the prep

[coldz]

I'm pretty new to these forums and would like to say hi to everyone  . A little about myself , the name is Justin and I'm 21 currently working as a baggage handler in Winnipeg, Canada. I have a huge travelling bug ever since my two week trip to Greece and the greek islands in my graduating year in highschool. I have a passion for the outdoors, travelling, and just living life to the fullest.

well i'm starting to get prepped for the big escape. The plan is to go to south america for about 7-8 months or longer if i can squeeze the finances. I'm at the point where I don't feel like school, job, house is what I want but is expected. Why not use our healthiest and most energetic years getting the most out of life instead of saving up a pension for 30 years then can't do half the stuff you wanted to. Ok thats out of my system now . .

My plan is to stay at a couple of organic farms and volunteer which in return you get free room and board which is quite appealing, cause I've done manual labor work for the past few years so that isn't a issue helping out. Go visit my friend in Columbia for a weeks which I had met when I was on a tour in Europe last year and became good friends with. Obviously beaches in Brazil are a must. Last but not least over to Peru and do Machu Picchu alone and un-guided following Greg's' instructions. Basically sums up everything.

I don't really have a plan on when specifically, once everything is done meaning vaccinations and the sorts, i'm just going to spontaneously quit my job and just go, not really having much planned minus a 1 way ticket out of here. Thanks for the time reading my post

Sincerely,

 Justin

[Greg]

Hey Justin, welcome to the forums!

Sounds like a good vagabonding plan. You can certainly get around with WOOF and even just helping out in hostels here and there to get free rooms (check out http://www.hostelworking.com)  I suggest brushing up a little on your Spanish, it will certainly be a big help in South America - especially if you want to work, etc.

It doesn't take a lot of money to do this - just the right heart!  I flew round trip to Bogota last year from Orlando, Florida for $200...keep your eye out for specials.  Once you're on the continent, the chicken buses are dirt cheap for getting around.

See you on the road mate!   
Greg

[Martha John]

The South America is a good place for travel and volunteering and provides a lot of new experience in life for lonely travelers. It is a right time to step out of the home town and discover the world as the old age pension will not provide u so much fun and excitement.

[coldz]

thanks for the input guys, greatly appreciate it.

Greg: thanks for the welcome, and I have already been on the WOOF site which is one of them I'm going to hopefully stay it, in southern Argentina if all goes to plan. I have been attempting to learn basic spanish before I leave, going slower then I had hope but what can you do. I have used kayak.com which I found on your site and found a 1 flight to Santiago for pretty cheap.

Martha: I have read wonderful things about working, travelling and volunteering in South America, but then I hear from people oh you shouldn't to Peru cause you can't stop at stop signs or else you will be mugged, of Columbia you will get kidnapped. Granted I am 6' blonde hair, blue eyes haha and will stuck out like a sore thumb. I'm going regardless but it just but that subconscious worry in the back of your brain.

So I had a little sit down with my parents about my travels because I thought its not fair to them to keep it in the dark. After telling them my plans, my dad just asked the usual, what you plan on doing, how long? ect.. Which was surprising cause he was the one that always bringing up school and going to fire college (which was my plan before deciding to travel more). My mom was I would say un-happy with the news. She basically didn't agree with it and said" what if your out adventuring the roads and something happens to you, what then" and just said I will take it as it comes. I can say it definitely taken some weight off my shoulders seeing as I've been putting it off for a while.

[coldz]

sorry about the rant, apparently I needed to vent a little, my apologies   

[Greg]

Hey Justin,

This is the right place to rant!  Glad that you broke the ice with your family, I get lots of email from people (no matter what age) having the same difficulties.  Hell, I went through it big time (neither of my parents have passports) but now that they see I've been vagabonding for 4+ years and haven't been kidnapped yet, things are easier. 

Your family will reluctantly come around more when they see the increase in your happiness levels and hear your stories!  Something else that helps is to simply let them know that going abroad is a VERY natural - and even expected - thing for young people before they start college in Europe, Australia, NZ, etc.  No decision is irreversible!  What's wrong with traveling then coming back for school/work? Best to see both sides of the fence to be a rounded person.  Besides, employers love to see international experience on resumes - they know that going abroad takes competence and maturity.

You WILL get lots of attention in Asia, South America, Africa...doesn't matter...you eventually get use to it.  It isn't always negative attention by any means, but it can wear on you when you are just trying to eat and everyone in the restaurant is staring, hehe.

