The Plan

So before I get into the plan, I must admit that stuff might not go to plan. That's definitely one of the most challenging but exciting parts of traveling. I'd say that all three of us are "planners," which worked really well in terms of distributing the logistics work as we prepared for our travels. But, we will also need to challenge each other to adapt on the fly, go with the flow, and stay calm under pressure. Basically, any cliché you can think of...

But here's the actual plan we have so far:

1) Flights: BOS to JFK to SCL on Jan 4, landing the morning of Jan 5th in Santiago

2) Teach in Santiago Jan 7 - 25th, staying together in a nice Airbnb apartment near Universidad Mayor in the Providencia neighborhood of Santiago

Providencia Area of Santiago, Chile

3) Weekend Trips!

San Pedro de Atacama (Atacama Desert)

• Fly north from Santiago to Calama (2 hours)

• Bus to hostel

• Two very full days with an adventure tour company

• Visiting Salar de Atacama, Altiplanic Lagoon (flamingos!), Moon Valley, Geyser del Tatio

Flamingos at the Altiplanic Lagoon in the Atacama

• Star tour on Saturday night, some of the best dark sky in the world

Stars in the Atacama Desert Skies

• Will be exhausting (tours starting at 5am, ultimately return to Santiago past midnight on Sunday)

• Inspired by our friend Sarah who was there this past summer... Shout out to Sarah for great recommendations regarding places to go and "chilenismos" (Chilean slang)

Valparaíso

Beautiful town and beach

• Take a bus

• Stay the weekend

• Enjoy the town and beach

• Unlike the Atacama, this one isn't booked or planned yet. It'll be a much more relaxed/thrown-together excursion!

4) Argentina Adventure in Patagonia

• Flights: Santiago to Buenos Aires to El Calafate

• Bus to El Chalten (smaller hiking town)

• Two nights at hiker hostel in El Chalten

• Day hikes to the base of Mt. Fitz Roy and surrounding area from El Chalten

Mt. Fitz Roy in Los Glaciares National Park

• Bus back to El Calafate

• Hostel for two nights in El Calafate

• Perito Moreno glacier hiking/sightseeing/maybe kayaking?

Perito Moreno Glacier

• Day hike in Los Glaciares National Park

• Fly back from El Calafate to Buenos Aires to Santiago overnight to JFK then to BOS

We should be pretty darn tired by this point. By the time that we must return to school in Boston, I can only hope that we feel that we've maximized our month together in South America!