Lives of Wander

Theresa July 1st, 2008

Your mission, dear readers, should you choose to accept, is to determine how we will spend our time in South America. (You didn’t think we were just going to let you visit our blog and not do any work, now did you?)

You will need to keep the following in mind:

1. We will have approximately 22 weeks. Though we don’t have exact dates yet, for now we will assume the dates to be October 19 through March 21.

2. In this time period, we would like to visit: Nicaragua, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.

3. We must start in Nicaragua.

4. We must end near a major airport with international flights.

5. We must be in Peru (on the Inca Trail to be exact) the last week of December/first week of January.

6. Things that we are intent on doing include: the Inca Trail (4 days + acclimation period in Cusco), Roraima in Venezuela (5 days), Spanish lessons in Granada, Nicaragua (1 week), the Galapagos (7-10 days), hike the Circuit or W in Torres del Paine in Patagonia, Chile (5-7 days), Amazon tour [unsettled on location--Peru, Bolivia, Brazil--you pick] (4-7 days).

7. We would like to minimize flights/optimize overland transport, while at the same time not burning days and days on travel.

So what do you got? Is there just absolutely no way for us to fit all of this in or is this entirely doable?

Post your best attempt at an itinerary in the comments. It can be as basic as Weeks 1-3 Nicaragua or as detailed as Day 1: Arrive in Managua, Transfer by bus to Granada. (We would seriously owe you if you did that!). Whoever ends up closest to our actual itinerary (as lived out by us, not planned by us) could win a prize. (Then again, they also could not… And then again, I could just mail you a postcard and call that the prize…)

Now that Jeff and I have given notice to our landlady that we’re moving out in two months (!!!!), this is our next big project, and let me tell you, it’s not as easy as it should be. There’s always “what about this” or “well if we went this way, then we could…” And yes, yes, we hear you about not over planning, leaving room for spontaneity, etc. We will, we will. We just want to have some kind of rough itinerary planned out. Maybe we’ll get going and toss it out the bus window. Or maybe we’ll stick to it like peanut butter on jelly (ewww…have I ever mentioned that I have never eaten that very weird food combo…). Only time will tell. For now, give us your best shot.

Come on, you just know you want to tell us where to go.

• Planning , South America
• Comments(14)

Jeff June 1st, 2008

We are now back from vacation.  Life starts again tomorrow.  We enjoyed our vacation to the fullest.  No thinking, no doing, no working, just relaxing on the beach.

Having grown up in Hawaii, I have quite high standards when it comes to beaches.  Smooth sand, hot sun, warm, clear water good for bodyboarding and with lots of marine life to investigate.  Well, Litchfield Beach was 4 for 5.  The water could’ve been clearer =).  The sand softly massaged your feet, the sun slowly baked you (and in some cases fried you to a crisp … just ask Theresa), and the water was a refreshing relief.  We saw alligators (on our river kayak trip), sting rays in the surf, washed up jellyfish, ospreys carrying off their catch, pelicans soaring by, scores of shells littering the beaches.  We had a great time playing in the surf, getting crushed riding the waves into shore.  There’s just nothing quite like a great beach.

So I’m really, really looking forward to the plethora of beaches we’ll happen across as we travel.  I’ve already noticed myself seeking them out in our borrowed guidebooks, in Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru (to say nothing of the legendary Brazilian, Thai and Vietnamese beaches whose country’s guidebooks we have yet to look at).  I know that we won’t be able to take the time to relax at them all, but man, there’s no better place to recharge after a bustling city or a weeklong trek.  So here’s to hoping we find the time to settle in a few times at a cozy beach cabana and relax a day or two away.

• Inspiration , South America
• Comments(4)

Jeff May 22nd, 2008

Well you guys did an awesome job on the Straw Poll (and please, continue to add in your estimates/experiences, we’ll keep a running tally).  Since I’ve been analyzing data nonstop for the past few weeks, I ran some statistics on what you’re responses, looking at our “collective wisdom.”  The theory goes that all of our collective knowledge should produce the most accurate results.  We’ll see how that works out.  Here’s what you all collectively said:

Total responses: 12

Median budget: $41000, $34250-50000 (25-75%)

Mean budget: $41171, $34835-47507 (95% confidence interval)

So there you go, a nice normal distribution tells us it will costs $41000 give or take $7000 for us (or two of you) to travel the world for a year.

