Blog Content - What's happening?

Firstly, thanks for visiting my blog! Secondly, I should explain the logic behind the posts. Some posts I'm doing 'on the fly' while others are posts relating to past experiences. I'll try to title them accordingly or you can search using tags.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

WORK OUTS & FOOD POISONING SUCK, ITINERARY & SOME LESSONS LEARNED WHEN TRAVELING


DOWN & OUT

I've been meaning to write a lot more before leaving for the next leg of our trip; unfortunately I tried to pull a super-hero workout. The workout left me in a world of pain that drastically reduced my willingness to live. Regardless, being 90% useless doesn't stop the world from turning or my brain from thinking! On a similar wave length I'm wondering how many days into our travels to South America will it take my digestive system to turn on me (leave your guess in the comments)! FYI, our trip to Mexico landing me in trouble after day 3 with pretty standard food poisoning for a total down time of 4 days. After 25 days in Thailand I suffered an intestinal breakdown that forced my hand of antibiotics and 5 days of being fully aware of the nearest toilet.

ITINERARY IS SET

We're leaving on March 15 for Montevideo, Uruguay and returning to Ottawa on the 28th of April. The trip isn't nearly long enough in my opinion but at least it's not a 2-week (or 'too weak') vacation.

We plan on spending a week near Montevideo (beaches, countryside) followed by a boat ride to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We're hoping to last a couple of weeks in the metropolis before jumping on a bus to Mendoza. After a couple of weeks in wine/olive country we'll jump on another bus ove the Andes to Santiago, Chile for some good food, mountains and relaxation. We'll then head south to Patagonia for the remainder of our trip before flying back to Montevideo for our return flight.

The specifics are subject to change of course but at least we have some type of plan right? Hopefully this info will give you something to look forward to reading about!

LESSONS LEARNED SO FAR
Stroller's fit on planes! Who would have known that leaving our stroller (aka, The Tank) at home was a mistake? Apparently, everybody with kids except for us. It turns out that all 5 airlines we'll experience this trip don't have any restrictions on stroller size. They even have it available for you when you step off the plane. We did buy an umbrella stroller for $18 US, hopefully it will survive the trip.

Shopping online for plane tickets sucks. There is a lot to know! Start with Expedia and Orbitz. Find the cheapest fare that works with your schedule and then check prices with the airline directly (checking multiple carriers prices with multiple connecting flights isn't worth your time though). Also, flights are typically cheaper on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and if you purchase 2 months in advance or 1 week from departure. Kids under 2 years are practically free if they sit on your lap (but if you're lucky you'll snag an empty seat on the plane). There are other tricks as well... let me know if you're interested in learning more...

From Duggleby's Travels

Reciprocity fees. No, not recipe fees... these are fees that some South American countries charge us for visiting because we charge the same fee to them when applying for Canadian visas (United States, Australia, U.K. Also apply). The fees vary by country and you can mostly avoid them by finding ways around their international airports. This is why we're landing in Uruguay and taking the 3 hour boat ride to Argentina... (savings: $75 USD per passport) and a bonus experience in Uruguay!

Babies make a lot of noise when they sleep. We hope that we'll have a 2nd room for Jack for at least some of our trip. He makes a lot of noise and moves a lot when he sleeps! Another reason to bring ear plugs with you on a trip! Not to worry though, a baby cries at louder than 40 decibels so you'll still wake up if the baby needs you! 

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