Exploring the South American East Coast - Chapter 2 (~7,812 miles)
So it's been a little more than a week since my last post--work's been crazy busy. In my relatively little free time I have been working on the first episode of my video log on YouTube (coming soon), and I have also been planning the next Chapter of the journey a little more.
This next leg will be a little shorter than the first, and it will also include fewer countries. However, the good news is most of it will be in Argentina and Brazil, two countries I have been dying to visit. The start of this Chapter will be the end of the first: Rio Grande, Argentina. It seems to be a dinky little town at the edge of the world, but after the many weeks of sailing without resupply, I imagine it will be a welcome sight.
From there I would head directly to the Falkland Islands, a territory that has been occupied by the French, British, Spanish, and Argentine at some point or another throughout history. It is still hotly contested by Argentina, who apparently continues to claim it and asserts the British have illegally occupied it for almost two centuries. Aside from the historical intrigue of this place, the islands themselves seem immensely beautiful, and I could see myself remaining there for many days or weeks (as long as any visa would allow).
Once I've exhausted the Falklands, it's back on the road and up the coast of Argentina. I will make several stops along the way to Buenos Aires. At one point in my college career I seriously considered studying abroad one semester in Buenos Aires, so it will be really cool to check this place out. There is so much history in Argentina that I find fascinating thanks to my Spanish Literature courses in college, and I am excited to experience the culture. Supposedly it's very reminiscent of the culture in Spain, the country in which my father was born.
After Buenos Aires it's a quick trip across the bay to Montevideo, Uruguay. I know very little about Uruguay, but I guess that's the fun of this trip. The pictures of the country I've looked at seem beautiful enough!
After Uruguay it will be a long trip up the coast of Brazil, which I am not upset about. I will pass by several cities whose names I have never heard before, but whose sights and local activities are renowned across Brazil itself. I've read that Brazil celebrates many festivals at many times throughout the year. My hope is that I will be in and around Brazil during Carnival (it's been on my bucket list for years).
One interesting place I thought I might visit is a very small coastal town in Brazil called Touros, whose claim to fame is being the town closest to Africa in all of South America. I don't think there is particularly much to do there, but if there is ever a change of plans to skip across the pond (weather permitting), that may be the place to jump off from.
After Brazil there were a few countries I had never thought to visit before: French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana. I took a look at some of the coastal towns, and many of them looked like very interesting places to check out. I decided for sure to visit Cayenne,
French Guiana, but after reading about some of the social problems in Suriname and Guyana (i.e. pirates and drug lords rampant), I figured it might be best to minimize the time spent in this area for my own safety. At the very least I could reconsider visiting Suriname and Guyana when I get close.
Finally, the last stop in this Chapter would be Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. A couple of my good friends during my time in Washington, DC are originally from Trinidad and Tobago, and I'm hoping I'll be able to convince them to visit me when I'm there (*cough* Janique and Claros *cough*). From there it's on to the highly anticipated Chapter 3, the Caribbean!