[coldz]

Well its very comforting that I can rant on here, I appreciate it. And thanks Greg for all the advice, very helpful and you do have a point I'm going to get noticed no matter where I am. And I added you on facebook, the name is Justin Collicutt, slightly random but I came across the post about adding you facebook so I did  .

So the plans are done and will be on the plane November 23rd. I'm heading to Puerto Natales, Chile to work at hostel for about 5 months, then from there I'm just winging it. Backpack around, volunteer, just whatever. I really can't wait to depart, although not much of it has sunken in yet that I'm actually leaving and going to be gone 7-8 months. Living life, can't beat it!

[Greg]

Well said...and if it means anything...my knees still wobble when I get off the plane or bus in a completely new place.  No other feeling like it in the world. 

[Abstract87]

Hey Justin!

As a fellow Canuck in his early 20's - Great idea to get out before the winter really hits or before age hits you!!   Im 'stuck' working in Northen Alberta right now, saving up my travel funds, and let me tell you, it isn't pleasant with winter already here lol.  One more Canadian winter and Ill be on my journey as well!

I have definitly had a lot of time to plan/daydream/research and the sorts so I wanted to give you some of the advice/info that I have been able to dig up.

One of my friends up here recently did 3 months backpacking through SA and he gave me some great advice.  He actually did the hike up to Macchu Picchu on the tracks and said it was an amazing experience (as this is one of my plans thanks to the fantastical Greg!),  Although his word of advice was to check the local conditions as a mudslide recently shut down the track and it is fairly prone to such, so make sure to be safe and do your research on the weather conditions.

Also, If your into street art or the sort - Sao Paolo has one of the most vibrant scenes in these terms, on houses, alleys, garages, businesses, and even a gallery dedicated to the art form.  I had the pleasure of viewing hundreds of my friends pictures and...sigh i wish it was summer 2011 already!!  Where's that darn time machine invented from the future that came back to the past!   Where as here in NA we loook down upon grafitti, in SA it is veiwed as a true expression of their culture.  Definitly something I am looking forward to experiencing.

Brazil is definitly the more expensive of the SA countries where as bolivia will be one of the cheapest and will stretch your budget even further if you linger there or say peru or ecuador. 

www.oneyearoff.net has some great info on there for SA.

As for learning spanish i would type in "country of choice" + spanish schools into google and there should be a good amount of information and websites on there for you.  I did this for guatemala as this is going to be my first destination i will be at for 30-60 days, and I was looking at a number of schools between 150-200 USD / week, and this includes room and board with a local family    + activities (salsa, arts, etc and weekend excursions).  This is what I'll be doing for the first 3 weeks of my journey to get acclimatized, make communication far more comfortable, and to be able to get the immersion I want.  My advice would be to attend spanish school in a cheaper country if it's something that would be of interest to you.

Also, great way to reduce your costs even more, couchsurfing.org   from what Ive heard it is a great way to immerse yourself in a culture and get straight-hand experiences from the locals.

Im so excited for you, for your adventure, and your decision to travel!!  Who knows... if you go for it longer term then maybe we'll cross paths in the future!

Hope any of this info can help you out.

Have a great adventure and happy - no no superfantastictremendesplendifical - travels to you! (figured given the proximity of the date when your leaving it deserved an even better made up word lol)

-Jon-

P.S.  Ill have to post some pictures in Jan from my trip to Arizona to visit my parents.  first time to the US of A as an adult and im really looking forward to the desert!  should be a nice pre-cursor to my journey, as my parents are somewhat gypsies living in a motorhome year round like father/mother like son lol!  Any advice on any of the must-see, less heard of, sites in AZ?

[coldz]

hola Jon, thank you for the advice, I had already been on couchsurfing for a month or two, although I have never done it before, definitely something I won't to use . And sorry for the late response, I was busy before leaving and been working and such down here in Puerto Natales, at Erratic Rock hostel. If anyone comes down here, I highly recommend it. A little more expensive but has the best breakfast in town.

When abouts do you plan on leaving for SA? I thinking I will be down here till summer(Canadian summer), so maybe if you happen to be close, we could grab a beer. Where abouts do you want to go?

Thanks for all the wishes, this is turning out to be a awesome experience. Meet so many cool people working in the hostel here, been trekking in Torres del Paine national park, going down to Ushuaia at the beginning of February, just awesome. I can't wait to get back in on the road in april and get traveling . If you ever want to chat, send me a e-mail at justincollicutt@gmail.com. Safe Travels

[Greg]

Hey Justin, I'm glad you're having a good time down there...and found work in a hostel even!

Any interest in writing a personal account of your experience of working in the hostel? I'm always
looking for fun stuff to add to www.hostelworking.com.