South American Adventure

We are preparing for our next adventure--a trip to South America. This is our first backpacking trip together as well as fulfilling a life long dream we have both held: Machu Picchu.

Thanks to my days with Amway, I had enough frequent flier miles to get us to South America, however not enough for an upgrade. Strangers, be gentle on my soul as I am used to first class international travel and enjoyed it very much. In planning our life together, we had both wanted to take a trip to Machu Picchu and thus intend to commemorate our second anniversary by taking such trip.

I'll be taking two weeks off of work and Chris has the summer off which has afforded us this wonderful opportunity. What better time for a trip to South America? Wrong. It is winter in South America and the temperatures are expected to be from 39-65. Neither one of us has ever backpacked in winter--and the weight of our packs reflect this additional need for clothing. As temperatures just started to hit the high 90's this week in Texas, I for one, am looking forward to being cold and needing a winter coat.

Although we have been planning this trip for 6 months (really working on details for around 3), there are still some large gaps. South America is a bit bigger than Eastern Europe or Central America. Travelling from one city to the next will require about 10-20 hours. Also, most international buses are not found online although from blogs, we know such buses exist.

The trip should be interesting as Chris likes to "free style" and I like to plan. Since it was my task to plan the trip this Spring, we have a lose itinerary. That's not true. Peru is planned and then from there, depending on transportation options and visas, we will travel to Argentina via Bolivia (plan A) or Chile (plan B).

Here is a basic "run down" of the itinerary for those of you who like to know:
Cusco, Peru (including Machu Picchu)
Lake Titicaca
Salt flats in Solar de Uyuni (Bolivia)
Salta, Argentina (train)
Mendoza (for some wine)
Santiago/Valpariso (Chile)
Buenos Aires


Stay tuned for the next installment of this adventure.