Back in Business

After two months of traveling and exploring it´s time for some reflection and documentation.  I have been writing in my journal every few days or so, but I haven´t had access to a computer for enough time to update the blog. Here is the trip so far…

Background details

Clothes: 2 hiking t-shirts, 2 cotton (v neck) t-shirts, 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 polar fleece shirt, 2 button down hiking shirts, 2 hiking pants, a pair of long johns, pair of jeans, pair of puma pants, 1 pair of shorts, bathing suit, 4 hiking socks, 1 reg ankle socks, hiking boots, sneakers, sandals, camping towel, warm jacket and gloves.

Hiking Gear: sleeping bag, leatherman, 2 nalgenes, water purification tablets, sunscreen, 2 bandannas

Electronics: Canon Digital Rebel Xti, wristwatch

Entertainment: Life of Pi, a notebook, a surf mag, Fodor´s guide to South America

I fit it all in two bags; a big backpacker´s rucksack and a small day pack.

I have used and worn everything, but I wish I could swap some of my hiking apparel for some of my ¨normal¨street clothes. Yes, I have worn Northface to the discos. If I had the chance to repack I wouldn´t change anything, but there are a few items I wish I had now – a guitar, a wetsuit, a netbook and my ipod.

Game plan: The original plan was to get an apartment in Santiago, Chile. Why? It´s safe, affordable, close to the mountains, close to the sea and has a decent reputation. Tickets straight to Santiago were expensive and I had heard good things about Machu Picchu so Peru was then added to the agenda. The plan then became to spend a week in Lima, fly to Cusco, do the Salkantay 5 day trek to Machu Picchu, then cross into the north of Chile and continue down the coast by bus, stopping in coastal towns for a few days at a time upon landing in Santiago in mid October.

Now the plan is…