Thursday, October 29, 2009

Plane Tickets Purchased!

Yesterday afternoon, after much headache, I bought my plane tickets for Peru, Colombia, and Brazil! Sooo exciting! And nothing like putting a large sum of money on your credit card to make a trip seem very real. They are not-refundable, so it's official!

I spent a long time stressing about where I would be for Christmas and New Year, because let's face it, I may not be religious, but I can be quite sentimental when it comes to missing holidays with my family. I finally determined that I would head to La Paz, Bolivia to be with my roommate Andrea and her family (she's Bolivian/American) for Christmas and then jet up to Manizales, Colombia to be with my other roommate Diana in her hometown for the New Year.

Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way, as I couldn't find any flights from La Paz to Bogotá, without basically doubling the cost of the whole trip. So I resigned myself to flying out of Lima, and I will take things as they come. I have an Irish friend who I met here in Buenos Aires during my TOEFL course who is now living in Arequipa, Peru, and it's possible I'll go stay with him, or also possible I'll find a way to wander into Bolivia for the holiday and then back out. The exciting part is that I have no idea!!

Plane itinerary is:

December 5th-- Fly from Buenos Aires to Lima, Peru (3 weeks in Lima, Arequipa, Cuzco, Machu Micchu, and beyond)
December 29th-- Fly from Lima to Bogotá, Colombia (5 whole weeks exploring Colombia's beaches, cities, and jungle, with a likely road trip through parts with Diana and her boyfriend!)
February 4th-- Fly from Bogotá to Sao Paulo, Brazil (a week in Sao Paulo, then Rio de Janeiro for Carnival! And then who knows... I didn't buy a return ticket for a reason!)

It all feels a bit surreal, but is happening regardless, and I am acutely aware that this is probably the coolest thing I have ever done, and I need to make the most of it. Four months traveling in beautiful places. Four months with no job!! Yes, my excitement greatly outweighs my nervousness. I'll do my best to keep my blog updated with my location while I travel... I need to learn to make one of those google map "where is Erica now?" thingies....

1 comments:

heather said...

yahoo! you go, bestest girl of mine! we'll be glued to your blog and "where's erica" map thingie! xoxo