1. Introduction

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“What’s the cheapest place to fly to in South America?”
“Probably Lima… no, Rio de Janeiro.”
“I’ll have two returns please.”

This farcical conversation consummated the beginning of our first trip together. Laura, just turned 18, and I, just turned 21, had managed to save enough money to leave Europe a retreating coastline. I rang Laura to let her know.

“I’ve just spend over a grand.”
“What?”
“I got the tickets!”
“You never did!?”

Laura didn’t believe it would ever happen. Loads of our friends had been saying things like “Yeah I’m totally going travelling this summer, man” for years. But something in me refused to let my dreams evaporate from reality like so much saliva from the jaws of a hippy. We were really going. I called my mum.

“You never did!?”

I’d paid over the odds by believing that a student travel agency would be the cheapest option, and many more youthful errors would linger behind us like a slug-trail; but we were taking a lunge into freedom that had been restrained for far too long. We set off for ten weeks with no plans other than traversing the entire South American continent, twice.

Below is a diary of our adventures written from notes several years later, along with my feelings and thoughts from then and in retrospect. In one month from now we depart for our biggest trip yet, so this recount can’t be put off any longer. I hope there’s something in there that speaks to you, or better yet, is useful.
See you in Tokyo.

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