“What about South America?”
“What about it?”
“Reckon it would be like Southeast Asia?”
“Let’s find out.”
***
The plan to travel South America began in September 2017 when I met up with Jack in Thailand. We were on our way back from a two-day jungle trek in Chiang Mai and tossed around the idea of heading to South America. Needless to say, we craved to explore the world.
It’s crazy to think how such a big idea began as a tiny thought while we were backpacking through Southeast Asia.
Over the year, the idea of South America grew like a snowball. And before we knew it, we were buying flights to Bogota, Colombia. It was no longer an idea, but actually happening.
I wanted to complete my full year visa in Australia (I mean, I paid $350 for it!) so we booked flights from Brisbane on August 8… then the adventure begins (with a pitstop in LA to see my best friend Taylor)!
Toward the end of my time in Australia, people would ask me, “Where to next? Just going back to America?”
“Nah, I’m not going home,” I said. “I’m going to South America!”
Their faces looked a bit skeptical. But nothing could hide my excitement.
I’ll admit I’m nervous. I’m prepared to be more alert and more aware during this trip than any of the other ones I’ve been on. Jack and I will be backpacking through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Antarctica and Brazil.
Yup, I said Antarctica. If you can dream it, you can achieve it!
The goal for this trip is to travel through South America for four and a half months with a flight home for Christmas (!!!), which I’m super excited about!
I don’t really know what’s in store for us over the next few months. We have nothing planned… so we’ll take it day by day.
There are definitely a few excursions we want to go on, including a 4-day hike of the Inca Trail, Machu Pichu, a 3-day Amazon trek in Ecuador, Iguazu Falls, the Atacama Desert in Chile, Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia, paintball war in one of Pablo Escobar’s mansions in Colombia (it’s a thing!), bike tour through the vineyards in Mendoza, camp under the stars in Patagonia, party in Rio and adopt an Alpaca (not kidding!!!).
Ahhh, there’s just so much to do and see in this world! I can’t wait to explore South America! It’s a part of the world that I was never really interested in… and now, I can’t stop thinking about it.
I’ll be freelance writing, blogging and Instagramming along the way, so stay tuned!
Have you been to South America? Any suggestions for places to visit??
[…] two weeks into our big backpacking trip through South America and so far, Colombia has been a gem! We learned a lot about the country through walking tours, […]