Thoughts About an Itinerary

Trip planning... I am trying not to plan. Officially, I don't have an itinerary, but it's hard to keep my Type A urges and my desires to run far and fast completely under wraps.  It seems strange to have four months completely open.  It feels like both too much time and too little. I've never traveled for so long alone, which makes me a little nervous, yet there is so much I want to see.

Thinking about this trip has been different.  In the past, I've traveled to experience the culture of a place and a people.  I've always thought that a beach or a mountain looks pretty much the same anywhere.  But for some reason, this time, I am drawn in a different direction.  I want to feel small.  Not in the same way that I do every day at work, where I am constantly made to feel small by the enormity of other people's suffering, poverty, struggles, and illness. This time, I want to feel small from the grandeur of beautiful spaces. Mountains, skies, water, trees, sand, cliffs, rocks. I want to be brought to tears from beauty, not suffering.

So below are some initial thoughts on an itinerary:

• Argentina

Flying into Buenos Aires, Argentina; I have a hostel booked for the first 3 nights, and then nothing particular planned after that.  My mother's last words to me were, "Be careful of the tango men!"  Hmmm... maybe the tango men need to be careful of me ;)

• Uruguay

Heading to Montevideo, Colonia, some beaches, some gaucho culture.  I'm usually not a big beachgoer, but it will be nice to unwind a little.

• Argentina

Back to Buenos Aires to meet up with my friend Kris for a couple of weeks, then West to the Lakes District. Ruta de los Siete Lagos, San Martin de los Andes, Parque Nacional de Lanin, Parque Nacional de los Arrayanes (they're supposed to have some amazing cinnamon colored trees), Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi, Bariloche, trekking, mountains and lakes, El Bolson;

North to Mendoza (wine country); Parque Provincial Ischigualasto; Cordoba

North to Salta, Quebrada de Cafayate (Cafayate Gorge), Quebrada de Humahuaca, then over the border to...

• Bolivia

Cross the Argentina-Bolivia border to Uyuni.  Trek to see the Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni Salt Flats), which I've heard are amazingly beautiful and unlike anything else on this planet, Laguna Colorada, Laguna Verde. I remember really liking Bolivia when I was last there because of the strong indigenous culture and the natural scenery, so maybe I'll hang out in Bolivia longer. Then either head to Potosi and/or Sucre in Bolivia or straight to Chile. 

• Chile

Base myself in San Pedro de Atacama in the Atacama Desert for trips to the Valle de la Luna and El Tatio Geysers. And if I'm in the mood for some sand burn, maybe I'll give sand boarding on the dunes a try?

• Argentina

Cross the Chile-Argentina border back to Salta, then to Iguazu Falls.

• Brazil

Enter Brazil at the Falls, and then make my way up the coast North to Salvador.  Depending on time, maybe West or further north, backtracking to Rio de Janeiro for my flight home. Somehow the Brazil leg of my trip seems so far away that it's hard to think very concretely about it. I could also skip Chile and enter Brazil through the Pantanal, the world's largest freshwater wetlands, then head to Iguazu Falls.

Alternatively, I could fall in love with a place and just park myself there for awhile...