So, the plan as it stands is to fly in to Rio de Janeiro where I will relax for a few days on the beach before meeting Damien (one of my oldest friends) a few days later. Its been about 2 years since I last saw him so there is going to be plenty of mayhem while we catch up. 

Together we plan to make our way from Rio to Sao Paolo, Iguazu Falls and then finally end our trip in Buenos Aires. Other than that we have no plan...just take it as it comes. Unfortunately Damien needs to head back home so we only have a few weeks for this trip, but it may be a blessing in disguise for my budget, and liver!

Once Damien returns to London I plan on continuing my journey down the west coast of Argentina all the way down to Ushuaia. From here I will make my way along the Andes (on the Argentina side) up until San Carlos de Bariloche. By this stage I am hoping to be fluent in Spanish and be ready for the speedy speaking of the Chileans. Here I will cross over to Chile and make my way up to Santiago where I will cross back into Argentina to go to Mendoza. From here I will again make my way along the Andes to Salta and Jujuy.

If all goes according to plan, which in all likely hood it wont, it will now be mid February. In March I am meeting another friend, Gillian, in Peru so, depending on the timing, I may go through Bolivia or cross back over into Chile and make my way up to Lima to meet her and save Bolivia for later (this is the more likely outcome as I expect many delays along the way).

At this stage I am leaving the Peru planning to Gillian and if I miss anything I will return to it after she leaves. If I wasn't able to make it into Bolivia I will now make my way there and do a little circle and return to Peru.

After Peru I will make my way up into Ecuador and Columbia. From Columbia I will make my up through Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Cuba and Mexico. This trip may be in reverse depending on when and where some other friends (Warren & Taryn) will be.

After Central America I will return to Columbia and continue my circle around the top of South America into Venezuela and then into Brazil. Once I hit Brazil I plan to make my way down the Amazon river to the coast and then hug the coast with a few little trips inland and ultimately making my way back to Rio. 

The plan is for this to take a year (and I hope the budget will last that long) but you never know what will happen or who you will meet while you are traveling so, as much of an organiser as I am, I am just going to see what happens and take each day and experience as it comes...