South America Bucket List

Believe it or not, this used to be just a short list of things I didn’t want to forget doing…now I’m beginning to think that even six months isn’t long enough! But that’s cool ’cause I have my whole life to go exploring :) My ultimate goal is to complete at least 70% of this list (that’s passing, right…?)!

Edit (6/8/2012): I now know for a fact that even a year is too short a time to get all this stuff done so I’m turning this into my “South American Bucket List”…

Visit every country in South America:
[x] Chile
[ ] Bolivia
[x] Perú
[x] Ecuador
[ ] Colombia
[ ] Venezuela
[ ] Guyana
[ ] Suriname
[ ] French Guiana
[/] Brazil
[ ] Paraguay
[ ] Uruguay
[x] Argentina
Explore some Wonders of the World and UNESCO World Heritage sites:
[ ] Christ the Redeemer (Brazil)
[x] Machu Picchu (Perú)
[ ] Easter Island (Chile)
[ ] Galápagos Islands (Ecuador)
[x] Iguazu National Park (Argentina)
[x] Historic Quarter of Valparaíso (Chile)
[x] Churches of Chiloé (Chile)
[ ] Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca (Ecuador)
[x] City of Cusco (Perú)
[ ] Central Amazon Conservation Complex (Brazil)
[ ] Angel Falls (Venezuela)
[ ] Nazca Lines (Perú)
[x] Torres del Paine (Chile)
[x] City of Quito (Ecuador)
[x] Travel the entire length of Chile
[ ] Try to make it to Antarctica!
[ ] Have fun couch surfing!
[ ] Visit Bolivia’s salt flats
[x] Live in hostels
[x] Figure out why books are so expensive in Chile!
Activities to do:

[x] Ski Snowboard in the Andes
[x] Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
[ ] Drive stick!
[/] Hitchhike
[x] Go sandboarding
[x] Learn the Tango
[x] Watch local fútbol games
[ ] Swim with sharks in the  Galápagos
[ ] Trek across glaciers in Argentina
[x] Go horseback riding in the desert
And then there are some things that I never imagined I’d do:

  1. Almost got stranded in the driest desert in the world.
  2. Visited the 10th highest lake in Chile, the 29th highest lake in the world (at a whopping 4500 m; 14,765 ft).
  3. Fed a llama.
  4. Ate a llama.
  5. Missed a week of school because of protests.
  6. Joined the protests.
  7. Climbed an active volcano.
  8. Went to the end of the world (aka Tierra del Fuego)