travel around the world

1. Find your own private, desolate beach. Sulug isl., sabah, msia
2. Pick up some local trends. Peru
3. Take a cookery course. Peru
4. Lose your guidebook. Indo
5. Meet locals who share your interest. Sgp, Msia, China, SA
6. Climb a mountain. Hill, Rapa Nui
7. Raft the rapids
8. Check out a sporting event.
9. Try the street food.
10. Go on a safari. SA
11. Head underwater. Mabul
12. Try out a new sport. Diving
13. Wake up early. sometimes
14. Take a bath at a traditional hammam. Budapest
15. Go underground. Budapest + secret places of Zurich
16. Spend the night somewhere unusual. Gazebo, Bali
17. Spend a few days in the jungle.
18. Put your locks in the hands of a local barber. China, Msia
19. Learn a language.
20. Bargain at the market. everywhere
21. Ride a bicycle. Yangzhou
22. Sample the local firewater. Msia
23. Take a literary journey.
24. Participate in a festival.

I didn’t know how to get back to Lima from EU, it cost about 1000 euros and I had made the reservation again and again, just needed to pay it. but the more I talked it through with my boyfriend (and argued!) the more I hesitated on buying this return ticket.
I read an article about low cost RTW trips and finally decided that a RTW might be the best solution. I always said I was gonna do one when we were going to Peru for the last time, and that is now. I was tired of complaining I never did travel as much as I wanted and never took the time between jobs.
So I phoned Qantas in London, to get the cheaper UK price, and gave my draft itinerary to the very nice Chris Ashby – several times! – with 17 flight segments flying to 4 continents with the “package” Oneworld Explorer. The price quoted was 1944 GBP incl. taxes, the low season price.

And I bought it.

For the next 3-4 hours, I was really stressed, with stomach aches and filled with doubt but now I think this was a really good decision. I am flying to Lima next Wednesday (it’s soon, but I was going to fly then anyway, gotta get to work!).

The route?
London > Madrid > Lima > Buenos Aires > Easter Island > Santiago de Chile > Auckland > Christchurch > Melbourne > Sydney > Tokyo > Beijing > Bangkok > Singapore > London.

We could also got o Cuzco next winter, instead of jetting off to places where the flight ticket costs 6-7-800 US$...
After all, it is only a mere 120-150 US$ to fly to Cuzco and June-July is the dry season and we’d be able to see the Sacred Valley which we didn’t have time for last time…. And perhaps Choquequirao? Oh dear, here we go again lol.

Venezuela has the highest waterfalls in the world, Angel Falls, best seen during the rainy summer season, which just happens to be peruvian winter. Another good option for leaving cold grey Lima behind next winter!

• NOT Caracas, poor and polluted
• Los Roques, paradise island archipelago but no water sport, 150km north of the central coast Puerto La Cruz and Isla Margarita, quietest in June-Oct but caribbean weather year round.
• Angel Falls next to Canaima
• Coro , Península de Paraguaná, for its colonial architecture
• Merida

Direct flights with Taca Intl Airlines 735 US$ and LAN Peru 880 US$.

And this map of the south central american continent illustrates this point.
LAN Route Map

• Teotihuacán , the most impressive Aztec ruins , nr Mexico City (40km)
• Chichén Itzá, one of the new 7 wonders , in the Yucatan peninsula , nr Cancun.

—> Flights Lima-Cancun with one stop with Aeromexico via Mexico City and Copa Companía Panamena via Panama see route map , cost 1120 US$ with Aeromexico and 1000 US$ with Copa.

—> Flights Lima-Mexico City direct only with Aeromexico , see route map =760 US$.

• Nahuel Huapi Lake famous for its Nahuelito (Loch Ness’s cousin!)
• See whales
• See other local animals (guanacos?)
• Do some horseriding? (Estancia Huechahue )

• Some inspiration for tours and some maps on Ripio Turismo
• Something about the climate in chilean Patagonia ...
• Wikipedia – Of course
• Temperature and precipitation chart for Calafate (eastern argentinian Andes)
• Temperature and precipitation chart for east coast of Isl Chiloe (off the chilean coast, 42ºS)
• Temperature and precipitation chart for the Gulf of San Jorge (Argentinian mid-coast, about 45ºS, where it says Comodoro Rivadavia)

Patagonia consists of the chilean Andes mountains to the west and south, and plateaux and low plains to the east, in Argentina. It is mostly steppes except for the western Andes which receive lots of rain and cold and therefore contains the world’s largest ice fields and glaciers, but also more fauna and luxuriant flora.
Temperatures are noticeably lower on the west coast than the east due to oceanic currents.

I just love dreaming about travel….

I need to see clearly what I want to do in this continent before we move on… Right now we may be going to the Galapagos in February, which is awesome news.

Perhaps when my holidays kick in (1st of May 2008) we could take 2 weeks to visit Patagonia, as we probably won’t have the opp’ to go back there. Climatewise, May is like November in the northern hemisphere… Perhaps 10 days in Patagonia and a long w-e in Buenos Aires. Couple it with a visit of Iguazu falls (that’s just 2 days…)??? Then it’d have to be:

DAY 1: Lima-Patagonia (Punta Arena?)
DAY 2-10: Patagonia
DAY 11: Patagonia-BA
DAY 12: BA-Iguazu
DAY 13: Iguazu
DAY 14: Iguazu-BA
DAY 15: BA-Lima (ok slightly over the time-budget…)

Then in June, we ought to go back to Cuzco for Inti Raymi. Hmmm not sure I’m so fussed about being around for such a major event, must be really crowded. Scratch that then.

I really wanna see these Easter Islands, so we could do that for 5 days and throw in 2 days of the w-e to visit a winery near Santiago de Chile, coz we missed that last time we where there. But March is an ideal season to do that. Can’t go to Patagonia AND Easter Island AND Iguazu AND Buenos Aires AND Santiago all at the same time. I do see that April/May is alright for Easter Islands too though.

-Mmmmh could it be that the trip would be 3 weeks rather than 2 and include all the above? Sounds mad? Sounds mad.

Sigh…

• Santiago de Chile to Isla Pascuas with LAN = US$690
• Quito to Galapagos Isl. with TAME = US$260
• Lima to Buenos Aires with LAN = $380
• Lima to Ushuaïa with LAN – Unfound (All Agotado)
• Santiago de Chile to Ushuaïa with LAN = $475 (eg: 20-27/3/2008)
  -> SCL to USH is really hard to find! Often connects in BA and Puerto Montt or Punta Arenas (10-12h journey!). Seems connections are better via LAN Argentina…
  BA EZE airport’s airlines
  All prices are rtn incl taxes but not airport taxes.

Nothing is going right at work, I’m bored, no responsibilities, can’t motivate myself to get involved and just feel generally low. Maybe it’s time to replan that RTW trip?

Of course, having nothing to do at work, I’ve been looking at possibilities. I’ll be in Europe for Christmas but could come back to the southamerican continent afterwards. For example do the Mexican workcamp 9- 28 January (150 dollars + 190 euros).
Or just fly to Rio de Janeiro for the carnival, not stay long and go to see the Iguazu falls via Sao Paulo then to Lima. But let’s face it I don’t really want to go to Rio for the carnival, I hate crowds.

I could maybe buy a cheap ticket for somewhere on the pacific and do the Oneworld circle tour, $4000. Could do a seamanship training in Vanuatu, some wwoofing in New Zealand, maybe even geotec contractign in Autralia. Volunteer in an orphanage or LaBou baking school for kids in Thailand, Malaysia or Vietnam and finish off by a teaching job in Japan.

Maybe…..