Bolivia

Seems like spending two weeks per country has been our norm, and Bolivia was no exception. It is truly the Wild West of South America, a land of surreal landscapes, questionable infrastructure, and baby llama drama. Oh and the country is cheap, which is music to this backpacker’s ears. We hit up most of the main tourist spots–entering overland via Copacabana on Lake Titicaca, and exiting overland as well into San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. I think if I had some extra time (and in non rainy season), I would have tried to see Tupiza for the landscapes and Tarija for the wine, but neither is a regrettable miss at is point.

So here is our journey:

Peru

After spending nearly two weeks in Peru, I feel like I’ve seen only a tiny sliver of the country. I can now check Machu Picchu off the bucket list (albeit sans the Inca Trail), but I have yet to see Nazca lines, Amazon rainforest, and a slew of other sights that Peru offers.

After Colombia, Yus and I met in Lima. I flew in, and he arrived overland via Equador through Piura. His way was much cheaper, but took more time, but that is a constant trade off in South America. Below is a list of places we saw along with some hopefully helpful logistical information.

Torres del Paine “W”

Torres del Paine Park in Chile is popular for its “W” trek– the routes for hiking make a W shape. I actually see it more as boobs-shaped, so my description of what we did will entail both metaphors. Typically people do the trek in 4-5 days. There are options for free camping, paid camping, and refugios, which are more like cabins with amenities.

Preparing for Round the World

MGOT: Money Grows on Trees /mani grouz on triz/
Idiomatic expression
1. Self-explanatory
2. Synonym: quoting our friend dic “It’s just money. We can make more of it”

MGOT is one of our favorite expressions and one that aptly describes preparing to be a backpacker on a RTW trip. I am confident you can backpack for a while using only buses, no flying, or going to countries that don’t require vaccinations or malaria meds, but what a snooze fest that would be. Half the thrill is knowing that I might just might get some exotic elephant flu. So here are some preparation notes and lessons learned (some costly ones)