Two months backpacking through South America.   I had been dreaming about this trip for 20 years -- and I had been planning it …

It's January 18.  The date of my originally-planned return.  But mid-trip I decided to secretly change my return date, and move it u…

I am not sure how many of you readers would ever take a trip like this.  In length of time - 2 months.  In destination - South America.…

Wow, it's good - and wierd - to be home.  I still feel kind of out of it.  In a daze.  Trying to adjust.  Trying to believe that …

Well, this is it.  January 15 - my flight to California (via Miami) leaves at 8:00am. Salusiano surprised me by arriving early - at 5:30am, not…

I didn't do a whole lot today.  I slept in, for once, which felt really good - although I was still feeling the beers from last night.  I…

January 13.  Due to my revised itinerary (I changed flights mid-trip to return to California a bit early to allow for some recovery time), I lea…

After 2 months travelling through South America, I really haven't picked up many souvenirs.  Partly because I've wanted to travel light, and par…

Oooph, the late nights are catching up with me.  After going to bed last night close to 5am, getting up today at 9am - to eat, check out, and ca…

We slept in until a few minutes before 10am, and then raced downstairs to try out the Hotel Ajax complimentary breakfast buffet.  We were pretty…

This morning we woke up early so that we could pack and clean before meeting Angeles, the apartment manager, at 9:00am to check out.  I hav…

Today Adam and I took a cab down to the barrio known as La Boca.   This is one of the poorer neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, but famous for its…

I hope no one is grading me on the accuracy of my blog entries • especially those of this week.  You see, Adam and I have really enjoyed this …

Today again we did our own thing for a few hours in the morning, which meant Adam worked out of our living room and I hit Starbucks and the local int…

I am sure you will be delighted to hear - short, quick entry today.  We did not do a whole lot. I like to call this day "Back to Work" because …

  Today I tried to catch up on a bit of sleep, and slept in til noon.  When I awoke, Adam was already at the dining table working on …

Today I woke up, went to the living room and found a note left by Adam which read:  "3pm - going running; 5pm - meet back here to…

This morning we cleaned up, packed up, and went down to the lobby where we were supposed to meet Fabio, the property manager, to retrieve our $500 …

We did the usual routine yet again today. We slept in. Then went to our juice bar for Acerola and Acai juices. Then hung out on the beach -&n…

During the day, we took our normal beach and street walks, checking out the scene. By midday, the beach was already crowded, music was already play…

Yep, you guessed it.  Juice bars.  Internet.  Beach walks.  Street strolls. We also chatted about our preparation for the big Ne…

Juice bars. Internet. Beach walks. Street strolls. That was about the extent of our day.  At least until about 7pm, when we headed down…

Another early morning. The alarm (and wake up call) sounded at 5:30 am. I quickly took a shower, grabbed my bag, and walked the 10 minute walk to t…

Here is how it went down.  It all happened so fast, and was so slick, I never really knew what hit me.  A key reminder that you ALWAYS ha…

When the alarm when off at 6:30am, I was glad I called it an early night last night.  I should clarify, by the way, that when I say early, I mea…

As I mentioned, I changed my bus ticket out of here so that I could stay another day.  This place is very relaxing, I have a great deal on …

Feliz Navidad, everyone! Pretty uneventful day today, as I was wiped out from a big day yesterday. For my Christmas breakfast - or in this case ear…

This morning I spent a few hours at the internet cafe trying to catch up on photo uploads and blogging.  A churro con dulce de leche from a…

Today I hit the second disaster - or at least error - of my trip. (You may remember the first error was my mistaken booking of a bus all the way to B…

Today my bus ride continues.  Another movie.  Another meal.  More farmland as we rolled through La Pampa region.  By midday, we…

Once again, not a lot to write here.  I poked around town a bit and packed up my things at the hostel.  All the while, I was troubled …

I couldn´t do anything outdoors my second full day in Bariloche because it was pouring down rain and really windy. I had mixed feelings about this…

Well... not a lot to write here. I forgot to mention that last night, during my dinner search, I did drop by the Vikingos bar near my hostel for a d…

Today we were all set to leave El Bolson.  Me, Marieke, Dayenne, Florencia, Judith, and Diana (a new comer to our little posse as of this mornin…

Today I had planned on doing a lot of internet catchup.  But when I woke up, the sun was shining and the sky was blue.  I couldn´t stay in…

Despite the saggy mattress and the bathroom-like odor in our room, I slept ok at Hotel Belgrano. I woke up at 6:30am to make sure I had time to show…

Today begins my 2-day bus journey from El Chalten to Bariloche, via the town of Perito Moreno (not to be confused by glacier of the same name). …

