Phase III: Westward Bound

A few words before I get into Georgia, specifically, following on this post.

Where Phase I was well-planned and Phase II was go-with-the-flow, I still haven't figured out the characteristic of Phase III. I've obviously not ended up in the Middle East or Africa (yet) as originally planned, so that theme is out. Perhaps I should make Phase III the "final phase" (everyone likes a trilogy, right?) and call it the friendship phase - two friends have visited me in Tbilisi and I've made friends who I plan on meeting all across Europe and the Middle East.


I am somewhat disappointed that I probably won't get to do my proposed ship voyage to St. Helena, but travel is its own beast (I am also disappointed I didn't get back to Thailand). At this point, I'm also getting spooked about money (due to overspending and unreliable income streams), which means I don't want to get into any grand plans or look further than getting through Winter.

NUMBERS: I'd planned on setting the Phase III budget at somewhere around $15,000, but, if I'm going to combine Middle East / Africa / Europe and hope to get through another year, I'm probably going to have to set aside a higher sum. Georgia is, according to everyone, the cheapest spot west of Asia, so, I'm going to have to take that into account as well. Perhaps I can get by for a year on $25,000? Let's push it to $28,000 and set and end date of my birthday, 28 August 2020. This will require a month or two of workaway and friends with couches, but I think it's doable.

If everything comes together as planned, after Georgia (and Armenia?) I'll head to warmer climes around the Mediterranean Sea. This will hopefully include seeing where my Father's Father's family is from in Lebanon. When Spring hits I'll start moving north (maybe moving up into Portugal/Spain from Morocco? Maybe meandering through the Balkans?). Romania is high on the list (Mother's Father's family) as is Czechia (Father's Mother's family - and a cousin!). Whatever's in-between (will I deny myself a fourth trip to Germany?) I'll probably end my European adventure in Ireland (Mother's Mother's family) and see if there's some cheap airfare home.