[Note to readers: Over the next six weeks, we will be using Tencenturies.com to post commentary on our 2017 trip around the world.]

Background:

A decade ago, John read a book about Genghis Khan; how Khan rose from commoner to ruler and then solidified his vast empire through savvy assimilation of disparate cultures and innovative, peri-modern administrative governance. Somewhere between pages 1 and 352 of that book, a desire to ride across the Mongolian steppes on horseback (perhaps with a pendant fluttering in the wind on a long, garlanded lance) germinated in John’s imagination. There it grew until three years ago it surfaced in one of our periodic “what shall we do next” conversations. At the time, I smiled and give John a vague non-committal, spousal nod. We were mid-way through our Kenyan experience. I secretly assumed that spending two years in one endless arid grassland would dampen John’s desire to venture immediately into another. I was wrong. John pushed for Mongolia in 2016 but the trip was postponed by his mother’s and my father’s failing health. In 2017, Mongolia was back on the schedule.

My contribution to trip planning was to point out that since Mongolia is half way around the world, we might as well buy Around The World tickets (the best airline deal for multi-stop, long distance travel) and visit some other places on our list. John had never been to China. I wanted to visit Moscow. The Norwegian fjords beckoned to us both. Since we would be flying over Hawaii, we reasoned it would be easy to land and take in Haleakala National Park.

And thus our itinerary was born; Maine – Minneapolis – Hawaii – Beijing – Xian – Ulaanbaatar – Moscow – Copenhagen – Oslo – Maine. For much of this trip, we will be accompanied by friends. Doug and Chris Matson will be our hosts in Hawaii and fellow explorers in Mongolia and Norway. Our Danish friends and experts on all things rugged and Norwegian, Lise Hansen and Vincent Hvenegaard, took on the task of designing a fjord experience sufficiently rigorous to challenge nine aging adventurers. That final leg of the trip will include the Knapps, Matsons, Hansen/Hvenegaards, Jed and Robin Downs and Pam Curtis. And one final note, while I am writing this paragraph in the future tense, I am doing it on a Korean Airlines flight from Oahu to Beijing. The journey has begun.

Preparations:

We are notorious for taking a rather casual approach to trip planning and preparations. We decide where to go, buy the tickets, allocate one hour for packing the day of departure, and then get on the plane. For more exotic trips, where there is a tour company involved, we try to read the instructions and background material. The one big exception to this habit is when the trip involves challenging physical exertion. For some reason, this drives us to prepare. Spending eight days on horseback fell into that category.

John comes from the side of the family that likes horses. I come from the side that doesn’t. I concede that they are strong and beautiful; regal even. They are also dumb (though there are those who dispute that), unpredictable, prone to trip and enjoy scraping their riders off against immovable objects like walls, trees and boulders. Determined to present a conqueror’s confidence on horseback, John started taking riding lessons eighteen months ago at Centre Pointe stables in Delano, Minnesota. Once or twice a week, every week we were in town, he honed his horse-sense and practiced walking, trotting, cantering and controlling his steed. The lessons paid off. John is relaxed and looking forward to his time in the saddle. He has also shed about fifteen pounds so as not to overburden the petit Mongolian ponies. John is trim, in shape and ready to ride.

My preparations have been, I hope, adequate. My goals were to be able to stay on the horse and not destroy my hips in bone jarring trots. With persistent urging from John, I commenced riding lessons in March. My lessons paid off too. I can post respectably and have demonstrated to one horse at least that I am the boss. I am no longer spooked by a stumble and am capable of steering away from large, hard objects. I think I am adequately trim, adequately fit and willing to try.

Judy and Amy, our riding instructors, however, predict that I will spend considerable time in the support truck.

We will see.