Leaving on A Jet Plane ...

All my bags are packed
Im ready to go....
But the dawn is breakin
Its early morn
The taxis waitin
Hes blowin his horn

My Brazilian visa has processed
the passport is ready to go
(but it is almost full!)
My fellow fever vaccine was a fantastic shot in the arm
a small backpack of cards, a book, and my iPod
big pack with everything else ...

Hold me like youll never let me go
cause Im leavin on a jet plane
know when I should be back again..

Taking the Next Plunge

THE BIG TRIP 2009:

Begins on February 2nd! It is a brand new continent for me, I have never been to South America before. I am flying into Salvador, Brazil (which is towards the northern part) and heading south. If you're not too familiar with Brazil, you can get a good overview map by clicking here. I plan to get sucked into the hype of a few world wonders on my trip and hope to have some fun in the Rain forest.

I am lucky enough to once again be traveling with my companion Mike. Mike has diligently researched and created this fabulous map (to the left) of a tentative route and things that we might do along the way. CARNAVAL, beaches, hiking, paragliding, hot springs, caving, vineyards, sand dunes, markets, volcanoes, and more are all possibilities for this trip. We don't have every detail planned out just yet, but we will find our way like we've done before.
(Note: I tried to stretch the image larger but blogger didn't want to upload it as a high resolution image. I can email it to anyone interested in seeing all the detail.)

To prepare for a trip to South America, there was not too much for me to do. (My first trip to New Zealand required a lot of preparation.) I have booked my plane ticket and already have a majority of my gear. I got to go shopping at REI and buy some new pants ~ yippie! and decided to buy a new travel towel to conserve space in my pack. I only had 2 major tasks: a yellow fever vaccine (for the rain forest) and a visa. Brazil is one of a select few countries that Americans need to apply for travel visas, which has been an annoying and tedious process. The first time I applied, my visa was rejected. I lost $32 in postage to find out that I hadn't filled out the correct form. It has been received in Chicago and I am eagerly awaiting its approval. Now, I get to focus on packing and getting all my stuff slimed down.