Bringing you up to speed

Well, hmm. Been a while, eh? Turns out it's tougher than I anticipated to generate content about a trip that was still months away. Also, I got kind of distracted. The good news is, with very minimal lobbying required I convinced the distraction (let's call her N, henceforth) to join me for a month, mid-trip. Which is lucky for me, because otherwise I'd have curtailed my trip: eleven straight weeks of intercontinental separation was not an option I was willing to consider. Booked N's ticket just last week, so it's official and everything. That's one development I wanted to share.

The second development is that the itinerary I outlined in my last post is more or less the Official Plan, now. The Adventure will for sure include, in order of appearance:

• Santiago
• Valparaiso
• The Atacama and around, very probably including Uyuni in Bolivia
• Salta and around
• Buenos Aires and around [N joins me here]
• Peninsula Valdez
• Ushuaia
• Torres Del Paine
• El Calafate
• El Chalten
• Bariloche [N leaves me here]
• A couple of weeks for spontaneous last-minute decision-making (options include the Carretera Austral in Chile; Chiloe, Chile; or continuing up through Argentina to Mendoza)
• Easter Island

The third and final development is more of a non-development, really: I have not taken a single step to improve my Spanish since March. Booooo, you say. I agree! Thus on Monday I will be signing up for a private tutor. Expect great strides to be made between now and October. Or Octubre. See? I'm a natural.  Of course, I assume I will still be utterly bewildered by Chileno, but I reckon no amount of instruction could adequately prepare me on that front.