Ticklist

While I was sitting in Santiago airport at the start of my trip, in an effort to make the 10 hours fly past I wrote a list of everything I wanted to do while I was in South America. I always meant to post it but - like the photos - never got a chance. So, as past of the post-match analysis, here's the list:

1. Maccu Pichu, Peru. Done. Even got a stamp in my passport to witness to the fact that I made it there. Classy.
2. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. Done. Did a 3-day jeep tour with a grumpy driver and a vehicle that had never heard of the concept of suspension, but the landscape was amazing. A really special part of the world.
3. Lake Titicaca. Done. Didn't make it to the floating reed islands, but did make it to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). Stayed on the shores of the lake too, and tried very hard not to always laugh at it's name. Teeheehee.
4. Nasca Lines, Peru. Done. Took a plane over them and still couldn't believe what I saw. When I could actually see them, that was.
5. Bike riding in the Atacama Desert. Well, ... I went through the Atacama Desert (officially the driest place in the world) in a bus. Do I get a halfpoint?
6. Valley of the Moon. Hmmmm - when I wrote the list originally, I meant the Valley of the Moon in Chile. Didn't make it there, but I did make it to the Valley of the Moon in Bolivia (it's now fashionable for every country to have one, doncha know?). So another half-point.
7. Volcan Osorno, Chile. Had intended to climb it. Settled for walking around it and being attacked by crazy flies instead. Quarter-point.
8. Chiloe, Southern Chile. Done. Spent a couple of days in this quite part of the world. I wanted to go there because I heard that the islanders were superstitious and quite distinct from the rest of Chile. They didn't disappoint: on the day before I left, they started an Official Search for the local Monster. It supposedly looked something like a puma. Apparently. And when a shoe went missing from the hostel, it was blamed on a magical being. You can see why I have a soft spot for the island.
9. Ruta 40, Patagonia. Didn't make it. At the time, I didn't realise that the famous Route 40 (a highway parallel to the Andes, between Esquel and El Calafate) wasn't paved so there weren't any bus services. The only way of doing it was a 4-day jeep tour ... that was US$400 and was booked out for a week. So it too is going on the Next Time List, by either buying or hiring a old 4WD and doing a bushtucker man impersonation.
10. El Calafate, Patagonia. Didn't make it - didn't have enough time, as it was either El Calafate or Ushuaia. It's going on the list for next trip.
11. Perito Moreno Glacier. Didn't make it to this either (not a suprise as it's near El Calafate). From the people I spoke to that did make it there, it was incredibly beautiful.
12. Tierra del Fuego. Done. Made it to Ushuaia (El Fin del Mundo) and got the stamp in my passport. Again, classy.
13. Go to a proper tango hall in Buenos Aires. Didn't make it. Was having too much fun and eating too much gelati. Did see tango performers on the street though.
14. Igazu Falls. Done. And I have 500 photos to prove it. Not sure how I could have taken so many photos of waterfalls? Ask me how!
15. Rio during Carnaval. Didn't make it. Was too tired (and poor) after getting into Buenos Aires to consider entering the mad rush of backpackers trying to get to Rio.
16. Go to a proper futbol (soccer) match. Didn't make it. Was going to one, but missed it. Heard that the fans were throwing parts of the stadium onto the pitch. It's on the list for next time. When I can effectively curse in Spanish.
17. Samba with the best of them in Rio. See #15.
18. Horseriding in Patagonia. Nup. Kept on putting it off and then missed my chance - that's what happens when I did't follow Rule #1 of my Travel Manifesto!
19. Hug a llama. Ah, I got so close!! Lisette has photographic evidence that I tried to approach a wildish llama and hug it - the damned fool ran away! At least I got Rrarr, a finger-puppet llama from Lisette *cough* Papa Noel as a Xmas present. Thanks, Lisette!
20. Hug a monkey-puzzle tree. Yeah, that's a bit of a weird one too, I'll admit. Monkey-puzzle trees, or arauncias, are unique to Sthn Chile and that part of the world (apparently) and, apart from other interesting botanical facts, they have such a cool name that I had to hug one. My camera was playing up that day, but there is photographic evidence in existence! And it's coming my way ... sometime soon. Amy? (And no, the tree didn't give anything back). But Done.
    

So final score is 9 and a quarter. Not too bad, when the fun quotient was quite high. So what's going on the list for Next Time? Well:

1. Brazil - I didn't make it there, and although I don't regret it because I had a great time in BA, I would like to go there and do the country properly. Well, at least a section of it.
2. Perito Moreno.
3. A futbol match.
4. Camping in Patagonia. The Canadians seem to have gotten on to a good idea with the whole camping melarkey.
5. Uruguay. Colonia and Punta del Este - mnnrr! Sounds beautiful, looks beautiful. Next time.
6. North/NorthWest/West Argentina. I didn't even make it to Mendoza, Cordoba or Salta! All reports are that they are stunning... so much wine too :)
7. Torres del Paine. Another beautiful part of the world for camping (if not expensive, by the sounds of it).
8. Go to one of the observatories in the Elqui Valley, Chile. I went through the area, but didn't realise that you either had to pay a lot or obtain permission from the observatories weeks in advance.
9. Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The biggest and (reputadley) the most beautiful city in Bolivia.
10. The jungle. I spoke to people who had been to Runabarqque (Bolivia) - although the mosquitoes sounded like they were from a bad movie, the concept sounds amazing. Francis (from Lima) was opening a hostel in the jungle in Peru ...
11. The Galapagos Islands. Would have loved to have made it there on this trip. Think I'll make it the last stop on the next one. A week cruising around sounds about right.
12. Easter Island. Strange heads in the middle of nowhere - as if you wouldn't?!
13. Bogota, Colombia. Colombia unfortunately seems to have picked up a bad name somewhere, but all reports that I've heard from people who have actually been there have been really positive, and the Colombians I've met have been so friendly.
14. Sailing in Southern Chile. Supposed to be amazing coastline.
15. Antarctica. I say nothing. Apart from jacuzzi.