Final Plans... Finally

One of the hardest parts of planning travel is finalising where to go. After numerous discussions with other experienced travellers, my goal of taking on both South and Central America over the course of just over two months seemed less and less tenable. So, I have finally bit the bullet and booked a flight to Cancún, which will serve as the starting point for my Central American tour. It is ludicrous how inexpensive it is to travel such a long distance - only $650CDN return from Seattle - when recent shorter flights (Kelowna -> Victoria) amounted to $200, one-way.

It is entirely possible that receiving Lonely Planet's 'South America on a Shoestring' guidebook for XMas was the deciding factor in my trip. That and knowing that I will be able to rendezvous with my sister and her family on the beaches of Playa del Carmen on the last few days of my trip. Babysitting has been generously offered, and I will enjoy having some beach time with the Sonster. Here's hoping I don't look like a bushman when I join them - S. may not like the beard, and looking scruffy may limit my chances for surfing couch at the all-inclusive.

My tentative approach to Central America is: Cancún-> Guatemala -> Honduras -> El Salvador ( -> Nicaragua) -> Belize -> Playa del Carmen. Again, I suspect I am biting off too much geography, but there is simply too much to see to rule out any one place or people.

It has been hard to turn my back on South America, and the mysteries it has to offer any traveller, for another year. I hope that I have only delayed, not declined, my visit to this amazing continent.