Um, hello. Feels a bit weird writing to an as yet undetermined audience (currently have the desire to go all 19th century author - 'Reader - I married him!' etc which am having to stifle) but hopefully one or two friends will read this. Or at the least Mummy will. Hi Mummy!
I looked for inspiration on how to get going with this in Mark Brinkley's blog - the hilariously named markstriponline. You see, it says Mark's trip, but if you read it really fast it sounds like Mark strip. Genius. Anyway, other than being depressed by a. the authenticity of his travels and b. the quality of his writing, he gave me the clever old idea of actually laying out where I'm going (roughly) in the intro.
So: Part 1. 6 weeks in South America, split roughly equally between Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. This is the unashamedly Gap Yah element of my travels. I intend to find the meaning of life whilst perched on top of Machu Picchu with an alpaca for company, watching the rising sun and marvelling in my own insignificance. Etc. Given that I'm trotting off alone, the added bonus of traipsing around South America on a well trodden path will (hopefully) be that I meet a varied and eclectic mix of people. That's the idea anyway. Eclectic more likely to be Tarquin from Stowe and Araminta from Marlborough.
In a bit more detail, I hope to take in the following:
Brazil - Rio: that big statue innit, the favelas, bit of hangliding, plenty of beach time, Ilha Grande etc. I will then wend my way down to the Iguazu falls cross over from there into Argentina
Argentina - Buenos Aires: as many of the bars and clubs kindly recommended by Jeremy Agnew as I can fit in, Recoleto graveyard, boat trip, and ideally some polo
Bolivia - salt flats in Uyuni, Lake Titicaca, La Paz
Peru - most of my time will be spent in Cusco acclimatising to the altitude, before taking on a 5 day trek up to Machu Picchu. It's less well trodden than the classic Inca trail but includes hot springs and stunning scenery. Please take a look at Jenny Aylwin's photo album entitled '5 days of pain' for further details.... (NB. she was wearing jesus sandals if you look closely. Not just a sartorial crime, also impractical for mountain treks it seems.) I hope to be sitting up at the top admiring the view on Christmas day, before wending my way back down to Cusco and then on to fly out of Lima back home.
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