In hindsight, I wish I had planned on two full days in El Chalten, not one.  There were enough trails and activities to keep someone busy for at…

Fearing a big "last night out" in El Calafate with Cynthia and/or the Stanford GSB guys, I had changed my bus trip to El Chalten today - fr…

Today I did the Big Ice tour, run by the company Hielo y Aventura.  The day began at 5:50am when I woke up sans alarm - probably subconsciousl…

I spent the morning relaxing and getting organized.  Visited the Aerolineas Argentinas office, where I spent an hour (and $300) changing and con…

After the late night last night of pool, poker, and pub, I slept in this morning until nearly 11am! Rustling around in my things, I discovered a cou…

Today I slept in until nearly 11am!  It felt good.  Especially because I didn´t go to bed til 2am, and because one of my bunkmates woke me…

I first woke up around 7:15 when roomie Cynthia woke up to go on her excusion to the Tierra del Fuego park.  It was raining outside and since it…

I woke up today still feeling miserable.  A sore throat, a cough, and mild nasal congestion.  Ugh.  I immediately downed more cough sy…

(This entry is titled "The Bottom" because it describes my trip to the bottom - literally - of South America, and it describes the bottom - figurativ…

Although I had a double room last night, I didn’t have a roommate so I was lucky enough to have another night free from noise.  Sort of. …

Although I didn't sleep for an obscene amount of time (only 8 hours instead of the desired 14 or so), it was sufficiently rewarding to fina…

Despite going to bed last night with a sore throat and high fever, today began at 2am - when me and 4 friends set out on a two hour hike in the darkn…

Another big day - hiking from Refugio Cuernos up the final valley to Refugio Chileno.  (Refugio Chileno was the launching pad for the final push…

This was it - the big stretch.  Going from Paine Grande, up the Valle Frances and back down again, and then over to Refugio Cuernos.  This …

I was lucky yesterday to see a few bits of the glacier fall off into the water.  But over the nightime, apparently, a WHOLE BUNCH of the glacier…

I had a final breakfast this morning with Matt, David, Shin, and Will - and listened to their story of their LONG hike yesterday.  Most of which…

I woke up at 6:00am this morning to do final packing for my 6 day backpacking trip through the Torres del Paine national park. I ate a quick breakfa…

Today was our last day aboard the ship Navimag.  Over an early morning coffee (to help wipe the previous night away), I sat out on the deck and …

Today was a big day. In the morning, we visited Puerto Eden to drop off supplies to this pueblito of less than 150 people.  Since we were ahead…

I will try to come back later tonight to do a more thorough update here.  Maybe even post some pictures.  (It's actually Nov 27 right now)&…

I didn´t want to gamble with the weather and pay hundreds of dollars for a tour or hike in the rain.  So I didn´t book anything yesterday for …

Today began at a very early 12:15am, as I waited outside the bus station in Chillan for my overnight "sleeper" bus.It was a few minutes late, but I h…

  After arriving in Puerto Varas, I scoped out the two recommended hostels - Compass del Sur and Casa Azul.  I did a walk by, and decided …

I heard my alarm this morning, thankfully.   I showered, packed up, enjoyed a final breakfast at Casa Chueca, and checked out.   …

Maybe the late night wine and chat with Nichole, Dorina, and Inga wasn´t such a good idea after all.   I was supposed to wake up at 645am to …

I woke early to begin my morning journey to Talca. I didn´t really bother with the meager breakfast this time, other than a quick yogurt.  I c…

I woke up this morning depressed. I was dehydrated and hungry, and I had no cash, or a means to get cash.  I dreaded the day ahead of&nbsp…

Today I left Panama and made what turned out to be a long journey to Santiago. The checkin line at the Panama airport was nuts.  Took me nearly…

On Sunday, Dayana took me on a traditional Sunday outing - a trip to the Albrook Mall.  We ate lunch at a food park, shopped for clothes (f…

I have spent the last 2 days in Panama City.  Having just spent two weeks here in August, it was nice to kick off my 2 month trip in some p…

Well, this is it.  I leave in just over 12 hours.  I'll do some final clean up / transition at work this morning.  Then this af…

  Ok it's 20 minutes before "T-minus 1 day" but I'll start this entry anyway.  I'm getting nervous about refining my inventory, completi…

Today I sent my "adios" email to everyone - highlighting my contact info, promoting my blog, and most importantly thanking everyone for helping …

So you may be asking - what does one pack for a two-month trip through Southern South America?  Well, as any experienced backpacker will tell yo…

I leave in 4 days. Two months travelling through South America - half the time I'll be completely alone. Am I really going?  Am I really read…