As we’re sure you’ve noticed, the Smiles & Miles blog has been resting for a very very long time. After 26 crazy weeks, 23,000 wild km overland, 15,000 lonely km by sea & 20 awe-inspiring countries, we had a bit of a hard time re-adjusting to life at home and finding a place in our new routine for writing. Sitting in our home office, the inspiration wasn’t quite as strong as it had been while we were on the road and we questioned whether anyone was actually reading now that we had returned home and shared our stories with family and friends in person. It somehow didn’t seem as relevant now that we had settled back into more predictable days and began to resemble somewhat normal Canadians.
But reality is that the travel certainly hasn’t stopped. Since flying home from London with our Ural in March 2012, we have visited: China, Denmark, England (three times), Estonia, Finland, Germany (three times), Iceland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Poland, Russia (twice) & Sweden. Whew! We continue to travel primarily by land & sea, but our journeys are all under four weeks and the Ural has stayed safely parked in our Garage Mahal.
Now that a couple of years have passed, we realize how many new stories we’ve accumulated and how much we’ve missed sharing our adventures with like-minded or just plain curious friends around the globe – and we’re hearing from many that they are missing it too. Although we’re no longer on the road every day, exploring our big beautiful world is clearly still a significant part of our lives and we don’t see that changing anytime soon.
These are some great reasons to resuscitate the Smiles and Miles blog . . . but currently overshadowed by another huge motivator. We’ve just committed to another tremendous adventure which we can’t wait to share.
In 78 days, we will be getting behind the handlebars of an auto rickshaw (aka tuk-tuk, samosa, tempo, bajaj, lapa…) for a leisurely 2,700 km drive from Jaisalmer to Shillong, India participating in the Rickshaw Run and raising funds for Cool Earth and Free the Children. We’re quite sure this will prove to be one of our craziest exploits to date. Stay tuned for more details.
In the meantime, the stories from our overland adventure from Calgary to London via Buenos Aires & Dakar will continue. We invite you to come along for the ride.
Tracey & Miles
Smiles & Miles 
I am so glad to hear from you after such a long time….I had been concerned that sickness or some other misfortune had sidetracked you. Looking forward to hearing about more of your adventures. Kimbull , Calgary. PS In the meantime I have visited all the lower states plus all the provinces, including travelling the new trans-Labrador (1300km gravel) highway the first year it opened, solo on my BMW F800gs motorcycle. You have been an inspiration to me!
Kimbull, thank you very much for your comment. No need to worry, we’re doing well and still living life to the fullest. It’s fantastic to hear about your adventures. We’d love to explore the new trans-Labrador as well, but first we’re trying to put together a plan to get to either Nunavut or Baffin Island (likely without a bike).
Super cool, guys!!
Care to join us Sandra & Jordan? Would love to have you along.
Good to hear you have some more adventures. Having been in India for 6 weeks a few years ago, I can’t imagine the stress of driving anything on those roads! However it should be fun with the tuk tuk. Love India, would love to take my Patrol there when my wife and I retire in a few years! Looking forward to your stories. All the best from Toronto! Al.
Thanks for your comment Al. I would love to hear about you tackling India on you Patrol. We’d love to be heading there on ours, but the logistics just don’t make sense within a few week time frame. A tuk-tuk seemed like the next best thing, and certainly a new form of entertainment. I understand your comments about the roads. We visited India for the first time in 2010 and it took a few years to “process” the experience before we were ready to tackle it again. But tackle it we will. Looking forward to hearing future stories of your adventures there!
Warmly,
Tracey