What I’m most excited about living in South America

Planning a trip around the world

The reason why I chose South America first is because there are so many things to see in the east that once I leave this part of the world I don’t plan on coming back (at least not to the United States).

I’ve been planning my trip for some time and currently have an overall draft of my trip around the world itinerary.  I love Latin culture which is very open and passionate.

Most Latin people are very welcoming and always are open for a good conversation in English or Spanish (or Spanglish in the states).  The culture isn’t the only thing that I’m excited about either.  I’ve planned to meet some exciting people and there are some tourist attractions that I haven’t been able to get off my mind.

I’ve lived abroad before when I moved overseas to the island of Sicily.  I found an incredible apartment that you see in my living in Sicily post and explored the island for over a year.

I was able to work on the internet and go to school in Siracusa.  Many people never consider travelling to Sicily because of all the major tourist destinations in the north.  Fortunately, the opportunity did present itself and I was able to visit every city on the island and not just the top things to do in Sicily.

I haven’t been to many places in South America other than Uruguay and Venezuela.  The trip to Uruguay was a trip mainly dedicated to meeting some family members.

I’ve already had the pleasure of living in South America as I was born in Venezuela, in a small town surrounding by the Andes  Mountains on all sides called Merida.

I want to see all the tourist attractions, both popular and hidden, in South America.  For every traveler I think there are certain places that intrigue them no matter how big or small they are.  I have been forever enamored with Easter Island and would love to spend some time to find out why I am so drawn to the island.

The mysterious island is one of the most isolated places on Earth and we still don’t know the exact reason why they carved the statues all over the island.

Another place I find extremely interesting is the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso Del Mar Resort in Chile.  People use sail boats in the pool! Enough said.  One of the last things that I really want to do is play with the Penguins.  This is by far one of the top things to do in Argentina for me.  There are places in Argentina that host penguin colonies that gather during migration patterns and reach 500,000 plus.  What my hidden agenda? I want to hold and take a picture like the Heisman trophy (it won’t harm them I promise).

And as discussed before I have met great people after entering the travel blog world that I am very excited to meet.  Keith from Traveling-Savage is planning a trip to Salta, Argentina, after much deliberation and plans to eat my food and use my shower.

I am much obliged since I did want to experience my first couch surfing hosting experience and because his blog posts really make you think from an abstract point of view (and his website layout is my favorite).

Although I won’t be able to meet Gareth from Tourist2townie his blog goes knee deep into Argentine culture and has provided a different view of when I was there (my first stop is Buenos Aires).  I would recommend anyone planning to incorporate themselves into a different culture to read his blog because it’s extremely entertaining and sometimes downright hysterical.  He now plans on going from Argentine back to American while he plans his next destination.

Eric and Karen from Trans Americas Journey have taken a road trip across North America, Central America, and South America.  They have been driving for over 5 years and 200,000 miles.  I plan on meeting up with them in Buenos Aires.  My only question is how many times did their car break down?

Since I will mostly be travelling alone I plan on using Laruen’s and Todd’s GlobeTrooper site to find travel partners on my excursions as I’m living in South America.

The site is growing extremely fast and you are able to create a trip and join people or join one of the many trips already created.  I met Lauren and Todd on a trip to Montreal where they gave Dave and Deb from ThePlanetD and myself a free hotel suite.

If you’re into adventure you should check out Dave & Deb’s site.  On a side note, Lauren and Todd make a mean cup of coffee.  These are the few travel bloggers that I have met already on my first trip to Canada.

Last but not least is Andi from My Beautiful Adventures.  I plan on getting together with her in Buenos Aires as well since she was gracious enough to offer me a VIP all you can eat 1^st class dinner in Argentina.  Who could pass that up right?  She has been to over 40 countries and is extremely helpful at trying to plan your own trip.

So there you have it, all of the reasons why I am excited about living in South America and starting my very own trip around the world.  Hope you have enjoyed my rants so far and look for many more rants to come! T minus