Day 1 - Depart Vancouver

May 6, 2011

06.05.2011

Prologue:

Even before I got back from my first Contiki tour, I knew I was going to go back to Europe again. I knew I wanted to return with Contiki, since I still had no suitable travel companion. My dream was to do the 47 day Ultimate European tour, with the Egypt option, however I knew I wouldn't have enough money, so I decided to go with the 39 day European Adventurer. I was drawn to this tour because it went to both Spain and Greece, as well as Eastern Europe. I booked the tour in November 2010, and started saving. In a weird twist of fate I began a serious relationship the same week I was due to book my tour. Thinking of my past, and the deal I had made with myself that I would never again change my plans or stop doing what I loved because of a guy, I went ahead with my booking. And I don't regret it! This tour was incredible, and I highly recommend it for anyone looking at doing a longer Contiki. WINNING!
This trip is way longer than my last one, and I was terrible at keeping a journal, so I'm having a hard time remembering all the details. I'll do the best I can! Just a warning, I do tend to ramble on sometimes...

I was up bright and early today to catch the 5 am ferry off Vancouver Island. I love taking the early ferry. It's so quiet and peaceful and it gave me lots of time to think about the adventure I was embarking on. To be honest, I was absolutely terrified. I had never been away from home for this long before. If I thought the two weeks I had been gone last time was hard, this was going to be even worse. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't been in a serious relationship at the time. But I tried to think positive...I was going back to Europe! I'd been working extreme overtime to save enough money for this, and I was determined to enjoy myself, and not miss home too much. Even with my anxiety, I was still incredibly excited. The ferry was pretty empty, as per usual, and once we arrived at Tswassan I waited for the bus and chatted with a few of the people around me. Most were headed for the airport as well, and they were all interested to hear about the Contiki tour I was doing. At the airport I checked in, got Starbucks, and settled in to wait for my flight to board. It was a pretty dull day. It was raining too. I was incredibly anxious to get on the plane, as I am terrified of flying. For some reason I had decided it would be a great idea to watch the entire series of Air Crash Investigation right before leaving.... However, I guess the pilots knew what they were doing, and there weren't any issues. The flight was about 9 hours long, and so incredibly boring. I tried to get some sleep...