The science of planning a large budget trip ...

When planning a long six week trip to a continent or country you've never been to it's a lot harder then planning a 10 day trip to Europe. For myself my South America trip will have taken over a year and a half of dreaming, scheming, and planning. I first announced my South America trip in the summer of 2006. It was a hard decision to make it official since I had just bought a house and I wasn't sure that finances and time could justify such a large trip. I guess my new philosophy is to go on a large six week trip every other year if not sooner. There's just so much out there that I want to see and experience.

The development of my south-a trip took all sorts of twists and turns in it's development. At first it was just going to be a three week trip to climb Aconcagua. Then my cousin wanted to join me and wanted to also do the Inca Trail while we were down there. I was also trying to use my frequent flier miles to get down there and back. As a result of that I had to fly back through Rio, which actually suited me just fine, but also added a few days onto the trip. Somehow when it was all said and done the trip ended up being six weeks. I booked my frequent flier tickets into Lima and out of Rio nearly a year go. Once you've got your tickets in hand there is really no backing down and it makes the trip feel so more real. Over the last couple months I'd buy a domestic ticket here and there. Which made me slowly figure out exactly what it was I was going to be doing each day and what really my priorities were while being down there. My cousin and her friends also backed out of going on the trip, which tweeked the schedule a little, but not a lot. Along the way the possibility of visiting Uruguay and Bolivia were also very real possibilities and I would have loved to have added more countries onto the list. However at risk of being stressed and running around like it was the Amazing Race I decided to simplify and cut a few things out and not go to those two countries. So the final list of countries I'll be visiting are Peru, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. The list of countries I'll be visiting isn't to shabby especially for someone that has never been to South America before.

Today I need to get to the bank and do a wire transfer for my deposit for the Inca Trail. So there are still a few things to be worked out. I've been already made fun of for packing my pack two months in advance. However it was quite necessary to determine whether or not I'll need to hire a mule service for Aconcagua. I don't have a scale at home, but I would guess my pack would weigh around 70lbs, which doesn't feel to bad because I bought the best pack they make. However, after much consideration it may be best to save my strength for the mountain, so I will hire a mule to carry part of my gear to base camp. I'll also be attempting to film a documentary while on my Aconcagua expedition, kind of like Survivor Man ... ha ha. It will be easier to do the filming with a lighter pack. I'm also now a part of the South American Explorers Club, which will benefit me through out the trip.

There's just endless stuff to be planned out to have a successful trip. It's not like I'm just doing one activity. It feels like endless activities, multiple permits, multiple visas, vaccinations, etc. I also need to make sure that all my photo and film gear is good to go and make any upgrades or adjustments necessary. I've had to buy so much random gear and upgrades to my kit for this trip. My housemate was reminding me last night that nearly every day when he gets home there is a new package on our porch. So it almost feels like Christmas all the time.

I've got this massive excel table with all the details of my trip. I just did a rough cost estimate of the trip and it looks like it will cost me about $3,300. It makes me all the more glad that I was able to save $1,500 with the frequent flier miles. This trip is definitely ending up costing more then I imagined, but I forget that I'm going to five different countries and doing amazingly exciting things like the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and climbing one of the seven summits.

What else am I doing to get ready? I've been trying to get to the gym more often. I'll run about three miles to get my heart rate up and then hit some machines. Mostly trying to strengthen my back and shoulders. My back and shoulder blade area has been in constant pain now for a month and I'm not sure why. So finally I bust down and got a massage yesterday, but I'm not sure just one will cut it. So I'm a little worried about that and want to get that all figured out before I go. I'll be up at 23,000 feet, which is quite the endeavour so I've just been doing so very much to get ready. Like doctor's appointments, dentist appointment, getting special insurance, etc.

So I'm sorry if I've bored my friends and family to death talking about my upcoming trip. I'm just so very excited for one of the largest trips of my life!