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I spent more than 14 years of my adult life living, working and backpacking throughout Central and South America. The only nations there I have not visited are Suriname and French Guiana. One day that deficit will be made up. There is of course more to it than that. Over the years I made various lists of things I wanted to do south of the Rio Grande. Almost everything on these lists concerned solo backpacking to one place or another. Twice in my life---1986 and 2003---I even took an entire year off from the mundane responsibilities of earning a paycheck in order to live in tents and hammocks while meandering here and there beyond what a normal man would call 'civilization'. Thus was I better able explore the more bizarre and out-of-the-way regions of Latin America. And some were quite bizarre indeed. Those were the days. Though 14 years seems like a lot of time, I still dream of things yet undone, of jungles unknown and Andes unseen. In moments of frivolity I even compiled a list of those undone things. The results are below. Given time, energy and---of course---money, all of these can be accomplished in a year. It would be a year of near madness and life lived at double time, and would require supreme efforts of physical, mental and spiritual endurance. At 58 years old I understand that Biology is a cruel master, and she cannot be long ignored. If I do not embark within a few years, I will simply not be able to embark at all. The race is on. I have no idea just yet who will win.
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