————–

Now, that said, Theresa and I get our own say =).  We are going to detail for you in as much detail as possible what we expect to spend, but we are going to do it in three parts.  One for each continent.  This will provide us with nice benchmarks by which to keep tabs on how we are doing with our budget and all of you with a continent by continent breakdown (since that’s where the greatest variance in costs are).  We’ll update the finances to see how well we actually did at the end of each continent.  So hopefully this will work out.

I’m going to start today with South America.  We will be spending approximately 5 months in South America (with a brief stop in Nicaragua).  There are two kinds of costs that go into any trip like this one, the first being your mundane, every day existance costs, mainly food, lodging and transportation between places.  The second is all the entertainment and adventure we want to do … which is the real reason to do a trip like this.  So that’s obviously going to be a substantial chunk of change.  So that’s the gist of how I’m going to sum our planned expenses up.

Every Day Costs:

In our research, we’ve come to the conclusion that private two person rooms at budget hotels/hostels are going to cost us around $30-40 a night.  With the nose dive the dollar has been taking these days, we’re going to assume closer to the latter.  Now obviously, we have no direct experience with this, but that’s what we’re going to budget.  As far as food goes, nice restaurants tend to average ~$5 each for a meal.  We also plan on eating some street food and cooking on our own relatively regularly.  Using that as a vague basis on which to make estimates, we’ll budget $20 a day for food.  This hopefully will be a little on the high end, and will help a little with the “sticker shock” from how little our dollars will buy anymore =).  Travel by bus is relatively inexpensive, but by plane is relatively expensive, and neither will be an every day occurance.  Plus, we’ll try to keep our plane travel expenses controlled with frequent flier mile trips (there’s still a lot of work to do on that part of the trip).  We do plan on using buses or trains for much of our travel, which seem to be quite cheap.  I’d say budgeting $10 a day will cover us for the variety of transportation needs we are going to have.  This leaves us at a conservative $70 a day between the two of us.  You multiply that by the ~150 days we will be there and we’re looking to spend around $10000 on regular expenses.

Activities:

First of all, we’ll want to do plenty of things like go to museums, go into national parks, rent bikes, things of that nature.  I’d say if we budget $10 a day we should cover an activity or two a day for ourselves, and I’m sure we won’t want to do a whole activity or two a day after a very short while.  At least not activities beyond lay on the beach or walk around town.  A number of the specific activities we want to do in South America are going to be relatively expensive.  This is because they are pretty darn cool and lots of other people with plenty of money want to do them too.  This isn’t a be and and end all list, but here are most of the specific things we will want to do that we have to specifically hire guides/pay for services:

Galapagos Islands - $1500 per person

Trek to Roraima - $200 per person

Machu Picchu - $400-500 per person

Nicaraguan language school - not more than our food and lodging budget

Amazon Jungle Trip - not clear as our approach is not settled (be sure to vote for your favorite), but likely not more than $200 more than food and lodging.

So when you combine all of this up, we’re looking at around $10000 for both of us to get around, keep ourselves fed and have beds to sleep in.  This assumes any flights we take use frequent flier miles or do not gouge our expenses too greatly as they can get expensive in a hurry.  It will cost us another $5000-6000 to do all of the things we want to do in South America, leaving us at a total of around $16000.  So there you go, our budget for two people for five months in South America is $16000.  We’ll evaluate how we did after that leg of the trip.  Next up, Southeast Asia.

• Money , South America
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Theresa May 11th, 2008

High atop our list of must-see sites in South America is Machu Picchu, “the lost city of the Incas.” This architectural and cultural wonder evokes awe from even the most jaded travelers. The remains of this lost city are remarkably well preserved. This isn’t one of those sites where you’re supposed to look at a tiny pile of stones and conjure up an image of grandeur. No, sirree. This is more like wandering into an abandoned (but ancient) town, where you expect a local to pop his head out of the window at any moment. Additionally, the location of Machu Picchu is stunning, tucked away in a valley high in the Andes Mountains, snow-capped peaks providing a photo-perfect background. If you go to Peru and don’t visit Machu Picchu, well, you’re just plain silly.

As for visiting this UNESCO World Heritage site, there are two options. One, you can take the train. Two, you can hike. We’ve already decided that we’ll hike. Machu Picchu seems like the kind of place that needs to be earned. But the decision-making doesn’t end there. Whereas once nearly every person who hiked to Machu Picchu took the “Inca Trail” (a bit of a generalized name, since there are literally dozens if not hundreds of “inca trails” throughout South America), now there are multiple routes one can take to reach the famed city. And that’s where we need your help: Which route should we take—the famed Inca Trail or one of the “new” alternatives? Here’s a little bit of info to help you with your decision.

