also our last minute packing place. In this picture from New Years I am "testing" my travel blouse. It passed the wash & go test, so into the backpack it went. Who would have guessed that in the next two months this white cloth would be wringed and wrought in sinks all over the southern hemisphere.

Sabbatical Observation #1: no matter how much you may love your 3 pairs of travel clothes, after wearing them over and over and over, you are ready to burn every single thread of them in the end. 

All packed up with places to go. 

Did we forget anything? (Of course we did). On the way to the airport we both realized that the new shoelaces for our boots do not fit the eyelets. Luckily our adrenalin was so high that we just didn't care and figured out a way to fix it later. 

Anyone who knows Lenka well enough knows that she doesn't ever go anywhere without a pillow that babicka gave her 18 years ago. The two daypacks also have history - they were given to Lenka and Linda over 20 years ago by their grandfather, with instructions to "travel far and well". Little did he know then that the packs would make it beyond the communist curtain and go all over the world.