Hi guys,
Assuming coronavirus is sufficiently contained by 2021 summer*, I was hoping to go solo travelling. I am European and will have finished my final exams. Usually people after these exams go travelling with friends around Europe, however, I wanted to do something different. It's not that I have no friends to travel with, more that the last few years and my childhood in general have been difficult, and I feel like I am starting a new chapter in my life. As cheesy as it sounds, I am dying for some alone time somewhere foreign, where I can engage my love of travel and learning, as well as taking time for introspection and learning more about myself. I would aim to spend about one month or one month and a half travelling - much more than I could in Europe, given that Latin America is cheaper from what I understand.
Latin America has always fascinated me, which is why I really want to visit. Not only the culture, but also its history and its current interesting socio-economic situation, with countries like Mexico and Brazil straddling middle-income status, next to more developed nations like Chile and Uruguay. I am fairly fluent in Spanish (approx. C1 level), and am learning Portuguese.
I should mention right off the bat that I'm a city guy: I like buildings, I like museums, architecture, learning about the history and socio-economic and political situation of different places around the world. That said, I can and do appreciate nature when I get the chance; I'm just not the type to go hiking and trekking, more the type to sit and admire the scenery.
With that all said, I have a few questions:
- What is the ideal itinerary? I had a few different ones in mind:
(-> is by bus, => is by air)
Belo Horizonte -> Sao Paulo -> Curitiba -> Iguazu Falls -> Buenos Aires -> Santiago => Lima & Cusco OR Bogota
or
Buenos Aires => Ushuaia => Buenos Aires -> Mendoza -> Santiago => Lima, Cusco OR Bogota
or some combination of the two. Other cities of interest are Florianopolis, Porto Alegre and Asunción. Nothing is concrete yet, I'm really just playing around with ideas right now. From what I understand, many of the nature parks in South Brazil aren't accessible by public transport, which is why I haven't considered them.
2) As a first time (male) solo-traveler, is visiting Latin America - Brazil in particular - a good idea?
I am well aware that there are crime problems in Brazil. Although most of the dangerous cities appear to be in the North East, where I don't plan on going, I have still heard bad things about Sao Paulo, and even worse things about Rio, which is why I haven't even considered Rio for travel at all, and am cautious about considering Porto Alegre (please do tell me if this is silly or not). I have never had a gun pulled on me, or been the victim of violent crime; the only "robbery" I have experienced are street muggings by unarmed people when I was younger.
However, I should also mention that my family is of Indian origin; my family in India, who I regularly visit, live in a fairly poor/deprived part of Delhi, so I'm not unfamiliar with the discomforts of travelling in less developed regions. I have visited Chicago, Washington D.C., and the outskirts of Detroit, if that makes a difference.
I am also fortunate enough to be fairly well travelled with my family; we tend to do budget city breaks when we travel in Europe, which entails using lots of public transit, and sometimes staying in slightly shadier parts of town. Again, I am aware European "danger" is nothing relative to Brazil.
With all this mind, am I too "inexperienced" to go to Brazil (and/or Colombia)? What about Buenos Aires, Patagonia and Santiago?
Thanks for reading this far and for any help! And I'll repeat this is all very very speculative at the moment and something I am only just considering as a possibility, so if this is a crazy/dumb idea do say so!
*I am aware that this is very hopeful thinking, which is why I am not taking this plan overly seriously: I am not booking anything anytime soon. If it is not safe enough to travel in 2021 summer, I would still like to do this trip the following year, so any advice is still appreciated!
Other Relevant info: British National, Indian Ethnicity, Budget of a few thousand pounds,
Submitted December 28, 2020 at 07:02PM by OpenTraveller75693 https://ift.tt/2JpNpqA
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