The classic Inca Trail: This 45-km hike typically lasts four days and starts on the Urubamba River at kilometer marker 82. (The actual trailhead is 82 km away at the village of Ollantaytambo, but no one starts from there.) The trail climbs through three major passes, the highest at 4,215 meters named Dead Woman’s Pass. It passes through jungle and cloudforest, and it also passes Inca ruins. Parts of the trail are thought to be the original stone path created by the Incas. The trail ends at the “Sun Gate” entrance to Machu Picchu, with most groups arriving there around sunrise. The trail is one-way and trekkers return to Cusco via train.

In the past decades the popularity of the trail surged so much that it was pretty much being loved to death. As a result, Peru established rules in the past year to regulate the trail. A maximum of 500 people (including guides and porters) are allowed to begin the trail each day. (But think, that’s still 2,000 people on the trail on any given day!) You are no longer allowed to trek independently but must either go with a group or hire a registered guide. You also are not longer able to simply show up in Cusco and be out on the trail in a day or two. All hikers must be registered with the authorities a month in advance, so you must book in advance. In high season, spots are booked months, if not a full year, in advance. Additionally, specific areas have been designated for camping, and the trail is closed for the entire month of February for clean-up. At this point, the cost of this hike with a reputable agency is about $400-$500 (depending on the state of the dollar…eek).

Alternatives to the Inca Trail: There are two primary alternative routes to the classic Inca Trail. The first, the Salkantay Mountain Trek, lasts five days and is a bit more difficult than the Inca Trail. It leads around Mount Salkantay, which means “Savage Mountain” in the local quechua language, passing through spectacular scenery and traditional Andean villages. The landscape varies from mountain peaks, rivers, and lakes to jungles with waterfalls. The trek actually ends near the Santa Teresa Valley, from where you take a train to Aguas Calientes, and then rise early the next morning to hike (or take a bus) to Machu PIcchu. Though this hike does not have the Incan ruins along it that the classic trail has, it has awesome vistas, natural beauty, and a chance to see some authentic Andean villages, and offers a more strenuous trek. It is also not as strictly regulated as the classic trail, and thus you can still arrange a hike upon arrival in Cusco rather than months in advance. Price-wise, this trek is about equivalent to the classic trail, although it is a day longer. In the November 2007 edition of National Geographic Adventure, the Salkantay Trek was named one of the “25 best new trips in the world.” It was the featured trip for South America in an article titled “Machu Picchu the Cool Way.”

The other alternative is the four-day Lares Trek, which tours the Sacred Valley at a difficulty approximate to that of the Inca Trail. This trail leads past gorgeous mountain lakes and through very traditional Andean villages where weaving is still a common practice and the herding of sheep and alpaca is a means of making a life. As with the Salkantay Trek, the actual trek ends short of Machu Picchu, and you end by taking a train to Aguas Calientes, where you overnight before ascending to the famed city. Also, as with the Salkantay Trek, the trail focuses more on beautiful scenery and village life than Incan ruins. My friends Joyce and Jack did this trip last October and thoroughly enjoyed it. This trail can be organized at the last minute, and it costs about $75 less than the classic trail.

Things to Consider:

1. All options end with you in Machu Picchu.

2. Hiking the classic Inca Trail requires advance planning, often of several months, especially in the high season. The other two options can be arranged upon arrival in Machu Picchu.

3. We will be visiting Machu Picchu in late December or early January, which is definitely not the high season. We have to keep in mind Christmas break travelers, but we have more flexibility and shouldn’t have to plan ridiculously far in advance regardless of what we want to do.

3. The classic Inca trail is a very popular route. Even with the limits it can sometimes feel crowded. (For instance, at the designated campsites at night.) I haven’t been able to track any data done yet, however, on how often the limit is reached in December/January or whether the trail is below capacity at that time. I’m not sure how many people like to hike in the rain. (Hey, I think it gives it atmosphere. And contrary to what you all may believe, I’m not made of sugar, so I won’t melt.)

4. The alternative trails, often referred to as the off-the-beaten-track alternative, are becoming more and more beaten track by the day. Backpackers who don’t like to plan in advance and budget travelers looking to bargain have made the numbers of these trails swell, and since there are no regulations they can get very crowded. I haven’t been able to dig up any concrete numbers, however.

