PLANNING, PART II
Dateline 2023
After three years, our Patagonia plans are back on track. We knew we had certain destinations and experiences we both wanted to do; knowing that we might not pass that way again, we wanted to pack in as much as possible. Now our original plans were for about 18 days of travel, and we had planned for the early “shoulder season” because it seemed to balance costs (it’s less expensive than peak season of December-February) with the extreme weather of winter. So fingers crossed! We also know that, while we are both extremely fit, we are also well into our fifties and what was easy and fun in our twenties is less so these days- it’s just a fact of life you don’t really grasp when you are young. So while we both felt capable of doing the W and O circuits physically, the idea of backpacking and sleeping on the ground had limited appeal. Not to mention that while the hikes would be beautiful, they would limit the number of places and sights we could see.
Initially we looked at guided tours, which can be good sometimes- especially the kind that handle your luggage from point to point and hotel accommodations when you get there, but give a lot of freedom for hiking and exploring. But we wanted even more flexibility, more adventure and more experiences than a guided tour could provide- and the past three years of RV camping let us know it’s a way we absolutely love to travel! We briefly toyed with the idea of taking Tess all the way down to Tierra del Fuego, but our time frame was weeks, not months. So maybe sometime in the future…
So we have rented a small 4×4 RV, from Campanda. It’s a bit more traditional and roomier (and more expensive) than some of the converted minivans from Wicked Camper but we liked having four wheel drive and higher ground clearance (and did we mention more room?) and the additional cost seemed worth it. From what we have researched, free wild camping is readily available, but we assume we will stay in some paid campsites when we really want a shower, and a hotel if we just want a break. The problem is the camper has to be rented for a minimum of two weeks, which, if you have read carefully, should be no problem since we’ve allotted 18 days of travel, right?
Well no. The other important experience we wanted to have was to visit the end of the world, and we wanted to take a cruise around Cape Horn, so we have a five day cruise booked on the Australis Patagonia Explorer. We really wanted to hop down to Antarctica, since we were there, but just couldn’t justify the expense. And while we aren’t on a tight budget we are trying to save money when we can. We figured that renting and touring by campervan would save enough to cover some of the cost of the cruise, in addition to giving us flexibility. But the van rental is for 14 days, so that’s a minimum of 19 days, with no room for error- and that’s not a safe way to travel, we need a buffer day or two before the cruise at least. So that’s 21 days…also known as “scope creep”, when a project or event or vacation keeps getting bigger. And when we did our research on flights we realized we could save a substantial amount of money on airfare if we extended our return flight by a few more days. Of course we’d spend that money on lodging, but hey, at least we’re seeing and doing more…but still, scope creep. It happens.