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How to Plan for South America

When I say that we are planning for South America, I'm not referring to packing bags, or packing light as if tackling South America is in itself an alpine ascent in a temperamental climate zone such that the best approach is probably light and fast. Rather, I'm referring to deciding on a random date within a logic-derived set of dates that will work for buying a plane ticket, which of course should be done sooner rather than after all of the planes change their policies regarding international flights to include shoe charges, seat cushion fees - not extra cushion - and a special addendum clause notification that says they will resort to parachuting you as soon as you enter your country of choice but iff - if and only if - they have verified your credit card information is valid so they can charge you for the parachute with back-up. Don't worry, your luggage will float to shore, or be mailed to the capital within the week!

That said, Alisa is just now landing closer and closer to purchasing her bird ticket for a whopping $320 or so. I say bird ticket for two reasons. First, birds fly and so a bird ticket allows you to ride the bird that flies. Second, it's a cheap cheap cheap - did you hear birds? - ticket. For international, at least. Discounting any luggage fees. Do we need luggage to live in Patagonia, Chile for at least a year?

I still haven't bought mine. Why, you might ask? Well, unlike Alisa I am not fluent in Spanish. Yet. I'm sure I will be. It's an easy transition between Chinese and Spanish, right? This lack of fluency in the native language is an important reason not to go with Alisa because she is travelling through Venezuela and Colombia before meeting me in Ecuador. Why? These two countries are more likely to accept those who blend in than blonde, English- or Chinese-speaking foreigners. Even strawberry-blonde, I know! The risks I fear to be too harsh to warrant the trip, especially considering that I wouldn't just be putting myself on the line, but Alisa as well. How do you hide an elephant in a room? I think you get it out! And tell him you'll meet him in Ecuador!

So then from Ecuador, where should we go. Let's fly to Patagonia and skip all of the amazing places that comprise Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and other-than-where-we-will-end-up-in-Patagonia, Chile! Come on, honey! Doesn't that sound like the trip you've been waiting for? We can take lots of awesome pictures with cool compositions and lighting just from the plane! NO! NO NO NOOOO! We must go through all of them and enjoy the shock of culture rippling through our no-longer weary, nay, even anxious veins of cuisine curiosity! We must skip and play games - even pranks - on the locals, barter for the heck of it, cut fresh fruits for a day for a local market businessman and so on and so forth. And finally end up in the most naturally beautiful place on earth where snow-topped peaks swallow up belching rock formations; where ice lakes win bets against green valleys re: the amount of sun they can handle; where boulders lay untouched in forests of small sounds; where we will wander and wander and wonder why we aren't wandering more!

I can't wait!

Maybe I should buy my ticket now.

Let's see, if she's buying hers for August 18, how long will it take this world-traveler to get through Venezuala and Colombia to Ecuador? August 28? I'll confer first. But I'm getting anxious! Come on, Patagonia!

-Your Landescaper, N8

News Update!

We have some exciting news that is not late-breaking news, but a combination of "oh yeah, I forgot about that" news and "this just in, and it's not late, it's just on time".

Here is the news that fits into the latter category: "JUST IN".

Regarding Joshua Tree, Keviniel "WHAM" Wilcox will be joining Alisa and me. Of course, first he will undergo severe, self-imposed training consisting of superhero tested workouts and unimaginable feats of strength and endurance. I, for one, am very excited to see Keviniel, who called me - thank goodness - thank you, goodness - after five years of non-communication. Hopefully this drought of words has passed us and Kevin will have a great 2-hour trip to see us for three days!

Here is the news that fits into the former category: "CRAP, I REMEMBERED".

Regarding our potential trip itinerary, I just remembered that I wanted to visit J-Ray (the entertainment, recording label name for Jennifer Ray) and YasiG or YasiG(likewise, for Yasamin) Ghanbari. They will be in Chicago, Illinois, if I am not mistaken. If I am mistaken, they could be anywhere else. Well, almost anywhere. I could probably rule out a few options taking into account access conditions, personalities, and past history. So, I will confirm a visit with these two fun-loving hooligans and then plot them on the map!


Also, soon to come, I want to expand our trip itinerary to include travel hours and miles and campsites and so on. We'll see how that goes considering I'm still working in the meantime and have lots of chores to do at home as well. Excuses, excuses! Better yet, almost an addendum to this note is that I want to include travel-time and plans through August and September, including trips in S. America! Stay tuned! I know I will!

-Your Landescaper, N8

Numero Uno

I have just created this blog and am now, as it feels almost prematurely so, entering the first post without Alisa, who is fast - or slow - asleep. I hope she will be excited about this concoction and happy with the creative choices I made. If you are reading this blog and there is only this post, then you are reading it before design changes occur. Stay tuned! Otherwise, I hope you like the design! Let us know what you think!

Let's get to the point, shall we? (Yes, we shall.) This blog is mostly for entering our goings-on during our trip - our second trip, rather - across the United States and onwards through much of South America, all the way down - following Ptolemy - to Chilean Patagonia. We don't yet know what town we will end up in there. Perhaps Bariloche? No, that's in Argentina! Who knows? Not I - not yet! Since I've spoken with Alisa regarding a blog dedicated just as this is, I can say that we are both excited to e) all of the above, where a through d includes the following: travel, visit those whom we love, climb, and share the non-visiting parts of our journey with all of you!

With that said, we still have much to do before we embark with our First Leg. Oops, first leg. Four instances: Sell stuff we're not bringing, pack what we are, semi-plan our map, have more fun with Seattle folks! I think I'll have another root beer float and then head to bed since we both have to work tomorrow. Wait, work? Only 'til July 1st. That's right. We've both told our superiors at work, and our coworkers that we'll be leaving on the 1st. In fact, we plan to be in Oregon by nightfall on said date! It's too late. I wish everyone a good night and a root beer float! Me first!

-Your Landescaper, N8