5. If you book in advance, the price difference between the various hikes isn’t that great. You may, however, be able to bargain for a good rate with the alternative trails since you can wait until you’re in Cusco to book. There’s the possibility of getting in on an already organized trip at a bargain rate.

6. The “new” rules for the Inca Trail can seem annoying. Gone is that cherished backpacker freedom of showing up somewhere and making something happen. Gone is the ability to try the trail yourself or to pitch camp where you please. And prices have gone up as the trail has become more regulated and agencies have had to meet certain requirements. But, at the same time, these rules and regulations have helped protect the trail from too much wear and tear, it’s eliminated some of the more shady agencies, and it’s provided a better life for porters and guides. Isn’t that possibly worth the money and hassle? On the flip side, what is the status of the less regulated trails? Are the agencies being good stewards of the earth and responsible employers? Some are, but I’m sure some aren’t. A little more research will be required, but there are resources that make that easy enough.

7. Classics become classics for a reason, don’t they? On the other hand, aren’t classics sometimes overrated? And are all classics instant or do some become that way with age? Are the alternatives just classics-in-waiting?

What do you think? Cast your vote below and then leave your thoughts in the comments.

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

• Face-Off , Peru , South America , You Vote
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Theresa March 27th, 2008

Yesterday, during our near-daily phone conversation, I mentioned to Jeff that once he gets home, I want to really dive into the planning and begin a full-fledged attack of the to-do list. Among the things I specified was forming an itinerary that is a little more toothy than our current itinerary, which isn’t much more than general time frames for entire continents. Though I don’t want to get obsessive and plan where we’ll be every day of every month, I do want something a little more concrete. We’ll need some specifics in order to book the framework flights we want to have in place before we depart, and I want to be sure that we don’t miss out on something we really want to do because we didn’t do any planning.

As I ranted about this, falling into one of my “oh my gosh we have to do this right now or everything is just going to fall to pieces” moments (don’t say I don’t know my own faults…), Jeff stepped in to remind me that while we’d at least laid out all the places we might possibly want to go in Asia and Africa, we hadn’t done the same for South America. I’m not exactly sure why it got neglected—maybe because our original plan had us stopping in South America last rather than first, maybe because it feels a bit more familiar than Africa or Asia—but it’s high time we rectified that. So here they are, the many places in South America that capture our imaginations and appeal to our sense of adventure.

Venezuela: Yes, yes, we know. Chavez is a loon, and he has a special distaste for America. It’s not the political conditions we’d pick if this were a choose-your-own-adventure, but damn if we can’t control everything. We don’t, however, consider the situation dangerous. Of course, things can turn on a dime, so we do have a bit of wait and see approach to whether Venezuela makes the final cut, but there are so amazing places there we’d love to see. Mount Roraima, otherwise known as the Lost World, tops our list. We both became obsessed with this wonderland of relatively untouched and unexplored nature thanks to a Discovery Channel production called “The Real Lost World.” (Watch it, and I promise that you’ll add Roraima to your must-see list too.) The only true way to explore it is on a challenging trek lasting a minimum of five days, which we really hope to do. Once in Venezuela, we’d have to hit Angel Falls, since it’s only the world’s highest waterfall, and both the Los Roques Archipelago and Parque Nacional Mochima look like good places to recover after a long, hard trek.

Brazil: Famed for its wild Carnival, tiny bikinis, beautiful beaches, Amazon river and rainforest, and, of course, the girl from Ipanema, Brazil is a country of extremes. Obviously, we have to spend a little bit of time at the beach, though which one is a good question. In the March 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler, Stanley Stewart detailed his search for the perfect spot on what was deemed “the five thousand mile beach.” That’s a whole lot of sand! Fortunately, I deemed every spot he visited a good spot to unroll my beach towel, so I don’t think we can go too terribly wrong. Then, as I posted previously, Amazon and Brazil are synonymous in my mind, so I’m not sure we can leave without venturing into the jungle or down the river. Finally, we’d be remiss to ignore Rio de Janerio. (What’s that song about Rio? I always somehow manage to sing the ‘Rio de Janeiro’ part of it to the tune of ‘Meet the Flintstones.’ Odd, I know, but I can’t carry a tune to save my life.) The question with Rio is whether we try to arrange our schedule to be there for Carnival. Many claim it’s one of those things you just have to do if you have the opportunity, but I’ve often found those things to be the things I most want to avoid. What would you do?

