4 months are not enough for South America. I only visited part of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru (2nd time), Ecuador (2nd time), Columbia. After maybe a month, I got into the busy yet simple rhythm of traveling, always going somewhere, no longer wanted to go home. I found this quote of Theroux succinct: Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.Favorites of this trip
- Peru is my favorite country: mountains are higher, ruins are grander. I will return!
- Towns: Banos in Ecuador. 2nd: Copacabana in Bolivia, Villa de Leyva in Columbia.
- Ruins: Kuelap near Chachapoya, Peru. Of course, nothing can beat Machu Picchu.
- Hiking: Huaraz area (Cordillera Blanca).
- Iguazu Falls, Perito Moreno glacier, Torres de Paine park, Paradise Bay in Antarctic Peninsular, Laguna Colorada, Valle de Cocora.
- Jungle tour out of Lagunas, Peru, is the most memorable, for both the good and the bad. I'd like to do another Amazon tour in dry season (June-October), maybe from Pucallpa, Peru or Rurrenabaque, Bolivia.
Resources:
- Guide books: Lonely Planet, Frommer's, Rough Guide.
- An e-reader is highly recommended to have, so you don't have to carry all the books. However, mine was stole 3 weeks into my trip. So I bought books twice, borrowed people's guide books, and downloaded library's country specific e-books on my iTouch, (Frommer's usually). However, battery wears out quickly. I found these three similar, in usefulness, often outdated. Still, it's absolutely essential to have at least one guide book. ** update: I shopped for another Kindle as soon as I was back in USA. I actually bought 3 Kindles: a newest Kindle (smallest and cheapest, but I don't like to type using the 5-way button), a Kindle Touch (my favorite), and a Kindle Keyboard 3G (my second choice).
- The best is Internet. One recommended site is: Lonely Planet's forum.
- Maps on Kindle is quite useless. Resolution is too low. I recommend map apps on iTouch or download on your laptop.
- Hostel front desk. Tourism office.
Packing
Had to pack for 0°C-35°C. What I brought that're recommendable:
- Eye mask + ear plug (important)
- 1 big backpack, 1 small backpack (sprayed by thieves and I threw it away).
- 1 thin sleeping bag. Mostly used on overnight buses or sleep in the airport.
- 1 small cashmere sweater, 1 thin fleece with hood, 1 thin 800-fill down coat, 1 fleece hat, 1 pair of ski gloves and ski-jacket to throw away
- 1 pair of long pants, 1 long sleeve shirt (both insect-shield)
- 2 pairs of shorter pants longer than knees (both quick-dry).
- 3 T-shirts (quick dry), 1 long sleeve undershirt.
- swimsuit, 1 big + 1 small towel (quick dry).
- rain pants + poncho.
- 1 pair of waterproof hiking shoes, 1 pair of sandals (threw that because it didn't fit properly for long walks, and bought a pair of water shoes).
- 1 head lamp (lost it, had to buy another one), steripen (used to disinfect tap water).
- unmatched socks and unwanted underwear (to be threw away). At the end of the trip, I was left with only 2 pairs of socks and 3 pairs of underpants.
- laptop, camera, Kindle (stolen in Chile), a GSM phone (not used)
- ITouch with offline maps, PDFs of guide books, blogger app (used constantly to keep notes), translation app.
- 1 8GB USB flash drive, 2 8GB SD card, 2 batteries for camera, a mic+headphone to call on my laptop, spare cables and ear buds.
- sun hat, sun block, insect repellent, sunglasses.
- Washing line, 3 clips, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, floss, toilet paper, wetwipes.
Money
- I lost track of how much I spent. Antarctic is the most expensive. $5000 a week. Argentina, Chile are expensive (same as in USA). In Columbia, things are generally the same price as in USA (except for tropical fruits), and its coastal area is more expensive. Bolivia is the cheapest, next is Ecuador (thanks to its own petroleum production).
- ATMs charge a hefty fee ($4-5) in Chile and Argentina. Other countries depending on which bank the ATM belongs to. US$ is the easiest currency and sometimes the only foreign currency you can exchange. Bolivia and Peru only take new US notes.
- Traveling alone is more expensive but flexible. I couldn't share taxi or tour costs with others.
- My largest expense is transportation, due to the large distance I covered. Public transportation is extensive.
Language
- Spanish only. Harder to understand the accents in Argentina and the Carribean coast of Columbia.
Food
- I love all the fruits in Peru and Ecuador markets.
Health
- Where I was, no medication is required.
- I took Acetazolamide for Bolivia and Huaraz, prevention only. It's supposed to increase oxygen in the blood. Need to take plenty of water when taking the pill. 24 hours before ascent. 3 pills a day.
- I also took Doxycycline for malaria before heading to the jungles, prevention only. It upsets stomach, and increases sun burn. Need to take plenty of water.
- As a woman, hormone pills to avoid period.
- Antibiotics for diarrhea when needed, multivitamin (finished in the middle of my trip).
- A 12oz bottle of contact lens solution lasted me for the entire trip. I didn't use contacts if no clean water can be found, like the whole week going to the Amazon region.
- I had Hepatitis A and B vaccination 12 years ago. So, had a Hep A booster before my trip.
- Last year, I had vaccination for Yellow Fever and Typhoid.
Power Plug
- European plug: Argentina, (Brazil?), Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Bolivia.
- US plug: Columbia, Ecuador. I carried a universal power plug which works in most countries (not South Africa).
