Begin at The Beginning

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It's a miserable January afternoon.

The slate gray sky is reflected a thousand times in the raindrops that crawl lazily across my window.
My head is aching from a night well spent - a night in the company of friends.

It all seems so far removed from the adventure that awaits me.
I ask myself again if I've taken leave of my senses. My hesitant response indicates that perhaps I have.

In less than one month I will be landing in Bogotá. Half a world away from the lush green expanses of Blackheath. Behind me will be my life, my friends, my flat, my family, my job. And ahead of me a journey that, despite my best research, I struggle to imagine.

The continent of South America - peppered with Post It planning - screams proudly to me from the wall of my room. This continent of beauty, of passion, of extremes, of danger. What does she hold for me?

We'll find out together.

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Photos

Miserable January Afternoon
The slate gray sky is reflected a thousand times in the raindrops that crawl lazily across my window...

Pounding
My head is aching from a night well spent...

South America
The continent of South America - peppered with Post It planning - screams proudly to me from the wall of my room.

Comments

[John]

So what's wrong with the East
When asked about South America my response is "I know nuffin". But I guess you do as all your post-its are on the West coast. Is there nothing interesting on the East coast - or in the middle? Last bit of interrogation - you have a post-it on some islands to the West - I thought the next land was New Zealand - what are they? I have decided my knowledge of geography is rubbish - I have to start traveling more :-) Good Luck Chris

[monket]

Nothing wrong with the East!
Hi John. My knowledge of South America is limited to what's on the map, if I'm honest. I was in Brazil (Rio) in October and that place is great (AND it's on the east coast, of course!) The main reason that I'm working down the west coast is that this is where the majority of the Spanish speaking countries lie (Brazil forms the majority of the east coast and Argentina the majority of what's left - although Uruguay is there too). I should point out that my post-its represent my current state of planning which is working from the north down, so most of the lower half is yet to be post-ited - which is why there's not much in Argentina or Uruguay yet. The middle of South America is the mighty Amazon - it's amazing just how much space it takes up! Later I'll be posting about the guidebooks and what-not that I've been using (including the map). But just since you're the first person to comment I'll give you a bit of a preview :-) The map that I use is the Globetrotter Travel Map of South America. Type "South America (Globetrotter Travel Map)" into Amazon (sorry, links don't appear to work from the comments page). You can't really go wrong for £3.47! Finally, the islands that you refer to are just a close-up of the Galapagos Islands - which sit off the coast of Ecuador in reality. You can just about make out a blue bordered box surrounding the islands indicating that it's an inset rather than a geographically accurate representation. Anyway, hope that's answered your questions. Let me know if not. And thanks for looking in - your comments are appreciated. Cheers Chris

[Zuri]

Galapagos Islands
Hope you get a chance to visit the Galapagos Islands. It is one of the most beautiful locations in South America. galapagos-islands-tourguide.com

[monket]

Great Link!
Hi Zuri! Thanks so much for the link. It's packed full of information that's sure to be of use to me! When my itinerary planning gets to Galapagos Islands, I'll be sure to make good use of it! Thanks again. Chris