Ecuador: Long before I knew about the Galapagos Islands, I knew about Ecuador, thanks to a priest we had for a brief period at my elementary school named Father Joe (last name unknown). He usually lived and worked in Ecuador, and because he was cool (and not old and dull like the other priests I knew), I decided Ecuador was cool. And I was right. You can’t argue that the Galapagos Islands are anything but awesome. Penguins, humongous tortoises, seals, all kinds of birds, and the world’s most famous boobies. If that’s not cool, I don’t know what is. Though dwarfed by the Galapagos, there are other cool things in Ecuador, including Quito and the supposedly awesome market in nearby Otavalo, and opportunities to explore the Amazon jungle.

Peru: One of the world’s most stunning architecture sites is located in Peru, and it was built thousands of years before the “starchitects” of today. (Thanks, Gregory, for that reference.) Machu Picchu sits atop our list for our time in Peru, and we definitely want to approach it by foot. Whether that is on the famous Inca Trail (which is now heavily regulated and must be reserved in advance) or on one of the alternate trails remains to be determined. Cuzco sounds like much more than just a jumping off point for this trip. That’s good news since we’ll probably need at least a few days there to acclimate to the altitude. After Machu Picchu, next on our list is every grade school student’s favorite lake—Lake Titicaca—where we’d like to visit its islands and perhaps do a homestay with a local family. Colca Canyon and the Amazon (again) round out the sites that have really stood out to us.

Bolivia: I once had a penpal in Bolivia. He wasn’t Bolivian, but was rather an American guy I played soccer with in the alternate years when his family wasn’t doing missionary work in this South American country. I don’t know if he ever told me all that much about the country itself, and the last time I saw him he was driving an ice cream truck. Good story, huh? Anyhow, if there’s one thing drawing me to Bolivia, it’s the Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat, a place where land and sky are often indistinguishable. It’s a crazy Salvador Dali landscape brought to life. If we’re feeling particularly ballsy, we may also want to try biking “the world’s most dangerous road,” although I have to say that goes against my very nature. And as with Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru, Bolivia offers opportunities to see the Amazon jungle, and as a bonus feature also visit the Pantanal. (If you never voted in our Amazon poll, you still can register your opinions about where and in what way we see this wonder.)

Chile: For being such a skinny country, Chile certainly has a lot to offer. Thanks to its stunning snow-capped peaks and glacier mountains, some compare Chile’s Lake District to Switzerland, and I have to say that I love Switzerland. With waterfalls, volcanoes, and hot springs to accompany the peaks and lakes, there’s really very little to complain about, especially if you throw in the highly-regarded wines and some fresh seafood. Chiloe Island offers some interesting kayaking opportunities, and though it’s highly unlikely we’d make it to Easter Island due to costs and time restraints, I can’t claim that I’m not fascinated. Finally, there’s Torres del Paine and Tierra del Fuego in Chile’s Patagonia, which just might be the area I’m most excited about. The beauty is phenomenal, the environment terribly fragile, and the opportunity for active pursuits abundant. Hiking either the circuit or the “w” route in Torres del Paine is sure to be a highlight. And I’d love to see all the wildlife I just watched in the National Geographic special “Eden at the End of the World.” Those elephant seals are crazy! And who doesn’t like penguins?

Argentina: I’m really not much of a city person, as witnessed by this list and our Africa and Asia lists, but I have to admit that I’m excited about visiting the cosmopolitan city of Buenos Aires. After a few months on the road, I think it will be an excellent spot for regrouping and recharging. I also plan to eat some serious steaks while I’m there. My mouth is watering thinking about it. On the way south from Buenos Aires, I’d like to visit the pampas, stay at an estancia, and meet a gaucho…maybe even ride a horse across the Argentinian plains, though I have no horseriding skills even having grown up in horse country. I think I have been on a horse once, and I certainly didn’t do any galloping. Rounding out the itinerary is, again, Patagonia, with Los Glaciares National Park the biggest attraction on the Argentinian side of the Andes.

So what do you think? I figure we have about 20 weeks in South America, which once upon a time seemed like a long time, but now seems like nothing. Given that, where would you go? And what sites would you move to the “maybe next time” list?

