Here is the initial plan. Much of it is very vague at this point and will gradually get fleshed out.¹
“”Political South America” CIA World Factbook” by Central Intelligence Agency. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons
Starting in September 2015, I will travel down the west side of South America from Ecuador to Patagonia. I have a few sights and places in mind, but in general I will travel on a relaxed schedule. I hope to stay in one place for multiple weeks at least once. I will return home from Buenos Aires in January 2016.
Obligatory sights include:
- Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
- Machu Picchu, Peru
- Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
- Iguazú Falls, Argentina
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- (some part of) Patagonia, Chile
- Some part of the Amazon jungle
- the Pacific coast
- Mountains, volcanoes, dancing, and wildlife
I start by flying to Quito, Ecuador on September 11, 2015. I will study Spanish at a school in Quito for three weeks, and an additional week with a teacher from the school at a lodge in the Amazon jungle in Ecuador. During this time I will stay with a host family, all arranged through the school. The family provides lodging and two meals a day. The school includes 4 hours a day of one on one teaching and various activities. Starting out with almost no Spanish, this is a necessary first step for the trip.
“Languages of South America (en)” by Patrick87 – This file was derived from: Languages of South America.svg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Languages_of_South_America_(en).svg#/media/File:Languages_of_South_America_(en).svg
During my stay in Quito I will take day and weekend excursions to see more of Ecuador, and I will use some of my free time to plan the upcoming weeks in Ecuador and Peru.
I intend to travel by land, mostly by bus, for cost and philosophical reasons. However, I will consider taking a plane for one or two segments considering the great distances involved and the ambitious time-frame.
¹ Actually I am writing this over a week in, so it’s a little better than initial. The plan should make some sense of the notes in the travel log. The posting date is faked to keep the log in order.