¡Hola Amigos!
We know that it´s been a while, and we would have liked to share the many stories and photos from our adventures with you sooner, but we´ve been having too good a time!
With the down time that we have had over the past couple of months, we have compiled this blog page complete with our best tales and pictures. A lot of what you see now has been created retrospectively, so may not be all that thorough or contain photos only, but we will do our best to give complete accounts of the places we visit from now on, South American internet connections permitting... And we apolog... full info
La SerenaWe adopt another friend, Scrappy (number 2)- the most loyal dog, she followed us around for 2 days. We don´t think she was well, and it broke our hearts.
There are so many stray dogs in South America- it´s really sad.
La SerenaIf you had the same camp swagger, they´d probably make a statue out of you as well!
Questions questions My boyfriend and I are planning to go to South America for a year, starting this December. It is very exciting to read and see the places we will go! Thanks. I am wondering about how much gear (bags, and shoes) I should bring, and if you guys are kicking yourselves for not bringing something what would that be? How many bags would you recommend taking? Oh, I'm so excited.
Hi! Hi Jessica,
Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you- we've been in Bolivia for the past 3 weeks and the internet isn't quite on the same level as the rest of Sourth America. That being said, Bolivia is an amazing country- such extremes in landscapes from the Salt flats of Uyuni, to the craziness of the highest capital city in the world, La Paz, to the steamy jungles around Rurrenebaque, to Lake Titicaca. We loved our 3 weeks there. Sorry, I digress... But truly, this is an amazing continent!
When it comes to packing, it is such a hard thing to know what to bring, especially with a time frame like yours. I almost halved what i originally wanted to pack, and now, nearly 3 months in, i have a whole lot of stuff i want to get rid of! I think i have pretty much rotated the same 3-4 t-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 pair of pants and assorted under garments. If you get here and you realize that there is something you have forgetten, trust me, you'll be able to buy it here, and probably for cheaper than at home (Chile was great for the warmer garments we didn't bring, and Bolivia's great for everything as far as price goes- Argentina's slightly more pricey, but still comparable or less than Oz).
When you're travelling for such a long period of time, you get sick to death of carrying excess kilos. I'm lugging aroung 20kg at the moment (clothes, books, miscellaneous) and Lauren's carting around 15kg. When walking from hostel to hostel or up ridiculous stairways in towns perched on mountains with few ascending streets, you'll get over it real quick! So it really is a case of less is more.
Here's what i'd advise (guys version mind you, tweak it a little for yourself):
Clothes-
3-4 shirts- including t-shirts and a long sleeved collared shirt. As i said, i've stuck to the same 3-4 so far, and if i need more i can pick them up for cheap;
1 singlet- summer time is reallllllly hot here, especially in the northern parts of the continent;
2 pair of shorts- one of these being board shorts (guys version of course...);
When it coms to long pants, I'd advise one pair of jeans that you can wear anywhere (because you can dress them down or up) and maybe a really light set of hiking pants, but if stretched, bring the jeans and pick up a pair of cotton "pantaloones" here for about $5 (all the travellers do, and they can double as sleeping pants when it gets a little cooler).
Under wear and socks- you'll really want 4-5 pairs of each, just in case you can't do a wash for a little while.
Beanie- although awesome ones are available in Bolivia and Peru for cheap, same goes for gloves and scarves- you'll need them at some point;
A good thermal jacket, or hoody (we purchased parkas in Chile when it started getting cold for about $20AUD each, and saved us carrying them through the warmer places we encountered first);
Sunglasses;
One pair of thongs;
One pair of walking/hiking shoes.
Seriously, there's going to be a lot of stuff you'll be interested in purchasing, some of the cloths here are pretty awesome and reallly cheap to, so the more space in your bag, the better! Also, a lot of what you wear when you carry your backpack will get pretty trashed, so don't bring your sunday bests as they'll get worn pretty quick.
Other stuff-
Any and all prescribed medication you need for the year- you can't be guaranteed you'll be able to get the same stuff here, or it could be really expensive, that being said, there are a number of dodgy pharmacists who could help you out in a pinch. Note- as a mostly Catholic sosciety, and quite conservative in many ways, despite their flesh baring image, tampons are difficult to find here, so if you need, stock up;
A good book and a good Spanish phrase book- nearly every hostel has a book exchange where you can trade when you've finished. Don't bring more than one each, as they weigh a bit in your pack;
An up to date guide book- we brought along the latest lonely planet (as of when we left) and it's great, but its 2 yars old and a little out of date. Check out what's newest just before you leave, maybe LP will have a new edition, but i've heard footprints 2008 guide of South America is pretty good;
Toilettries (you can buy any additionals here);
MP3 player and chargers;
A safe and secure money belt that you can hide under clothes for your cash and passports (100% neccessary);
A mobile on roaming for those text messages home;
Camera (of course);
Sleeping bag (nothing too tech, as most/nearly all hostels have sheets etc, but we've found them useful in a few places, even just as a blanket on over night bus rides;
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... that's all i can think of right now...
Truly though, light is best, and we are jealous of all the travelers we see with 10-12kg packs. Backpacks are definitely advised over any other form of luggage, and a main one and one day pack (to keep with you at all times with your valuables) is the way to go.
I hope this has been of some help to you, as we understand that packing can be such a daunting task, although it shouldn't be, as if you forget anything, you can get it here.
Best of luck and happy travels!!!
Cheers
Will and Lauren.
MUAH Love the blog and being able to see what you guys are up to.
The pics are fab and looking forward to updates as to how you guys are doing. Much love to you both and see you in Oz the next time I'm down :)
Kusses
Jessica
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Questions questions
My boyfriend and I are planning to go to South America for a year, starting this December. It is very exciting to read and see the places we will go! Thanks. I am wondering about how much gear (bags, and shoes) I should bring, and if you guys are kicking yourselves for not bringing something what would that be? How many bags would you recommend taking? Oh, I'm so excited.