• Planning , South America
• Comments(6)

Theresa March 6th, 2008

All election, all the time. Does it seem that way to ya’ll too or is it because we live in the nation’s capital that we feel this way? It’s all about the vote. Who’s voting, how they’re voting, and why they’re voting that way. I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of tired of hearing about it. Obama or Clinton? Clinton or Obama?

So how about having a say on something else, something much more interesting, I dare say, than who will be the next leader of the free world? For instance, where we should go for our Amazon experience. Yes, yes, I think that’s it.

In the second face-off to appear on Lives of Wander, we ask you to cast your vote for the place/manner in which we experience the Amazon, one of South America’s most dominating landscapes. Yes, folks, this is a two-part vote, reminiscent of the days when the president and vice-president ran separately rather than on one ticket. Crazy, I know, but I trust that you bright folks can handle it. So review the options, vote in the poll below, and then leave a comment explaning why you voted the way you did.
(In the first face-off, 67% of you voted for Indonesia over the Philippines, and we’re heeding your advice. No Supreme Court overthrows here…at least not yet!)

Manner of Experiencing the Amazon

Option 1: Rolling On the River
Named a 2008 Dream Trip by Budget Travel magazine, there’s something rather old world about traveling by riverboat. It’s a bit Mark Twainian bargaining a ride with a captain, stringing up a hammock, and watching the world pass by from the deck of your boat. It seems to be a good way to get a slightly firmer grasp on what the Amazon is since you’ll cover a decent amount of ground. And is there a river more exotic than the Amazon? The downside is that being out in the middle of the river, you don’t get to experience life on the ground in the jungle. And from what I hear, some stretches of the Amazon are so broad that you can hardly even see the bank! Imagine that. Other negatives include the fact that the budget boats can be overcrowded and there’s not a lot to do but relax and take in the views. With a little more money, however, you can get aboard a boat designed more for tourists and that includes stops for jungle activities. But does that ruin the authenticity?

Option 2: Jungle Lodge Expeditions
Offering short two day/one night stays to week-or-longer adventures, jungle lodges are scattered throughout the Amazon rain forest. Some are luxury, far beyond the reaches of our dollars. Others are budget-friendly, while a fair chunk fall right square in the middle. Some of the most appealing options I’ve seen are eco-friendly, working hard to protect the rain forest, realizing that the true salvation of the forests may come from tourists. There’s money in tourism, just as there is in logging. And if there’s enough money in tourism, than perhaps there will be less destruction of the forest. A number of the lodges also work with native tribes. One of the difficulties is in sorting out which exploit and which assist. In general, these lodges offer an opportunity to go on nature hikes and short boat rides with guides that can point out the native flora and fauna. It’s a bit of a “best of” experience. A little of this, a little of that. An introductory course, if you will. Our friend Joyce had the opportunity to make a short visit to one and highly recommended the experience. Other lodges that I’ve come across include Explorers Inn, Inotawa Expeditions, New Huao Lodge.

Option 3: Hoofing it in the Amazon
If we want to get very intimate with the Amazon, then I’m not sure there’s a better way to do it than by traversing the jungle on foot. This isn’t a nature walk; it’s a jungle adventure, with guide, cook, and porter. It is very likely to include bushwacking and machetes. A number of trip organizers offer the option of hiring locals with advanced knowledge of the rainforest to take you on a multi-day hike through the jungle. So long as you vet your guide, and find someone who can speak your language and who seems reliable, it’s an awesome up-close-and-personal experience. Take the wrong guide, and that’s a disaster waiting to happen. With all the hiking I’m going to be doing for the guidebook I’m writing, this option might be tailor-made for me. But then again, sleeping on the jungle floor with all the Amazon’s creepy-crawlies, I’m not so sure. I mean a tarantula isn’t your everyday house spider and an anaconda is no garter snake. It’s not a walk in park, but then again, you don’t think National Geographic gets their awesome footage by venturing a few feet into the forest now do you? No, they get it by venturing down the path that’s not beaten until you’ve stamped it down yourself.

Option 4: Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Why take a big river boat when you can row, row, row your own dugout canoe? Okay, chances are you won’t be rowing; most of the dugout canoes have outboard motors, athough I hear they die frequently, so yeah, maybe we will row. Like the hiking option, this is a more intimate way to view the forest, but with the addition of time spent on the water. But let’s be clear here; you’re most likely not rowing on the Amazon river itself, but rather one of its tributaries. A tad bit safer that way, I guess. Again, you work with an outfitter to hire a guide and a cook and then you make your way into the jungle, by water rather than on trails. As with hiking, you spend your nights camped out in the jungle. Days are spent trolling down the river, stopping at villages, and going on hikes. It kind of sounds like the Grand Canyon trip Jeff and I went on, except without the white water and with a completely different type of scenery. But it’s the same kind of idea–travel by water, take a few hikes, camp on the shore.

