Post trip wrap up for Chile (Patagonia) & Peru

Overall I was very happy with the entire trip, the walk fitness training four months prior paid dividends, I was able to do the big walks without undo duress. I saw a lot of tired souls on my treks.
Perhaps I could of done some more contingency planning, and study. This would have been useful in Patagonia - a trip to El Calafete to see the Perito Moreno glacier could have fitted in and it would perhaps have been better to arrive at Puerto Montt and cruised on the Navimag Ferry to Puerto Natales for three days. But at the end of the day there will always be something you are going to miss, but on the flip there are other opportunities that arise by being flexible.

I am glad not to have gone on an organised tour. I saved thousands and indeed I was able to switch my plans for Ausangate to the Manu jungle trip at no cost. I am also glad to have taken the less travelled trek to Machu Picchu as the thought of the numbers and ‘control’ by guides would have for me detracted from the appeal. Not to say the other option is bad – far from it, the scenery is breathtaking, and safer in case of emergency - it’s just not for me.

Language and Culture.
I would definitely recommend spending 12 months studying and speaking the language. It is such a pleasure to be able to converse even in a fractured way. I felt in some ways rude not to have made a better go at it – and it is not as if the resources are not there. The Peruvians and Chileans were friendly and there was always someone who could speak English somewhere. Inwardly however I felt lame not to have made a more concerted effort. (Wrist smacked – move on !)
One thing I would like to do more is to get closer to the cultures of the country I visit. The trip to the Quechuan village would have been special. doing things like cooking the local fare and being involved in daily living increases awareness. On my future travels I will bear this in mind. 
 
Electronic Equipment.
Test it well before the trip – decide whether it is really needed.  I had issues with the phone and the camera. The satellite phone malfunctioned so I only got one call out. Unfortunately I had little time to test it as the SIM card I bought was on a month basis and it cost $3 per minute to use. It may have been better to take an EPIRB, but the phone had an emergency function anyway (SOS – 767). I think I will just have to fork out for a new phone – when they drop in price ! 
 
The camera was great, with the Panasonic DMS-ZS7 and its GPS location stamping I never have to remember where I took photos. It is compact and has a good lens,with 12x optical zoom it covers most photo needs. However  I did  not realise that the battery was different to the other Lumix camera I had that broke just before leaving. Of course, being a new model I could not procure any spares easily. The battery lasted almost 4 days but my trek and jungle trip extended more than a week and power was not available in some areas.
 
Planning Tools.
It takes a whack of planning to undergo three treks in two countries. Apart from the Internet and a good guidebook I used two free software tools: Freeplane a mind mapping program for conceptual ideas and TodoList a more detailed tree-list planning tool for the nitty gritty.
 
FreePlane:
ToDoList:
I weighed all my stuff and itemised them on ToDoList. I was able to cut out all superfluous items, leaving room for souvenirs on the way back. But better still it meant easier trekking and general movement.(Nowadays I prefer to simply use Google Sheets as it is available On-Line and easily accessible via my Google account.)

The accommodation details, emergency contacts and itinerary for the treks was also detailed using this tool. Caroline also had a copy.

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