Zero Hour Approaches

Its been a while since I've posted here, so I figured I should let you know. I've been busy trying to get myself ready for travelling. I've been making a list, and checking it twice, and I'm going to find out if you've be naughty or nice. Be nice and I'll bring presents!

Anyway, the big news is that I'm no longer going on my own. I had my flights booked ready to go on my own, but a friend is now meeting me in Brazil, on 19th May. Billy will be flying out to meet me in South America and will fly home from Santiago, when I leave there for Miami. Then we're both off to work for CSFB in July, so this is our last chance for some freedom before we start work. All in all, I'll only be travelling around on my own for 10 days - in Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls on the Brazilian border and the Pantanal, which is a rainforest in Brazil.

Today is my big day for buying everything I need - rucksack, sleeping bag, fleece, first aid kit etc. The list is quite long, so I won't bore you with the details. Probably going to have to shell out another €300/400 today. But I suppose, most of the stuff is mine to keep afterwards.

Sin a bhfuil. I'll keep you posted on my frantic packing and shopping. I can't wait! 4 days, 20 hours and 20 minutes before I leave!

Am I Safe?

While the common belief is that South America is a social, political and economic warzone, the opposite is quite true in some cases. This was actually stated in the first chapter of the travel book I'm using, Footprints, South American Handbook, (which I might add is an excellent book and much better than Lonely Planet). Some people think that South America is a no-go-zone, but I've spoken with many people that say its amazing, and no more dangerous as any country.

Obviously as an Irish citizen, I'm going to give Columbia a skip, but the other countries that I'm visiting, get a "guarded" according to AON. They've released a map of the world highlighting the risk of terrorism faced by travellers visiting different countries. The map can be found here (5MB), with the related BBC article here.

I feel somewhat relaxed considering Ireland gets the same level as all the countries I'm visiting, except the USA, which gets a rating of "elevated", one step above guarded. Its a pretty useful map, but what confuses me is the legend. It shows icons for the different risks faced in each country. Nationalist terrorist groups have a symbol of a flag, which is to be expected. But why single interest groups get a symbol of a rabbit is beyond me! Weird! Any suggestions would be gratefully received, as I'm a little worried about travelling to Argentina, Chile and the USA for fear I'll be held at gunpoint by a rabbit!

I Have Liftoff!

I've titled this post as a tribute to the fact my first stop on "My Misguided Travels" is visiting my friend Ray who works in NASA. Yes, its true, I've eventually got around to booking my flights. I shelled out a cool €1,350 yesterday and bought my tickets. Considering the amount of miles I'm actually doing (22,000 miles or 35,200 km), its actually an excellent price. So on the off chance you care, here are my flight details should you chose to stalk me!

I'm flying out at the crack of dawn Wednesday 4th May from Cork to London Heathrow. I've a few hours to burn there before I get on a plane to Washington DC. I have a short lay-over there, before I get on another flight to Orlando. I'll stay in Melbourne, Florida for 4 days before I fly out of Orlando to Buenos Aires (through Miami) on Sunday evening. I'll arrive in Buenos Aires early on Monday morning, May 9th. From there I'm making my way to Brazil, Bolivia, back into Argentina and into Santiago, Chile. From there I'm flying back to Miami on 12th June arriving in at the ridiculuous hour of 5:17AM on June 13th. I'm staying in Miami for 3 days and will be hanging around with Ashley, and hopefully another friend Shannon until I leave for San Francisco on the evening of June 16th. I'm staying in San Fran for 10 days before I fly back to Cork via London Heathrow.

I'm also trying to book an internal flight within South America, but it ain't easy. I want to save myself an 17/18 hour bus journey from Buenos Aires to Foz de Iguazu, which is the town right next to the Iguazu Falls and fly there. There is a direct flight with TAM Airlines, a Brazilian airline, but due to a currency protection law or something, you have to have a Brazilian credit card. The bus costs US$20 and takes 17/18 hours, while the flight takes 3 hours and costs about €90. I can book the flight with TAM's London ticket office, but its something like £150! I reckon I'll fly as there will be plenty of other long bus journeys elsewhere.

So far, with the flights I've booked, I'll be airborne for 2 full days! The plus side is that I'll rack up some savage airmiles! I'm heading back to the doctor on Friday for yet more vaccinations which is always fun! I think I need to take the finger out though, I still have to plan my trip a little more!

There's No Going Back

Today, I went to the doctor to get all the necessary vaccinations. I knew they would cost a couple hundred euros, but never expected them to cost €400. I had to get Hepatitis A and B, Tetanus, Rabies, Yellow Fever and Dyphteria. Its been a long time since I've got an injections, but unlike when I was younger, I didn't cry when I got jabbed in the ass!

Getting these injections kinda made me realise that I'm actually going travelling. I haven't booked any flights yet, although I have some held until Tuesday, so this was the first thing I've paid for relating to my travels.

The more I think about it, the more expensive it's getting. Before I even set foot in South America, is going to cost about €1,400 for flights, €400 for vaccinations, €150 for a new rucksack, €100 for a pair of trekking shoes. Not to mention all the other small things I need to get. Its at least €2,000 before I go anywhere.

But I think its totally worth it. When else am I going to get the chance to go travelling around for 2 months going from place to place at my leisure.

I decided to call my blog "My Misguided Travels" for no reason in particular. I have done some research, but I reckon I'm going to wing most of it when I get there. Depending on how I get on, the title may turn out to be very true. But hopefully, everything will work out fine and I wont get lost!