The Places:
I guess saying you want to see the Amazon is a bit like saying you want to see the United States. Um, what part? It’s a big, big, big (maybe I should just say humongous) place. Almost every country in the northern half of South America gets a piece of it. Did you know that? Growing up I didn’t think “Amazon” without thinking “Brazil,” and I don’t think I’m alone in this. But as it turns out, many of the countries we’re planning to visit have gateways to the Amazon rainforest.

Option 1: Brazil
60% of the Amazon rainforest is located within Brazil. Additionally, the majority of the Amazon river runs through Brazil, so if you actually want to travel on this Grand Dame of rivers rather than one of its tributaries, this is the place to do it. For tourists, Manaus, the capital of Brazil’s Amazon region, is a popular jumping off spot. Many, many boats stop here if you’re looking to catch a ride down the river, and there are also jungle lodges in the area. If you take a look at a map of Brazil, however, you’ll see that Manaus is pretty doggone far away from well most everything else. So while there are flights and such, getting there and back isn’t as easy as it is in other places. But this is iconic Amazon.

Option 2: Peru
Though perhaps better known for its Incan ruins, Peru also claims a section of the Amazonian Rainforest. Manu Biosphere Reserve might be the best known section of it. And it’s not lacking for acclaim, having been named a Living Eden by PBS. This area claims to contain more species of plants and animals than any other place on earth. Fortunately for the earth, but unfortunately for tourists, visits to the Reserve are strictly controlled and aren’t exactly inexpensive. But there are other similar areas in the Peruvian rainforest that are more accessible to the average tourist. Puerto Maldonado, on the Madre de Dios river, is one of the more popular areas in Peru for Amazon exploration. In a nearby lake, 9 of the last remaining 1000 giant otters live, and the area is heavily populated with macaws. Iquitos, believed to the largest city unreachable by road, is another, especially as it is actually on the Amazon River and it’s possible to catch a riverboat from here to Manaus, Brazil.

Option 3: Ecuador
Ecuador is already on our list because of the natural wonders of the Galapagos. I hadn’t given its jungle much thought, and that might be because only 2% of the Amazon is located within Ecuador. It’s not that large of a country after all, and it only gets the far reaches of the Amazon. The good news about that is that most of the access points are within easy reach of Quito. Yasuni National Park, Limoncocha Biological Reserve, and Cuyabeno Reserve are popular Amazonian regions of Ecuador, offering river and jungle experiences. In Ecuador, many indigenous tribes still live in the rainforest and some trips incorporate learning about their lives. Unfortunately, however, it seems that some of these so-called protected areas are being legally exploited for oil.

Option 4: Bolivia
Now Bolivia wasn’t even in my wide-angle lens when I got to thinking about the Amazon rainforest, but when I look at map, I can’t figure out why I ignored it. It does, after all border both Peru and Brazil. Thankfully, we live in a very connected world and when I started trolling message boards for information on the Amazon, I kept finding references to a town called Rurrenabaque, which like Puerto Maldonado doesn’t have a lot going on itself but is a starting point for adventure, particular in the Madidi National Forest. Many travelers noted that this was one of the least expensive places from which you could explore the Amazon, and it’s hard to quarrel with that. A bonus feature of this area is that it not only provides access to the jungle but also to the pampas. So you can venture into the jungle, where you’re more likely to see interesting flora than fauna, then travel into the pampas for wildlife encounters with the likes of caimans, monkeys, anacondas, capybara, and river dolphins. It’s like two destinations in one.

Here’s Where You Vote
So I know this is just a tiny bit of information for you to decide on, but come on, go ahead and admit it, it’s more information than you have about most of the candidates you vote for. Don’t even try to lie to me and tell me you know anything about the people you vote to be secretary of agriculture, county judge, or school board member. So study the synopses, do your research (hey, I provided links), and cast your vote. Or just go with your gut. We won’t know the difference.

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• Bolivia , Brazil , Ecuador , Face-Off , Peru , South America , You Vote
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