The Adventure begins...

2/11
So,  after over a year of planning, in less than 48 hours, we will be off on our adventure.  Lots of last minute things to take care of.  I find myself both extremely excited and yet a little nervous.  It is a long time to "check out of reality".  Hopefully all our preparations were enough.  I think I am going to keep my checklist for future reference.
Our adventure will begin in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.  IT'S  CARNEVAL!  Something I have always dreamed of doing.  Most information out there warns the traveler of robberies during Carneval.  Let's hope there is nothing to report.
We then move on to Iguazu Falls.  Luckily we will get to see them from both sides (Brazil and Argentina).  Here we will meet our traveling companions, my cousin Germaine and her husband Bob.
We made reservations at both these places, but after that ?????    So far the plan will be to jump on a sleeper bus down to Buenos Aires, Argentina.  But...... who knows.
From there, we will make our way down the Argentinian coast, passing through Peninsula Valdes on the way to Patagonia and Uschaia (southern most town in the world). 
We will then get on a ferry in Punto Arenas, Chile for a 4 day trip through glaciers to Puerto Montt, Chile.  Working our way up north to Santiago, there is lots of wine country to explore.  We are thinking that a "hop on, hop off" bus might be the way to go. 
In Santiago, we are considering a side trip to Easter Island.  That will depend on time and how much money we have left.
Heading further north, through the desert of Chile, we hope to first go to Mendoza, Argentia and the Valley of the Moon in Salta.
All this on the way to our final destination, Machu Picchu, Peru.  We have a reservation to hike the Inca Trail on April 1st.  Maybe we will stop in Lake Titicaca first.  This part of the trip is really open ended.   A lot of it will depend on the transportation available.  It was really hard to get a handle on it through the internet.
We will end up in Lima, Peru on April 10th for the long flight home.
So, stay tuned and I hope you will visit often to perhaps experience some of this adventure with us.