Itinerary

Our itinerary for our South American adventure is dictated by two things. The first is our budget. We want to live frugally but not be stingy, so as to see and do as much as possible before our bank balance nears the dreaded zero and the long flight home beckons. But being too strict with a budget, restricting your spending too much, will inevitably restrict your enjoyment. So I anticipate splurges, days of luxury to balance out days camping for free in the unnamed wilderness. Days waking up and mourning that wasted 100 pesos, but at the time, spending it felt so good! I anticipate that, and relish it.

The second, more important thing to consider when planning a trip around an entire continent, is Mother Nature. In a wild land like South America, she will hinder you, and timing is everything. that is why we aim (roughly) to head to Patagonia during the Southern hemisphere's spring, and make our way North, into the Peruvian Andes, for the Andean dry season. I am certain our timing will not be perfect, but at least an awareness of the region's climate and weather is necesary if you don't want to be caught out.

We are lucky, that the third factor that often plays a part in backpacking, that of time, does not play a part in our planning. We have a one way ticket, so our time in South America is dictated by how long our money lasts, not by the date on an airline ticket, or a distant monday morning, where an office chair awaits at 9am for the return to work and the "real world." This to me, being unshackled by time, will be the ultimate freedom.

I have had experience of time constraints during a trip before. Last time I was travelling in South America, in 2005, I had meandered through Bolivia into North Eastern Argentina with my friend Will. As I had initially travelled out to Peru with an extortionate Gap Year company (more on those another time) I had booked the default flight, returning from Lima. this left me tied to a time and date that I had to be back in Peru. It constantly nagged at the back of my mind, getting stronger with every mile further from Lima. I felt like a child who knows he has strayed to far from home, and will be called back any minute. it essentially closed the open road that lay before me. So, Will, who had the foresight to arrange his flight independently, carried on to Buenos Aires. I, bound by time, made my way back to Peru, a lonely 3 day bus journey of retraced steps and dreams of "what if". I will not make that mistake again, hence the one way ticket. To be able to ignore time is a luxury rarely afforded in our world.

So, with these factors considered, our itinerary can be as loose and freewheeling as the climate of the area determines. An exciting prospect.