I've got a little list

This time next week I will be boarding a plane on my own, for the very first time, and a plane to the other side of the world at that!!!


My mixed emotions regarding the trip are increasing in equal measure as I try to prepare for the fast-approaching adventure. I'm rereading my guidebooks and tour information, getting very excited about all the fun things I have planned whilst giving myself less and less time to pack up my room, eat all the food in my fridge and tie up a lot of loose ends with my various jobs, hence increasing my stress levels. My love of list making is not helping as I spend my time thinking of more and more things to add to the to-do list and therefore don't get anything already on it done!


But this blog has been on my agenda for a while now, as many of you have been asking for a thorough breakdown of my travel plans - as you well know I can't help but plan ahead, so here goes:


Here's my little list, of things never to be missed!

30th June depart Heathrow - 1st July arrive Rio de Janeiro

1st - 3rd July - explore Rio, staying at Discovery Hostel
                        - try Samba, capoeira, go up Sugar Loaf mountain, visit Christ the Redeemer, tour
                          Santa Teresa, Lapa, central Rio and maybe even a hang glide over it all

4th - 16th July - volunteering at Rupa Souja daycare centre in Rio's largest favela - Rocinha - 
                            with a weekend on Copacabana beach

17th - 22nd July - find my way to Ouro Preto for a trip down a gold mine and maybe see Sao Paulo

22nd July - 6th Aug - Overland camping trip through Southern Brazil with Dragoman
                                   - boat trips, paddle boarding and more water sports in Paraty
                                   - epic journeys in this machine

                                   - 3-day Southern Pantanal wetland safari
                                   - Bonito for adrenaline-fueled caving, kayaking, abseiling down waterfalls etc
                                   - View the mighty Iguacu falls from both sides, maybe below, maybe above

6th - 8th August - a mad dash across the continent from Iguacu, Brazil to San Pedro de Atacama,       
                             Chile with a quick stop in Salta, Argentina

8th - 10th August - San Pedro - star gazing trip, geysers, lunar landscapes of the driest desert on earth

10th - 12th August - Bolivian salt flats 4x4 trip - more crazy landscapes and cold nights

13th - 19th August - up through Bolivia possibly visiting Sucre, Potosi, La Paz (world's highest
                                 capital city) and Lake Titicaca (I thought this was a made-up name for comic
                                 effect in a GCSE drama play)

20th - 23rd August - Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru with Bamba
                                 - 3 days of hard core hiking, camping and then seeing sunrise over Machu
                                    Picchu

24th August - 1st Sept - the rest of Peru
                                     - Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Nazca lines, Ballestas Islands, Huacachina, Lima

2nd Sept - 14th Sept - Ecuador
                                 - Devil's nose train ride from Riobamba, Volcan Cotopaxi, the Quilatoa loop
                                   (which should really be in a sci-fi movie, lets be honest), Banos hot springs, a
                                   trip to the Amazon, Quito, the equator, Mindo cloud forest, Otovalo market

15th Sept - 28th Sept - Colombia - definitely squeezing all this in somehow
                                   - Salento (coffee region), Medellin (arty-farty not druggy), Cartagena and Santa
                                     Marta on the Caribbean coast, Parque Tayrona (where the jungle meets the
                                     ocean), pretty villages like Barichara and finally Bogota

28th Sept depart Bogota - 29th Sept arrive Heathrow

(The closest I can find to my route if you ignore the

 orange bit and Buenos Aires)

 

As you can tell this itinerary has been 4 years in the making (and I've been kind and glossed over many of the finer details, if you can believe it) but apart from the activities in bold, which I hope are fixed seen as I've already paid for them, the rest is more of a wish-list than a set-in-stone schedule. Who knows where time restraints, new friends, weather conditions and unforeseen circumstances may lead me.

But whatever happens at least I will have more fun getting through the places-to-visit list than the things-to-do list I'm currently struggling with!

On the road again!

I'm finally brushing the dust off my backpack to complete the route I had originally set out for my round-the-world trip in 2011/12, exploring the only continent (well, excluding Antarctica) I've never set foot on before - South America!

Since moving to London in 2012 this trip has been on the to-do list but after four years, of studying, trying to make a living out of dance and unsuccessfully trying to persuade friends to travel with me, the time has come for me to bite the bullet, put my fears aside and go it alone. Whilst I have no spouse or permanent work contract tying me down, no house or children to pay for, I thought I better embrace the freedom that comes with 'not quite having it all figured out yet' and so I made up my mind that on my 26th birthday I would book my flights to Rio, as a rather expensive birthday present to myself. And that's exactly what I did!

In the first few weeks immediately after my flight purchase I engrossed myself in tour brochures, travel blogs, hostel websites and, of course, my already much read Rough Guide, to plan out my route through the continent and pick a few key activities to book in and get excited about. I plumped for a volunteering project in a Rio favela, a camping/overland group tour of Southern Brazil and the world renowned must-do of South America - the Inca Trail (more details of my plan to follow on my next post). After forking out for all of these trips upfront, as well as paying for travel insurance, vaccinations and essential bits of kit, my thoughts turned to that very wise piece of advice I heard before my last trip:

 “When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller

And so, in an effort to double the money that I'll be willing to spend whilst away, the past few months has been a constant battle for work - although as a freelancer this is always the case - as I pushed my weekly earnings goal to a whopping £300!!! I've taken on 5 new fitness classes per week, most of which I am teaching by the seat of my pants with the help of youtube tutorials. I've signed up to plenty of promo agencies, promoting Baileys, Vitality Health Insurance and, ironically, STA Travel, with whom I booked my trip. I've said yes to cover teach whenever I can and have certainly racked up the domestic travel miles: legging it round London from class to class and hopping all over the country on tour with Experiential Dance. My final push to earn lots of dollar will also include a trip to Milan to perform with my cheerleaders. I travel to earn money so I can travel some more!

Throughout all this, my trip has felt like a distant speck on the horizon but it is now fast approaching - I FLY 3 WEEKS TODAY!!! Preparations are cranking up a notch as I faff about with the finer details like whether or not to pack my epilator (have decided against I think), the ever-troublesome question of how many tops to take and teaching Dad how to Facetime and Whatsapp on his new iphone, could be interesting. I think I went a little overboard on the travel toiletries and gadgets shopping, as you can see below, so my second practice pack may be an even tighter squeeze than the first! But i will endeavour to remove a few items as a nod to the wise words above. Anyway, I best get on, classes to teach, travel money card to sort out and final rabies jab to offer my arm for.