Our year long adventure has been in the making for many years. Mike and I travelled as traditional backpackers, with a transition to hiring motorcycles in areas of Asia or vehicles in Tibet.
Whilst travelling in India in 2007, we met a couple from Switzerland who were travelling in their own vehicle with their 2 small children. Their reasons for having their own vehicle were that their children always had a place to call home, they could have some consistency in an ever-changing world of travel and it gave them flexibility. We were inspired by their attitude and travel experience. When Keira was born, travel, as we knew it changed. We continued to travel in the USA, introduced Keira to camping at 9 months, and travelled to Costa Rica when she was 17 months. Some of her first words were sloth and Iguana.
Mike and I had agreed to remain stationary during Keira’s first few years to give her some stability, however Mike and I were keen to resume travelling. We wanted to do extended travel but did not want to put Keira through long bus trips. Having our own vehicle was the next step. We decided on South America as Mike and I had travelled there 17 years prior, spending a total of 6 mths but only visiting Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
The trip has been ~2 years in planning. The rough plan is:
ship the vehicle to Buenos Aires
head south along the coast of Argentina to Tierra Del Fuego
head north zigzagging through Chile and Argentina
drive the Carretera Austral in Chile
Visit Northern Chile and Argentina
Head to Iguazu Falls
Paraguay
Bolivia (study Spanish for a month)
Peru
Colombia
Ship the vehicle into Panama
Panama
Costa Rica
Nicaragua
Belize
Guatemala
Mexico
Return to New Mexico in the USA
Our original plan was for a 12-month adventure but as we all know once on the road the best-laid plans can change. The above is just that an outline, part of the adventure is exploring the unknown and taking opportunities as they come.