Tuesday 12 July 2011

September madness


I usually hate planning to this much detail when travelling, especially in developing countries. But the main trips are booked out so far in advance, there wasn't much choice with only a month off work. So after months of planning, the South American itinerary (should really do this for a living), currently looks like this:

London -> Miami -> Lima, Peru (1 night)
Lima -> Cusco
3 days Cusco
4 days Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
5 hours sleep (in a bed hopefully)...
Cusco -> Lima, Lima -> Quito, Ecuador
4 days Amazon rainforest: Quito -> Coca -> Yasuni (& back again)
1 night back in Quito/travel to Guayaquil -> Galapagos
8 days Galapagos islands -> Quito, then
6 days Latacunga -> Quilotoa -> Latacunga -> Riobamba -> Alausi -> Quito -> Otavelo for the big Saturday market to stock up on presents day before flying home and going in to work the day after.

I had to give up Colombia.
(and Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile this trip)

Domestic flights and accommodation haven't been booked yet. If anyone has any advice or recommendations from previous experience for any of the above, especially for surviving the Inca Trial and Amazon, bug repellent, sleep deprivation, physical exhaustion, fast recovery, would be muchísimo appreciated! 

I challenge any sane person to be envious right now. Days of just travelling, never camped before let alone at 2000-4000m, not that fit, don't like bugs, recently developed fear of flying, the idea of being out on the open sea for 8 days worries me slightly, even if it is on a yacht what with tsunami warnings earlier this year, not being a good swimmer, sharks...

Going to be a fun trip :)