Getting Ready For My Next Big Adventure

Many of my friends and family are starting to ask me questions about my upcoming trip.  I have been looking forward to this journey for many months now, and it is quickly becoming real.  I am very excited!

So to answer any questions that I can… here is my upcoming plan… (which I take the liberty, traveling on my own and all, to change at any time!)

I am leaving on February 22, with my dear friend Liz, her Mother, Lynn, and some of their family friends (all women, of course).  We fly into Mexico City, Mexico.  We will spend a wonderful week together at an all inclusive spa, Hotel Spa Ixtapan, where we will be treated to daily massages, facials, yoga, hikes and all sorts of wonderful relaxation. I am beyond excited to treat myself for this first week away – I am rarely so self indulgent!  Even more than that, I am genuinely looking forward to spending time with Liz and Lynn.  Believe it or not, they are my ex-boyfriend’s family.  I am fortunate that I have been able to maintain such positive relationships with them.  Both of these women have been a great loving support to me in this past difficult year of my life.

When the spa week is over – I am heading south to begin my big South American adventure.  Initially I wanted to head as far south as possible and work my way north.  But in order to get where I wanted to begin, I had to lay-over in Santiago, the capital of Chile.  So I decided to spend a few days exploring the city as an introduction to the country.  From there I fly to Punta Arenas, Chile.  This is basically as far south as you can go on the South American Continent – and an important hub for those heading to Antarctica.  I am looking forward to chilling on a beach with some penguins.

From there I am bussing north to Puerto Natales, Chile, and then to El Calafate, Argentina – deep in the heart of Patagonia.  I am so excited to explore the beautiful mountains and glaciers!

On March 17th I fly from El Calafate to Buenos Aires, Argentina.  It will be a nice change of pace to explore the city life and culture of Buenos Aires after my outdoorsy adventures in the Patagonia Mountains.

That’s all I have set up so far.  I plan to explore the Middle Argentinian and Chilean region, hopefully I will make it to Mendoza, and Chile’s Atacama desert.  Who knows, maybe a trip to Easter Island?  On my to do list is Argentina’s Iguazu Falls before I head further north towards Peru to climb Machu Picchu, and then perhaps the beaches of Ecuador.

I have no return date set yet.  I’ll come home when I feel ready, and when I have hit my “must see” places.

Hopefully I’ve answered the major questions I’ve been getting.  I can’t answer them all.. because I don’t know all of the answers about where I will go, what I will see, and when I will return.  But I promise to travel as safely, and smartly as possible.  And I promise I will be back.