It has been several months - more like 6 - since I traveled anywhere, so it was time to go again. Having traveled around the world many times - mostly in the Northern Hemisphere except for Australia in Sep 2009, it was time to fly South. Would it be in 2014 or 2015? Which continent would it be? December is the height of Summer in Southern Hemisphere - and therefore, peak travel season, unless it is also a rainy season as it is in Peru.
Plan A - Cruises to Antarctica are possible in Dec-Jan, or as late as Feb. Private cruises on smaller yachts (less than 200 passengers) like Lindblad/ National Geographic will charge you lots of money, and almost guarantee you landing on Antarctica if that's what you absolutely, positively want. Someone did that last year and horror stories to tell about rough seas and resulting sea-sickness that everyone endured just to visit the seventh continent. He was planning to go again this year, this time by airplane -which is an even more expensive alternative. (We later found out that he was stranded for several days because no flights took off for Antarctica due to bad weather.)
Larger cruise ships, which drive by Antarctica and stop on nearby islands such as Elephant, S. Georgia, or Falkland Islands where you can also see penguin colonies and other wildlife, offer 20+ day cruises for about $2500 as last minute deals through vacationstogo.com and alike. Having to fly one way to Valparaiso (Santiago) and Buenos Aires costs you as much more. Besides, most of those 20+ days are spent at sea - not really sightseeing anything. But surely price is reasonable and if you like to eat, you can really enjoy the cruise.
Plan B - Our two prime attractions in South America are Machu Picchu, the "lost city of the Inca Empire," and Galapagos Islands, known for rich array of creatures ranging from giant tortoises and lizards to seals and penguins - and finches.
Yes, there are other interesting things like Geoglyphs in the Atacama Desert in Chile, Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia - one of the flattest places in the world, the 4,000-square-mile salt flats formed by a prehistoric lake, Rainforests of the Amazon, Mountains and scenery of the Andes and Patagonia, Lake Titicaca between Peru and Bolivia, Iguazu Falls between Brazil and Argentina, Easter Island and Robinson Crusoe Island, Yellowstone like Geysers el de Tatio all in Chile not to mention famous cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Panama City, La Paz, Bolivia - the highest capital, Cuzco and Valparaiso/Santiago.
Well, it is rainy season for both Machu Picchu and Galapagos in Dec/Jan. Late April - May is the shoulder season before Summer (from Northern Hemisphere) tourist season begins.
Plan C - instead of Inca ruins, visit Mayan ruins in Central America, and instead of Galapagos, see wildlife, volcanoes and rain forest in Costa Rica.
We settled on Plan C! After letting all the other Winter Break vacationers go ahead, we will be leaving on Saturday 12/27 night on a nonstop red-eye flight to Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico on Yucatan Peninsula - about 2400 miles southeast. Central America is two hours ahead of PST. There, in four days (12/28-12/31), we will visit as many Mayan ruins from the Top 10 list as possible - starting with Chichen Itza on the first day, Uxmal, Labna, Sayil, Kabah on the second day, Coba and Tulum on the third day, and unlikely but possibly Tikal in Guatemala on the fourth. Of course, we will visit beaches, national parks and swim, snorkel or something as time permits.
Following 10 days, we will be in Costa Rica, which per their official website claims that "visitor can enjoy lovely tropical beaches, the grandest adventures, the wonders of nature, scintillating culture, all the necessary components of an ideal vacation." We plan to spend most of that time hiking, bird (and other wildlife) watching, visiting volcanoes and beaches - mostly in and around the many national parks. Due to limited transportation options, we will once again rent a car - a 4-wheeler - and drive around on our own.
Story
Plan A - Cruises to Antarctica are possible in Dec-Jan, or as late as Feb. Private cruises on smaller yachts (less than 200 passengers) like Lindblad/ National Geographic will charge you lots of money, and almost guarantee you landing on Antarctica if that's what you absolutely, positively want. Someone did that last year and horror stories to tell about rough seas and resulting sea-sickness that everyone endured just to visit the seventh continent. He was planning to go again this year, this time by airplane -which is an even more expensive alternative. (We later found out that he was stranded for several days because no flights took off for Antarctica due to bad weather.)
Larger cruise ships, which drive by Antarctica and stop on nearby islands such as Elephant, S. Georgia, or Falkland Islands where you can also see penguin colonies and other wildlife, offer 20+ day cruises for about $2500 as last minute deals through vacationstogo.com and alike. Having to fly one way to Valparaiso (Santiago) and Buenos Aires costs you as much more. Besides, most of those 20+ days are spent at sea - not really sightseeing anything. But surely price is reasonable and if you like to eat, you can really enjoy the cruise.
Plan B - Our two prime attractions in South America are Machu Picchu, the "lost city of the Inca Empire," and Galapagos Islands, known for rich array of creatures ranging from giant tortoises and lizards to seals and penguins - and finches.
Yes, there are other interesting things like Geoglyphs in the Atacama Desert in Chile, Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia - one of the flattest places in the world, the 4,000-square-mile salt flats formed by a prehistoric lake, Rainforests of the Amazon, Mountains and scenery of the Andes and Patagonia, Lake Titicaca between Peru and Bolivia, Iguazu Falls between Brazil and Argentina, Easter Island and Robinson Crusoe Island, Yellowstone like Geysers el de Tatio all in Chile not to mention famous cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Panama City, La Paz, Bolivia - the highest capital, Cuzco and Valparaiso/Santiago.
Well, it is rainy season for both Machu Picchu and Galapagos in Dec/Jan. Late April - May is the shoulder season before Summer (from Northern Hemisphere) tourist season begins.
Plan C - instead of Inca ruins, visit Mayan ruins in Central America, and instead of Galapagos, see wildlife, volcanoes and rain forest in Costa Rica.
We settled on Plan C! After letting all the other Winter Break vacationers go ahead, we will be leaving on Saturday 12/27 night on a nonstop red-eye flight to Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico on Yucatan Peninsula - about 2400 miles southeast. Central America is two hours ahead of PST. There, in four days (12/28-12/31), we will visit as many Mayan ruins from the Top 10 list as possible - starting with Chichen Itza on the first day, Uxmal, Labna, Sayil, Kabah on the second day, Coba and Tulum on the third day, and unlikely but possibly Tikal in Guatemala on the fourth. Of course, we will visit beaches, national parks and swim, snorkel or something as time permits.
Following 10 days, we will be in Costa Rica, which per their official website claims that "visitor can enjoy lovely tropical beaches, the grandest adventures, the wonders of nature, scintillating culture, all the necessary components of an ideal vacation." We plan to spend most of that time hiking, bird (and other wildlife) watching, visiting volcanoes and beaches - mostly in and around the many national parks. Due to limited transportation options, we will once again rent a car - a 4-wheeler - and drive around on our own.
Story
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