Packing!

"I've done this a million times! It'll be easy!"
How naive of me was that? I have been loading my 70L backpack on and off since the beginning of this week and I still have a little while to go yet! Preparing myself for the inferno of the tropics, the icy storms that characterise the Patagonian vastness, and the deadly wildlife in the Jungles has been no doddle. It would have been a breeze for Mary Poppins, who stores lamps and cups in an almost nanometric bag!
Brain wave! Could I pack some really old clothes to layer myself up in for the chilling loneliness surrounding Mount Fitzroy and the blizzards high up in the Andes? Then when we get back into the blisteing heat zone, I could just chuck 'em or give them to people. What a shame I didn't think of this a couple of months ago BEFORE donating my clothes to the charity shop! Still my old clothes should be in a better place now so I'm not too worried.
The goal is to get my backpack under 8kg as we'll be trekking for virtually 2 weeks with our homes on our backs. A little like a snail really, only they are slower than us (unless we become so exhausted by the end that we remain stationary in recovery! ... So I won't speak too soon).

Anyway let the fun continue and wish me luck! We set out on Sunday from London Heathrow so keep your eyes peeled for more posts!

More Antipodes

Remember last year we were looking at visiting exact antipodes? Well, this year has some pretty neat antipodean links:
Our epic journey from Jodhpur to Deshnok and Bikaner finds its exact antipode on Easter Island!
The memorable time we spent in and around Phnom Penh is the antipode of Lima!
I'm sure there will be some more to emerge as we journey around...

The Final Countdown!

Well, just over a week to go before we set off. It's great to have Alastair signed up following us, but where are the rest of you? Hurry and sign up, for in the next four months we'll be showing you some of the most awe-inspiring sights from the globe's most magnificent continent! 'But what about Asia?' we hear you cry... Well we've already explored Asia for the last two years running, and there are many fantastic lifetime memories, not to mention places we'd love to visit one more time. But on the subject of 'one more time' that's why we're now heading to Latin America: Jon's already experienced real life in Brazil, and Simon's keen to return to Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Cuba. It's a compelling continent, and one which is drawing us back.

You'll see many familiar themes emerging as we travel: food (you can tell so much about a nation by getting to grips with the tastes and textures of its cuisine); cities, towns and villages teeming with life and boasting wonderful architecture; profiles of the people we meet and share experiences and tales with; the many natural wonders. It's to these wonders we now turn, with a small pictorial account of just exactly what it is we're hoping to explore. Hopefully you'll agree that there are some amazing views in store for us!

As well as mountains, we'll be trying to find evidence of early civilisations from the Andes to the Caribbean...