The Pedometer Project and Projected Route

Among the somewhat embarrassing amount of gear I have researched and purchased the past few weeks for this trip (and let me tell you, it's a lot) is a pedometer. It counts up to 1,000,000 steps and is supposedly one of the most accurate pedometers on the market. The plan is to wear it the whole time I'm on my trip, just to satisfy my curiosity as to how many steps I will take in seven months of wandering. A mile is 5,280 feet. My stride is approximately 2.5 feet long, so there are about 2112 steps per mile. My goal is to roll the pedometer over at least once (which would be 473.5 miles). At the top of each following post, I will state my current "odometer reading".

As for my route...I have only loosely come up with a plan. Originally I was going to spend a few months living in Chile, but I have abandoned that idea for the lofty goal of making a complete overland

circuit of the continent. Starting in Lima, Peru, crossing into Bolivia and traveling down the spine of the Andean Mountains into Argentina. Crossing into Chile to see Santiago before heading down the coast and into the Chilean side of Patagonia (the southern tip of the continent, some of the most extreme weather in the world). Working my way east into the Argentinian side of patagonia, and then making a B-line for Buenos Aires. From there, a quick ferry over to Uruguay, then back to Argentina for a border crossing into Brazil. Up the Brazilian coast to Rio de Janiero and a few other cities before heading into the heart of the Amazon for some rain forest adventures. From there, a short 27 hour bus ride brings you to Caracas, Venezuela. Along the northern Caribbean coast and crossing into Columbia, then Ecuador, and finally back to Lima, Peru where I will catch my return flight to the states on July 31st. I'm going to hit all but four countries (Paraguay, Guyana, French Giana, anad Suriname).

That being said, given the nature of the trip, my plans mean nothing. So we'll just have to wait and see.