Backpacking Around South America

Topics

What is Backpacking?

Why South America?

What do you need to take Backpacking?

What are the most popular manners of trips?

What are the South American routes?

What are the preferences of the backpackers in the accommodation?

Hi People!

This blog is a gateway to travel around South America, an exotic and magic continent...but not ordinary travels.
Follow us in this trip around our continent.

What is Backpacking?
A first definition can be: form of low-cost independent international travel. But in this kind of trip be an interesting motivation: know places, cultures and people as really they are, without the boring travel agencies and the tourism places.
The most flagrant factors that differentiate backpacking from other forms of turism are:

Use of public transportation as a mean of travel.
Accommodation in youth hostels or spend the nigth in a tend camping.
Very long trips (months, years).
Use a Backpack.

The backpackers have opened the doors for the most exotic destinies, which then are offered by the travel agencies.

The experts of the subject have not agreed on a concise definition that differentiates the backpackers and tourists

Types of Backpackers:

These categories are defined by Camille O’Reilly, an expert on the topic.

Gap Year Backpacking: Is the people who travel around several countries in a short period of time at the end of one stage their lives, generally, in the gap year between the school and university or between university and their firs job.

Life Crisis Backpacker: Is the popople who travel in order to change their sedentary life; their trips are motivated by dissatisfaction.

Partyer: They are interested in finding beachs, sun, liquor and, eventually, drugs.

An especial type of backpacking is:

Flashpackers: The origen of the term itself isn't clear, but generally flashpackers has an association whit the travelers who have more disposable income in the trips.
They prefer the cheap accommodation in order to spend freely, even excessively, for activities at their chosen destination.
The Flashpackers travel with devices high-tech, like iPod, smatphone, GPS, laptop, digital camera, etc.

The Industry of Backpacking

In recent years, the backpacker's industries has emerged.
You can find anything to travel to several countries: guides, backpacks, tents, especialized clothing, younth hostels networks and many accesories.

The blogs in the Backpacker's community are quite important, in these web sites you can find information of travels and countries, recommendations, suggestions, pics and diaries of trips; also, you can consult the state of roads, monetary rates and other variable information in real time.

http://www.backpacking.net/
http://www.thebackpacker.com/
http://www.backpacker.com/
http://www.twoguysaroundtheworld.com/
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/
http://www.blogdeviajes.com.ar/

South America: A Great Land for Backpackers

The dense Amazon rainforest, the jagged spires of the Andes mountains, tropical beaches, towering waterfalls; South America is a great continent, offers adventures, unexplored sites, thrilling travels, many cultures and low prices; the perfect combination for backpackers.
Choosing the routs can be difficult because South America has many interesting places; if you are thinking in a short trip, you could miss many things that you would have liked to see in the trip.

South America has an excellent road network that link Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. The long distance buses are a good way to move around the continent and can save you money, but any travels would be quite long and uncomfortable.
Some people prefer to travel in their car or motorcycles, then South America offers them unparalleled landscapes, clean and good roads, service stations and; in some contries, Permanent alertness of the police.
The backpackers remain in South America for months or even years, discovering new cultures, languages, people and places that are beyond mere touristic sites.

What You Need to Take a Backpacking

First, you must forget the scare about taking this or that essential for fear that if left behind it could not be bought abroad...Many products are recommended in the packing list, but abroad are cheaper.
You should remember: The happiest traveler is who can fit their bag/pack under the seat of a bus or take it as hand luggage on a flight. You can have everthing into a 30-40 litre pack in order to travel with freedom and happiness.

"everything is essential, only some things more than others"

Following, we suggests a list of travel in order to obtain the best ratio size/weight, but this list is not designed to cover every situation or circumstance and the destination is a relevant factor.

Essential Clothing: Is the best to buy in the developed countries (Argentina and Chile). The essential clothing should be made by outdoor companies.

No more than two T-Shirts or similar. One of these could be a nicer moisture wicking polyester/dry-flo type or similar. Depending for the destination, it can be a polo shirt, that offers sun, mosquito and cold environments protection.
If you are going somewhere cooler, you should take a jacket (wool and leather jacket with frontal zip are the best). If you will have a long trip through many regions over many months, then don't worrie by packing many clothing, you can buy in the route.
Two pair of pants. One should be such you can wash and dry overnight, with internal secure pockets. For the second pants, the material shoul be havier, especially if you expect cool weather.
The underwear is a complicated topic. Everyone have their own hygiene standars. The underwear should be very easy to wash, comfortable in a hot climate and extremely fast drying. Remeber, you can buy in the route.
No more than three/four pairs of socks. There are many technical socks on the market.

Footwear:

Low cut trail running shoes are perfect for trekking and cooler weather. This is the best kind of footwear fot the trips for its low weight and high efficiency.
The hikking boots are quite heavy and bulky to carry, but this kind of shoes can be useful in trkking in cool mountainous regions with difficult terrain.
Light flip-flops, type sandals, are lightweight but are not good for walking long distances. This type of footwear are perfect for a hot weather/beach.

Other Essentials:

Trek-type towel: Some special towel absorb around 800% of theur wight. This product can be small, so you must select your size...if you have long hair, you may need two or more towels.
Umbrella: a light compact. You can buy the useful and cheap plastic ponchos.
Knife, fork and spoon: a light kit. In big cities, the food can be expensive, then, you must cooking. In the big cities the market plentiful, so, plastic bowl can also be quite useful, as it can be used to eat cereal in.
Swiss army (Leatherman): this have a can-opener, corkscrew and bottle opene.
Medical kit: Lip salve, something for a sore throat, condoms, antiseptic cream, laxative, diarrhoea blocker, hydrocortisona cream and pain killers.
Whas kit: shampoo, toothpaste, antiperspirant and a toothbrush + razor.
Sun block cream.

The ESSENTIAL

Some cards with your name, address and e-mail to give a new friends.
Compass with a map...you can not get lost.
Student ID. You can get deals.
Credir card. You could need ather funds.
International driving permit.
Certificate of all vaccinations.
PASSPORT
plastic bags with zip lock and money bags.
Photocopies of everything important (passport, traveller cheque numbers, etc).

South American Routes

In South America, the main form of land transportation is the bus; this is cheap and efficient.
The South American roads links all countries and, practically, you can choose any route.

These are some of the most important routes which were taken from blogs and forums of backpackers.

Austral Route:
The tracing in the map is residential.

Peru: Lima - Ica (Huacachica, Nazca) - Tacna - Cusco - Arequipa - Ayacucho

Chile: Arica - La Serena - Valparaíso - Santiago - Temuco - Villarica - Pucón - Puerto Natales - Punta Arenas - Puerto Varas - Puerto Montt - Castro - Chiloe - Ancund - Osorno.

Argentina: Bariloche - Rio Galleos - Comodoro Rivadavia - El Calefate - El Chaltén - Ushuaia - Mar de Plata - Buenos Aires - Puerto Iguazú - Resistencia - Salta - Jujuy.

Uruguay: Colonia - Montevideo - Punta del Este - Chuy.

Brazil: Porto Alegre - Foz de Iguazu

Paraguay: Uyumi - Potosí - Santacruz - Cochabamba - Oruro - La Paz - Copacabana