For as long as I can remember, i've dreamed of travelling to far flung destinations, in particular, South America just draws me in with it's natural beauty and diverse landscapes. As a child, seeing pictures of Perito Moreno Glacier in a magazine just made me want to go and see this magnificent wonder for myself! I just can't wait to discover some of what this huge continent has to offer; Patagonia- glaciers, lakes, mountains, volcanoes, to the worlds largest salt flats in Bolivia, the wonders of the ancient Incan civilization where Machu Picchu stands tall, high in the Andean Mountains, the mighty Amazon River and tropical rain-forests, magical Galápagos Islands and the Pantanal wetlands, to the beautiful Iguazu Falls.... I am actually going to experience all of this and more just in the South American leg of our journey, not to mention everywhere else that our travels will take us.

Now for me to experience all this will be profoundly life changing.... I am so used to my home comforts, to leave all this behind will be a frightening thought, but something I'm willing to sacrifice. I'm not someone who adapts to change very easily, as people will tell you, and travelling is of course something whereby you are on the move constantly and many things will happen out of the ordinary all of the time. I'm willing to put everything I've got into this and give it a go and head into terra incognita......

Having never stayed in a hostel in my life, this is going to be very interesting indeed! The thought that I will be living in hostels, and out of a backpack for the next year is slightly daunting..... Nevertheless, it's all part of the adventure that travelling is about! You would not class me as the typical backpacker type if you saw me.... I'm so used to having all of my accessories, make-up, nice hair, perfumes, toiletries- especially Molton Brown, nice clothes, I never wear flat shoes..... But this will all have to change whilst travelling. I'm sure you'll see the transition taking place before, during and after travelling! I'm hoping that i'll change as a person too, "looking to find myself", experience new cultures, religions, meet new and interesting people, learn who "I" really am, become a better person.....bla bla bla... The usual reasons why people decide to travel. Oh and who can forget us Brits mentioning the weather- I'm looking forward to heading to warmer climates! As I'm writing this, we've had some really bad floods here in England.... I certainly won't miss the British climate.