Our One Year Round The World planning was covering 3 continents – Asia, Europe and South America. As we commenced our journey, 2 changes occured early on – Sri Lanka instead of Nepal and Alaska, USA for Northern Lights. We are currently in South America and everything was going to plan until getting Peru Visa became a pain for Shruti! So now here we are – Change of Plans #3.

Initial Thoughts about South America

Colombia was our first country in South America and we absolutely loved it! The culture, people and food is so different to any place we had been. We fell in love and decided to spend the entire remaining 6 months in this continent – including Central America.

Unfortunately Peru Visa didn’t work out and Chile Visa is a longer process (with required documents), so our South America travels are down to 4.5 months, closer to what we had initially planned.

Considering Central America

Shruti and I heard amazing things about Central America from fellow travels. It got us excited and we decided if Peru does not happen, we will head to Central America. Most countries in the region would accept me with open arms as Shruti has an American Visa.

When the time came to agree on next steps, Shruti realised that apart from stories we heard, we didn’t know much about Central America. We had never done any research as it was not part of the initial plan. It made Shruti nervous about traveling a region neither of us knew about in detail. So we decided not to head in that direction.

So What Now?

Shruti and I have agreed to explore and experience Ecuador and Bolivia to the fullest. Though Ecuador uses US Dollars and it can be slightly expensive at times, there are plenty of places to explore. Now that Peru and Chile are out, we have decided to head to Galapogos Islands!

Additionally, we now plan on visiting the Amazon in Brazil. Both of us will have to go through the process of applying for visa, but there is a much higher chance of getting it. Ultimately after spending 20 days in Brazil, we head to Europe.

Europe was always part of the plan but Colombia blinded us for a short while. It is now back on but due to the cost, we have agreed to spend only three to three and half months in Europe – including one month in Turkey.

For all the well-wishers out there, we are and will continue to keep an eye on the situation in Turkey. As of recent updates, the tourist parts of Turkey aren’t affected.

A small request – please say a small prayer for us. Shruti now has to apply for two visas (Brazil and Schengen) while I need visa for Brazil. Thank you :)