10 Days Left

So it's official. In ten days my flight leaves Charlotte, NC, bound for Punta Arenas, Chile. The twenty-two hour flight will bring me to a southern latitude of more than 53 degrees. During the summer, days can last up to 17 hours, while during the winter, they shorten to less than 7 hours. This small town will be the start of our 6000+ mile (10,000km) expedition up the longest mountain range in the world. We will pass through six countries, stopping as we go.

Steph and I will be meeting Mike in Punta Arenas and purchasing a vehicle to carry us on our adventure. Mike has been in Chile/Argentina since August and he has made arrangements to legally purchase and insure a vehicle for international travel.

Our travel itinerary consists of this:

• Arrive in Punta Arenas.
• Purchase vehicle and insurance.
• Drive North until we can not drive any further North.
• Find adventure on the way!
• Discover a way home, or stay in South America.

I believe that most week long vacation itineraries are four or five times as long as this. Flexibility and creativity are staples on this journey. There are several places that we wish to see, however. We plan to hike the circuit at Torres del Paine, we plan to spend some time mountaineering in La Paz, Bolivia, but other than that, the trip is completely open.

We will have a good amount of gear. Basic trekking gear for our hikes, but also cold weather gear and technical gear for high altitudes and some of the more heart pumping activities we plan to take part in. Nothing is off the table: day hikes, week-long treks, rock climbing, mountaineering (I am determined to stand over 6000m or 20k feet!), mountain biking, rafting or kayaking. We are staying in tents which means we would like to stay away from the cities.

To say that I am excited is an understatement. I have been looking forward to this trip for almost a year and everything has fallen into place quite nicely. I have very little idea of how often I will be able to update this blog, but I will do my best to let everyone know where we are and what we have been doing. Aperire Vitae is Latin for open/uncover your life (I can't take credit for thinking of that, haha, thanks!). I feel strongly that we are far to caught up in the fast pace of our lives and I am looking forward to this time of slowing down, making plans as I go and learning a thing or two about my life and this incredible world created for us. 

Future post will have a mix of information and prose. I love writing in prose so hopefully you can imagine being there for yourself!