South America
Back-packing in South America is a superb. Get a map of South America, a good thing to do before back packing in South America is getting acquainted with the map of South America. The continent is gigantic, distances giant. Before starting on your backpack journey in South America you can begin by mapping out a basic check-list. The states I backpacked in are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
I backpacked all of the way from Caracas ( Venezuela ) to Ushuaia ( Argentina ) and yes, it’s a fair way. Get familiar with the map. It is a great start to get an initial impression of how gigantic this superb continent is and which country, or nations, you need to visit.
Are you into mountains ( I climbed Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes globally an amazing mountain near Quito, Ecuador. You can read my story in the Ecuador section ) or is a tropical beach your method of life ( I spent five months in Brazil, masses of white sand beaches with palms ).
The very first thing that you’re going to need on your back packing journey in South America is a travel guide book. It is going to be your best companion in your hunt for journey the nicest thing for me was the simple fact you can travel in a massive continent like South America with only two languages.
Spanish and Portuguese. If you intend to backpack exclusively for a couple of weeks you can invest in a Spanish and / or Brazilian Portuguese Phrase Book English is not widely spoken and even a basic know-how about Spanish and / or Portuguese makes the trip so very much more rewarding ( they are intensely ready to help, so do not fret, be cheerful ).
Do yourself a favour and invest in quality walking shoes with Gore-Tex. Your feet will be more than thankful as they’re going to carry you around day by day, week after week, month to month, year after… No, I am exaggerating.
Fantastic walking shoes are a must when back packing in South America
There are some vaccinations you will need, Yellow Fever ( if you intend to go to the Amazon Basin ), Typhoid ( is composed of two injections taken four weeks apart ), Diphtheria-Tetanus, Polio, Cholera ( just when obligatory ), Smallpox Medical Kit dependent on what you intend to do you can include the following : Antiseptic cream, aspirin, lomotil for diarrhoea, antibiotics, throat lozenges, ear and eye drops, antacid pills, motion illness medicine, alcohol swabs, water purifier, lip cream, foot and groin powder, thermometer ( in a case ), surgical tape, various sticky plasters, gauze, bandages, butterfly closures, scissors and last though not least, first-aid pamphlet
Note : malaria tablets are needed in the Amazon basin, please be advised that those tablets are very strong and you check with your physician before exit ( I had the tablets with me but failed to take them as I was hearing some horrific tales of possible side effects ).