The rough plan
I meant to write this post earlier, but saying goodbye to Sydney occupied me more than anticipated (I've had enough farewell drinks to last me a good while). But so be it - I'm writing it on a flight from Santiago to Bogota, having just flown from Auckland after a cracking few days in New Zealand (the subject of the next blog post).
So where am I actually going? As you probably know by now, I'm going to two of the three continents on Earth I've yet to visit: South America and Antarctica (Africa will have to wait for now). Why South America? Well, my rough plan circa 2009 was to leave Ireland, explore some of Asia, live in Australia for a year or two to save some money, then go explore South America. That "year or two" down under turned into six, plus a couple extra in the Netherlands thrown in for good measure. So as I see it, it's about bloody time.
Why Antarctica? This is a funny one - in recent weeks, when I tell people about this part of my plan, the reactions are firmly in two camps: "Wow, awesome, cool, I'm jealous", or "Why would you want to go there?" My response to the latter is that from a young age I've loved maps (probably inherited from my father), and I'd always been fascinated by this big white blob at the bottom of the world atlas. What was this weird place? I wanted to find out. But Antarctica is a hard place to get to. The easiest (but still not that easy) way to get there is from the southern tip of the South American landmass. Seeing as I'll be somewhat in the area, I decided it was now or never.
So I'm starting where this flight ends, in Colombia. It's the country I'm the most fascinated by, and I like to travel in roughly one direction, which is why my trip commences at the northern tip of the northernmost country. Over the following three months, I'll work my way south. The uber-ambitious version of my plan includes: Colombia, Ecuador (and the Galapagos Islands), Peru (and the Inca Trail/Machu Pichu), Bolivia, Chile (and Easter Island), Argentina, Antarctica, then back to Amsterdam via Mexico to catch up with my great Mexican friend and his family. However, this plan was originally for five months travelling, and I've been restricted to three with work (I'm on a sabbatical). From talking to some folks that have done similar trips to mine (cheers Brian, Michelle and random hostel dorm person in New Zealand for the tips), traversing the whole length of the continent in three months, and seeing all the things I'd like to see, is just plain impossible.
The only "deadlines" that I have are the Inca Trail trek in Peru booked for December 10th, the Antarctica ship booked for January 10th, and my first day back to work in Amsterdam on February 1st. In between those days, I'm going to make it up as I go along, and follow the sound advice I've been given of seeing less things at a slower pace. I'll miss out on stuff I want to see, but I can always come back.
So where am I actually going? As you probably know by now, I'm going to two of the three continents on Earth I've yet to visit: South America and Antarctica (Africa will have to wait for now). Why South America? Well, my rough plan circa 2009 was to leave Ireland, explore some of Asia, live in Australia for a year or two to save some money, then go explore South America. That "year or two" down under turned into six, plus a couple extra in the Netherlands thrown in for good measure. So as I see it, it's about bloody time.
Why Antarctica? This is a funny one - in recent weeks, when I tell people about this part of my plan, the reactions are firmly in two camps: "Wow, awesome, cool, I'm jealous", or "Why would you want to go there?" My response to the latter is that from a young age I've loved maps (probably inherited from my father), and I'd always been fascinated by this big white blob at the bottom of the world atlas. What was this weird place? I wanted to find out. But Antarctica is a hard place to get to. The easiest (but still not that easy) way to get there is from the southern tip of the South American landmass. Seeing as I'll be somewhat in the area, I decided it was now or never.
So I'm starting where this flight ends, in Colombia. It's the country I'm the most fascinated by, and I like to travel in roughly one direction, which is why my trip commences at the northern tip of the northernmost country. Over the following three months, I'll work my way south. The uber-ambitious version of my plan includes: Colombia, Ecuador (and the Galapagos Islands), Peru (and the Inca Trail/Machu Pichu), Bolivia, Chile (and Easter Island), Argentina, Antarctica, then back to Amsterdam via Mexico to catch up with my great Mexican friend and his family. However, this plan was originally for five months travelling, and I've been restricted to three with work (I'm on a sabbatical). From talking to some folks that have done similar trips to mine (cheers Brian, Michelle and random hostel dorm person in New Zealand for the tips), traversing the whole length of the continent in three months, and seeing all the things I'd like to see, is just plain impossible.
 |
| Everywhere I'd like to go |
The only "deadlines" that I have are the Inca Trail trek in Peru booked for December 10th, the Antarctica ship booked for January 10th, and my first day back to work in Amsterdam on February 1st. In between those days, I'm going to make it up as I go along, and follow the sound advice I've been given of seeing less things at a slower pace. I'll miss out on stuff I want to see, but I can always come back.
 |
| My life for the next three months |
Comments
Post a Comment