15

The topic belongs, the timing is just off is all I am saying charbse. When I write, come back and post in 2015, I actually mean what I wrote. I simply don't see any point in giving you detailed responses now when anything might change between now and then. No big deal.

As for the hostility from other posters, for me that's just light banter, water off a duck's back.

16

Don't get me wrong, Isla de la Plata is a nice place to visit, especially if you're there during whale-watching season (humpback whales). But it's nothing like the Galapagos - in effect you are going for No Galapagos. And that's ok, it is expensive and you can't do everything, I just want to make sure you realise that it is not an alternative. For what it's worth the Ballestas Islands in Peru are also known as the Poor man's Galapagos.

17

What a lovely (and mature) reply from Charbse. Many of us could learn from him. :>))

I hope you'll continue on here, Charbse, as a valued member, asking and also giving advice on the appropriate country's branches as well. And best wishes for your trip.

Incidentally, there's no need to take it all in one mouthful. If you plan it right, and have the right employer/career you could split it into sections and work in-between each section.
In my travels one year I met a lovely guy who takes off every three years or so and travels for 18 months or less. His employers are happy to let him go and take him back again each time. His work is project-led, so it works well.
Should you get itchy feet, it's something to consider.

18

I think this is a really valuable point made by go_2. It most definitely doesn't need to all be done in one go. We have recently made the decision to leave South America out of our 12 month itinerary purely because we feel we wont be able to do it justice in the time scale and other plans we have. So twe have decided to come back, work our backsides off and do 10 months or so in SA maybe 18 months later.

19

@TiS - Thanks for the link. Packing is definitely one of the areas I haven't done my homework in, precisely because it's so far off. That being said, it is something we need to take into consideration, especially with a few Christmases between now and then that we can capitalize on to gather some of the gear ;)

@ToadofToadHall - That is a bit disappointing, but I'm glad it's something I heard about now, rather than being disappointed when I got there! It was originally intended as an alternative Galapagos, but I guess we should do some research into the merits of going there in its own right, and make the decision based on that. I do like the idea of hopping over to some Pacific island(s), but in lieu of Galapagos (which I think we'll have to save for when we're older and richer), we'll have to try to find somewhere nice AND affordable.

@go_2 and bmovieneil - While my work is fairly mobile and project based, my (by then) wife's is not, and uprooting every 2-3 years unfortunately wouldn't work out too well. We're looking at this trip as kind of the kickoff for a major lifestyle change, not merely a one-time thing, so having the means to sustain it for a time while we see what we can is important. Like I mentioned in the post, a working holiday in Australia may be in the cards immediately following this trip, and we'd likely be using that as a slingshot to build up some more funds before taking off again.

20

Hi Charbse,

As I was reading your post my first thought was, how can you skip the galapagos?! Then I kept reading and saw this had already been mentioned. As you mentioned originally you shouldn't be afraid to spend your money. There are many options for the Galapagos and if you have time to spare then you can find surprisingly cheap deals. As you're planning a month in Ecuador it's certainly worth thinking you could take some time to see if you can get to the Galapagos. It was one of the absolute highlights of my RTW. You've got plenty of time to think and plan, so if it's something you're interested in don't discount it just yet! When you're older and richer you can see western Europe, but you may not be up to underwater acrobatic competitions with sea lions!

Personally, I think your trip sounds amazing (with or without the Galapagos)! Happy planning. :)