Bumb travel through Patagonia.
Replies: 8 - Last Post: Jan 21, 2013 6:50 PM Last Post By: Jonatcardoqui
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Bumb travel through Patagonia.
Hi all!Great to have SA TT back up, as my trip nears and I still have so many questions.
I'm a NYorker city boy and in two weeks I start my first backpacking trip. I've traveled before spent months abroad but never Really really traveled.
So to start and unwind from a couple years of hard labor and frugality, Tolum in Mexico is my first port of call where I plan on partying drinking and beaching myself for 2 weeks. Lazy bum!
After some debochery I'm off to Santiago. 2 days in capital getting my fishing license and maybe renting a car to visit the Atacama. Maybe. $300 for a week is a steal! Anyway. My plan is to stretch my money as long as I can to stay about for 4+ months. I would do a year but its almost impossible. So wild camping and hitch hiking is the way for me. For the most part of march I will be south of Puerto Natales so I can get as much in before the cold sets in though ill be prepared for some snow. Then Argentina though I'm not too excited about the country. I know wild camping in chile is easy, or so I've heard. Anyone know about Argentina on wild camping and cooking fires? Fishing regulations?
I'm also always up for some company as I'm traveling alone. : )
Happy adventures to all!!!
Jon
1
I can't help with wild camping and fishing question - I've never done it. Some general information though might be useful for your planning.Chile and Argentina are among the most expensive countries in South America. If you want to make your money last longer you should allocate less time for those two countries and more for the cheaper ones like Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.
Bus is the best and most popular way to travel across the continent. Journeys are often very long, 10 - 20 hrs, but the busses, especially 'cama', in Argentina and Chile are first class, very comfortable with reclining seats.
Renting a car for driving Santiago-Atacama might be a waste. The landscape is boring and you might prefer a bus trip instead, being able to sleep. As an alternative, you could consider going from Santiago to Mendoza and make the trip on the Argentinian side, visitng a few places in the north, around Salta. That would be more interesting.
Later you can come with more specific questions for the countries you're going to visit.
Enjoy your planning and your trip.
ps. great that you speak Spanish as English isn't of much use in most parts of South America.
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Op- given the key words that jumped out at me from your trip description- e.g. drinking, beaching, debauchery,stretch my money- I think that your heading to the wrong part of the world. As Fieldgate points out Chile and Argentina are two of the most expensive countries in SA. Also, there is really not the kind of pasrty vibe that you may be expecting down there.Really, given what you are looking for someting like Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam would probably make for more of an adventure to your liking. Lots of fellow partiers, great beaches, cheap accommodation and food, etc.
My two cents worth anyway.
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Remind me to reread my response before I press the Post Message button! Way too many typos and- even worse- the "edit" function seems to have been eliminated! One used to be able to go back and make corrections. Oh well, such is the price of progress.OP - given the key words that jumped out at me from your trip description - e.g. drinking, beaching, debauchery,stretch my money- I think that you're heading to the wrong part of the world. As Fieldgate points out, Chile and Argentina are two of the most expensive countries in SA. Also, there is really not the kind of party vibe that you may be expecting down there.
Really, given what you are looking for, someting like Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam would probably make for more of an adventure to your liking. Lots of fellow partiers, great beaches, cheap accommodation and food, etc.
My two cents' worth anyway.
4
Haha! Thanks guys. Good suggestions.My debauchery will be accuring in Mexico only. I then leave my all inclusive to becoming a bumb.
I've never been to a desert and I'm big on astronomy though I don't know much, its just beatiful. Well that's my main reason for wanting to go to Atacama. The abservatories out there. What's the Salta like Fieldgate?
It being so expensive down in Patagonia is why I wanna wild camp and keep expenses bellow maybe...$20-30 a day. Is that crazy?
Seriously guys thanks for the help! : ).
5
No it is not crazy. you can hitch hike. In Chile it is easy to camp wild in the nature. In towns and villages, you can find cheap family-run accomodation. I can travel there on 25 euros a day. Instead of heading South of Puero Natales, I should rather recommend Carretera Austral and remote areas in the Lake District for this king of budget travel. As you can check in this forum, Torres del Paine (and Calafate, Ushaia in Argentina) are fashionable, touristy places, and so more expensive.In Argentina it's a bit different. The roads leave the mountains and go to endless desert plains, not a good place to hitch neither to camp wild. It is much more difficult to get lifts.
7
Jon - do remember that you are not allowed to "wild camp" in Torres del Paine Park. There are approved campsites where you can pitch your tent; there is a nominal charge of $10. or so for the privilege.If you go to El Chalten to hike the Fitz Roy trails, camping there is free! But again, you are expected to camp at the designated campsites. If you choose not to camp the village of El Chalten could serve as your base camp while you went off on a different hike each day.
8
Cool, thanks. I figured I'd try and ask permit ion at farms or off the entrance roads or where ever there is a clearing that is not in the way and not being disrespectful. My budget is $60-80 a day but I wanna keep it under 20-30 for those special splurges. Plus I wanna go to the lesser know parks in Lagos area where they do allow wild camping.Honestly I'm just winging it and throwing it all in the wind. Sold all my posessions and well here I go! Thank you mr true north.
