Gerard had an interesting question the other day - what question have people asked you most when you've told them about the sabbatical? Top of the list for me is sadly not a particularly philosophical one but definitely relevant and worth a post: "so where are you going?"

There's a little map on the homepage where I've added the stops which are already firm (flights are booked / boat is moored...) and I'll be updating it as we go along. Hopefully this will also be a useful tool for potential visitors (all of whom are very much encouraged!!). But in general, the plan is:

18 Sept - 13 Nov : Sailing in Sardinia and Cagliari

The first couple of months will be a bit experimental, we're hoping we'll get an idea of the distances we can cover so we can give some estimated dates for the 2014 leg. Looking forward to not having to worry about fitting into a wedding dress - bring on the ice cream!

13 Nov - 16 Nov : Trip to Iceland with Laura's ma and pa

Our wedding present - fingers crossed for some Northern Lights action

20 Nov - 6 Apr : South America

Planning to wing it a bit, so far we know we fly into Sao Paolo and out of Lima. Likely route will be Brazil, Argentina, Patagonia, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru (undecided as yet on Ecuador). Any tips or recommendations would be much appreciated!

6 Apr - 11 Apr : New York New York

We've never been! Quick stop off in NY on our way back to London.

Mid-April - mid-Oct : Back to Starfire

Picking up where we left off (probably Sardinia, maybe Sicily), we'll then be heading round Italy, on to Croatia, Montenegro, Greece and maybe Turkey if we have time.

That's as much as we know for now, to be continued...

{Photo: Starfire - still on land at the moment, probably for the best since she's not entirely watertight while we have some repairs done}