The Dilemma of a Veteran Traveler

Not complaining mind you, but the truth is…

While I’ve never been a “country counter”, what with 50+ foreign lands under my life-long gossamer travel belt, lately I’ve been seriously stymied as to where to head for my next adventure.  Granted, 50-odd countries still leaves more than a HUNDRED AND FORTY sovereign lands scattered across this Big Blue Dot that I’ve NOT yet stepped foot in.  But still…

Again, I don’t roam the Planet merely to check-off countries.  And after a lifetime of hopping from place to place (including both the usual suspects like Paris and Amsterdam, as well as the more obscure like Mongolia and that remote isle 2,000+ miles off the coast of Chile, Easter Island)…  Lately I’ve been (sadly) hard-put to come up with a destination that truly tickles my travel-toes and gets my wanderlust juices flowing.

And though I generally much prefer to visit wholly NEW lands that I’ve yet to explore, last year I (uncharacteristically) re-visted both Italy and Mexico (albeit, new corners of both) simply b/c I honestly couldn’t think of a new country that I was uber-excited to visit.

Yes, I’m mildly interested in a romp around Ireland/Scotland/Wales.  But the truth is – surprisingly, there’s quite a few countries that simply don’t interest me at all.  For example, Iceland (which lately seems like the new “darling” on the mass tourism block) holds little interest to me.  Just seems a bit “done” these days.  And India?  Sure – one of the few countries that I missed when I was living in Asia, but still…  Not sure I’m ready yet to return to that side of the globe again.

I’ve been wrestling with the dilemma of where to head next for months now.  Back in December I was all hyped-up (leastwise for all of 72 hrs.) to do Antarctica.  I mean, the 7th continent on most every traveler’s bucket-list, amIright?  An acquaintance I met at a NYE party had just returned, and I thought “Why not?”  No doubt pricey, but I can afford it (albeit quite a little chunk out of my savings).  And hey, (after all) “This ain’t no dress rehearsal”, yes?

Still, with a bit of research… it became abundantly clear – it would no doubt be mighty C.O.L.D. plus I’m really not all that keen on being imprisoned on a ship for days/weeks on end.  So… nope. Antarctica just isn’t my cuppa tea.

Next, I stumbled upon a (nearly *guaranteed*) opportunity to (not only) gaze at the Northern Lights with my own baby-blues, but to PHOTOGRAPH them – in SWEDEN!  Apparently there’s a tiny corner of the Planet (in Lapland) that’s perpetually clear of clouds and verily guarantees wondrous displays of those shimmering Aurora Borealis most every blessed night.  Furthermore, a handful of professional photog guides (along with supplied pro cameras and toasty warm snowsuits) are ever at the ready to ensure you capture plenty of Instagram-worthy shots of the colorful celestial polar dancers.

Then again… that too, would be waaay C.O.L.D.  Plus (as my good chum who once flew to Finland to see the pretty lights – and didn’t – advised me:  not fun to sit around in frigid temps all night waiting, waiting, waiting…)  So in the end, chasing the Northern Lights likewise gets a pass from me.

Then there was my most recent (likewise fleeting) travel-toe-tickle possibility:  a couple of NYC travel friends posted FB pics of their abbreviated skip along the legendary Camino de Santiago in Spain. Their 10 day trod along “The Last 100 km” of the (otherwise full 500+ mile pilgrimage) struck me as blessedly conservative, yet nonetheless praise-worthy.  And I thought:  “Hey, even these creaky knees could probably do that!”  But that too, proved but a momentary heart-flutter (leastwise until said knees and dodderin’ hips ached after but a mere 2 mile rt. walk to the grocery store!) ;(

A few other passing notions:  Madagascar?  Namibia?  The “Stans”?  Nope. nope. nope.

And then it (finally!) dawned on me…

Well DUH-UH!

I’ve been living for nearly a decade now on a wholly new CONTINENT – comprised of no less than TWELVE different sovereign countries, and i’ve only managed to explore but 3 of them:  Ecuador (incl. those luscious Galapagos Islands – TWICE), which is “home” of course, plus Chile (incl. Easter Island) and Peru.  Furthermore, for years now, I’ve (wrongly!) dismissed places like Brazil and Argentina out-of-hand, simply because I (didImention, wrongly?) figured they’d be pretty much like Ecuador (i.e. “Latin America”), so what would be the point?

But oh my – with even a tiny bit of travel research (among my most favorite things to do, aside from actually TRAVELING!) – I’m discovering *boatloads* of enticing new corners of both Argentina and Brazil (along with Uruguay and those luscious glaciers in the Patagonia region).  And indeed, (as I often do in my DIY research) Googling for doable itineraries for South America, I ran across THIS one (see map):  a 12 night tour that includes 3 nts. in Buenos Aires, 3 in Patagonia, 3 at Iguazu Falls, and 3 nts. in Rio.

And more to the point – THIS extraordinary corner of Patagonia (the Perito Moreno Glacier) that verily took my breath away!:

The price for the 12 night tour (~$3,200 sgl. including flights from Miami plus to and fro Argentina, Patagonia and Brazil) was actually fairly reasonable.  But of course I don’t need air from Miami, plus the itinerary seems a bit too frantic to fully explore these four magnificent destinations.  Nonetheless – a good starting point to design my own DIY itinerary.

Indeed, checking fares for air from Ecuador, along with whizzing from Buenos Aires to Patagonia, Iguazu and Rio proved less than $1k – leaving me with fully $2k at least for comfy sleeps plus any and all day tours I could possibly want.

So that’s the (current) “Plan”.  I’m thinking… about 3 weeks to replicate the tour itinerary (and then some) plus I’ll likely add a ferry from Buenos Aires to Montevideo, Uruguay to spend a few days seeing what that country is all about.  Maybe even a dash into Paraguay (from Puerto Iguazu) while I’m at it.  Likely either late November or early March ’24 (which should be pretty much spring/autumn temps in that part of the globe – as well as “shoulder season” so as to hopefully avoid the worst of the high-season masses.

In short – as always… do stay tuned!
 
 
P.S. And furthermore… I’ve already checked, and – of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, there’s one each in Buenos Aires (Don Julio’s) and Rio (Oteque) – so you just KNOW I won’t lack for delicious eats! 🙂